With July entering its second week, the 2022 AL DÍA 40 Under 40 celebration is fast approaching. 

Over the past couple weeks, announcements of this year’s honorees have been making the rounds.

The first group of honorees can be located here; the second group can be found here; and the third group is listed here.  

AL DÍA is excited to announce the fourth and final group of 10 individuals who will make up the honorees for the AL DÍA 40 Under Forty honorees, Class of 2022.

Learn a little about Group 4: 

• Victor Tejada, Delivery Driver & Founder and CEO of Delivery Guys App

Victor Tejada is a delivery driver and entrepreneur who founded Delivery Guys App, a company that helps food businesses and small warehouses increase their volume of orders while increasing their number of delivery orders. 

Since arriving in Philadelphia from the Dominican Republic, Tejada has worked as a delivery driver for the main applications in the market. However, during the pandemic he noticed that applications were not efficient enough when it came to consolidating several orders to a single driver.

That is where the idea of starting Delivery Guys App began. Currently, it works in dozens of small local businesses, helping delivery drivers earn more than 30% compared to other applications on the market, while consumers enjoy less waiting time and discounts of up to an additional 10% on each order. 

• Andrea Gonzalez, Urban Planning Consultant at Guidehouse

In her work as an Urban Planning Consultant at Guidehouse, Andrea Gonzalez utilizes her experience and knowledge through cultural interventions and advocacy to foster development strategies and policies that result in growth and opportunities for disadvantaged groups. 

Gonzalez strives to become a recognized community leader as she continues to work advocating for equitable policies and funding in housing, transportation and community development. 

She is also very civically engaged, as she was recently appointed the first Latina and youngest member of Mayor Kenney’s Civic Design Review Board, where she reviews every big building projected for development in the city. 

• Ashley L. Coleman, Executive Director at GALAEI

Ashley L. Coleman has been a fixture in the LGBTQ community in Philadelphia for more than 10 years, beginning her activism and advocacy as a youth leading Queer youth initiaitives and lobbying her school board for inclusive education.

In her current role as Executive Director at GALAEI, Coleman is excited to provide authentic, affirming services and education for QTBIPOC by QTBIPOC, and is dedicated to creating opportunities, social progress, and amplifying the voices of those most marginalized in communities of color. 

• Jamison S. Rogers, Major Crimes & Homicide Detective at City of Chester Police Department

Jamison Rogers has been a part of the Chester City Police Force for 13 years, rising through the ranks at a historic pace. He was promoted as Corporal after just five years of service. 

Rogers is the youngest member to be promoted to the Defective division after also serving as a narcotics officer and patrol supervisor, and is also the youngest African-American male to receive the aforementioned promotions. 

• Darryl Irizarry, Director of Partnership and Strategic Alliances at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau

Darryl Irizarry is the Director of Partnership and Strategic Alliances for the PHLCVB. He is an entrepreneurial-minded professional with more than a decade of experience leading projects, operations and staff. 

Irizarry’s proven track record of consistently meeting and exceeding organizational goals and objectives has resulted in record-breaking campaigns with the Community College of Philadelphia, leading a team of 54 part-time employees at the Boy Scouts of America, and developing a new and improved membership model for the PHLCVB that will provide partners with the educational and marketing tools needed to help them grow in the local hospitality and tourism industry. 

• Melva Torres, Associate Director of US Oncology Precision Medicine at Merck

Melva Torres is an Associate Director in Precision Medicine Marketing US Oncology for Merck. Her work contributes to the exciting innovative advances that can help patients with cancer.

Torres is known for her advocacy and work in the DE&I space both inside and outside of Merck. She leads the Alianza EBRG at the UG site and is also part of the Board of Directors at The Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).

Her long-term goal is to advance her career by one day becoming a lawyer to help individuals in diverse communities by opening her own charitable organization. 

• Michael Chow, Data Scientist at RStudio, PBC

Michael Chow is a data scientist and researcher, who works on free and open source tools for data analysis at RStudio.

Chow is interested in connecting technical folks with nonprofits in Philadelphia, with the goal of supporting nonprofits in overcoming technical challenges and to educate technical folks on impactful work going on in the communities they live.

He formerly was a co-director for Code for Philly, a community that connects technical folks with nonprofit projects. During his time there, Code for Philly worked with Prevention Point and Health Federation to run a six-week data hackathon around the opioid crisis; Penn Medicine to create a COVID-19 hospital capacity planning tool; and legal organizations to educate and mobilize tech workers around criminal justice reform. 

• Melissa Beatriz, Director of Activate Project & Co-founder of ¡Presente! Media

Melissa Beatriz is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, cultural producer and researcher whose work focuses on the intersection of social justice, media arts/culture and policy. 

Beatriz is the founder of ¡Presente! Media, a Philadelphia-based collective that produces bilingual journalistic artists and documentaries. 

She often participates in collaborations with artists and grassroots organizations, in which she has focused on storytelling, resource mobilization, and communities. 

• Jeannette Ceja, Bilingual Travel Journalist, TV Host, Travel Advisor, Global Public Speaker, & CEO of Jet Set with Jeannette

Jeannette Ceja is an award-winning bilingual travel journalist, television host, travel advisor, global public speaker and CEO of Jet Set with Jeannette. 

Ceja is known for her expertise in women’s travel, luxury travel and the Latino-Hispanic demographic of travelers. With her level of expertise and dedication, she has been able to travel to over 60 countries to date.

She is also a passionate advocate for women and diversity, as Ceja has been a speaker at notable global conferences, including The Women Economic Forum, The New York Travel Festival, The Tourism in Romania Conference, Impact Travel Immersion Conference, The Epic Mastermind Conference, and many others.  

• Brian Balduzzi, Associate at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLC

Brian Balduzzi is a private client attorney at Faegre Drinker, where he provides comprehensive legal advice to help entrepreneurs, executives and families fulfill their goals, advising them evolving tax, retirement and estate planning laws.

He is also an active pro bono attorney, representing clients in housing and family cases, including domestic violence situations; advocating for transgender rights in name change petitions; and helping clients with probate proceedings. Notably, he helped represent the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in its recent litigation regarding its collection of artifacts. 

Balduzzi has served and currently serves on many Boards of Directors, including Young Involved Philadelphia, Independence Business Alliance, Philadelphia LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Spruce Foundation, and the Young Professional Advisory Council of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. 

The rich, progressive nature of the City of Philadelphia is largely influenced by these honorees, the 30 others who make up this year’s class, the 80 who make up previous year’s class, and a number of other young professionals. 

The inspiring stories and impactful work of these individuals are key requirements when selecting the honorees this year, and every past year.

The 2022 AL DÍA 40 Under Forty celebration will take place Friday, August 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Vie by Cescaphe. To secure your seat for the special event, click here.