Future Five awards honor emerging talent

Five people were recognized Thursday night as Young Leaders in Kenosha’s Future 5, an award given to young professionals in the community.

The awards honor emerging talent from within the county, especially those positively influencing quality of life in the community through professional accomplishments, civic leadership, community engagement or volunteerism.

YLink is an organization that helps connect young professionals to each other and the community. It supports efforts to attract and retain young professionals.

Recognized were Brandi Cummings of the Kenosha Public Library, Sharmain Harris of the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency, John Hogan of Dooley & Associates, Laura Gregorski Tyunaitis of the Kenosha Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Megan Wells of mg Design.

• Cummings is a communication specialist with the Kenosha Public Library. She helped organize the library’s outreach to Brass Elementary School and established what has become the KPL bookmobile’s most popular stop. She also volunteers in the community and in 2016 was part of the catalyst behind the creation of YLink’s Nonprofit Board Preparation Program.
• Harris is a father involvement specialist in Kenosha. He became involved with the organization when he sought out its services and later became an employee. He helps fathers become more involved in their children’s lives, which helps improve outcomes for young people. He has helped more than 125 men complete the Nurturing Fathers program and is mentoring 35 first-time fathers.
• Hogan is the director of media for Dooley & Associates, where he has helped the local company expand client services to include video production, animation and virtual reality experiences. He is also a committed volunteer, president of the Kenosha Literacy Council and has served with the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha, Dairy State Cheese and Beer Fest, Tennis Shoe Gala, Friends of the Museum, Kenosha Achievement Center, Rotary Club of Kenosha West and the Kenosha Area Business Alliance mentorship program
• Gregorski Tyunaitis is marketing manager for the KACVB, helping businesses and tourism partners with marketing efforts. She has been described as a “Kenosha evangelist,” and has worked on community events like Taste of Wisconsin, the Kenosha Public Museum Crawl, Downtown Kenosha Restaurant Week, Kenosha Craft Beer Week, Harbor Holiday-International Market and Festival, plus others. She is also on the Kenosha Common Market’s Board of Directors and has been named to the “Top 100 Tourism Professionals in Social Media” several years running.
• Wells is marketing services coordinator at mg Design and previously worked at Herzing University. She has helped position Hope Run Kenosha in the public eye,and helped the event be successful in its first year, registering more than 1,000 participants and laying the foundation for continued efforts.

This article originally appeared in the Kenosha News.