Meet the 125 Most Influential People in Orange County for 2025 – Orange County Register

In the past year, Orange County’s influence was felt in everything from politics and philanthropy to immigration and innovation.

Sure, there was a World Series hero and Mister Fantastic, but there also were people much further out of the spotlight who delivered to help the hungry, the homeless and the sick.

There were standout teachers, remarkable students and some young athletes who are schooling the competition.

Orange County has nearly 3.2 million people and too many amazing stories to fit here, but we did our best to capture the year in the nation’s sixth-largest county … with your help, of course.

Below you’ll find our selections for the 125 Most Influential People in Orange County for 2025.

As always, someone’s omission doesn’t mean we think they lack influence, but these 125 people help tell the story of the year we’ve experienced.

Please note that we will highlight five of the following people with additional stories beginning Sunday, Dec. 21 both at ocregister.com and in print.

Aomawa Shields, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, led a study comparing the climates of two exoplanets. The work led researchers to believe white dwarf stars can generate enough heat to serve as the “sun” for an exoplanet. That, in turn, presents new possibilities in the search for extraterrestrial life. (Photo by Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)

Alisa Abecassis was recognized as this year’s Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser at the annual National Philanthropy Day celebration in November for her support of foster youth and creative fundraising on behalf of Court Appointed Special Advocates. She has raised thousands of dollars and recruited new CASA volunteers, including by turning her New Year’s Eve birthday parties into benefit events, organizers said. (Photo by John Watkins via CASA)

Jeannette Aguilera, a third-grade teacher at Centralia Elementary in Anaheim, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. She’s a first-generation college graduate born to immigrant parents. “Education is not just my profession; it is my passion,” she said. “I am committed to the success of all students.”(Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange County CEO Michelle Aguirre oversees a $10 billion budget and more than 18,000 employees who provide services from public health and law enforcement, to regional parks and public works. As interim CEO, she helped the county navigate through a financial crisis in the wake of the Airport fire. (Courtesy of County of Orange)

Dan Almquist, a real estate developer, last year opened the $70 million River Street Marketplace in an outdoor shopping center in San Juan Capistrano. In April, he lured T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada’s largest Asian grocery store chain, to Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods while establishing its first U.S. regional headquarters in Brea. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

For 33 years, Lisa Alvarez has taught multiple generations of students at Irvine Valley College. In the midst of her final school year before retirement, Alvarez published her first short story collection, “Some Final Beauty and Other Stories.” (Photo credit Brett Hall Jones / Courtesy of University of Nevada Press)

Donald Bren, the owner of the real estate giant Irvine Co., is using his vast resources to embark on an apartment-building spree that includes 3,000 units in Orange County with plans for 9,000 more across the state. These construction plans focus on converting property or land previously dedicated to retail space or offices. (Courtesy of Irvine Co.)

When Jesse Amlin realized the end was near for his dog, Buddy, he announced he was throwing an end-of-life meet-and-greet party for Buddy at Central Park in Huntington Beach. The response was overwhelming with more than 100 people attending. “He loved it,” Amlin said. “People were doting over him and had blankets out and were laying down with him, and he was going from person to person.”(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Narciso Barranco, a 48-year-old Tustin landscaper and father of three U.S. Marines, brought national attention to instances of violence by federal immigration enforcement after a viral video showed a Border Patrol agent punching him in the head before detaining him. His experience underscored the complex realities faced by mixed-status families and resonated with veterans and active-duty service members, some of whom who saw in his story a profound sense of betrayal from a country they served. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Matt Biolos is a surfboard maker from San Clemente who has been making waves in recent years, putting boards under the feet of several of the world’s top athletes. Earlier this year, he moved his operation into mentor Brad Basham’s factory to honor the late surfboard maker. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

When the shutdown in congress and political haggling prompted the federal government to suspend the food program known as SNAP, the 310,000 people in Orange County who use federal dollars to stay fed faced a potential crisis. That’s when the three founders of the Orange County Hunger Alliance — Mike Learakos (CEO, Abound Food Care), Mark Lowry (director, Orange County Food Bank) and Claudia Bonilla Keller (CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank) — stepped up. They shifted the workflow at the county’s biggest free food wholesalers to make sure nutrition got out earlier than usual, meeting what became a spike in demand. The effects of the shutdown could linger into next year, but people didn’t go hungry on their watch.

Erin Bro, center, who has been part of San Clemente’s Advancement Via Individual Determination program for 15 years, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. She also serves as a districtwide director for the AVID program. “I’m really proud of her,” one of her students, Josue Mendez, said when she was honored in May. “She gave me a chance for my future, so I can get into college.” (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Leo Carlsson turns 21 on Dec. 26 but already is a force as the Ducks’ center. The native of Karlstad, Sweden, was the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft and quickly established himself as an offensive threat in his first two seasons. In his third, though, he has taken his game to a higher level. The combination of Carlsson and wingers Beckett Sennecke, who’s only 19, and Cutter Gauthier (21) gives the Ducks a lot of optimism for the future, though their present has been quite impressive. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Denise and Kevin Cassin partnered with the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to offer experiences for under-resourced youth and young adults at no cost to them. Led by professional teaching artists, participants explore the performing arts – often for the first time at no cost. (Courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

Rose Chhabria, left, a 17-year-old Northwood High senior, is a Girl Scout, student leader and community advocate. The school’s ASB executive board secretary, she developed a digital entrepreneurship program for underserved youth and promotes mental health awareness through Hope Squad. She has also organized service initiatives with the H4H and Aalambana foundations, distributing thousands of meals and essential items. She is a two-time President’s Volunteer Service Award recipient. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Adam Cleary is a developer who is bringing the first wave pool to Orange County, with a proposal passed to create a man-made wave in Newport Beach. The plan that got the backing of the local surfing community. (Courtesy of Adam Cleary)

Christopher Cleary, a psychiatric nurse, is creating teaching programs at UC Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing to help future health providers learn how to use psychedelics as tools to help battle mental health disorders. (Courtesy of UC Irvine)

Cesar Cortez, the chef-owner of El Brewjo (a burger pop-up), has made a name for himself with his regular smashburger spectaculars. But this year, the Orange-based chef created the first-ever Old Towne Burger Fest, a friendly smashburger competition highlighting OC’s local pop-up scene, rather than celebrity-driven or chain-born spots. The result? More than a thousand people showed up to the inaugural event, with plans in the works for 2026.
(Photo courtesy of Cesar Cortez)

Bryan Crain, chief executive officer of the Orange County Rescue Mission, is building a jobs-training program he launched last year that could help fill jobs in the construction industry, which is short on labor and rattled by the Trump administration’s deportation of undocumented workers. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Tommy Zahalka, Levi Mauga and Mason Davis, from left, teen surfers from San Clemente, were recognized for their life-saving efforts in a rescue off Laguna Beach in July when they helped rescue a woman visiting from Ohio when she was swept off Treasure Island Beach in a rip current. “Their early intervention made a significant positive difference in the outcome of this emergency,” Laguna Beach Marine Safety Chief Kai Bond said. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Born and raised in Santa Ana, Sandra de Anda continues to show up for the community and city she loves, both as a volunteer and as the public policy director for the OC Rapid Response Network. From speaking out at city council meetings on immigration issues impacting local residents to securing funding for legal support, accompanying clients in court and coordinating a network of resources for impacted families, she has been a consistent and trusted advocate for those who need it most. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

After two decades at Metro in Las Vegas, Chris Decker made a West Coast splash in Dana Point. His popular Truly Pizza, co-founded in part with Michael Vakneen, has helped transform the coastal enclave into a destination spot. Known for its airy, blistered crusts, Truly is expanding soon to Laguna Beach and Venice. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In October, Shivaji Deshmukh was unanimously elected to serve as the next general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a water wholesaler that supplies much of the drinking water used in south Orange County. Though Deshmukh most recently worked at the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, he previously was program manager at Orange County Water District, where he helped to create the state’s largest wastewater recycling system. (Photo courtesy of the IEUA)

Property rights attorney Terry R. Dowdall has represented mobile home park owners for more than 45 years and has been responsible for numerous benchmark legal decisions. He notified the Santa Ana City Council that their rent control ordinance was unconstitutional – notice they ignored until they were successfully sued for exactly that. This year, he established the Dowdall Foundation for Property Rights. (Courtesy of Jan Breslauer)

Paul Dunlap, a Fullerton developer, has long held a passion for historic theaters and twice before had tried to revive abandoned movie houses. The third time was a charm in Seal Beach with the historic Bay Theatre, a staple in the community since the ’40s, which had sat empty for years. He bought the building in 2016 and spent nearly a decade fixing it up and going through permitting before finally opening early 2025. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Troy Edgar, a former Los Alamitos mayor, was tapped to serve as the ninth deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This role means Edgar serves as the department’s chief operating officer, managing its day-to-day operations and its budget. (Courtesy of Troy Edgar)

