Here are Seacoast 10 to Watch young professionals winners for 2023

PORTSMOUTH — The winners of the 2023 10 To Watch contest were announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at The Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth. This is the 10th year the contest has been held, presented this year by Catapult Seacoast and Local iQ.

This year’s contest, honoring Seacoast young professionals age 40 or younger, is sponsored by Bank of America, Heritage Home Services and Eversource. Representatives from Stay Work Play New Hampshire served as judges for this year’s contest.

The winners of the 2023 10 To Watch contest are:

Shane Brewer

Shane Brewer of York, Maine, is a vice president and commercial loan officer at First Seacoast Bank in Portsmouth.

Brewer has worked in the sales and the financial services industry in Portsmouth for the last 10 years. “One of Shane’s greatest professional qualities is his ability to take the time needed to understand his customer’s vision, create meaningful relationships and provide commercial lending expertise in order to help his clients meet their goals,” his nomination entry reads.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brewer was instrumental in supporting not only his own customers, but also his colleagues’ customers in the Paycheck Protection Loan Program and Loan Forgiveness process, often spending late nights, early mornings and weekend hours ensuring local businesses had access to funds in order to retain their workforce and remain operational.

In his volunteer efforts, Brewer serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth. In the past, he served on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. He has coordinated Ukraine relief donations in the Portsmouth community and is an active volunteer for all First Seacoast Bank community initiatives, according to his nomination entry.

His insight into commercial lending and the Seacoast market was recently featured in a local publication titled “Unlocking the Future: Exploring Commercial Real Estate Lending and Interest Rate Trends,” where he describes the importance of time and investment in supporting the local business community.

Alex Bynum

Alex Bynum of Portsmouth is a professional healer and the owner of Empowering Path.

Bynum has a bachelor’s degree in social work, has operated a healing practice for 10 years, and is a certified senior guide, healer and life activation practitioner with the Modern Mystery School. Bynum is also a certified teacher of sacred geometry, astral travel and crystals, and an initiated Celtic Shaman, Kabbalist and Megus Hermeticus.

She has served the community by facilitating pro-bono Reiki sessions to help the public receive free healing. Bynum is a member of the Chamber Collaborative of Portsmouth and of 100 Women Who Care.

Ashley Cooper

Ashley Cooper of Portsmouth is the marketing coordinator for 3S Artspace in Portsmouth.

In her position at 3S Artspace, she created the organization’s Tiktok page and developed its Instagram page promoting the 3S Artspace retail shop which grew 318% during her first five months in her position, according to her nomination entry.

Cooper grew up in Portsmouth and moved to Chicago after high school graduation. “My commitment to the advancement and enrichment of our community in Portsmouth is rooted in a deep-seated connection to the place I call home,” Cooper said in her contest entry. “My heart never left Portsmouth, and I eventually returned, driven by the community that has shaped me.”

Cooper also serves on the volunteer team at TEDx Portsmouth as memorization coach.

Matthew Gallant

Matthew Gallant of Barrington is the senior manager of business development for New Hampshire Housing in Bedford.

"I am an unwavering advocate for the profound impact of positivity within the community I hold dear, a passion deeply rooted in my own upbringing,” Gallant said in his nomination entry. “Growing up in challenging circumstances, I witnessed the relentless efforts of my parents as they worked tirelessly to provide for our family. Their struggles and the limited options and opportunities available to us during those times have ignited an unquenchable desire within me to uplift my community and provide opportunities to those in need.”

Gallant is one of the co-founders of the Young Housing Professionals Group, and is a board member for the N.H. Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association and chairs its Public Relations Committee. He volunteers as a teacher for NeighborWorks' Home Team, a program that provides financial education and prepares future homeowners to find and maintain homeownership.

He also serves as the director of the N.H. Housing Fellows, is a Special Olympics coach and a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He volunteers at local soup kitchens and has invested hours in building homes with Habitat for Humanity.

This year, he published a children's book titled "The Dreaming Seed," which serves as a guidebook for parents and children aiming to alleviate bedtime stress associated with ADHD and autism.

Michael Hicks

Michael Hicks of Newmarket is the founder of R3VAMP Performance Center in Hampton.

R3VAMP Performance Center’s mission is to help athletes “with becoming leaders on and off the field all while contributing to the betterment of their mental health, physical growth and student-athlete development by focusing on the entire individual,” according to his nomination entry.

Hicks started R3VAMP in Boston and gave up a corporate career in 2019 to earn a master’s degree in sport and performance psychology and pursue R3VAMP full-time. He already had a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a coaching certification from Endicott College. He played Division II and Division III baseball in college.  Over his more than 10-year coaching career, he has worked with thousands of athletes and with non-profit organizations such as the YMCA and Austin17House.

R3VAMP’s clients include youth, amateur and collegiate athletes, teams, those suffering brain injuries and every-day individuals who are simply looking to improve fitness or overall neurological functioning such as memory, focus or functioning under duress, according to his nomination entry.

He was mentored and advised by Team USA Baseball Management for more than three years and trained current Division I college baseball players in the New England Stampede Baseball Program. He also was a baseball performance specialist at A’s Baseball Center in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Hicks also co-founded the Alumni Business Referral Networking Group for Endicott College.

Emily Huxtable

Emily Huxtable of Portsmouth is the founder and owner of Seacoast Picnic Co.

