Georgia Trend’s ‘40 Under 40’ list includes three young leaders from Columbus
Three young professionals making a positive impact in Columbus have been honored for being among the most effective and respected rising community leaders in the state.
Georgia Trend magazine’s 2019 “40 Under 40” list has been released, and it includes:
- Eric Crouch, a fifth-grade teacher at Double Churches Elementary School.
- Dr. Brooke Devlin, director of quality management at West Central Georgia Regional Hospital.
- Jason McKenzie, founder of Ride On Adventure and co-owner of Ride On Bikes.
The Georgia Trend staff selected the “40 Under 40” from more than 400 nominations submitted by readers of the magazine, according to its website. Here are some of the reasons mentioned in the article why Crouch, Devlin and McKenzie were chosen:
Crouch, 33, was a top 40 finalist in the Varkey Foundation’s 2019 Global Teacher Prize, which recognizes teachers who are champions for change. He is a national Milken Educator Award winner and a Harvard Fellow. He led students in projects to help build a school in Kenya, create 3D prosthetics for pets and help raise more than $1.5 million for children in need around the world.
“Find out what the child is passionate about, and you connect the learning to that passion,” he told Georgia Trend. “We are redefining what teaching can be.”
Devlin, 37, is co-founder and co-leader of the Columbus chapter of GRASP (Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing), a support group for people who have lost a loved one to addiction. Her younger brother died from a substance abuse disorder in 2017. As a part-time professor at Columbus State University, she brought in people affected by addiction to speak to her students.
“My goal is to not have my brother be another statistic,” she told Georgia Trend. “He was an amazing person that had this disease.”
McKenzie, 35, has donated thousands of bikes to charity. He also helped a blinded mechanic learn how to build bikes and “a new life” as the magazine says.
“If I was rich, the only thing I would do different — I would still live in Columbus, I’d still have the same dog — but I’d just have more experiences,” he told Georgia Trend.
Crouch, Devlin and McKenzie are alumni of CSU.
