From the Editor: July 2025

lazyllama

It feels like maybe America doesn't deserve a birthday party this year.

We've gone back on our word.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." We fought a war, the results of which we're supposed to celebrate the day after this issue is published, to separate from an oppressive monarchy and to derive our country's "just powers from the consent of the governed."

But the governed do not consent. The administration's behavior (and the sanctioning of that behavior by the Supreme Court) is cruel, inhumane, and deeply anti-American. We are effectively suffocating the tired, poor, huddled masses.

Not much surrounding what's happening right now feels like it calls for a celebration.

Luckily the Erie Reader has some good news that actually does feel like a call for celebration. Within these pages are the results of hours of sifting through hundreds of nominations, back-and-forth emails, multiple photoshoots, writing, editing, honing, and ultimately publishing a list now in its 13th year: our 2025 40 Under 40 class and the breath of fresh air that comes with it.

The 40 listed herein can be seen as a microcosm of the best parts of America – folks who embrace the qualities historically associated with Americans. Hard work, perseverance and grit, and pursuing their happiness by lifting up and supporting all of the people in our community.

This list represents a patchwork of real Americans and an example of that which we should all feel inspired by. We have creative entrepreneurs, teachers bolstering the next generation, lawyers fighting for those who have a quieter voice, artists speaking truths through song or paint or words, and those who have dedicated their lives in service to veterans, refugees, and the environment. Every young person featured within these pages should give you a little bit of hope for our community's, and by proxy, America's future.

Our Declaration of Independence does not specify that it guarantees happiness, just the pursuit of it, and there will inevitably be those who will be disappointed that their nomination did not result in a spot on our list this year. I would love to paraphrase something Ash Jones, one of our 2025 honorees, shared – in years past, he would try to get nominations to be featured but this year, instead of hoping for it, he got to work. There is nothing more American than that attitude and we applaud it. And we saw it. And we honored it. You can read more about him and his hard work in the community within.

In much the same way America's patchwork is made up of people coming to our country from all around the world, this year's 40 Under 40 list is made up of a remarkable number of people who chose Erie. People who were born and raised elsewhere – some from nearby like Pittsburgh or Buffalo, others from further afield like Canada or the U.S. Virgin Islands – who became so smitten with our city they decided to lay down roots. These people want to be here because they see the path we're on and they're excited to be a part of our movement forward.

So this Independence Day, rather than looking at our government as a representation of America, look to our people. We found 40 good ones here in our little community fairly easily and there are millions more where they came from.