Watch our 2012 The Young and The Guest List fashion shoot featuring a selection of our 250 YGL honorees.
Photography and Art Direction: Dustin C. Lilley, DCL Imagery
Assisted by: Marianne Luther and Othello Banaci
Hair/Makeup: Liz Wegrzyn, www.facesbyliz.com
Location: The Gallery at The Park Hyatt Washington
Creative directors: Mary Endres and Anne Kim.
Videographer: Othello Banaci
[vimeo width=”500″ height=”400″]http://vimeo.com/35757110[/vimeo]
Stephanie Valencia, Deputy Director, White House Office of Public Engagement. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Stephanie Valencia
Notable: A key leader in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement, this former press secretary to Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. Linda Sanchez heads the administrations’s “Champions of Change” and “Community Leaders Briefing Series” – two programs that bring community leaders to share their concerns and innovative ideas with the White House. Valencia has also worked with the Latino community, and on immigration and housing issues for the OPE. She says the biggest challenge of her job is working against the partisan political culture to bring about changes that will improve people’s lives. The best part of her job is brining people to the White House who my not have otherwise been able to come. New Year’s Resolution: Run a half marathon (she’s currently currently training for the Rock and Roll). Little-known Fact: She was head page during former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the Senate.
From left: Colin Hunter, Co-founder of Alton Lane; Peyton Jenkins, Co-founder of Alton Lane. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Colin Hunter and Peyton Jenkins
Notable: Founders of a growing custom menswear shop (Alton Lane) in a town with a dearth of quality men’s fashion. Even better? The haberdashery employs a high-tech 3-D, white-light body scanner to take exact measurements. Colin’s Guilty Pleasure: The Hunger Games books. Favorite App: Spotify. Little-known Fact: He’s been hospitalized twice in foreign countries after encounters with wild animals. Peyton’s Charity/Cause: Alex’s Lemonade, in memory of his cousin. Guilty Pleasure: He enjoys shopping more than his wife.
Laurent Desbois, Correspondent for France2 Television. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Laurent Desbois
Notable: His name is synonymous with coverage fo the U.S. political scene for millions of TV viewers in France whether he’s reporting on the latest fractious presidential debate or trying – so far unsuccessfully – to get Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to speak French. Favorite Washington Spot: His own place since he travels so often. Charity/Cause: Reporters Without Borders in honor of his colleague who was killed while covering a story. Guilty Pleasure: His vast sneaker collection. Little-known Fact: He was a junior karate champion in his native province of Brittany.
Holly Thomas, D.C. Editor for Refinery29. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Holly Thomas
Notable: She’s the Washington D.C. editor of Refinery29, a global platform for discovering and celebrating personal style. She was previously a fashion and lifestyle columnist for the Washington Post for seven years. Over-achiever Alert: She’s also the cofounder of Butler & Claypool, a vintage retail and design collective based in Washington. Personal Style: Vintage-inspired, curated and boy-meets-girl. Animal Lover: She plans to adopt a retired racing greyhound (or two!) soon.
Lauren Hickey, Public Affairs Specialist for the State Department. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Lauren Hickey
Notable: The 24-year-old Georgetown grad is well on her way to becoming a veteran politico; she just finished a few-year stint working for Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md), before joining the Secretary of State’s team. Page-turner: “There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America” by Philip Dray. A.M. Must Read: Politico‘s Playbook and Morning Score.
Britt McHenry, Sports Reporter for WJLA-TV ABC 7. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Britt McHenry
Notable: The self-proclaimed high school nerd turned out-and-about sports reporter at WJLA/ABC 7. As 25, the former D1 soccer player is poised to take M.V.P. in female sportscasting. Favorite Washington Spot: The WJLA/ABC 7 suite at Nationals Park where she’ll chow down on some Ben’s Chili Bowl cheese fries and watch the game (“It’s the best view of the park”).
Ora Nwabueze, Owner of The Dunes LLC. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Ora Nwabueze
Notable: An entrepreneur and corporate scenester is founder of the Dunes, a gallery and performance space that is raising the bar on cool in Columbia Heights. Little-known Fact: He’s a former lawyer and investment banker who grew up wanting to be a jazz guitarist. Page-turner: Lately, a lot of contracts, leases and blueprints.