Andrew Fahmy, executive director for United for Financial Security at the Orange County United Way in Irvine on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mari Fassett, who suffered a health scare in 2017, reimagined a snack line she launched several years ago and came up with Marimix, made up of healthier ingredients. Her Orange factory is now selling to Costco, Sprouts and more than 700 retail and grocery stores in California and Texas. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

As USA Surfing CEO, Becky Fleischauer fought tirelessly against plans by US Ski and Snowboard to take over managing and training Olympic surfers in the LA28 Summer Games. She has led the San Clemente organization that guides rising star surfers to the pro level in recent years. (Photo by Donald Miralle for CAF)

Andrew Flores runs a family-operated metal forging company that manufactures aluminum parts for Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft and some military plane projects. Independent Forge Co. Inc. is one of Orange County’s last remaining makers of metal products and machine parts with molds filled with aluminum and placed into superheated pressing machines. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mike and Carrie Foster are dedicated to keeping the legacy of Killer Dana, an extinct surf break, alive. They own a surf shop bearing the big-wave surf spot’s name, with historic images as decor to tell its story. Earlier this year, they teamed with a filmmaker to find old-timers who could share memories about the famed wave for a documentary called “Point Taken: The Legend of Killer Dana,” with much of the filming taking place at the shop — also one of the last places to get a scoop of Thrifty ice cream. (Photo by Kurt Snibbe, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Freddie Freeman, an El Modena High graduate, makes his back-to-back appearance on the list after the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series title and his second huge World Series home run. In 2024, the series MVP won Game 1 with a walk-off grand slam. This time, he ended the 18-inning Game 3 with a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sarah Rafael Garcia, the owner and founder of Santa Ana’s sole independent bookstore, LibroMobile, has worked tirelessly to keep the store open. “We’re more than a bookstore. We’re creating a place for our community where they can explore literature and the arts without having to pay for it,” she said. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Laguna Beach philanthropist Alec Glasser’s donation to UC Irvine endowed the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change, a new institution that will study how music can improve well-being and community. In addition, Glasser endowed a scholarship fund for 10 UCI students each year who aim to infuse music in their professional lives. (Photo by Karen Tapia, UC Irvine).

Smelling smoke, Otoniel Gomez’s wife woke him up one late December night. He opened and closed his bedroom door, feeling the heat. He escaped through a window and dropped from a patio cover 9 feet to the ground. He got out ladders and climbed up them several times to get his wife and pounded on windows to wake up others, taking them all down the ladders. In all, five escaped. (Courtesy of GoFundMe.com)

Andrew Hamilton, Orange County’s auditor-controller, launched of a first-of-its-kind public service program: the Orange County Unclaimed Property Initiative. The initiative helps residents recover money the state of California is holding on their behalf. Approximately $700 million belongs to people and businesses in OC alone. The Auditor-Controller’s Office created a localized, user-friendly, interactive solution that no other county in California has developed: a dedicated website and map specifically displaying unclaimed property tied to OC residents. (Courtesy of the County of Orange)

John Harris, who is CEO of Harbinger Motors Inc., is on a roll with the Garden Grove-based EV chassis maker for medium-duty vans. He has raised more than $358 million since Harbinger’s inception in 2021, and is producing chassis for FedEx, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Mail Management Services Inc., and THOR Industries. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Tracy Havens, a second-grade teacher who has been at Hicks Canyon Elementary in Irvine for 20 years, is one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. “Being in my class means being part of a family,” Havens said when she received her honor. “We collaborate to develop a classroom culture that is nurturing, fun-loving and safe.” Havens is an advocate for differentiated instruction and cross-curricular learning, integrating cognitively guided instruction, a research-based approach that focuses on how students think through math problems. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Camille Hernandez, the poet laureate for the city of Anaheim for 2024-26, has been an advocate for the literary arts, and has continued the Anaheim Poetry Review, begun by her predecessor. Anaheim’s poet laureate holds free workshops at Anaheim public libraries, leads poetry readings at city events and heads up community gatherings that promote poetry, literature and the arts. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

Brian Hervey, UC Irvine’s vice chancellor for university advancement, was tasked with heading UCI’s Brilliant Future fundraising campaign which started with private donations in 2016, then went public in 2019. Hervey’s group navigated through COVID and concluded their decade-long campaign on Oct. 4, raising more than $2.4 billion. It’s the largest philanthropic effort in Orange County history. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Florice Hoffman was elected as new chair of the Orange County Democratic Party. Hoffman said she plans to build on the foundation laid by Ada Briceño with an eye on the 2026 elections. She’s setting her sights on ramping up voter registration efforts, intensifying fundraising and growing the number of local Democratic clubs to strengthen the party’s presence across the county. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Luis Jauregui, an associate professor and director of UC Irvine’s Quantum Materials and Devices Lab, worked with post-doctoral student Jinyu Liu to discover a new state of matter — excitons. Their work someday could help power computers suitable for deep-space travel. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Bowers Museum chief curator Tianlong Jiao oversaw the visit by five of China’s historic Terracotta Warriors, traveling to museums in the country multiple times to choose pieces for an accompanying exhibit that explored archaeological discoveries of the prequel to the Chinese Empire. This was the first time in nearly a decade some of the life-sized warrior statues were on loan in the United States and they drew crowds all summer to the Santa Ana museum. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Waymakers, a nonprofit that has provided crisis intervention and support to children since 1972, announced in August that it would relocate its longtime Laguna Beach Youth Shelter to Tustin due to statewide funding reforms that favor adult programs. As CEO, Ronnetta Johnson stressed, “Our mission has always been about creating safe places for youth to find stability and hope, and that will remain the same.” (Courtesy of Waymakers)

Dr. Edward Kim, physician-in-chief of City of Hope Orange County, played an essential role in building the staff for the county’s first cancer hospital. He said that hiring people came down to something essential: He’d need to feel comfortable sending his mother to them for treatment. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The only Republican to represent a portion of Orange County in Congress, Rep. Young Kim has, of course, voted in line with her party over the past year. But she’s also challenged the Trump administration and her GOP colleagues over certain tax issues, including the state and local tax deduction cap. Kim heralded the inclusion of a $30,000 increase on the SALT cap in the massive budget package signed by the president over the summer. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, The Orange County Register/SCNG)

UC Irvine professor Charis Kubrin was honored with the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. Her decades of research consistently challenged one of society’s most persistent myths: that immigrants bring crime to their new countries. Her findings show the opposite is true. (Courtesy of UC Irvine)

Corre Larkin, the popular home-cook content creator known to legion of followers as “Coco,” has grown from a niche content creator to a full-time media star. Her cooking videos, shot by herself in her Newport Beach home, have gained her quite the following in only over year — 1.3 million Instagram followers; 557,000 on TikTok — and counting. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Megan Lee, a transitional kindergarten teacher at Loara Elementary in Anaheim, is one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. “Building community is my passion because of its profound impact on empowering others,” Lee said when she was honored in May. “I am dedicated to living this mission in both my professional and personal life.” (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Chad Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health, accepted the keys to the UC health system’s sixth hospital, adding to its medical center in Orange. UCI Health‘s newest hospital is slated to start admitting patients on Dec. 10, opening a seven-story, 144-bed facility that UCI calls the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital. (Photo by Steve Zylius, UC Irvine (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Michael Matsuda, the outgoing superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District, spearheaded programs that widened the “aperture of possibility” for students experiencing poverty and homelessness. During his 11-year tenure, Matsuda led the district to develop a cybersecurity curriculum that’s helped students land high-paying jobs out of high school. Another initiative, AIME, has offered thousands of students mentorship opportunities and paid internships with more than 120 businesses and nonprofits. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Angels general manager Perry Minasian made the call to change managers after Ron Washington missed much of the season with health issues. Now he and new manager/former Angel Kurt Suzuki (a Cal State Fullerton star) each have one season to turn things around after another season without a playoff appearance. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)

Janet Nakakihara of La Palma was in fourth grade and living on an island close to Hiroshima, Japan, when she witnessed “pikadon,” the sound and flash of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. This year, the 80th anniversary of the blasts over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brought new attention to the plight of atomic survivors, including the soldiers and other military who served in the region. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In a season that ultimately was a disappointment for the Angels, Zach Neto gave them their best reason for optimism. The 24-year-old shortstop continued his development and hit 26 home runs in a season limited to 128 games because of injuries. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

As mayor, Chi Charlie Nguyen represented the city of Westminster and its Little Saigon as it commemorated the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, but also celebrated the success of the Vietnamese-American enclave that was born as refugees made their way to Orange County. Nguyen was among those refugees, crowding as a teen on a dinghy heading for international waters. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)

