SHINING BRIGHT
Three Niners named 40 Under 40 honorees by Charlotte Business Journal
Excerpts from Charlotte Business Journal
On May 17, 2023, The Charlotte Business Journal honored 40 outstanding individuals at the 30th Annual 40 Under 40 Awards. UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business was the education sponsor of the signature program recognizing young business leaders for their career accomplishments and community involvement. Among the honorees was UNC Charlotte faculty member Brittany Anderson from the Cato College of Education and UNC Charlotte alumni Dalton Espaillat ’07 and Gerard Littlejohn ’07.
Take a look at these impressive Niners making incredible strides in their business and civic life. Congratulations!!
BRITTANY ANDERSON
Assistant Professor, Urban Education, UNC Charlotte
Greatest business accomplishment of the past year:
Receiving the National Science Foundation’s CAREER grant for $1,062,000 to serve the needs of high-ability Black girls in elementary school, their teachers and families in the Charlotte community. This grant is highly competitive, awarded to innovative STEM research and community engagement. Much of my life’s work has been situated throughout this grant, and I look forward to all I will learn from it in the next five years.
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Receiving the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education Early Career Researcher award. This accomplishment recognizes my civic engagement and activism commitments and work with the youth, graduate students, teachers and community partners.
Current civic/volunteer activities:
Advisory board for Go BIG STEM Academy; equity chair for the American Educational Research Association; Druid Hills Academy STEM volunteer; gifted and talented volunteer for Texas Association for Gifted Children
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
Charlotte is a metropolitan city with a diverse, close-knit community feel. Charlotte also has a thriving food and art scene, and I am able to choose from a menu of options with my friends. Most importantly, I feel that I can partner with multiple organizations to serve the needs of young people throughout the region.
The most important issue facing the region:
Affordable housing
DALTON ESPAILLAT ’07
Founder and CEO, Raydal Hospitality
- Sabor Latin Street Grill
- La Caseta
- Three Amigos
Greatest business accomplishments of the past year:
Closed on a business acquisition of Carolina Cooks Restaurant Equipment, opened Sabor in the Triangle and Triad areas and converted a manager to a Sabor franchisee by helping them obtain SBA financing
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Created training courses to teach business ownership opportunities
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
We are the most beautiful melting pot of culture, and education. We are a fairly new city and with a lot of opportunities to continue to develop.
The most important issues facing the region:
Affordable housing, child care and accessible transportation. These issues create a big burden for our working families when they have to live far from the place they work in order to afford it, then they can’t find public transportation since they are far away and cannot find a child-care center that has availability.
GERARD LITTLE JOHN ’07
GMR Marketing Senior Director of Partnerships and Social Impact Founder, Creators Collab
Greatest business accomplishment of the past year:
Consulting GMR clients like Google and Cigna through purposeful brand partnerships that address upward mobility and health equity; and creating opportunities for over a dozen Black creatives to thrive in the video production industry through Creators Collab
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Having over 400 students come through Sports Biz Careers programming, leading us to win the 2022 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Award for institutions
Current civic/volunteer activities:
Sports Biz Careers, board chair
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
I was born in Charlotte and raised nearby in Lexington. Charlotte is home. It’s the perfect mix of a large city and small atmosphere that I want to raise my family in.
The most important issue facing the region:
The economic mobility problem only worsened post-pandemic. With limited job opportunities, income inequality and a lack of access to affordable education and health care, the gap between those who have and those who don’t is extreme. If you want to know how to fix it, go to the people and immerse yourself in their worlds and neighborhoods.
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SHINING BRIGHT
Three Niners named 40 Under 40 honorees by Charlotte Business Journal
Excerpts from Charlotte Business Journal
On May 17, 2023, The Charlotte Business Journal honored 40 outstanding individuals at the 30th Annual 40 Under 40 Awards. UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business was the education sponsor of the signature program recognizing young business leaders for their career accomplishments and community involvement. Among the honorees was UNC Charlotte faculty member Brittany Anderson from the Cato College of Education and UNC Charlotte alumni Dalton Espaillat ’07 and Gerard Littlejohn ’07.
Take a look at these impressive Niners making incredible strides in their business and civic life. Congratulations!!
BRITTANY ANDERSON
Assistant Professor, Urban Education, UNC Charlotte
Greatest business accomplishment of the past year:
Receiving the National Science Foundation’s CAREER grant for $1,062,000 to serve the needs of high-ability Black girls in elementary school, their teachers and families in the Charlotte community. This grant is highly competitive, awarded to innovative STEM research and community engagement. Much of my life’s work has been situated throughout this grant, and I look forward to all I will learn from it in the next five years.
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Receiving the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education Early Career Researcher award. This accomplishment recognizes my civic engagement and activism commitments and work with the youth, graduate students, teachers and community partners.
Current civic/volunteer activities:
Advisory board for Go BIG STEM Academy; equity chair for the American Educational Research Association; Druid Hills Academy STEM volunteer; gifted and talented volunteer for Texas Association for Gifted Children
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
Charlotte is a metropolitan city with a diverse, close-knit community feel. Charlotte also has a thriving food and art scene, and I am able to choose from a menu of options with my friends. Most importantly, I feel that I can partner with multiple organizations to serve the needs of young people throughout the region.
The most important issue facing the region:
Affordable housing
DALTON ESPAILLAT ’07
Founder and CEO, Raydal Hospitality
- Sabor Latin Street Grill
- La Caseta
- Three Amigos
Greatest business accomplishments of the past year:
Closed on a business acquisition of Carolina Cooks Restaurant Equipment, opened Sabor in the Triangle and Triad areas and converted a manager to a Sabor franchisee by helping them obtain SBA financing
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Created training courses to teach business ownership opportunities
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
We are the most beautiful melting pot of culture, and education. We are a fairly new city and with a lot of opportunities to continue to develop.
The most important issues facing the region:
Affordable housing, child care and accessible transportation. These issues create a big burden for our working families when they have to live far from the place they work in order to afford it, then they can’t find public transportation since they are far away and cannot find a child-care center that has availability.
GERARD LITTLE JOHN ’07
GMR Marketing Senior Director of Partnerships and Social Impact Founder, Creators Collab
Greatest business accomplishment of the past year:
Consulting GMR clients like Google and Cigna through purposeful brand partnerships that address upward mobility and health equity; and creating opportunities for over a dozen Black creatives to thrive in the video production industry through Creators Collab
Greatest civic accomplishment of the past year:
Having over 400 students come through Sports Biz Careers programming, leading us to win the 2022 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Award for institutions
Current civic/volunteer activities:
Sports Biz Careers, board chair
What you like best about living in the Charlotte region:
I was born in Charlotte and raised nearby in Lexington. Charlotte is home. It’s the perfect mix of a large city and small atmosphere that I want to raise my family in.
The most important issue facing the region:
The economic mobility problem only worsened post-pandemic. With limited job opportunities, income inequality and a lack of access to affordable education and health care, the gap between those who have and those who don’t is extreme. If you want to know how to fix it, go to the people and immerse yourself in their worlds and neighborhoods.