David John Frenkil, Energy Attorney at Van Ness Feldman. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
David John Frenkil
Notable: This legal eagle is at the center of the debate on renewable energy. He is often asked to speak at various conferences, consulted by legislators and private companies and has written extensively on cleantech and the government energy financing for publications here and abroad. But its not all work all the time. Before law school, Frenkil pitched for a professional baseball team in Antwerp, Belgium. iPhone/Blackberry: iPhone for this lawyer Washington: underrated: The city’s entrepreneurial community Favorite app: MapMyTracks.
Afshin Molavi, Co-Director at World Economy Round Table. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Afshin Molavi
Notable: The seasoned traveler, lauded author of “Soul of Iran” and Middle East scholar is regarded the world over for his thoughts on geo-politics and economics. He regularly appears on CNN, NPR and the BBC. Buzz word: Arab Spring: the former Washington Post and Reuters journalist is now studying the aftermath and implication of the modern revolution. Little-known fact: “I’m too old to be on any ‘young’ list.”
Arash Shirazi, Founder/President of Bullitt Booking Agency. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Arash Shirazi
Notable: Arash is part Rag and Bone ambassador, part music industry mogul and all entrepreneur. Shirazi, who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran, has risen through the ranks of the music scene as the co-founder of Bullitt agency, a D.C. and Barcelona-based booking agency for DJs and musicians. Page-turner? “Decoded” by Jay Z and “How to Speak Money” by Ali Velshi and Christine Romans.
Jesse Thomas, Co-Founder of JESS3. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Leslie Bradshaw, Co-Founder of JESS3. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Jesse & Leslie
Notable: The founding duo behind JESS3, the nationally recognized digital creative agency with a roster of clients that includes Facebook, the Washington Post, Nike, C-Span and Google. Jesse and Leslie are the creative force behind “The Zen of Steve Jobs,” a comic book created in partnership with Forbes honoring the tech legend. His New Year’s resolution: To honor his vegan mom by working out and eating more veggies. Her motto: Always maintain grace under fire, which also happens to be a popular mid-90s TV show.
Lucas R. Baiano, Political Filmmaker. (Phot by Dustin C. Lilley)
Lucas R. Baiano
Notable: Award-winning political wunderkind; he’s responsible for the most trafficked political YouTube videos in 2011, a year that also brought profiles of the 23-year-old in Time, Variety and Details magazines as well as the Wall Street Journal, just to name a few. Famous fan: Stephen Colbert did an eight-minute opening fanfare segment on Lucas’s work. Word on the street: He’s been called the “Michael Bay of politics.”
Nicole Brener-Schmitz, Federal Political and Field Director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Nicole Brener-Schmitz
Notable: As the federal political and field director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, this 28-year-old directs the union’s political and field activities around candidate and issue campaigns. Brener-Schmitz, working together with local unions, has a strong say in which congressional candidates the mighty labor group will support financially and organizationally on behalf of its 1.4 million members. With campaigns all across the country and the 24-7 nature of today’s news cycle, she is understandably busy, vetting candidates for federal office and then deciding a plan of action. “You could just never stop working,” she said. But, it’s well worth it. “Knowing that the work I do helps ensure we elect people who will stand up for working families and give them a voice on Capitol Hill” is what she loves most about her job. Favorite Washington spot: The Kennedy Center and Zara. Washington: underrated: Metro. It’s clean and efficient, and Recessions’ King Kong drafts. Little-known fact: This rare female voice in a male-dominated world was Miss Lewis County 2002, a local Miss America pageant.
Sebastian Rivera, Senior Loan Officer at Potomac Mortgage Group. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Sebastian Rivera
Notable: The son of a “successful diplomat” and “a brilliant engineer,” Rivera studied economics in his native Guatemala and the People’s Republic of China before settling on a successful career in mortgage banking – where his greatest pleasure is “driving through a neighborhood and realizing that many of the families are living there because I helped them finance their dream.” Washington: overrated: The cupcake wars. Guilty pleasure: An enormous Sunday morning breakfast. Little-known fact: He plays piano; favorite composers are Chopin and Rachaminoff.
Alex Skatell, Media Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (Photo by Dustin C. Lilley)
Alex Skatell
Notable: At 25, he’s responsible for the production of all Web, video and print advertising on behalf of U.S. Senate candidates – overseeing a multimillion dollar budget. Little-known fact: He worked in construction during summer breaks in college, fully intending to enter the field after graduation. Charity/cause: Susan G. Komen Foundation; he lost his mother to cancer while in high school and she was involved with SGK even before her diagnosis. Guilty pleasure: Reality TV.