Arriving in the United States from Vietnam at the age of 11, shortly before the fall of Saigon, Jan Nguyen later began her entrepreneurial path in real estate and finance. She then pivoted to restaurants, first opening a popular Vietnamese spot. Seeing a market opportunity, Nguyen launched her Cajun-inspired eatery, the Kickin’ Crab, in 2010, which has since grown to 23 locations. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Starting her career at 18 as a server, Leslie Nguyen, an Aliso Viejo High grad, has since gone on to open eateries of note, including co-founding Bosscat Kitchen & Libations (with locations in Orange and Irvine, and two in Texas) and Miss Mini Donuts. Under her umbrella company, Daily Dose Hospitality, which she launched with John Reed, the restaurateur has also opened Ten Sushi and Byblos Cafe. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

As a second-generation business owner of the Advanced Beauty College in Little Saigon, Tam T. Nguyen helped get Cal State Fullerton demographic experts to complete one of the first economic and demographic studies of the Vietnamese American enclave in Orange County, information that will help when approaching government agencies, nonprofits or corporations to invest in Little Saigon. He also helped lead community efforts to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which spurred the enclave’s creation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Tuan Andrew Nguyen is a multi-disciplinary artist whose films and sculptural works interrogate the lasting effects of violence, displacement and colonialism. This year he was one of six artists and 22 total recipients to be named a MacArthur Fellow. Nguyen is also a UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts alum and the third Anteater to nab the prestigious award. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Viet Nguyen, chef-founder of Kei Concepts, moved from Vietnam to the U.S. at 16, originally intending to study IT and finance. Luckily for palates, he made a detour in the culinary world, opening Sup Noodle Bar in 2014 in Buena Park. This marked the creation of Kei Concepts, which now has eight restaurants under its name, including the newly opened Qua in Fountain Valley. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Will O’Neill, the former Newport Beach mayor, solidly won election to lead the Orange County Republican Party this year — and he takes the helm with a goal of winning trust with voters across the county. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Former Rams and University of Michigan football player Mel Owens led the second season of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” this year. Owens is a partner at NBO Law in Newport Beach. (Disney/Maarten de Boer)

Bob Page, the Orange County registrar of voters, successfully pulled together a special election while the office is already preparing for the 2026 midterms. He has also made himself available to city councils who have questions about how the county’s elections operations work. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cassie Parham was named Irvine Unified School District’s first new superintendent in nearly 14 years. A longtime assistant superintendent, Parham has served as interim superintendent since February, after the retirement of Terry Walker, who had been in that role since 2011. (Courtesy of Irvine Unified School District)

Matt Parlow was named Chapman University’s 14th president this year. A Los Angeles native, Yale-educated lawyer and lifelong Dodgers fan, Parlow now leads a campus of more than 10,000 students, 2,000 faculty and staff with an endowment topping $800 million. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Pedro Pascal, an Orange County School of the Arts graduate, was everywhere in 2025, continuing his star turn in HBO’s “The Last of Us” while also taking on some huge movie roles: “Materialists,” “Eddington” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” He’s also an outspoken advocate for social causes, including LGBTQ+ rights. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Santa Ana Unified tapped longtime educator and district insider Lorraine Perez to serve as its next superintendent. Perez said she plans to build on the work she has been doing as deputy superintendent by boosting academic achievement, expanding career and college prep programs and building stronger partnerships with local businesses, colleges and community groups. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

When Desiree Probolsky’s son Asher was diagnosed with severe, nonverbal autism, this mother of three sprung into activism. A CHOC Glass Slipper Guild family speaker who inspired a standing ovation for her words of hope and resilience, Probolsky founded Situation Mama, an online support community for parents of children with disabilities. (Courtesy of Probolsky Research)

Catherine Reinhardt-Zacair, a Fullerton College French instructor, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. Along with her language instruction, Reinhardt-Zacair said, she makes sure her students understand what France is really like. She hosts a French Film Festival that includes other French vendors. She takes students to a French cheese shop in Fullerton, where they learn about food and culture. She also has them singing French songs. “I love my students,” she said, ”that’s why I do what I do.” (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Paul Robertson, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, co-authored a paper about an exoplanet near a dwarf star in the Milky Way Galaxy that’s among the closest to Earth identified to date. The exoplanet is a candidate for further study, to see if it has liquid water, a possible requirement for life. (Photo by Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)

Alex Rounaghi, Laguna Beach’s mayor, is the county’s youngest and this year in his role in that capacity has made an impact in his community as well as OC. Through his leadership, he brought civility to the chambers by emphasizing the importance of disagreement without incivility, he helped bring water reliability to the city, and helped bring live concerts year-round to the Irvine Bowl. During the city’s Rancho fire, Rounaghi helped the community with timely updates and clear direction. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Angie Rowe, the reader-nominated president and CEO of Beyond Blindness, leads an organization that serves 1,500 children and families annually. In 2025, she launched a partnership with Head Start Orange County and also helped Beyond Blindness secure a grant through the Samueli Foundation’s Build OC Fund that will allow for the completion of several investments and restore reserves. (Courtesy of Beyond Blindness)

Chris Sardelis, a surf photographer, created a film “Harbour Chronicles” in honor of shaping legend Rich Harbour, an icon in the surf world who was a mentor to many. It premiered to sold-out crowds at the renovated Bay Theatre before making a splash at the Newport Beach Film Festival, earning the “Audience Choice” award. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Tony Esnault and Yassmin Sarmadi, the couple behind Michelin-starred Knife Pleat, is determined to fight hunger in the county. Sarmadi is a board member for Second Harvest Food Bank, and Esnault contributes accessible recipes to the food bank’s quarterly newsletters. They created a team for the 2025 Walk to Feed OC, hosted the kickoff luncheon for the Harvesters’ annual fashion show and, during the government shutdown, launched a fundraising campaign through email and social media.(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

At right, Manu Shah, an Orange County business owner, and his wife, Rika, donated a philanthropic gift this year to Providence St. Jude Memorial Foundation to establish the Shah Happiness Center for Cardiovascular Health. It was the largest cash gift in the medical center’s history. Manu has been a recipient of cardiac care at the Fullerton hospital over the years.
(Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Recently inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame, the Pacific Symphony in December bestowed the lifetime role of Music Director Laureate on Carl St.Clair, the orchestra’s music director for the past 35 years. Good news going ahead is that St.Clair will occasionally take the podium to conduct the orchestra in select programs in 2026 and beyond. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Richard Stein, an influential, behind-the-scenes force in Orange County arts, announced his retirement. ArtsOC’s Board Chair Rick Smetanka extolled Stein for his “tireless, unwavering advocacy of the arts.” ArtsOC might be little known to the public since it doesn’t stage live shows. But as the county’s official, independent arts council, ArtsOC plays a key role in aiding not-for-profit performing and visual arts creators as well as fostering arts education programs. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Elliot Stern, who expects to retire as president of Saddleback College in July 2026, was the force behind setting up the Mission Viejo-based school’s Tustin campus. The new satellite campus — called the Advanced Technology and Education Park, or ATEP@Saddleback — began new programs in the fall of 2025 dedicated to teaching high-end culinary skills and advanced automotive training. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Revered mathematician Daniele Struppa was Chapman University’s 13th president who served for nearly 10 years before handing over the reins to successor Matt Parlow. Struppa was instrumental in steering Chapman into becoming an internationally recognized research university. He now holds the Parker Kennedy Chair in Mathematics, having previously served as the Donald Bren Presidential Chair in Mathematics. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

David and Diana Sun have donated $100 million to Hoag’s state-of-the-art expansion in Irvine, which will be completed in 2026. The new campus will be named the Sun Family Campus. Diana and David Sun previously committed a $50 million gift in 2022 to help create three new medical institutes at Hoag’s Irvine campus catering to women’s health, cancer care and digestive illnesses. Hoag announced the second $50 million gift from the foundation in January. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

An Tran directs Orange County’s Social Services Agency, which implements CalFresh, the state version of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP. In November, as the federal government was shut down, Tran and others who run SNAP scrambled to help feed more than 310,000 locals who rely on the federally funded food program. (Courtesy of First 5 OC)

State Sen. Tom Umberg is finishing up his last term in the statehouse, but he’s not just coasting through it. He chaired the powerful Judiciary Committee, and has been a deciding voice on whether legislation was successful this year. Umberg was also the architect of two successful election-related bills, one that prohibits paying someone for voting or registering to vote, and the other will let California voters decide whether to overturn a statewide prohibition on counties and most cities setting up a public fund for campaign financing. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

