Top 25 Young professionals: the future is now for GenXYZ winners.

• Author: Jackson, Margaret

They range/rom doctors and lawyers to musicians and DJs. But one thing these young professionals have in common is that they're charting a new course for businesses and nonprofits--from Jayson Baker's launch of Peak Internet at age 16, to Brad Wright's foundation that provides bereavement training for nurses.

Following are snapshots of ColoradoBiz magazine's 25 Most Influential Young Professionals of 2015. Winners were selected from nominations submitted online at cobizmag.com and judged by a ColoradoBiz panel of editorial staffers and representatives from the business community. Factors taken into account in the selection process included professional and community impact, challenges surmounted, and recommendations from nominees' peers.

We think you'll agree that they're an impressive group, and given that they're all under 40, they're likely to be heard from for years to come.

The Organizer

Mickki Langston

35 | Executive Director Mile High Business Alliance

Mickki Langston runs the largest organization of locally owned businesses in Colorado. The group brings together people, institutions and businesses to nurture a thriving and sustainable local economy that fosters a creative culture, wellbeing, equity and freedom. She recently launched NeighborhoodCatalyst.org, a crowd-funding platform focused on connecting people to projects in their neighborhoods to positively impact their lives. In addition to her position with the alliance, Langston is a member of the Mile High Connects Advisory Council.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

Starting the Mile High Business Alliance.

"It's a challenge to start something new," Langston says. "It's completely unpredictable."

* MAKING AN IMPACT

Since Mile High Business Alliance began, more people are supporting local efforts like Marzyk Fine Foods, Tattered Cover and independent music store Twist & Shout.

* ROLE MODELS

Arthur Brock, Mile High Business Alliance co-founder. Independent women, artists such as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and American painter Georgia O'Keefe.

* BEST ADVICE RECEIVED

Shake hands like you mean it.

* OFF-DUTY

Cooking--"kitchen science" (making things like soap and maraschino cherries), video games.

The Strategist

Alison Zinn

38 | Partner Lindquist & Vennum LLP

Attorney Alison Zinn led the Colorado Women's Bar Association as one of the youngest presidents in its 37-year history. She was responsible for the 1,000-person organization's vision, strategy, fiscal strength, growth and operational oversight, as well as a 30-member board of directors. In her legal career, Zinn focuses on litigation involving wills, trusts and probate fiduciaries. Her practice also includes guardian ad litem court appointments, as well as contested and uncontested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings for the elderly, people with disabilities and children.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

"I'm always pursuing happiness, "Zinn says."l want to find meaning in what I do. If I don't like my circumstance, I change it. Changing jobs or changing areas of practice is an accomplishment."

* MAKING AN IMPACT

As past president of the CWBA, Zinn says the greatest effect she had was ensuring her board members had a great experience.

"I also try to make sure that what I'm doing is helping other people be successful and reaching out to other women and pulling them up. I want them all to recognize their own leadership skills and achieve their dreams."

* ROLE MODELS

Patricia Jarzobski, past president of CWBA.

* BEST ADVICE

"Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You can't make everyone happy. If someone's unhappy with you, it's OK. It's not the end of the world. That takes away stress and worry."

* OFF-DUTY

Cooking and food photography. Check out Zinn's running blog at zinnrunner.com

The Superstar

Adam Burrows

33 | Senior Vice President of Business and Corporate Development HomeAdvisor

Adam Burrows led the rebranding of HomeAdvisor, one of Colorado's largest technology employers and the nation's largest online marketplace connecting homeowners with home service providers. Burrows, the youngest person to hold status above vice president on HomeAdvisor's 1,500-person team, played a major role in reinventing the company, formerly known as ServiceMagic, and redefining its portfolio from a leads-based business to a profitable subscription-based business.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

"Being part of the team that's turned HomeAdvisor around and taken it to the next level."

* MAKING AN IMPACT

"I've led our acquisitions and co-led the business model transition from leads-based to subscription-based. I've led all of our partnerships with other large brands to help cement our place as the dominant If and for finding a contractor."

* ROLE MODELS

A composite of various people based on biographies and other reading.

"People who have an intellectual curiosity and a variety of experiences."

* BEST ADVICE

"Do whatever sounds interesting at the time. Don't overthink it. If something sounds interesting and fun, you're going to execute to the best of your abilities and excel."

* OFF-DUTY

Spending time with family, hiking, golf, tennis, yoga.

The Hustler

Jarred Black

29 | General Manager Larry H. Miller Volkswagen Lakewood

Jarred Black led the Larry H. Miller Volkswagen dealership to record sales volume in both the new- and used-car categories during his first year as store manager. In that time, he also earned accolades for bringing in record profits in the service and parts areas of the dealership. Black has blazed a trail for digital marketing and newly implemented Web strategies to enhance the sales process.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

"Becoming a general manager by the age of 25."

* MAKING AN IMPACT

Black supports programs at local schools and coaches youth basketball.

"I think giving back to the community lets people know that you can do good through your success. Having success at a young age is not just about yourself."

* ROLE MODELS

In addition to his family, Black admires former Larry Miller Group CEO Greg Miller. "He's fairly young. When his father passed away, he took over the business."

* BEST ADVICE

"Quiet strength, and stay humble. Even though you're in a leadership role, you need to stay humble."

* OFF-DUTY

Spending time with family and coaching youth sports.

The Serviceman

Murugan Palani

38 | Director of Supplier Diversity Xcel Energy

Since Murugan Palani took over the Supplier Diversity Program at Xcel Energy in 2009, the company has increased its spending with suppliers owned and operated by women, minorities and veterans from $159 million to $385 million last year. This was achieved by reinventing Xcel's practices. In addition to his work at Xcel, Palani is active in the community, serving on the boards of the Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council, Colorado Heritage Camps for Adopted children and several chambers of commerce.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

Receiving the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award for volunteer work with local chambers and business organizations to support small businesses and grow the local economy.

Bronze Star medal for heroic actions under intense close-quarter contact in Iraq.

* MAKING AN IMPACT

"I've helped our small-business owners in Colorado by supporting them to get procurement opportunities with Xcel Energy and help them grow their businesses, which in turn helps them grow our local economy."

* ROLE MODELS

"My parents. My dad moved to America in 1962 when he was 23 not knowing what to expect. I admire him so much for the courage it took to take on such an amazing adventure."

* BEST ADVICE

"To be persistent and never give up."

* OFF-DUTY

Volunteer work. "My favorite is for the Indian Nepalese Heritage Camp. I enjoy helping and working with young children."

The Negotiator

Melissa Kulpers

35 | Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP

Melissa Kulpers leads negotiations between the Colorado Senate, House of Representatives and the governor to achieve results for her clients. Though her Republican roots run deep, she is gifted in her ability to work across the aisle and build bipartisan stakeholder coalitions. She says lobbying is a year-round endeavor, not just something that occurs when the legislature is in session.

* BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT

When General Motors and Chrysler filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2009, nearly 40 Colorado auto dealerships were slated for closure. Kulpers spearheaded efforts to reinstate a majority of the franchises.

"The fact that we were able to respond to it was a pretty awesome thing," she says.

* MAKING AN IMPACT

In 2009, Kulpers founded Baking for Troops, a Colorado-based nonprofit that prepares and sends homemade care packages of baked goods to members of the U.S. military deployed throughout the world.

"We like to focus on the personal impact and accomplish something that makes a difference in people's everyday lives."

* ROLE MODEL

William Rubin, president of The Rubin Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"He encouraged me to go to law school. You don't need a law degree to be a lobbyist, but he was 100 percent right."

* BEST ADVICE

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