Cleveland, Ohio —September 16, 2024 –  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  — Engage! Cleveland announced the highly anticipated winners of the 3rd Annual Generation NEXT Awards. The Generation NEXT Awards honor the companies and individuals working diligently to attract, engage and retain up-and-coming professional talent to Cleveland. Winning companies and individuals will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Thursday, October 16, 2024 at Gordon Green Events Center. 

“We are excited to honor the organizations and individuals whose extraordinary efforts have undeniably propelled Cleveland to new levels,” stated SueAnn Naso, Board Chair for Engage! Cleveland. “The evaluation process was demanding, and Engage! Cleveland is assured that the achievements of the award recipients will motivate others.

With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement Award, awards were given to four winners per category – small, mid-size, large employer, and nonprofit/government/public sector. Award winners were determined by a Selection Committee. Engage! Cleveland Employer Member of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards were internally nominated and selected.

The winners of the 3rd Annual Generation NEXT Awards are as follows:

Company of the Year

Small: Wellspring Financial Advisors 

Mid-size: Pease Bell CPAs  

Large: Swagelok 

Nonprofit/Government/Public Sector: Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio 

Program of the Year

Small: Be Better than Yesterday Coaching Program, Dyke Yaxley LLC

Mid-size: The Huddle, Cleveland Browns 

Large: ESOP Program, BDO

Nonprofit/Government/Public Sector: Books 2 Bread, Breadwinners Academy  

Young Professional of the Year

Small: Taylor Evans, Rust Belt Recruiting

Mid-size: Allison Sayre, Maloney + Novotny

Large: Timothy Lewis, Bank of America

Nonprofit/Government/Public Sector: Jennifer Creviston, Cleveland State University

Mentor of the Year

Small:Kelly Stofko, Corrigan Krause CPAs

Mid-size: Sean O-Neill, The Westin Cleveland Downtown

Large: Leslie Dorsey, Oatey Co.

Nonprofit/Government/Public Sector: Katie Martinovic, United Way of Greater Cleveland

Engage! Cleveland Employer Member of the Year

Small: Bober Markey Fedorovich

Mid-size: National Interstate Insurance

Large: Medical Mutual

Nonprofit/Government/Public Sector: Weatherhead School of Management – Case Western Reserve University

Lifetime Achievement Award: The Cleveland Foundation 

Engage! Cleveland’s employer member, The Cleveland Foundation, is being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Cleveland Foundation is a pillar of the philanthropic community in Cleveland and provided Engage! Cleveland with a $150,000 grant to help get the organization up and running.. 

“The Cleveland Foundation’s initial grant provided the start-up funding needed to launch Engage! Cleveland. What started as an idea has blossomed into a thriving organization serving the early to mid-career talent population. a,” said Ashley Basile Oeken, President of Engage! Cleveland. 

To learn more about Engage! Cleveland, please visit engagecleveland.org and follow the nonprofit on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and TikTok. 

The 2024 Generation NEXT Awards are sponsored by Boler College of Business at John Carroll University, 

Winding River Consulting, National Interstate Insurance Company, Greater Cleveland Partnership,The Cleveland Foundation, BDO, and Oatey Co.  

###

www.engagecleveland.org | 2020 Center Street | Cleveland, OH 44113

About Engage! Cleveland

Engage! Cleveland is a community engagement organization for young professionals and business/community leaders who are passionate about making Cleveland a lasting home for the next generation. Our goal is to attract, engage and retain young, diverse talent to Greater Cleveland by connecting young professionals to people, jobs, organizations, and events. You can learn more at www.engagecleveland.org.