After he lost his Eaton Canyon home to the wildfires that devastated Southern California, Tyler Wells took on the role of chef in residence at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano for an extended run that drew raves for him and his team from his Altadena restaurant, Bernee, which survived but had to close. He’s reopened the restaurant as Betsy. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

After learning about the health-care disparities in Orange County, Rohen Vargo, a student at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, started “Health in Your Hands,” a student-run blood pressure screening clinic in the low-access population of South Orange County. The clinic provides free blood pressure cuffs and educational pamphlets. Through its efforts, the clinic has screened more than 90 adults and distributed more than 400 blood pressure cuffs. (Photo by Thomas Leach, American Red Cross)

Payton Westcott, a 16-year-old racing driver from Laguna Beach, was selected to compete in the wildcard seat in this year’s F1 Academy race in Las Vegas, scoring points in the first race. She’s competed and won in the Formula Winter Series, Euro4 and Italian F4 Championships as well. (Courtesy of Payton Westcott Racing)

As OC Fair design and decor supervisor, Mathew P. Willmann, 31, oversees the entire 150-acre fairgrounds. Each year he spends hundreds of hours planning, prepping and conceiving the fair’s theme. His goal is to bring as many of the fair’s expected 1 million visitors into the Promenade from its two wide entrances during the 23-day run. He wants to educate visitors about the environment with compelling displays and “trick them into learning something” about beaches and protecting wildlife, Willmann said. “Effortless learning is my motto.” (Courtesy of Mathew P. Willmann)

Leah Wimberly is in line to take over the Anaheim-based metal framing and drywall subcontractor Pacific Wall Systems that her parents launched in 2000. Wimberly became the first woman to sit on the executive board of directors of the Western Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association, where she helps women advance their careers in the construction field. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Charles Wu, the founder and lead engineer of Team SWIFT at Beckman High, helped his squad become the first from California to qualify for the STEM Racing World Finals — inspired by F1 racing — in his first year competing. The team finished third nationally and advance to the world finals in Singapore, where the team won the Sponsorship and Marketing Award. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Philanthropists Susan and Henry Samueli worked with Samueli Foundation president Lindsey Spindle in 2025 to find out what nonprofits need most and decided to make it happen. In many cases, that means their foundation is providing unrestricted grants that allow nonprofit leaders to use funding for the things that could otherwise keep them from carrying out their missions.
(Courtesy of the Samueli Foundation)

Athena Yang, Katie Tran and Adriana Anesi, three students from Beckman High in Irvine, shared musical experiences with children on the spectrum through their Mozart in Me program. They spent much of the year leading sessions for the children to learn about listening to and playing instruments, culminating in a big ending recital where the new musicians performed for family and friends. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)

Jean Forbath is remembered as an advocate for the county’s poor who founded the nonprofits Share Our Selves and Save Our Youth. The Costa Mesa volunteer who advocated for the poor and marginalized, died April 20. She was 95. (Photo by Steve K. Zylius, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Surfer Rachael Tilly earned her third World Surf League Longboard World Championship, a feat she first claimed at age 17 and repeated last year. She did it again this November after winning a surf event in El Salvador, where she surfed six heats to come out on top the victor. (Photo by Emma Sharon/World Surf League)

Artist Wendy Park’s show, “Of Our Own,” now on view at the Various Small Fires gallery in Tustin, explores the textures of Korean American immigrant life through colorful but quiet still-life paintings pulling images from her own childhood. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In the middle of the pandemic, Orange County workplace expert Nicholas Wyman, left, introduced a pilot program in Southern California to help people with disabilities secure hands-on training for new jobs. Three years later, that program — called Ready, Willing and ABLE — is expanding across California with plans to help 600 people find apprenticeships, with many of them landing full-time positions. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Adan Correa has become a fan favorite on Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum” show, watching him date and find love — and also heartbreak. The Cal State Fullerton student has built a large following on social media where he advocates for the autism community. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)

manager for the city of Santa Ana, quietly and effectively leads the efforts to address homelessness in one of the county’s largest cities. The city’s programs have been recognized by several organizations, including the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the Orange County Business Council, the American Planning Association, the Association of California Cities – Orange County and the CalOptima Health. (Courtesy of the City of Santa Ana)

Carson Palmer, the Heisman Trophy winner from USC and former NFL All-Pro quarterback, returned to his alma mater of Santa Margarita High to coach the football team to CIF-SS Division 1 and CIF State Open Division championships. He also provided leadership and stability to a program that had been mired in controversy. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Amon-Ra St. Brown, a former Mater Dei and USC star has been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL with three Pro Bowl selections in his first five seasons (so far). This season, he had 11 touchdown receptions and 1,140 receiving yards in his first 14 games for the Detroit Lions. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Dara Maleki stepped up to lead the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce as the moribund organization was on the cusp of shuttering. As interim president and CEO, Maleki is leading the chamber through restructuring and has ended its association with the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee — in order to move away from political advocacy. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dr. Sigrid Burruss, a trauma surgeon at UCI Medical Center who also works with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, helped to train physicians, nurses and others on how to handle the rules of SB 963, a new state law that requires hospitals to screen emergency patients for signs of human trafficking of domestic abuse. (Courtesy of Loma Linda University Health)

UCI MIND, the center at UCI that studies Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, will have Ann Quilter’s name on it when it opens a few years from now. That’s because she got the entire Quilter family interested in the cause. Combined, the Quilter family — including Ann and Charles and his brothers, Patrick and Chris — gave nearly $50 million to UCI for the new building. (Photo by Steve Zylius/UC Irvine)
(Photo by Steve Zylius/UC Irvine)

Julie Zeoli, Irvine’s first librarian, oversees Irvine Public Libraries — the city’s new independent library system that includes Heritage Park, University Park and Katie Wheeler, which will open in early 2026 after a facility transition. Zeoli holds a master’s of library and information science degree from San Jose State University. (Courtesy of the City of Irvine)

Nichole Gideon, a disabled mother of two, is slated to graduate from Cal State Fullerton next year with dual degrees in sociology and philosophy — something she says wouldn’t be possible if she didn’t get federal help to pay her rent. Gideon, who has worked as an advocate for people who receive federal help with their rent, is one of about 1,400 people in Orange County who might be pushed back into homelessness next year by proposed changes in federal housing rules. (Courtesy of Cornerstone Communications)

Jennifer Friend, Project Hope Alliance’s CEO, continued to sharpen her organization’s focus on making sure children who are experiencing homelessness have every opportunity in and out of the classroom to create a stronger future for themselves. Friend built on a $2.1 million grant from CalOptima in 2024 as the group was selected in Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program, which includes a $200,000 grant and leadership training for her and Shelby Feliciano-Sabala, the organization’s chief partnership officer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Patrick Quilter, who founded an audio empire based on his early work building solid-state amplifiers for rock musicians in the 1960s, had a huge year as a philanthropist. He donated nearly $35 million to UC Irvine for the creation of a new headquarters for UCI MIND, the on-campus institute that studies Alzheimer’s and other dementias. And he gave $40 million to Laguna College of Art + Design. It was the biggest gift in the Laguna Beach school’s 64-year history. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)

Over a decade ago, Ana Urzua, right, was on a tour of urban development projects in Los Angeles when she stumbled on a novel idea — using a land trust to grow small businesses. In 2016, Thrive Santa Ana was born, a land trust that has just now begun incubating businesses in a tiny enclave of Santa Ana’s Casa Bonita neighborhood. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Annette Walker, the president of City of Hope Orange County, oversaw the opening of the county’s first cancer-specific hospital, which opened its doors to patients in December. The six-story hospital in Irvine complements the outpatient center next door, which opened in 2022. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Ryan Honary is a Newport Harbor High senior, inventor, and founder of SensoRy AI. He began developing an early wildfire detection system in fifth grade after witnessing the devastation of the 2018 Camp fire. His AI-driven technology is now deployed in partnership with the city of Irvine and the Orange County Fire Authority, where a network of sensors will monitor the high-risk Highway 133 corridor, an area where wind funnels can turn even a small spark into a fast-moving and destructive wildfire. (Photo Courtesy of the Honary Family)

In a particularly contentious year for Congress, Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) leaned into constituent communications this year, sending dozens of surveys, polling his constituents on what they’d like to see from their representative on issues like gun violence and mental health and informing them of their immigration rights or passport renewal options. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Darcy Blake, who teaches seventh- and eighth-graders in English language arts, honors English and composition at Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. In teaching writing, Blake said she makes it a goal for her students to understand themselves and the world around them through the written word. “Thanks for always going with me and going over the finish line,” she told her students when the honor was announced in May. “Thanks for always following me into every crazy thing I do.” (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mila Rubin and Henry Nielson were honored at this year’s 49th Spirit of Volunteerism Awards in at the Grove of Anaheim. Nielson and Rubin were just high school students when they helped lead Empower Education, a nonprofit with the vision of improving education for underserved youth. Since its creation in 2023, Empower Education has raised over $40,000 to go toward building classrooms in a rural village in Uganda. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Aomawa Shields, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, led a study comparing the climates of two exoplanets. The work led researchers to believe white dwarf stars can generate enough heat to serve as the “sun” for an exoplanet. That, in turn, presents new possibilities in the search for extraterrestrial life. (Photo by Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)

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Alisa Abecassis

Abecassis was recognized as this year’s Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser at the annual National Philanthropy Day celebration in November for her support of foster youth and creative fundraising on behalf of Court Appointed Special Advocates. She has raised thousands of dollars and recruited new CASA volunteers, including by turning her New Year’s Eve birthday parties into benefit events, organizers said.

