Influential Austinites

Austin Under 40 reveals impressive list of nominees for 2016 awards

To honor the city’s most influential young professionals, Austin Under 40 has announced the nominees for its 18th annual Austin Under 40 Awards. Chosen for their contributions in their careers as well as their community involvement, the 75 movers and shakers represent a wide range of Austin industries, from technology and sciences to arts, media, and entertainment.

Notable names on the list include C.K. Chin of Swift’s Attic and Wu Chow; Camille Styles of CamilleStyles.com; Atlas Wearables’ Michael Kasparian; Noonday Collection’s Jessica Honegger; and Josh Hare, owner of Hops & Grain.

On Saturday, April 16, nominees and guests will celebrate at JW Marriott for the Austin Under 40 Awards Gala where one winner in each of the 15 categories will be named. The "Austinite of the Year" will also be crowned.

Since 1998, Young Women’s Alliance (YWA) and Young Men’s Business League (YMBL) have partnered to put on the event. All proceeds benefit YMBL’s Austin Sunshine Camps, which send thousands of low income, high potential children to summer camp with a focus on STEM, life skills, and outdoor education, as well as the YWA Foundation, which provides academic scholarships to young women in Central Texas.

Here is the full list of Austin Under 40 nominees for 2016:

Arts, Media, and Entertainment: Ghislaine "Qi Dada" Jean, Riders Against the Storm; Steve Parker, Collide; Emily Ramshaw, The Texas Tribune; Camille Styles, Camille Styles.com; Shannon Wolfson, KXAN-TV.

Culinary Arts and Hospitality: Tommy Belton, Hotels for Hope; C.K. Chin, Wu Chow; Scott Willis, Tequila 512; Aaron Berman, Infinite Monkey Theorem; Josh Hare, Hops & Grain.

Community Service and Nonprofit: Hanna Huang, City of Austin — Asian American Resource Center; Julie Fisher, Samsung Austin Semiconductor; Dr. Teresa Granillo, Con Mi Madre; James E. Russell, Austin Trail of Lights Foundation; Meme Styles, Measure Austin.

Engineering, Architecture, and Design: Stephen Delgado, Texas Engineering Solutions; Allison Jaffe, Allison Jaffe Interior Design; Fayez Kazi, Civilitude; Chelsea Kloss, ‪Chelsea+Remy Design; Trinity White, Trinity White Design.

Entrepreneurship and Startup: Bart Bohn, ATI Water, ATI IT & Wireless; Stephanie Hansen, Bravelets; Jessica Honegger, Noonday Collection; Chelle Neff, Urban Betty Salon; Dustin Wells, Headspring, Workify.

Financial and Insurance Services: Blake Absher, BB&T Rich Coffey, Tocquigny Designs Inc.; Van Goodrich, Accruent; Brian May, Pioneer Bank; Sara Seely, Equistar Wealth Management.

Government and Public Affairs: Andrew Cates, Texas Nurses Association; Holly Deshields, McGuireWoods Consulting; Vincent Harding, Texas Department of Transportation; Matt Mackowiak, Potomac Strategy Group; Rudolph Metayer, Health and Human Services Commission.

Legal: Simi Denson, Simi Denson Attorney at Law, PrimaVita Surrogacy; Chris Gober, The Gober Group; Austin Kaplan, Kaplan Law Firm; Milam Newby, Vinson & Elkins; R.C. Rondero de Mosier, MWR Legal, MassVenture, Greenhouse Fund.

Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations: Mary Alice Kaspar, Columbus Communications; Kristin Marcum, Elizabeth Christian Public Relations; Jenna Oltersdorf, Snackbox; Maria Orozova, The Mod Studio; Joy Schoffler, ‪Leverage PR.

Medicine, Healthcare, and Life Sciences: Lauren Chauret, PTV Healthcare Capital; Dr. Trina Dorrah, Baylor Scott & White Health; Sujit Iyer, Dell Children's Medical Center; Eric Weaver, Innovista Health Solutions; Richard Yuen, Lonestar Psychological Services.

