The Vision 2025 Committee gathers and analyzes project data, collates the diverse vision ideas into an overall statement, and creates an action plan with defined responsibilities, deadlines and outcomes. The Committee is also responsible for communicating the ideas and updates — through traditional and new media, as well as meetings and forums — to the project’s core constituencies: young professionals, Coalition YP groups, and the wider community.
Clement Chung, Co-Chair
(See bio on About page)
Molly Gaudioso, Co-Chair
Molly is a Rochester native and community planner for the Steinmetz Planning Group, a local consulting firm that specializes in planning and zoning efforts for communities of all sizes across Upstate New York. It is the challenges that Rochester and other rustbelt cities have faced over the last few decades that inspired her to pursue a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University in 2011. Since then, Molly has successfully completed a number of community planning and enhancement efforts within the states of New York and Ohio. In her free time, Molly enjoys exploring the fabric of the City, learning more about its history and culture, and frequenting its up-and-coming microbreweries. She is excited to see what the future has in store for the greater Rochester area, and is looking forward to being a part of its revitalization.
Susan Hopkins, Lead Advisor
Sue returned to her hometown of Rochester in 2014 to accept a position as an urban planner at Bergmann Associates. Sue recently completed a two-year assignment with the Downtown Detroit Partnership, where she worked at the forefront of Detroit’s rebuilding efforts as part of the inaugural cohort of Detroit Revitalization Fellows. Prior to her time in Detroit, she worked as a project manager at ECONorthwest, an economics and public finance consulting firm based in Portland, Oregon.
Kayleigh Stampfler, Lead Advisor
(See bio on About page)
Ergin Akbas
Ergin is a civil engineering professional who graduated from the University at Buffalo and currently works as a Manager for Rochester Gas and Electric. Ergin’s enthusiasm for the Rochester area goes back to his high school years (where he wrote an award winning essay about why young professionals should stay in Rochester area), and that translates to his current passion on RocCity Coalition. Ergin is a member of American Society of Civil Engineers and the Rochester Engineering Society, and belongs to number of other community organizations, including Toastmasters International and Rochester Young Professionals. Ergin enjoys spending time with family, watching sports, skiing, skydiving, traveling and learning about different cultures. He lives in Fairport with his wife, Christi.
Andrew Brady
Andrew was born and raised in Rochester and went on to attend Cornell University where he graduated in 2010 with a degree in Applied Economics and Management. In 2012, he moved back to Rochester to join The XLR8 Team as a leadership development coach. When he came back to town, he dove back into the community, joining Rochester Rotary, co-founding the Rochester chapter of Conscious Capitalism and serving on the board of Friends of Educational Excellence to partner community organizations with RCSD schools to provide one-on-one tutoring for students in reading and math. He also volunteers on the RIT Leadership Institute Advisory Committee, the NextGen Rochester Advisory Board, the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and as a Big Brother. In addition to his passion of helping leaders to align purpose and culture at XLR8, he recently graduated with a Masters degree in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Chelsea Bajek
Chelsea is an environmental engineer in training (EIT) at Larsen Engineers in Brighton. A native of Arlington, Virginia, Chelsea moved to Rochester in 2005 with her family. She graduated in 2012 with a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. After spending two years post-college living and working in New York City, Chelsea returned to Rochester and now resides in the South Wedge neighborhood. Chelsea believes Rochester is an excellent place to live, especially for young professionals, because of its affordability, wealth of cultural and recreational activities, and strong sense of community. She looks forward to becoming more involved in the young professional community and helping to revitalize the city.
Matt Foley
Matt moved to the Rochester area in middle school and graduated from Fairport High School. He then graduated from Boston University in 2002 with a degree in business. Matt began his career at Harris Interactive, where he ran market research studies on behalf of Fortune 500 brands. In 2006, Matt co-founded a startup called PluggedIN, which built online insight communities for leading brands like Kraft, Dell and T-Mobile. PluggedIN was acquired in 2011 by Edelman, a leading PR firm. Matt stayed on at Edelman as a Senior Vice President for two years before leaving to launch his next startup, FocusGroupIt. He is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at High Tech Rochester, and is on the teaching team of HTR’s Lean Launchpad and NEXUS startup accelerators. Matt credits his startup success with the low cost of living and highly educated workforce of the Rochester area. He currently resides in Irondequoit.
Meredith Graham
Meredith moved to Rochester in 2007 and owns a home in the Upper Monroe neighborhood in the city with her family. She grew up in California, but came to Rochester via Ithaca where she earned both her undergraduate and masters’ degrees from Cornell University. Over the last 10 years, Meredith has served as the bridge between community partners and researchers at Cornell on a wide variety of community-based research projects typically aimed at preventing heart disease in women. In 2013, she co-founded Collaborative Health Research, a Rochester-based firm that aims to provide meaningful data-driven research for community organizations. Ultimately, she hopes that these collaborations will improve health in the Rochester area.
Spencer Gurley-Green
Spencer is a recent graduate of the University of Rochester with degrees in Neuroscience and Music. Spencer was raised in London, UK and Boston, MA before attending college in Rochester. Spencer is currently serving as an Americorps VISTA fellow conducting research and data analysis for the English Language Arts department at the Rochester City School District. Spencer previously worked as a research assistant at the Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union and as an intern for the Obama 2012 campaign. Spencer decided to stay in Rochester after graduation because of its vibrant music scene, its rich history, and its strong sense of community. Spencer plans to stay in Rochester working in public policy for the foreseeable future.
Rachel Laber
Rachel is a Digital Media and Public Relations Account Executive for Dixon Schwabl. Originally graduating from SUNY Geneseo, Rachel returned to Rochester in 2014 after several years away, first obtaining her Master’s degree from Syracuse University, then working in public relations in New York City. Rachel is active in the Public Relations Society of America’s Rochester Chapter, and is an avid advocate for all things Rochester.
Airin O’Connor
Originally from Chautauqua, NY, Airin came to Rochester in 2005 to attend Rochester Institute of Technology. After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering Technology in 2009, she left Rochester only to return in 2012 for a job opportunity and appreciation of everything Rochester has to offer. She completed her MBA at RIT in 2014, concentrating on Environmentally Sustainable Management, and she also has done volunteer work in Haiti and Africa. Airin resides in the Highland Park Neighborhood.
Young Professional Group Champions
Each RocCity Coalition group is invited to identify a Champion from their organization, who will serve as a liaison to their membership, relaying project information and providing feedback on its progress. Champions from Member groups will also have a say in the decision-making process, as they will be empowered to vote on behalf of their groups on the project’s direction at key points.