Jeannette Aguilera

The third-grade teacher at Centralia Elementary in Anaheim, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. She’s a first-generation college graduate born to immigrant parents. “Education is not just my profession; it is my passion,” she said. “I am committed to the success of all students.”

Michelle Aguirre

Orange County’s CEO oversees a $10 billion budget and more than 18,000 employees who provide services from public health and law enforcement, to regional parks and public works. As interim CEO, she helped the county navigate through a financial crisis in the wake of the Airport fire.

Dan Almquist

Almquist, a real estate developer, last year opened the $70 million River Street Marketplace in an outdoor shopping center in San Juan Capistrano. In April, he lured T&T Supermarket Inc., Canada’s largest Asian grocery store chain, to Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods while establishing its first U.S. regional headquarters in Brea.

Lisa Alvarez

For 33 years, Alvarez has taught multiple generations of students at Irvine Valley College. In the midst of her final school year before retirement, Alvarez published her first short story collection, “Some Final Beauty and Other Stories.”

Jesse Amlin

When Amlin realized the end was near for his dog, Buddy, he announced he was throwing an end-of-life meet-and-greet party for Buddy at Central Park in Huntington Beach. The response was overwhelming with more than 100 people attending. “He loved it,” Amlin said. “People were doting over him and had blankets out and were laying down with him, and he was going from person to person.”

Adriana Anesi, Katie Tran and Athena Yang

Three students from Beckman High in Irvine shared musical experiences with children on the spectrum through their Mozart in Me program. They spent much of the year leading sessions for the children to learn about listening to and playing instruments, culminating in a big ending recital where the new musicians performed for family and friends.

Narciso Barranco

Barranco, a 48-year-old Tustin landscaper and father of three U.S. Marines, brought national attention to instances of violence by federal immigration enforcement after a viral video showed a Border Patrol agent punching him in the head before detaining him. His experience underscored the complex realities faced by mixed-status families and resonated with veterans and active-duty service members, some of whom who saw in his story a profound sense of betrayal from a country they served.

Matt Biolos

The surfboard maker from San Clemente has been making waves in recent years, putting boards under the feet of several of the world’s top athletes. Earlier this year, he moved his operation into mentor Brad Basham’s factory to honor the late surfboard maker.

Darcy Blake

Blake, who teaches seventh- and eighth-graders in English language arts, honors English and composition at Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. In teaching writing, Blake said she makes it a goal for her students to understand themselves and the world around them through the written word. “Thanks for always going with me and going over the finish line,” she told her students when the honor was announced in May. “Thanks for always following me into every crazy thing I do.”

Claudia Bonilla Keller, Mike Learakos and Mark Lowry

When the shutdown in Congress and political haggling prompted the federal government to suspend the food program known as SNAP, the 310,000 people in Orange County who use federal dollars to stay fed faced a potential crisis. That’s when the three founders of the Orange County Hunger Alliance – Learakos (CEO, Abound Food Care), Lowry (director, Orange County Food Bank) and Bonilla Keller (CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank) – stepped up. They shifted the workflow at the county’s biggest free food wholesalers to make sure nutrition got out earlier than usual, meeting what became a spike in demand. The effects of the shutdown could linger into next year, but people didn’t go hungry on their watch.

Donald Bren

The owner of the real estate giant Irvine Co. is using his vast resources to embark on an apartment-building spree that includes 3,000 units in Orange County with plans for 9,000 more across the state. These construction plans focus on converting property or land previously dedicated to retail space or offices.

Erin Bro

Bro, who has been part of San Clemente’s Advancement Via Individual Determination program for 15 years, was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. She also serves as a districtwide director for the AVID program. “I’m really proud of her,” one of her students, Josue Mendez, said when she was honored in May. “She gave me a chance for my future, so I can get into college.”

Judson Brown

The reader-nominated housing manager for the city of Santa Ana, quietly and effectively leads the efforts to address homelessness in one of the county’s largest cities. The city’s programs have been recognized by several organizations, including the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the Orange County Business Council, the American Planning Association, the Association of California Cities – Orange County and CalOptima Health.

Dr. Sigrid Burruss

The trauma surgeon at UCI Medical Center who also works with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, helped to train physicians, nurses and others on how to handle the rules of SB 963, a new state law that requires hospitals to screen emergency patients for signs of human trafficking of domestic abuse.

Leo Carlsson

Carlsson turns 21 on Dec. 26 but already is a force as the Ducks’ center. The native of Karlstad, Sweden, was the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft and quickly established himself as an offensive threat in his first two seasons. In his third, though, he has taken his game to a higher level. The combination of Carlsson and wingers Beckett Sennecke, who’s only 19, and Cutter Gauthier (21) gives the Ducks a lot of optimism for the future, though their present has been quite impressive.

Denise and Kevin Cassin

The Cassins partnered with the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to offer experiences for under-resourced youth and young adults at no cost to them. Led by professional teaching artists, participants explore the performing arts – often for the first time at no cost.

Rose Chhabria

She is a 17-year-old Northwood High senior, Girl Scout, student leader and community advocate. The school’s ASB executive board secretary, she developed a digital entrepreneurship program for underserved youth and promotes mental health awareness through Hope Squad. She has also organized service initiatives with the H4H and Aalambana foundations, distributing thousands of meals and essential items. She is a two-time President’s Volunteer Service Award recipient.

Adam Cleary

The developer is bringing the first wave pool to Orange County, with a proposal passed to create a man-made wave in Newport Beach. The plan got the backing of the local surfing community.

Christopher Cleary

The psychiatric nurse is creating teaching programs at UC Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing to help future health providers learn how to use psychedelics as tools to help battle mental health disorders.

Adan Correa

Correa has become a fan favorite on Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum” show, watching him date and find love — and also heartbreak. The Cal State Fullerton student has built a large following on social media where he advocates for the autism community.

Lou Correa

In a particularly contentious year for Congress, Rep. Correa (D-Santa Ana) leaned into constituent communications this year, sending dozens of surveys, polling his constituents on what they’d like to see from their representative on issues like gun violence and mental health and informing them of their immigration rights or passport renewal options.

Cesar Cortez

The chef-owner of El Brewjo (a burger pop-up), has made a name for himself with his regular smashburger spectaculars. But this year, the Orange-based chef created the first-ever Old Towne Burger Fest, a friendly smashburger competition highlighting OC’s local pop-up scene, rather than celebrity-driven or chain-born spots. The result? More than a thousand people showed up to the inaugural event, with plans in the works for 2026.

Bryan Crain

Crain, the chief executive officer of the Orange County Rescue Mission, is building a jobs-training program he launched last year that could help fill jobs in the construction industry, which is short on labor and rattled by the Trump administration’s deportation of undocumented workers.

Mason Davis, Levi Mauga and Tommy Zahalka

The teen surfers from San Clemente were recognized for their life-saving efforts in a rescue off Laguna Beach in July when they helped rescue a woman visiting from Ohio when she was swept off Treasure Island Beach in a rip current. “Their early intervention made a significant positive difference in the outcome of this emergency,” Laguna Beach Marine Safety Chief Kai Bond said.

Sandra de Anda

Born and raised in Santa Ana, de Anda continues to show up for the community and city she loves, both as a volunteer and as the public policy director for the OC Rapid Response Network. From speaking out at city council meetings on immigration issues impacting local residents to securing funding for legal support, accompanying clients in court and coordinating a network of resources for impacted families, she has been a consistent and trusted advocate for those who need it most.

Chris Decker

After two decades at Metro in Las Vegas, Decker made a West Coast splash in Dana Point. His popular Truly Pizza, co-founded in part with Michael Vakneen, has helped transform the coastal enclave into a destination spot. Known for its airy, blistered crusts, Truly is expanding soon to Laguna Beach and Venice.

Shivaji Deshmukh

In October, Deshmukh was unanimously elected to serve as the next general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a water wholesaler that supplies much of the drinking water used in south Orange County. Though Deshmukh most recently worked at the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, he previously was program manager at Orange County Water District, where he helped to create the state’s largest wastewater recycling system.

