Influential Austinites

Austin Under 40 reveals impressive nominees for 2017 awards

The prestigious Austin Under 40 Awards has released an impressive list of 2017 nominees. Chosen for contributions in their careers, as well as their community involvement, these 80 movers and shakers represent a wide range of Austin industries, from technology and sciences to arts and entertainment.

On April 1, the 19th annual Austin Under 40 Awards Gala will take place at JW Marriott, where one winner will be named in each of 15 categories. 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 on the event. All proceeds benefit YMBL's Austin Sunshine Camps, sending 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 2017:

Architecture and Design: Patrice Rios, Troo Designs KBI; Tala Matchett, Hoar Construction; Chelsea Kloss, Chelsea Kloss Interiors; Jessica Love, Allied ASID; Daniel Goodman Carl, BSA LifeStructures

Arts, Media, and Entertainment: SaulPaul, Musician with a Message and ReRoute Music Group; Jesse Parker Stowell, Parker|Phoenix Public Relations; Martha Lynn Kale, Mirror Mirror Salon; Danielle Benson, Wild Orchid Salon; Jamie Chandlee, Rank & Style

Civics, Government, and Public Affairs: Gerardo Castillo, Capital Metro; Rudolph K. Metayer, Chamberlain McHaney; Julie Smith, Leadership Austin; Vincent Harding, Travis County Democratic Party; Natasha Harper-Madison, East Austin Advocates and CivShop ATX

Culinary Arts, Events, and Hospitality: Mason H. Ayer, Kerbey Lane Cafe; C.K. Chin, the Chameleon Group; June Rodil, McGuire Moorman Hospitality; Mariam Parker, Austin Food & Wine Alliance; Anthony Sobtik, Lick Honest Ice Creams

Engineering, Energy, Mobility, and Systems Sciences: Kathleen Baireuther Mobility Transformation and Rocky Mountain Institute; Becky Diffen, McGuireWoods; Jennifer C. Duthie, University of Texas at Austin; Dirk Kestner, Walter P. Moore; Virginia E. Palacios, Environmental Defense Fund

Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation, and Start-up: Stephanie Hansen, Bravelets; Matt Stanley, Sundance Memory Care; John Arrow, Mutual Mobile; Tyler Drake, ACC Bioscience Incubator; Jag Bath, Favor

Financial and Insurance Services: Donald Park, Vista Equity Partners; Romy Fischer Parzick, Netspend; Rich Coffey, Coffey Advisory Group; Lindsey K. Leaverton, BB&T Wealth Private Advisor; Josh Galatza, Meridian Wealth Advisors

Journalism, Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations: Maria Orozova, The MOD Studio; Taylor King Ellison, CBS Austin; Josh Jones-Dilworth, Jones-Dilworth, Inc; Kimberly Storin, IBM; Jenna Oltersdorf, Snackbox

Legal: Milam F. Newby, Austin, Vinson & Elkins LLP; Sujata Ajmera, Strasburger & Price LLP; Kevin Terrazas, Cleveland Terrazas PLLC; Adam Nagorski, Emergo; Christine Henry Andresen, CHA Law Group

Medicine, Healthcare, and Life Sciences: Tenesha Wards, Infinity Wellness Center; Jennifer Dawson, Quality & Regulatory Affairs; Trina Dorrah; Lauren Chauret, PTV Healthcare Capital; David Shackelford, Seton Healthcare Family

Nonprofit Service: Matt Glazer, Austin Young Chamber of Commerce; Ami Kane, Girls Empowerment Network; Mary Van Haneghan, The Arc of the Capital Area; Laura Elmore Sovine, Austin Recovery; Amy E. Mills, Emancipet

Real Estate: Laura Brady, Concierge Auctions; Adam Nyer, Skybeck Construction; Mark Strub, überAGENT; Lydia Clay, Momark Development; Tim Mooney, Lead Commercial

Sports, Wellness, and Fitness: Marc Tucci, Austin Sports & Social Club; Rashanna Moss, Pure Barre Austin; Aaron Ross, BMX rider and Burro Cheese Kitchen; Autumn Elias, Vita Wellness Massage; Blake Holman, CrossFit City Limits

Technology: Jeffrey Palermo, Clear Measure, Inc.; Suzanne King, Global Water Works; Trevor Kale, Springbox; Nina Golder, Emerson; Tricia Katz, Mutual Mobile

Youth and Education: Matt Pope, E3 Alliance; Sean Duffy, EdTech Austin; Ashley Alaniz-Moyer, Hispanic Scholarship Consortium; Larkin Tackett, IDEA Public Schools; John Armbrust, Austin Achieve

Mentor of the Year: Alexis Adauto Ferguson, Rodan + Fields; Ann Jerome, American Heart Association; Kali Rourke, Seedling Foundation; Jesse Bush Butler, HBAA Charitable Foundation; John F. Mapes, Gensler

Anthony Sobtik (left), Lick Honest Ice Creams.

Lick Honest Ice Creams/Facebook

Anthony Sobtik (left), Lick Honest Ice Creams.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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Influential Austinites

Austin Under 40 reveals impressive nominees for 2017 awards

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