Courier’s ‘Fab 40’ under 40 showcases emerging leaders; Tickets available now for April 14 event

Aaron Donald, the New Pittsburgh Courier’s first-ever Trailblazer Award honoree.

You can find a lot of stuff on social media. What people are eating, where people are traveling, and who’s opened a new storefront are just a few.

But when the New Pittsburgh Courier publishes its annual list of the “Fab 40” under 40 honorees, which is subsequently posted onto social media, everything else takes a back seat.

Over the past seven days, congratulations have been aplenty for the 2023 edition of young, Black Pittsburghers who made the list. Outfits are already being chosen, tickets are already being bought, tables are already being reserved.

AARON DONALD

And there’s even a star NFL player who will be in attendance, as the Courier’s first-ever Trailblazer Award honoree at a Fab 40 event, in Aaron Donald, the future Hall of Fame defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams. He, of course, is a Pittsburgh native, who later attended Penn Hills High School and the University of Pittsburgh. His sister, Akita Donald, is a member of this year’s Fab 40 class.

Dr. Rikell S. Ford, FAB 40 2022 HONOREE

Someone else who’s excited about the newly-released Fab 40 class is Sabrina Saunders Mosby, the President and CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh, a premier economic development membership organization in the region. Mosby, an African American woman, was a Fab 40 honoree in 2010, and to this day, there are relationships she’s continued with people she met in her class more than a decade ago.

SABRINA SAUNDERS MOSBY

“I know how important it was for me at the time to receive that recognition, to engage with like-minded Black professionals,” Mosby told the Courier, Feb. 27. “In 2010 and in 2023 where we are today, it’s still vitally important for us to honor and celebrate and uplift and showcase the Black talent that we have in this region. It is more relevant than ever for us to be highlighting and honoring the individuals that selected Pittsburgh as the place where they want to grow their careers and invest in the community.”

Mosby is in a position to support Fab 40 financially; thus, Vibrant Pittsburgh was a sponsor for the 2022 Fab 40 event that occurred at the Sheraton Hotel, Station Square. This year’s event is Friday, April 14, and will again take place at the Sheraton. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Individual tickets are $100, VIP tables of 10 seats are $1,200. Tickets can be purchased at www.newpittsburghcourier.com/fab40 or by calling Allison Palm at 412-481-8302, ext. 136. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are available by contacting Ashley Johnson at ajohnson@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-481-8302, ext. 128. The event will be hosted by KDKA-TV on-air personality

.MIKEY HOOD

Across the country, most people don’t think of Pittsburgh as a hub where you’d find massive young Black professionals. It’s been such a topic that’s been dissected over the years, to the point where many Black professionals have told the Courier in interviews that they felt more welcomed at locations like Washington, D.C, Charlotte, or Columbus. Mosby, as the leader of Vibrant Pittsburgh, works each day to stress to Pittsburgh companies and nonprofits that diversity in their workplaces is not a request, it’s a demand. For Pittsburgh to be one of the great cities in the U.S., African Americans, and particularly young Black professionals, must be able to get jobs here and be retained.

Johnnie Geathers, MSW, LSW, FAB 40 2022 HONOREE

“When we think about creativity, innovation and new ways of thinking, this new class of Fab 40, they have all of that and more,” Mosby told the Courier. “So the contributions that they’re making across our industry, our sectors across the region are being seen. It’s needed, it’s important for Pittsburgh to continue to move towards a path of diversity. Having a thriving and prominent young Black population of contributors like those who are being honored in the Fab 40 this year is vital to the success of our region.”

Mosby added: “The work that they’re doing right now is, every day, supporting growth and really making a difference. We have to remember, ‘Who’s got next?’ A lot of people would argue that, “They got now.”