IdeaMensch

Kendra Stearns Drozd has always believed that the strongest relationships are built through listening, trust, and showing up for others. Those values have guided every chapter of her life, from her career in marketing and recruiting to her years of community service and motherhood. Raised in Glencoe, Illinois, Kendra developed a love for tennis at a young age and eventually became captain of her high school varsity team before playing four years of varsity tennis at Williams College.

Dr. Irfan Atcha was raised in Chicago in a family with deep roots in medicine and dentistry. Surrounded by healthcare professionals from an early age, he developed an interest in science and patient care that eventually led him to pursue dentistry as a profession. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois before completing his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1996.

Mitchell Worsoff has spent nearly three decades building a career in one of the most demanding areas of law: criminal litigation. Raised in Montreal, Quebec, he attended McGill University before pursuing his legal education at Osgoode Hall Law School in Ontario. He was called to the bar in 1997 and quickly found himself drawn to the courtroom.

Some engineers focus on individual parts. John Sweetser has built his career by understanding how entire systems work together. That perspective has guided him through roles in national security, spacecraft design, engineering leadership, and mission architecture, where solving complex problems often depends on seeing the bigger picture rather than a single component. Growing up in Loveland, Colorado, Sweetser was surrounded by engineering from an early age.

YiFeng Zhang has always believed that perspective is one of life’s greatest teachers. Long before building an international career, he developed a curiosity about people, cultures, and the different ways individuals approach challenges and opportunities. That curiosity would eventually become one of the defining qualities of both his personal philosophy and professional life.

Christopher Pulichene has always been drawn to the water. His journey has taken him from the neighborhoods of Seattle to the warm waters of the Florida Keys. Along the way, he has built a career shaped by curiosity, adaptability, and a genuine passion for helping people enjoy unforgettable experiences. Born on November 13, 1999, Chris was adopted at birth by his parents, Penelope and Pieter. He grew up in a close-knit family that valued consistency, kindness, and spending time together.

Zachary Grayum has built his career by believing that leadership starts with discipline and grows through service. Based in Fresno, California, he has spent years leading large teams, managing complex operations, and helping people perform at their best. His journey began long before his professional career, shaped by a family that valued education, accountability, and hard work.

Vivian H. Liu’s goal is to inspire the next generation of science researchers through creative, accessible education. She believes creativity is what makes science stick, whether that means folding paper in a classroom or building lab-grade tools on a budget. She is the co-founder of Origami For Good, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that uses origami to promote mental wellness, sustainability, and hands-on learning through 300+ student-led chapters that have distributed over 820,000 folded pieces worldwide.

Dr. Jason James, DC, is the founder and clinic director of James Healthcare & Associates, Inc. in Keokuk, Iowa. A Gonstead chiropractor with a passion for evidence-informed, patient-centered care, Dr. James is dedicated to identifying the underlying cause of health concerns rather than simply treating symptoms.

Shea Georgetti is the founder and CEO of Voiply, a telecommunications company he built from the ground up starting in 2012. What began as a vision to make reliable, affordable phone service accessible to everyone has grown into a company serving tens of thousands of customers across the country with home phone, business phone, hosted fax, and unlimited internet services. Shea has spent over a decade in the telecom space doing things differently.