Seacoast Picnic Co., founded in 2021 in Huxtable’s Portsmouth apartment, creates luxury picnics for occasions and celebrations of all kinds. The company is quickly approaching the milestone of 100 events in its third year of operation, according to her nomination entry.

Prior to founding Seacoast Picnic Company, Huxtable was marketing manager at Connecting Point Marketing Group in Rye for six years.

Huxtable regularly supports community events, including the annual Plates for Change fundraiser at Strawbery Banke, where she provided a Seacoast Picnic set-up as a VIP Lounge in 2022.

In her business, Huxtable makes it a point to shop locally for food, clothings, flowers and many other needs when producing her picnic events, according to her nomination entry.

Huxtable also belongs to the Women’s Business League, and is active in local non-profits and charitable groups such as Red’s Good Vibes and The 1623 Foundation. She has donated countless hours to local charitable groups “including providing full-service picnic experiences that collectively total thousands of dollars in donations,” according to her nomination entry.

Jennifer Mandelbaum

Jennifer Mandelbaum of Portsmouth is a health care economics consultant for Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Her research has been published in 25 peer-reviewed journals and she has given more than 60 presentations about her research at regional and national conferences. She teaches an introductory community health class at Tufts University and regularly mentors students on research projects.

She is a governing councilor for the American Public Health Association and a member of APHA’s Education Board; an advisory board member and health policy ambassador for the Society of Behavioral Medicine; and serves on the board of the Association of Yale Alumni in Public Health.

“I strongly believe in the power and importance of local community involvement, and I strive to bring my public health background to my service work on the Seacoast and throughout New Hampshire,” she said in her nomination entry.

She serves on the Portsmouth Public Library’s Board of Trustees. She is a member of the New Hampshire Public Health Association where she “builds relationships with New Hampshire lawmakers and their staffs, engaging them to make evidence-based decisions on child nutrition.”

She is a member of the mentoring committee for the New England chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.

Mandelbaum is a recipient of the Rising Star Award from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (2022), the 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award from the Boston Congress of Public Health (2023), and an early career award from the American Public Health Association (2023). The American Society for Nutrition named Mandelbaum an Emerging Leader in Nutrition Science.

Kali Moulton

Kali Moulton of Portsmouth is a “purveyor of magical memories” and co-owner of Sages Entertainment of Portsmouth.

Moulton's magical talents have helped build the confidence of many Seacoast youth through Discover Magic, her nomination entry says. She is a nationally recognized and award-winning magic instructor. She is a magician who uses magic to teach and is developing ways to share important messages about mental health and to inspire others through magic. As the co-founder and co-owner of Sages Entertainment, she has “facilitated shared memories and fun, making her an integral part of our community's entertainment landscape.”

A dedicated advocate for mental health, she is a member of the Connection Peer Support Mental Health Board.

Moulton also designs and illustrates "Geekasaurus," a nationally syndicated online web comic that offers a humorous yet heartfelt look at the trials and tribulations of parenthood. She also writes and has published horror short stories.

Kara Anne Rodenhizer

Kara Anne Rodenhizer of Portsmouth is the director of housing initiatives for Granite United Way in Portsmouth.

At Granite United Way, Rodenhizer leads the Home for All Coalition, a diverse, multi-sector partnership of over 50 members working to address the issues of homelessness, housing instability, and access to affordable housing in the Greater Seacoast, her nomination entry says.

She also runs Granite United Way’s Affordable Housing Incentive Program, which brings together private landlords and service providers to create pathways to affordable, stable housing.

Since joining Granite United Way in 2022, she has played a key role in securing over $1.5 million in state, federal, and private dollars to support critical programs and services to prevent homelessness and increase access to affordable housing. Earlier, she worked at HAVEN, NH’s largest violence prevention and support services agency. In her role, she helped secure nearly $3 million in federal funds to grow HAVEN’s Housing and Shelter program, her nomination entry says.

Rodenhizer is the vice chair of the Portsmouth Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, serves on the Council for Housing Stability's Landlord Incentive Task Force, and remains actively involved in other housing and homelessness initiatives throughout New Hampshire.

She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of New Hampshire. At UNH, Rodenhizer developed “an interdisciplinary program of federally funded research in the field of interpersonal violence,” which was published in more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications and was recognized by the American Psychological Association for “its contribution to feminist research on the psychology of women and gender,” according to her nomination entry.

Jeseca Wendel

Jeseca Wendel of Dover is the public relations and community outreach manager for Rockingham County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Brentwood.

Wendel works to create meaningful and engaging events for seniors and their families and builds relationships with community partners to promote the benefits of senior living. She takes pride in helping seniors and their families navigate the sometimes overwhelming process of finding the right senior living provider, and has become an invaluable resource for many, according to her nomination entry.

Wendel recently completed her public information officer training which has equipped her to handle a range of communication situations, including crisis situations. She is currently enrolled in an advanced public information officer course. She has developed community engagement programs such as an educational series, volunteer opportunities and employee events.

Wendel leads Rockingham County’s Employee Resource Group. She has helped organize food drives and participates in local chamber of commerce events.

She is a member of the planning committee for the Seacoast's Walk to End Alzheimer's and is the captain of the Rockingham County team.

Wendel is also a member and club president of the Seacoast Rugby Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sportsmanship, teamwork and community involvement through the game of rugby.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast 10 to Watch young professionals winners for 2023