Voting is open! We need your help to choose the winner of the Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2019. The public can cast an online vote for their favorite of three exceptional finalists: Dr. Candice Colby-Scott, Kristin Rohrbeck, and Nicholas Kristock.
Vote for the 2019 Elite 40 Winner!
“I’m excited about this outstanding class of talented and passionate leaders who are committed to improving their professions and their communities every day,” County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “These young leaders are wonderful ambassadors for Oakland County.”
Voting continues through noon on Friday, January 25th. Individuals may vote once daily at Elite40.com. Among other opportunities, the top vote-getter will introduce the County Executive at his State of the County Address on Thursday, February 7th. Online voters may choose between:
Dr. Candice Colby-Scott, 36, Physician, Michigan Ear Institute
Colby-Scott is a Farmington Hills resident who received her medical degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine and undergraduate degree from Ferris State University. She is a board-certified ear, nose and throat surgeon specializing in the treatment of patients with diseases and disorders of the ear and skull bases, with a special focus on pediatric hearing loss and cochlear implantation. She is originally from Bay City and a member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. She collaborated with a program at Central Michigan University through which she expanded its Cochlear Implant Program. She operated on three sisters, ages 4, 6 and 9 who were all candidates for cochlear implants after hearing aids no longer provided benefits. The surgeries were performed on the same day. “It was a very special moment to share this journey with these young girls and their family,” Colby-Scott said. “This was very rare that sisters would be candidates at the same time.”
Kristin Rohrbeck, 32, Director, Center for Autism Research Services (OUCARES), Oakland University
Rohrbeck is a Farmington Hills resident with an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a graduate degree in developmental psychology from Ohio State University. As director of OUCARES, she serves over 2,300 people impacted by autism spectrum disorder in southeast Michigan with more than 100 annual programs. The award-winning OUCARES program has been featured on various TV, radio and other media. In 2018, she led the development of a partnership with the Ted Lindsay Foundation, which resulted in a $1 million gift to grow OUCARES programs to support teens and adults living with autism spectrum disorder. She developed an employment readiness skills program for adults which resulted in more than 30 adults either receiving jobs or continuing their education to reach career goals. She is a graduate of the Leadership Oakland Cornerstone program. “I am constantly looking at trends in the disability community to try to improve the quality of life for families that I serve as well as future generations,” she said.
Nicholas C. Kristock, 27, Chief Executive Officer, Empathy 313
Kristock is a Novi resident and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Oakland University. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur and servant leader who founded three non-profit organizations. In 2015, he started Fleece & Thank You, which provides hope and comfort to hospitalized children by giving donors the opportunity to make the child a fleece blanket and a video message of hope. It has generated more than 41,000 blankets since inception. He is a former Oakland University Division 1 soccer player and played professionally in Australia in 2014-15. While in Australia, he was on the startup team for Orange Sky Laundry, the world’s first mobile laundry service for the homeless. “My life’s purpose is to serve the social impact space,” Kristock said. “Whether it be through building businesses that solve social problems, mentoring organizations on how to better solve the social problems they are facing or speaking to audiences about the importance of doing what we can to make this world better, I am constantly focused on helping solve real problems and making a real impact.”
How to Vote
Register for a Submittable account to cast your vote from any device. Log in daily, with your username and password to submit additional votes. You can vote for one candidate, two candidates, or all three. Click on the image of a candidate to read their biography and cast your vote using the “Thumbs Up” icon. The icon will turn green to show that you’ve voted, until the next day, when you can vote again.
Elite 40 Class of 2019
For this year’s class, about 250 applications and nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges, looking for the top 40 young professionals and thought leaders who live or work in Oakland County. The 40 honorees have achieved excellence in their field and contributed to the quality of life in their communities. Of that group, the three candidates who scored the highest are placed before the public vote to determine a 2019 winner. This is the eighth year of the Elite 40 program.
Congratulations to the entire 2019 Elite 40 class! View the complete class list on our website.
For more information about the Elite 40 program, follow along with Advantage Oakland at Elite40.com and join the conversation using #Elite40 on Facebook and Twitter.
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