40 Under 40

When Burt wasn’t constructing investment policies or financial plans for clients, he was refining the Lee County Young Professionals outfit—from a couple of e-mails and a logo to a thriving organization with softball and basketball teams, charitable initiatives and corporate sponsors, including The News-Press and Yacht Clubs of America. In two years he has increased membership from around 300 to more than 1,000.

“I personally think [YP leaders] can guarantee that [they] can enrich the lives of our members and do a great thing for the community,” Burt says.

Off the clock:
A boxer in college, Burt still “doesn’t mind eating a little leather now and then.”

Ashley Carter
Age: 31
Position: Advertising and public
relations coordinator
Philharmonic Center for the Arts

Why her:
When Carter moved to Naples from West Palm Beach in the summer of 2000, she thought it would be fun to work at the Phil.

The University of Florida graduate took a part-time job in the mailroom, and by the end of the summer was promoted to marketing assistant. Her responsibilities continued to expand over the years, and she now coordinates all local PR and places all TV and radio ad buys for the organization.

“It’s a very challenging and interesting job, and I think that keeps me on my toes,” says Carter, who is a member of the Public Relations Association of Collier County and Public Relations Society of America. “Every media buy I do is different; every story I pitch has a different angle.”
Carter says she makes an effort to stay positive and keep smiling when the job gets hectic or stressful—and others have taken notice.

“Ashley is just one of the most pleasant people to work with,” says Cindi Alpert, general sales manager for WAVV-FM. “She always manages to brighten my day.”

Off the clock:
Carter enjoys boating, fishing and cheering on University of Florida sports teams.

Ted Corbin
Age: 36
Position: Director
BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Why him:
Corbin spent the first five years of his career playing shortstop for the Minnesota Twins. Drafted from Clemson University before graduating, the industrious Naples native used the off-seasons to finish school so that one day he could pursue his other interest—finance.

“I was looking for a new challenge when that [baseball] career was over with,” says Corbin.
When he came back to Naples, he started a second career in wealth management, eventually rising to Florida sales director for Comerica Bank before opening Naples’ first Mellon Financial office two years ago. Currently the director of business development for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, he continues to stand out for his work there and in the community.

Corbin is a board member of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. He identifies a link between a strong business scene and community development.

“When I was in high school, everybody was in a mad dash to get out of Naples,” says Corbin. “But now there [are] plenty of opportunities for young people and young professionals. We have a responsibility to maintain that.”

Off the clock:
A resident of Marco Island, Corbin loves backwater fishing.

Brent Crawford
Age: 38
Position: Private client advisor
The Private Bank at Bank of America

Why him:
Crawford doesn’t do things lightly. As an undergraduate at Campbell University in his home state of North Carolina, he earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration, trusts and estate administration. He then returned for his M.B.A.

There was never a question that he’d go into banking, though—it’s been the profession of choice for a couple of generations in his father’s family in the Midwest. “I just naturally flowed into it,” he says.

Since he began working at the Fort Myers bank five years ago, Crawford has filled many shoes, not just coordinating wealth management services and advising clients, but also helping colleagues as a leader and a mentor.

He volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, the March of Dimes, for which he was a team captain this year, and as a member of the scholarship selection committee for the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. A husband and father of two, including a daughter born in July, he also volunteers for the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools and as a board member of the Lee Memorial Health System.

Off the clock:
“I can’t figure out any other manly way to say it, but gardening. I like working in my yard.”

Marcia Davis
Age: 31
Position: HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) VI Coordinator
Housing Authority, City of Fort Myers

Why her:
Davis is single-handedly coordinating the largest affordable-housing project in the history of Southwest Florida. When the $80 million HOPE VI project reaches completion in 2011, more than 500 low-income families will have an affordable place to rent or own in the Dunbar neighborhood of Fort Myers, east of downtown.

Davis, who lived in public housing as a child, worked for three years to get a $20 million grant from the federal government. She will spend the next three years using that money to leverage tax credits, loans and donations to complete the project.

