The countdown to the 2022 AL DÍA 40 Under Forty celebration — the third edition of the annual event — is officially underway. 

The public made their voices heard during the nomination period, nominating individuals in the region under the age of 40 who are making tangible, positive impacts in both their industries and regions. 

Now, after going through each of the nominations, our judging committee is also making their voices heard in completing the difficult task of selecting this year’s honorees.

AL DÍA is excited to announce the first group of 10 individuals who will make up the AL DIA 40 Under Forty honorees, Class of 2022.

Learn a little about Group 1: 

• Stephen Maccari, Fiscal Manager at the City of Philadelphia

In his role as Fiscal Manager at the City of Philadelphia, Stephen Maccari oversees the budget and fiscal management of a number of programs, including PHLpreK, Community Schools, Out of School Time, Foster Grandparents, and Adult Education.

Maccari also serves as Compliance Officer on the executive board of Prospanica Philadelphia, a role he’s held since 2021. A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, he is also an Ambassador for Out Professionals Philadelphia. 

• Eric Gutshall, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority and State Public School Building Authority

In his role as Executive Director of the PA Higher Ed Facilities Authority & State Public School Build Authority, Eric Gushall issues bonds and oversees more than $8.5 billion in outstanding bonds to educational institutions across the state. 

Gutshall also serves as Vice President of the LEAGUE Foundation, a national organization that awards college scholarships to members of the LGBTQ community. 

• Marisabel Alonso, Associate Attorney at Green and Spiegel, LLC

As an associate attorney at Green and Spiegel, LLC, Marisabel Alonso specializes in family-based immigration petitions and removal defense cases before Immigration Courts. 

Throughout her career, Alonso has worked effectively with clients on case status adjustments, consular processing, defending clients’ interests, and working on a wide range of humanitarian-based immigration petitions.

• Samantha Rivera Joseph, Director of Implementation Science at the City of Philadelphia Office of Children and Families

Samantha Rivera Joseph is a community-informed mixed methods researcher with a focus on implementation science and urban health equity.

Her work focuses on community trauma as a result of adverse community experiences and structural determinants with her dissertation focusing on community-level trauma in urban communities of color that experience high levels of structural disadvantages. 

In her role as Director of Implementation Science, Rivera Joseph is responsible for developing a framework to ensure equity and primary prevention across the City’s child welfare and family support systems.

She also serves as the Treasurer for the Latino Caucus for Public Health and Vice-Chair of the Board for the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia.  

• Stephen Kulp, Attorney and Chair of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association

Stephen Kulp is an accomplished litigator with a proven track record of success managing complex civil litigation matters for a variety of sectors. This includes the transportation and logistics, construction, and retail and hospitality industries. His pragmatic and solutions-focused representation has resulted in substantial victories for his clients in both the courtroom and through motion practice.

Kulp is also a committed advocate outside the courtroom, currently serving as Chair of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association — the first Asian American to chair the organization. He also serves on the Board of Governors for the Philadelphia Bar Association, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, and Drexel University Kline School of Law’s Alumni Council.

• Diana Silva, Partner at Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP

As a partner at the environmental and energy law firm Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP, Diana Silva concentrates her practice in environmental litigation. This includes statutory contribution and cost recovery actions, toxic tort claims, contractual disputes and administrative enforcement actions. She also counsels clients on environmental regulatory compliance matters, as well as permitting related to land development issues.

Among Silva’s professional career highlights include representation of one of the largest international pipelines entities; defense of subsidiaries of Tenneco, Inc.; defense and resolution of claims asserted under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), the Clean Water Act, the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, the New Jersey Solid Waste Management Act, the New Jersey Environmental Rights Acts, the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, and the Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act; and many others.

• Olena Hart, Project Coordinator at Martii by UpHealth, Inc.

Olena Hart is a professional and experienced quadrilingual translator/interpreter, with an ability to speak in English, French, Ukrainian and Russian. 

She has experience in translating different types of documents, including business contracts, fiction books, technical manuals, and more.

As project coordinator at Martii by Uphealth, Hart leads the company’s VRI and OPI service offerings. 

• Elvira Méndez, Public Information Manager at SEPTA

In her role as Public Information Manager at SEPTA, Elvira Méndez works to deepen relationships with the media through countless TV interviews, podcasts, radio, and print interviews as the face and voice of SEPTA.

Starting at SEPTA in 2015, Méndez’s professional growth is a direct result of her leadership in resolving some of the challenges non-English speaking individuals face regarding public transportation. She played a key role in designing SEPTA’s first-ever multilingual communication plans and tactics to address their needs. 

She also serves as an active member of her professional and local community, where she is a mentor through SEPTA’s Women in Transit group, encouraging women to pursue careers in the predominantly-male transportation industry.  

• Natalie Zamora, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania

Since becoming Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, Natalie Zamora has played a key leadership role in the evaluation and selection process for the undergraduate class.

In her role, she co-leads evaluation and selection training for staff, guides and oversees the admissions counselor, coordinates four different levels or pre-committees and full committees, and more. 

A recently-graduated master’s student, Zamora took on leadership roles in the Latin American Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (LAGAPSA), where she advocated for Latinx graduate student needs, established signature events to engage the Latinx community, and supported the needs of Latinx graduate students through the pandemic and back to in-person. 

• Noel Rogelio Aragon, Senior Editor of the VREX Editorial Team at Comcast

In his role as Senior Editor for the VREX Editorial Team, Noel Rogelio Aragon leads his team in providing support for Comcast’s bilingual voice remote back-end systems and services. 

Aragon also has more than 15 years experience as a CPR and Professional Rescuers instructor, and is a founder of the Community College of Philadelphia’s “Philly Alternativo” project, dedicated to promoting, producing and managing Latin alternative music concerts.  

These 10 individuals represent the diversity that makes Philadelphia the rich, progressive city it is — a key requirement in selecting the honorees for this annual event. 

The 30 remaining individuals who make up the AL DÍA 40 Under Forty, Class of 2022 will be announced in three separate groups of 10 over the next couple weeks. 

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.