Terry R. Dowdall

Property rights attorney Dowdall has represented mobile home park owners for more than 45 years and has been responsible for numerous benchmark legal decisions. He notified the Santa Ana City Council that their rent control ordinance was unconstitutional – notice they ignored until they were successfully sued for exactly that. This year, he established the Dowdall Foundation for Property Rights.

Paul Dunlap

Dunlap, a Fullerton developer, has long held a passion for historic theaters and twice before had tried to revive abandoned movie houses. The third time was a charm in Seal Beach with the historic Bay Theatre, a staple in the community since the ’40s, which had sat empty for years. He bought the building in 2016 and spent nearly a decade fixing it up and going through permitting before finally opening early 2025.

Troy Edgar

The former Los Alamitos mayor was tapped to serve as the ninth deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This role means Edgar serves as the department’s chief operating officer, managing its day-to-day operations and its budget.

Andrew Fahmy

In a year marked by economic instability for thousands of Orange County families, the reader-nominated Fahmy provided critical leadership in strengthening community financial resilience. As executive director of United Way’s United for Financial Security, he expanded and elevated SparkPoint OC, helping residents stabilize their finances, reduce debt and build long-term economic security during a historic downturn. He also spearheaded Upskill OC, creating workforce pathways into higher-wage, higher-demand sectors and partnering with organizations like MECCA to ensure immigrant and refugee communities are included in economic mobility efforts.

Mari Fassett

Fassett, who suffered a health scare in 2017, reimagined a snack line she launched several years ago and came up with Marimix, made up of healthier ingredients. Her Orange factory is now selling to Costco, Sprouts and more than 700 retail and grocery stores in California and Texas.

Becky Fleischauer

As USA Surfing CEO, Fleischauer fought tirelessly against plans by US Ski and Snowboard to take over managing and training Olympic surfers in the LA28 Summer Games. She has led the San Clemente organization that guides rising star surfers to the pro level in recent years.

Andrew Flores

Flores runs a family-operated metal forging company that manufactures aluminum parts for Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft and some military plane projects. Independent Forge Co. Inc. is one of Orange County’s last remaining makers of metal products and machine parts with molds filled with aluminum and placed into superheated pressing machines.

Jean Forbath

Forbath is remembered as an advocate for the county’s poor who founded the nonprofits Share Our Selves and Save Our Youth. The Costa Mesa volunteer who advocated for the poor and marginalized, died April 20. She was 95.

Carrie and Mike Foster

The Fosters are dedicated to keeping the legacy of Killer Dana, an extinct surf break, alive. They own a surf shop bearing the big-wave surf spot’s name, with historic images as decor to tell its story. Earlier this year, they teamed with a filmmaker to find old-timers who could share memories about the famed wave for a documentary called “Point Taken: The Legend of Killer Dana,” with much of the filming taking place at the shop — also one of the last places to get a scoop of Thrifty ice cream.

Freddie Freeman

Freeman an El Modena High graduate, makes his back-to-back appearance on the list after the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series title and his second huge World Series home run. In 2024, the series MVP won Game 1 with a walk-off grand slam. This time, he ended the 18-inning Game 3 with a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Jennifer Friend

Project Hope Alliance’s CEO continued to sharpen her organization’s focus on making sure children who are experiencing homelessness have every opportunity in and out of the classroom to create a stronger future for themselves. Friend built on a $2.1 million grant from CalOptima in 2024 as the group was selected in Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program, which includes a $200,000 grant and leadership training for her and Shelby Feliciano-Sabala, the organization’s chief partnership officer.

Sarah Rafael Garcia

The owner and founder of Santa Ana’s sole independent bookstore, LibroMobile, has worked tirelessly to keep the store open. “We’re more than a bookstore. We’re creating a place for our community where they can explore literature and the arts without having to pay for it,” she said.

Nichole Gideon

Gideon, a disabled mother of two, is slated to graduate from Cal State Fullerton next year with dual degrees in sociology and philosophy – something she says wouldn’t be possible if she didn’t get federal help to pay her rent. Gideon, who has worked as an advocate for people who receive federal help with their rent, is one of about 1,400 people in Orange County who might be pushed back into homelessness next year by proposed changes in federal housing rules.

Alec Glasser

The Laguna Beach philanthropist’s donation to UC Irvine endowed the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change, a new institution that will study how music can improve well-being and community. In addition, Glasser endowed a scholarship fund for 10 UCI students each year who aim to infuse music in their professional lives.

Otoniel Gomez

Smelling smoke, Gomez’s wife woke him up one late December night. He opened and closed his bedroom door, feeling the heat. He escaped through a window and dropped from a patio cover 9 feet to the ground. He got out ladders and climbed up them several times to get his wife and pounded on windows to wake up others, taking them all down the ladders. In all, five escaped.

Andrew Hamilton

Orange County’s auditor-controller launched of a first-of-its-kind public service program: the Orange County Unclaimed Property Initiative. The initiative helps residents recover money the state of California is holding on their behalf. Approximately $700 million belongs to people and businesses in OC alone. The Auditor-Controller’s Office created a localized, user-friendly, interactive solution that no other county in California has developed: a dedicated website and map specifically displaying unclaimed property tied to OC residents.

John Harris

The CEO of Harbinger Motors Inc. is on a roll with the Garden Grove-based EV chassis maker for medium-duty vans. He has raised more than $358 million since Harbinger’s inception in 2021, and is producing chassis for FedEx, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Mail Management Services Inc., and THOR Industries.

Tracy Havens

The second-grade teacher, who has been at Hicks Canyon Elementary in Irvine for 20 years, is one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. “Being in my class means being part of a family,” Havens said when she received her honor. “We collaborate to develop a classroom culture that is nurturing, fun-loving and safe.” Havens is an advocate for differentiated instruction and cross-curricular learning, integrating cognitively guided instruction, a research-based approach that focuses on how students think through math problems.

Camille Hernandez

The poet laureate for the city of Anaheim for 2024-26 has been an advocate for the literary arts, and has continued the Anaheim Poetry Review, begun by her predecessor. Anaheim’s poet laureate holds free workshops at Anaheim public libraries, leads poetry readings at city events and heads up community gatherings that promote poetry, literature and the arts.

Brian Hervey

UC Irvine’s vice chancellor for university advancement was tasked with heading UCI’s Brilliant Future fundraising campaign which started with private donations in 2016, then went public in 2019. Hervey’s group navigated through COVID and concluded their decade-long campaign on Oct. 4, raising more than $2.4 billion. It’s the largest philanthropic effort in Orange County history.

Florice Hoffman

Hoffman was elected as new chair of the Orange County Democratic Party. Hoffman said she plans to build on the foundation laid by Ada Briceño with an eye on the 2026 elections. She’s setting her sights on ramping up voter registration efforts, intensifying fundraising and growing the number of local Democratic clubs to strengthen the party’s presence across the county.

Ryan Honary

Honary is a Newport Harbor High senior, inventor, and founder of SensoRy AI. He began developing an early wildfire detection system in fifth grade after witnessing the devastation of the 2018 Camp fire. His AI-driven technology is now deployed in partnership with the city of Irvine and the Orange County Fire Authority, where a network of sensors will monitor the high-risk Highway 133 corridor, an area where wind funnels can turn even a small spark into a fast-moving and destructive wildfire.

Luis Jauregui

The associate professor and director of UC Irvine’s Quantum Materials and Devices Lab, worked with post-doctoral student Jinyu Liu to discover a new state of matter – excitons. Their work someday could help power computers suitable for deep-space travel.

Tianlong Jiao

The Bowers Museum chief curator oversaw the visit by five of China’s historic Terracotta Warriors, traveling to museums in the country multiple times to choose pieces for an accompanying exhibit that explored archaeological discoveries of the prequel to the Chinese Empire. This was the first time in nearly a decade some of the life-sized warrior statues were on loan in the United States and they drew crowds all summer to the Santa Ana museum.

Ronnetta Johnson

Waymakers, a nonprofit that has provided crisis intervention and support to children since 1972, announced in August that it would relocate its longtime Laguna Beach Youth Shelter to Tustin due to statewide funding reforms that favor adult programs. As CEO, Johnson stressed, “Our mission has always been about creating safe places for youth to find stability and hope, and that will remain the same.”

Dr. Edward Kim

The physician-in-chief of City of Hope Orange County played an essential role in building the staff for the county’s first cancer hospital. He said that hiring people came down to something important: He’d need to feel comfortable sending his mother to them for treatment.

Young Kim

The only Republican to represent a portion of Orange County in Congress, Rep. Kim has, of course, voted in line with her party over the past year. But she’s also challenged the Trump administration and her GOP colleagues over certain tax issues, including the state and local tax deduction cap. Kim heralded the inclusion of a $30,000 increase on the SALT cap in the massive budget package signed by the president over the summer.

