BALDWINSVILLE — Each year, the Central New York Business Journal and BizEventz publishes a list of the region’s brightest young professionals making a difference in the local business world. This year, three Baldwinsville residents — Kavitha Janardhan, Lauren Russett and Tori Shires — have been named to the “40 under Forty” list.
CNYBJ and BizEventz will honor “40 under Forty” Award recipients in a virtual celebration Nov. 4. To learn more and see the whole list, visit cnybj.com/2021-40-under-forty-awards.
Read on to meet Baldwinsville’s finest under 40:
Lauren Russett
Public relations and marketing professional Lauren Russett, who recently turned 22, is the executive director of the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m the youngest on the list, which is kind of cool,” said Russett, who was nominated by local entrepreneur Shelley Hoffman.
Since returning to her hometown during the pandemic last year, Russett has thrown herself into the B’ville business world. In addition to her post at the chamber, she is the owner of RUSSETT PR and office manager for the Baldwinsville Volunteer Center. She was elected to the Baldwinsville Public Library Board of Trustees earlier this year.
“It’s recognition of the work I’ve done this last year and a half — the little subtle changes of making things more digital,” Russett said. “I love the people I’ve been able to meet and interact with. … The work and long hours I’ve put in are being recognized.”
Russett, a 2017 Baker High School graduate, is working on her master’s degree through DePaul University in Chicago. She said she couldn’t wait to leave Baldwinsville in high school, but when she returned in 2020, she realized what she’d been missing.
“I didn’t really appreciate it until I left and came back,” she said.
Now, Russett is hoping to foster that appreciation for community in a new generation of Bees. She said she wants to engage young people not necessarily to keep them from leaving Baldwinsville and CNY, but by making the region a place they’d like to return to someday.
“I’m always looking at incorporating high school and college students to retain those people and keep people invested,” she said.
Another goal for Russett is to make small businesses more accessible to consumers by using social media.
“[I want to] make sure that business owners understand the importance of allowing yourself to move out of your comfort zone in order to market,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be as complicated as people make it. It doesn’t have to be posting 20 times a day. It doesn’t have to be posting with your face in it.”
Russett said she hopes her “40 under Forty” award will raise B’ville’s profile in the local business world. She remarked on the accomplishment of three Baldwinsville residents making the list.
“I think it shows that B’ville has potential that not a lot of people realize or respect,” she said.
Kavitha Janardhan
While Russett grew up in Baldwinsville, employment attorney Kavitha Janardhan is a relative newcomer to the area. Janardhan and her husband, Richard Weyhing, moved to CNY in 2012.
She joined Bousquet Holstein PLLC in 2016. Her colleague, Georgia Crinnin, recommended that the firm nominate Janardhan for the “40 under Forty” Award.
Janardhan grew up in a New Jersey bedroom community where many people commuted to New York City for work.
“People didn’t seem to have as many connections to the town itself. Our friends here, a lot of them are from Central New York,” said Janardhan, who lives in Radisson.
Weyhing is a history professor at SUNY Oswego, so Baldwinsville was equidistant between Syracuse and Oswego. The couple now has two children, Oscar and Sophia, and a chocolate Lab named Bill.
A graduate of the University of Michigan and Boston College Law School, Janardhan practiced employment law for Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago and New York City before moving to the Syracuse area. Many of her clients were businesses dealing with employment counseling and compliance matters. At Bousquet Holstein, she began to represent those on the other side of the conference table.
“I’ve slowly built a practice in representing individuals who have been wrongfully terminated discriminated against and harassed in the workplace,” she said. “It’s been a real privilege to get to know my clients and advocate on their behalf.”
Janardhan’s clients now include both employers and employees. She said she believes Bousquet Holstein’s work has made CNY a better place to work.
“I’m proud to be a part of my firm because our mission is to do the right thing. We’re a very community-oriented group of attorneys. We’re looking to make positive change,” she said.
To that end, Janardhan offers pro bono services through the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County and is a member of the Young Professionals Board for the CNY Diaper Bank.
Janardhan said she felt both “extremely honored” and “humbled” to receive a “40 under Forty” award. She commended her fellow Baldwinsville residents who made the list as well.
“I think the fact that we have three B’ville people on the list just speaks to how great a community we are and how supportive we are of young families,” Janardhan said. “It seems like on any given weekend there’s so many things to do.”
Tori Shires
When Tori Shires places her “40 under Forty” award on her mantelpiece this fall, she and her husband will have a matching set.
“My husband actually nominated me,” said Shires, who recently left her position as chief development officer for the Rescue Mission Alliance. She is now national off premise account manager for Bell’s Brewery, the seventh-largest craft brewery in the United States.
Nick Shires, CPA and partner at Dannible & McKee LLP, made the “40 under Forty” list in 2020.
Being named to the “40 under Forty” list is the capstone to Tori Shires’ three-plus years with the Rescue Mission.
“We had, at the Rescue Mission, during 2020 one of the toughest years,” said Shires.
The Rescue Mission was forced to lay off nearly 300 employees and close its Thrifty Shopper stores because of the pandemic, but shelter doors stayed open for Central New Yorkers with nowhere to go.
“When everyone was told to stay home at the beginning of the pandemic, where do you go when you don’t have a place to call home?” Shires said.
The organization was able to hire back most of the laid-off workers thanks to a $2 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program. Shires said she is proud the Rescue Mission was able to rally the community to continue to raise funds for its services.
“The Rescue Mission is one of the oldest not-for-profits in CNY. They work with the most vulnerable of our community and provide a really valuable service,” she said.
While Bell’s Brewery is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Shires will remain in Baldwinsville, where she and her family moved about five years ago. Tori and Nick have two sons, Owen and Parker.
“What I found here is probably one of the most tight-knit communities in CNY. It wasn’t until I moved to B’ville that I found a true sense of community,” Shires said. “B’ville is a great place to live. People want to give back to their community, and we all have a sense of civic pride.”
Shires volunteers with Baldwinsville Little League, is the McNamara Elementary PTA treasurer and serves on the executive board of Baldwinsville Rotary. She hopes to continue some of her Rescue Mission work on a volunteer basis as well.
