This year, four notable Temple alumni and one staff member were named to the Philadelphia Business Journal's annual '40 Under 40' list for 2015. Each year, the publication selects forty young people who have already reached tremendous milestones in their careers. Read about these five Owls who are making their mark on Philadelphia in this slideshow with excerpts from the PBJ story.
- Erica Brooke Fajge
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Shimma Abdulla, DEN '09, owner of Rittenhouse Dentists in Center City, purchased the practice, increased its staff and boosted revenues by 400 percent. Abdulla personalizes each patient’s treatment; uses high quality, modern equipment; and treats patients to hand and foot massages, video goggles, fresh fruit water and hand paraffin treatments. Abdulla also gives back through Give Kids a Smile Day, a program that provides dental services to underserved children. -
As a partner with Blank Rome LLP, Leigh Ann Buziak, LAW '04, mentors young attorneys and summer associates. She is involved with various pro bono efforts, benefiting the Homeless Advocacy Project, the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program and the SeniorLAW Center, and has been recognized for her pro bono work on a case involving attempts to expunge the criminal record of the first Pennsylvania citizen released from prison on the basis of after-acquired DNA evidence. -
As CEO of Alura Business Solutions, Jason Derstine, CST '06, has led the company’s continuous growth—$2.5 million in revenue—while operating debt free. He has donated over $30,000 to various organizations over the past four years, and is also actively involved in Philadelphia’s LGBT community, having served on various Independence Business Alliance committees for scholarship awards specifically related to the LGBT community. -
In just one year, accomplished trial attorney Charles Gibbs, SMC '06, has helped The Green Firm expand its areas of practice to include more criminal litigation and election law. Gibbs is also involved in the local community: He serves as board chair of the Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter High School and is a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Charter Schools’ advisory board. -
As director of marketing at the Fox School of Business and Management, Thomas Kegelman has rebranded graduate programs and increased website traffic by 25 percent and MBA applications by 10 percent. He also implemented new online application and SalesForce systems and was instrumental in moving the Fox School's top-ranked EMBA program from Malvern to the more convenient Center City location through a contract he negotiated with The Hub, a Center City co-working space company.