Charis Kubrin

The UC Irvine professor was honored with the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. Her decades of research consistently challenged one of society’s most persistent myths: that immigrants bring crime to their new countries. Her findings show the opposite is true.

Corre Larkin

Larkin, a popular home-cook content creator known to legions of followers as “Coco,” has grown from a niche content creator to a full-time media star. Her cooking videos, shot by herself in her Newport Beach home, have gained her quite the following in only over year – 1.3 million Instagram followers; 557,000 on TikTok – and counting.

Megan Lee

The transitional kindergarten teacher at Loara Elementary in Anaheim is one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. “Building community is my passion because of its profound impact on empowering others,” Lee said when she was honored in May. “I am dedicated to living this mission in both my professional and personal life.”

Chad Lefteris

The president and CEO of UCI Health accepted the keys to the UC health system’s sixth hospital, adding to its medical center in Orange. UCI Health‘s newest hospital started admitting patients on Dec. 10, opening a seven-story, 144-bed facility that UCI calls the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital.

Dara Maleki

Maleki stepped up to lead the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce as the moribund organization was on the cusp of shuttering. As interim president and CEO, Maleki is leading the chamber through restructuring and has ended its association with the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee — in order to move away from political advocacy.

Michael Matsuda

The outgoing superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District spearheaded programs that widened the “aperture of possibility” for students experiencing poverty and homelessness. During his 11-year tenure, Matsuda led the district to develop a cybersecurity curriculum that’s helped students land high-paying jobs out of high school. Another initiative, AIME, has offered thousands of students mentorship opportunities and paid internships with more than 120 businesses and nonprofits.

Perry Minasian

Angels general manager Minasian made the call to change managers after Ron Washington missed much of the season with health issues. Now he and new manager/former Angel Kurt Suzuki (a Cal State Fullerton star) each have one season to turn things around after another season without a playoff appearance.

Janet Nakakihara

Nakakihara, a La Palma resident, was in fourth grade and living on an island close to Hiroshima, Japan, when she witnessed “pikadon,” the sound and flash of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. This year, the 80th anniversary of the blasts over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brought new attention to the plight of atomic survivors, including the soldiers and other military who served in the region.

Zach Neto

In a season that ultimately was a disappointment for the Angels, Neto gave them their best reason for optimism. The 24-year-old shortstop continued his development and hit 26 home runs in a season limited to 128 games because of injuries.

Chi Charlie Nguyen

As mayor, Nguyen represented the city of Westminster and its Little Saigon as it commemorated the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, but also celebrated the success of the Vietnamese-American enclave that was born as refugees made their way to Orange County. Nguyen was among those refugees, crowding as a teen on a dinghy heading for international waters.

Jan Nguyen

Arriving in the United States from Vietnam at the age of 11, shortly before the fall of Saigon, Nguyen later began her entrepreneurial path in real estate and finance. She then pivoted to restaurants, first opening a popular Vietnamese spot. Seeing a market opportunity, Nguyen launched her Cajun-inspired eatery, the Kickin’ Crab, in 2010, which has since grown to 23 locations.

Leslie Nguyen

Starting her career at 18 as a server, Nguyen, an Aliso Viejo High grad, has since gone on to open eateries of note, including co-founding Bosscat Kitchen & Libations (with locations in Orange and Irvine, and two in Texas) and Miss Mini Donuts. Under her umbrella company, Daily Dose Hospitality, which she launched with John Reed, the restaurateur has also opened Ten Sushi and Byblos Cafe.

Tam T. Nguyen

As a second-generation business owner of the Advanced Beauty College in Little Saigon, Nguyen helped get Cal State Fullerton demographic experts to complete one of the first economic and demographic studies of the Vietnamese American enclave in Orange County, information that will help when approaching government agencies, nonprofits or corporations to invest in Little Saigon. He also helped lead community efforts to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which spurred the enclave’s creation.

Tuan Andrew Nguyen

Nguyen is a multi-disciplinary artist whose films and sculptural works interrogate the lasting effects of violence, displacement and colonialism. This year he was one of six artists and 22 total recipients to be named a MacArthur Fellow. Nguyen is also a UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts alum and the third Anteater to nab the prestigious award.

Viet Nguyen

The chef-founder of Kei Concepts moved from Vietnam to the U.S. at 16, originally intending to study IT and finance. Luckily for palates, he made a detour in the culinary world, opening Sup Noodle Bar in 2014 in Buena Park. This marked the creation of Kei Concepts, which now has eight restaurants under its name, including the newly opened Qua in Fountain Valley.

Henry Nielson and Mila Rubin

They were honored at this year’s 49th Spirit of Volunteerism Awards in at the Grove of Anaheim. Nielson and Rubin were just high school students when they helped lead Empower Education, a nonprofit with the vision of improving education for underserved youth. Since its creation in 2023, Empower Education has raised over $40,000 to go toward building classrooms in a rural village in Uganda.

Will O’Neill

The former Newport Beach mayor solidly won election to lead the Orange County Republican Party this year – and he takes the helm with a goal of winning trust with voters across the county.

Mel Owens

Former Rams and University of Michigan football player Owens led the second season of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” this year. Owens is a partner at NBO Law in Newport Beach.

Bob Page

The Orange County registrar of voters successfully pulled together a special election while the office is already preparing for the 2026 midterms. He has also made himself available to city councils who have questions about how the county’s elections operations work.

Carson Palmer

The Heisman Trophy winner from USC and former NFL All-Pro quarterback returned to his alma mater of Santa Margarita High to coach the football team to CIF-SS Division 1 and CIF State Open Division championships. He also provided leadership and stability to a program that had been mired in controversy.

Cassie Parham

Parham was named Irvine Unified School District’s first new superintendent in nearly 14 years. A longtime assistant superintendent, Parham has served as interim superintendent since February, after the retirement of Terry Walker, who had been in that role since 2011.

Wendy Park

Artist Park’s show, “Of Our Own,” now on view at the Various Small Fires gallery in Tustin, explores the textures of Korean American immigrant life through colorful but quiet still-life paintings pulling images from her own childhood.

Matt Parlow

Parlow was named Chapman University’s 14th president this year. A Los Angeles native, Yale-educated lawyer and lifelong Dodgers fan, Parlow now leads a campus of more than 10,000 students, 2,000 faculty and staff with an endowment topping $800 million.

Pedro Pascal

The Orange County School of the Arts graduate was everywhere in 2025, continuing his star turn in HBO’s “The Last of Us” while also taking on some huge movie roles: “Materialists,” “Eddington” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” He’s also an outspoken advocate for social causes, including LGBTQ+ rights.

Lorraine Perez

Santa Ana Unified tapped longtime educator and district insider Perez to serve as its next superintendent. Perez said she plans to build on the work she has been doing as deputy superintendent by boosting academic achievement, expanding career and college prep programs and building stronger partnerships with local businesses, colleges and community groups.

Desiree Probolsky

When Probolsky’s son Asher was diagnosed with severe, nonverbal autism, this mother of three sprung into activism. A CHOC Glass Slipper Guild family speaker who inspired a standing ovation for her words of hope and resilience, Probolsky founded Situation Mama, an online support community for parents of children with disabilities.

Ann and Charles Quilter

UCI MIND, the center at UCI that studies Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, will have Ann Quilter’s name on it when it opens a few years from now. That’s because she got the entire Quilter family interested in the cause. Combined, the Quilter family – including Ann and Charles and his brothers, Patrick and Chris – gave nearly $50 million to UCI for the new building.

Patrick Quilter

Quilter, who founded an audio empire based on his early work building solid-state amplifiers for rock musicians in the 1960s, had a huge year as a philanthropist. He donated nearly $35 million to UC Irvine for the creation of a new headquarters for UCI MIND, the on-campus institute that studies Alzheimer’s and other dementias. And he gave $40 million to Laguna College of Art + Design. It was the biggest gift in the Laguna Beach school’s 64-year history.

Catherine Reinhardt-Zacair

The Fullerton College French instructor was one of six educators selected as an Orange County Teacher of the Year. Along with her language instruction, Reinhardt-Zacair said, she makes sure her students understand what France is really like. She hosts a French Film Festival that includes other French vendors. She takes students to a French cheese shop in Fullerton, where they learn about food and culture. She also has them singing French songs. “I love my students,” she said, ”that’s why I do what I do.”

Paul Robertson

Robertson, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, co-authored a paper about an exoplanet near a dwarf star in the Milky Way Galaxy that’s among the closest to Earth identified to date. The exoplanet is a candidate for further study, to see if it has liquid water, a possible requirement for life.