Development is only half of her job. The other half of the program is in supportive services for the community. “We put a million dollars aside for case management and self-sufficiency activities, such as job training, credit rebuilding and homeownership classes,” says Davis. “It’s important that you have people who are looking out for the best interest, long-term, of residents. The residents here will have a home they are proud of.”

Off the clock:
Davis and her husband are expecting their second child, and as vice president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County, she arranged a partnership so it will operate on the new property.

Daniel Dentino
Age: 32
Position: Vice president of student affairs, dean of community involvement
Ave Maria University

Why him:
Dentino was in his mid-20s when he began working at the Catholic university’s Michigan campus as director of student affairs.

In spite of his youth at the time—or perhaps because of it—Dentino poured himself into creating what has become a thriving student life program.

Now on the Southwest Florida campus, Dentino oversees the residence programs, career counseling, athletics, study abroad and international student affairs for Ave Maria’s 400 students.
“My goal in student life is to round out and complete the education the student gets in the classroom,” he says. Part of that rounding out includes organizing students to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club of Collier County and other local community groups.
When he isn’t developing extracurricular activities or helping freshmen adjust to college life, Dentino teaches a course in scripture and the theology of Pope John Paul II, whom Dentino admires greatly.

“He had such an unbelievable love for the youth,” he says. “And I believe that the youth—young men and women—are the best part of any culture.”

Off the clock:
Dentino is working on his Ph.D. dissertation on Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body, addressing the question of cohabitation.

Mike D’Onofrio
Age: 38
Position: Commercial litigator
Quarles & Brady LLP

Why him:
Two years ago, D’Onofrio says, “I had never done a Hague case.” Now he regularly files cases in the international court on behalf of parents whose children have been abducted by family members and taken out of their home countries.

D’Onofrio, who spent six years in the Marines before going to college and law school, spends an average of 250 otherwise billable hours per year on these cases, all pro bono. The “left-behind” parents, who are often socially marginalized or impoverished, may petition the Hague for aid in returning their children. The files are then routed to a volunteer lawyer, such as D’Onofrio. He handles cases in which the abductor has fled with the child to Southwest Florida.

Working with government agencies, including the FBI, and nonprofits such as the National Center for Exploited & Missing Children, of which he now sits on the local board, D’Onofrio does all the legal work he can to reunite the families.

Going through the American legal system to regain a child often gives the left-behind parent an appreciation and understanding of the system, D’Onofrio says. It also shows him or her “there are Americans who care.”

Off the clock:
D’Onofrio runs, bikes or swims before work every morning.

Stacy Calvino
Age: 29
Position: Manager
Punta Gorda Marina

Why her:
Calvino is committed to encouraging other young professionals in her area. A founding member and social director of the Charlotte County Young Professionals (CCYP), Calvino has worked hard to develop a community within the local under-40 set.

“The biggest thing was just realizing that meeting people in your age group is difficult in Southwest Florida,” says Calvino of the impetus behind the organization. “It’s difficult to compete with other cities that offer a wider variety of activities and things to do.” She and a handful of other CCYP founders set out to create a stronger network of young professionals—and the plan worked.

Since its first meeting in 2005, CCYP has grown to include approximately 200 members. The monthly lunches and after-work meetings might draw on traditional networking models, but events such as group paintballing and cardboard-boat races are some livelier perks of membership. “What we found the most exciting was that it’s keeping some people [in the area],” Calvino says.

The Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce quickly took notice of the group and offered a seat on its board of directors to Calvino. “They wanted a way to be in tune and in touch with what was going on,” she says.

Calvino balances her social entrepreneurship with her day job as manager of the Punta Gorda Marina, which has been her family’s business for the past 25 years. She’s also a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, events chair for Habitat for Humanity Women Build and a board member of the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center.

“I’m just excited to live here,” says Calvino. She admits that Punta Gorda wasn’t always such an attractive place to her when she was growing up, “but we’re planting our roots now,” she says.