Mentor of the Year: Beverly Chasse, Chasse Consulting; Stephanie Herrera, NFP; Mitchell Jacobson, UT Austin; Amy Lloyd, Austin ISD; André S. Morgan, Raise Your Hand Texas.

Real Estate: Laura Brady, Concierge Auctions; Lara Burns, Urbanspace; Michele Gary, ‪Endeavor Real Estate Group; Patrick Ley, Equitable Commercial Realty; Mark Strüb, Strüb Residential.

Sports, Wellness, and Fitness: Ashley Spence Clauer, Wanderlust Yoga Austin; Mary Joan Cunningham, Thrive with MS; Autumn Elias, Vita Wellness Massage; Tim Jackson, Round Rock Express; Rashanna Moss, Pure Barre.

Technology and Sciences: Mike Flannagan, Cisco; Amir Husain, SparkCognition; Michael Kasparian, Atlas Wearables; Suzanne King, Fathom; Jeffrey Palermo, Clear Measure.

Youth and Education: Ashley Alaniz-Moyer, ‪Hispanic Scholarship Consortium; John Armbrust, ‪Austin Achieve Public Schools; Dr. Eva Garza-Nyer, Texas College Advisor; Christie Johnson, Communities in Schools of Central Texas; Michelle Wallis, Austin ISD.

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Tickets for the Austin Under 40 Awards are on sale now.

Hops and Grain's Josh Hare is among this year's Austin Under 40 nominees. He represents the Culinary Arts and Hospitality category.

Photo by Bill Sallans

Hops and Grain's Josh Hare is among this year's Austin Under 40 nominees. He represents the Culinary Arts and Hospitality category.

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schools with high achievers

19 Austin elementary and middle schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

enrollbasistx.com

Congratulations are in order for the Bats.

Several Austin elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – Basis Austin – is the No. 1 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked more than 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
Basis Texas Charter School's Austin campus has a total enrollment of 273 students, 19 full-time teachers, and a student-teacher ratio of 14:1, according to U.S. News. A majority of students at this charter school – 89 percent – scored "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 92 percent showed at or above proficiency in reading.

"Basis Austin did better in math and better in reading in this [test score] metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Basis Austin also ranked No. 16 in the statewide rankings for the best elementary schools for 2025.

Eight other Austin-area middle schools earned spots in Texas' top 100, including:

No. 31 – Canyon Vista Middle School, Round Rock ISD
No. 40 – Chaparral Star Academy
No. 47 – Hill Country Middle School, Eanes ISD
No. 64 – Cedar Valley Middle School, Round Rock ISD
No. 81 – West Ridge Middle School, Eanes ISD
No. 85 – Pearson Ranch Middle School, Round Rock, Round Rock ISD
No. 91 – James Garland Walsh Middle School, Round Rock, Round Rock ISD
No. 100 – Florence Stiles Middle School, Leander, Leander ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while three Austin-area schools were among the top 25.

Round Rock's Cactus Ranch Elementary is the No. 18 best elementary school statewide, boasting 743 students, 47 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this public school scored 88 percent efficiency in math and 90 percent efficiency in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Cactus Ranch is significantly higher than the rest of Round Rock ISD.

"In Round Rock Independent School District, 64 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 52 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "Cactus Ranch Elementary did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

Following one spot behind Cactus Ranch in the statewide ranking is Austin's Canyon Creek Elementary in Round Rock ISD, coming in at No. 19. Canyon Creek has a student population of 369 with 27 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. The school's student-teacher ratio is 14:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 88 percent in reading.

Other Austin-area elementary schools that were ranked among the 100 best in Texas are:

No. 22 – Patsy Sommer Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 31 – River Ridge Elementary, Leander ISD
No. 42 – Elsa England Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 53 – Laurel Mountain Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 81 – Laura Welch Bush Elementary, Leander ISD
No. 88 – Mills Elementary, Austin ISD
No. 94 – Clayton Elementary, Austin ISD
No. 100 – Cedar Creek Elementary, Eanes ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

schools rankings us news & world report

Influential Austinites

Austin Under 40 reveals impressive list of nominees for 2016 awards

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schools with high achievers

19 Austin elementary and middle schools rank among Texas' best for 2025