Alex Rounaghi

Laguna Beach’s mayor is the county’s youngest and this year in his role in that capacity has made an impact in his community as well as OC. Through his leadership, he brought civility to the chambers by emphasizing the importance of disagreement without incivility, he helped bring water reliability to the city, and helped bring live concerts year-round to the Irvine Bowl. During the city’s Rancho fire, Rounaghi helped the community with timely updates and clear direction.

Angie Rowe

The reader-nominated president and CEO of Beyond Blindness leads an organization that serves 1,500 children and families annually. In 2025, she launched a partnership with Head Start Orange County and also helped Beyond Blindness secure a grant through the Samueli Foundation’s Build OC Fund that will allow for the completion of several investments and restore reserves.

Susan and Henry Samueli

The philanthropists worked with Samueli Foundation president Lindsey Spindle in 2025 to find out what nonprofits need most and decided to make it happen. In many cases, that means their foundation is providing unrestricted grants that allow nonprofit leaders to use funding for the things that could otherwise keep them from carrying out their missions.

Chris Sardelis

Sardelis, a surf photographer, created a film “Harbour Chronicles” in honor of shaping legend Rich Harbour, an icon in the surf world who was a mentor to many. It premiered to sold-out crowds at the renovated Bay Theatre before making a splash at the Newport Beach Film Festival, earning the “Audience Choice” award.

Yassmin Sarmadi and Tony Esnault

The couple behind Michelin-starred Knife Pleat is determined to fight hunger in the county. Sarmadi is a board member for Second Harvest Food Bank, and Esnault contributes accessible recipes to the food bank’s quarterly newsletters. They created a team for the 2025 Walk to Feed OC, hosted the kickoff luncheon for the Harvesters’ annual fashion show and, during the government shutdown, launched a fundraising campaign through email and social media.

Manu and Rika Shah

Manu Shah, an Orange County business owner, and his wife, Rika, donated a philanthropic gift this year to Providence St. Jude Memorial Foundation to establish the Shah Happiness Center for Cardiovascular Health. It was the largest cash gift in the medical center’s history. Manu has been a recipient of cardiac care at the Fullerton hospital over the years.

Aomawa Shields

Shields, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, led a study comparing the climates of two exoplanets. The work led researchers to believe white dwarf stars can generate enough heat to serve as the “sun” for an exoplanet. That, in turn, presents new possibilities in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

The former Mater Dei and USC star has been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL with three Pro Bowl selections in his first five seasons (so far). This season, he had 11 touchdown receptions and 1,140 receiving yards in his first 14 games for the Detroit Lions.

Carl St.Clair

Recently inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame, the Pacific Symphony in December bestowed the lifetime role of Music Director Laureate on St.Clair, the orchestra’s music director for the past 35 years. Good news going ahead is that St.Clair will occasionally take the podium to conduct the orchestra in select programs in 2026 and beyond.

Richard Stein

Stein, an influential, behind-the-scenes force in Orange County arts, announced his retirement. ArtsOC’s Board Chair Rick Smetanka extolled Stein for his “tireless, unwavering advocacy of the arts.” ArtsOC might be little known to the public since it doesn’t stage live shows. But as the county’s official, independent arts council, ArtsOC plays a key role in aiding not-for-profit performing and visual arts creators as well as fostering arts education programs.

Elliot Stern

Stern, who expects to retire as president of Saddleback College in July 2026, was the force behind setting up the Mission Viejo-based school’s Tustin campus. The new satellite campus — called the Advanced Technology and Education Park, or ATEP@Saddleback — began new programs in the fall of 2025 dedicated to teaching high-end culinary skills and advanced automotive training.

Daniele Struppa

Revered mathematician Struppa was Chapman University’s 13th president who served for nearly 10 years before handing over the reins to successor Matt Parlow. Struppa was instrumental in steering Chapman into becoming an internationally recognized research university. He now holds the Parker Kennedy Chair in Mathematics, having previously served as the Donald Bren Presidential Chair in Mathematics.

Diana and David Sun

The Suns have donated $100 million to Hoag’s state-of-the-art expansion in Irvine, which will be completed in 2026. The new campus will be named the Sun Family Campus. Diana and David Sun previously committed a $50 million gift in 2022 to help create three new medical institutes at Hoag’s Irvine campus catering to women’s health, cancer care and digestive illnesses. Hoag announced the second $50 million gift from the foundation in January.

Rachael Tilly

The surfer earned her third World Surf League Longboard World Championship, a feat she first claimed at age 17 and repeated last year. She did it again this November after winning a surf event in El Salvador, where she surfed six heats to come out on top the victor.

An Tran

Tran directs Orange County’s Social Services Agency, which implements CalFresh, the state version of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP. In November, as the federal government was shut down, Tran and others who run SNAP scrambled to help feed more than 310,000 locals who rely on the federally funded food program.

Tom Umberg

State Sen. Umberg is finishing up his last term in the statehouse, but he’s not just coasting through it. He chaired the powerful Judiciary Committee, and has been a deciding voice on whether legislation was successful this year. Umberg was also the architect of two successful election-related bills, one that prohibits paying someone for voting or registering to vote, and the other will let California voters decide whether to overturn a statewide prohibition on counties and most cities setting up a public fund for campaign financing.

Ana Urzua

Over a decade ago, Urzua was on a tour of urban development projects in Los Angeles when she stumbled on a novel idea — using a land trust to grow small businesses. In 2016, Thrive Santa Ana was born, a land trust that has just now begun incubating businesses in a tiny enclave of Santa Ana’s Casa Bonita neighborhood.

Rohen Vargo

After learning about the health-care disparities in Orange County, Vargo, a student at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, started “Health in Your Hands,” a student-run blood pressure screening clinic in the low-access population of South Orange County. The clinic provides free blood pressure cuffs and educational pamphlets. Through its efforts, the clinic has screened more than 90 adults and distributed more than 400 blood pressure cuffs.

Annette Walker

The president of City of Hope Orange County oversaw the opening of the county’s first cancer-specific hospital, which opened its doors to patients in December. The six-story hospital in Irvine complements the outpatient center next door, which opened in 2022.

Tyler Wells

After he lost his Eaton Canyon home to the wildfires that devastated Southern California, Wells took on the role of chef in residence at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano for an extended run that drew raves for him and his team from his Altadena restaurant, Bernee, which survived but had to close. He’s reopened the restaurant as Betsy.

Payton Westcott

Westcott, a 16-year-old racing driver from Laguna Beach, was selected to compete in the wildcard seat in this year’s F1 Academy race in Las Vegas, scoring points in the first race. She’s competed and won in the Formula Winter Series, Euro4 and Italian F4 Championships as well.

Mathew P. Willmann

As OC Fair design and decor supervisor, Willmann, 31, oversees the entire 150-acre fairgrounds. Each year, he spends hundreds of hours planning, prepping and conceiving the fair’s theme. His goal is to bring as many of the fair’s expected 1 million visitors into the Promenade from its two wide entrances during the 23-day run. He wants to educate visitors about the environment with compelling displays and “trick them into learning something” about beaches and protecting wildlife, Willmann said. “Effortless learning is my motto.”

Leah Wimberly

Wimberly is in line to take over the Anaheim-based metal framing and drywall subcontractor Pacific Wall Systems that her parents launched in 2000. Wimberly became the first woman to sit on the executive board of directors of the Western Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association, where she helps women advance their careers in the construction field.

Charles Wu

The founder and lead engineer of Team SWIFT at Beckman High helped his squad become the first from California to qualify for the STEM Racing World Finals – inspired by F1 racing – in his first year competing. The team finished third nationally and advance to the world finals in Singapore, where the team won the Sponsorship and Marketing Award.

Nicholas Wyman

In the middle of the pandemic, Orange County workplace expert Wyman introduced a pilot program in Southern California to help people with disabilities secure hands-on training for new jobs. Three years later, that program — called Ready, Willing and ABLE — is expanding across California with plans to help 600 people find apprenticeships, with many of them landing full-time positions.

Julie Zeoli

Irvine’s first librarian oversees Irvine Public Libraries — the city’s new independent library system that includes Heritage Park, University Park and Katie Wheeler, which will open in early 2026 after a facility transition. Zeoli holds a master’s of library and information science degree from San Jose State University.

Staff members Dan Albano, Sandra Barrera, Paul Bersebach, Laylan Connelly, Mona Darwish, Samantha Dunn, Jeff Gritchen, Brock Keeling, Jonathan Lansner, Victoria Le, Pat Maio, Heather McRea, Andre Mouchard, Leonard Ortiz, Erik Pedersen, Jim Radcliffe, Erika I. Ritchie, Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Mindy Schauer, Kurt Snibbe and Claire Wang contributed to this article.

Related links

By the way, here are our selections from previous years: