New York, NY – Jewelers of America (JA), the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry marketplace, has announced the recipients of its 2025 20 Under 40 Program. The annual recognition celebrates young professionals under the age of 40 who exemplify exceptional leadership, creativity, and commitment to advancing the jewelry industry. This year marks a significant evolution for the program, with the inclusion of a new category honoring professionals in the jewelry supplier sector alongside its original retail focus.
The 20 Under 40 Program was launched in 2022 to highlight emerging talent in the jewelry retail space. This year, Jewelers of America expanded the program to include a second category—Jewelry Suppliers—to recognize the vital contributions of individuals working in design, manufacturing, wholesale, and service companies that support the jewelry retail market. A total of 40 individuals have been named to this year’s class: 20 representing jewelry retailers and 20 representing jewelry suppliers.
All recipients were selected by a panel of industry judges and evaluated on their professional success, innovative thinking, leadership qualities, and dedication to the greater jewelry community. Each nominee also demonstrated a commitment to the Jewelers of America Code of Professional Practices and the highest standards of professional ethics.
“We are incredibly proud to announce this year’s class of the 20 Under 40 Program and to expand our recognition to include supplier professionals who are essential to our industry’s growth and innovation,” says David Bonaparte, President & CEO of Jewelers of America. “The 20 Under 40 Class of 2025 represent the future of fine jewelry, and we are honored to celebrate their accomplishments and support their continued success.”
The following individuals have been selected as recipients of the 20 Under 40 recognition in the Retail category:
- Daniel Arik, Co-Owner at Happy Jewelers, Fullerton, CA
- Cece Baggott, Chief Strategy Officer at The Vault Nantucket, Boston, MA
- Lauren Boc, Founder and CEO at Hera Fine Jewelry, Brooklyn, NY
- Fallon Bock, Vice President & Head Buyer at Bachendorf's, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
- Chase Brinson, Owner at Ed & Ethel's Fine Jewelry, Christiansburg, VA
- Chae Carter, President/Owner at Carter's Collective Fine Jewelry, Hattiesburg, MS
- Robert Chorost, CEO at Precious Metals Refinery, Tucson, AZ
- Helen Fuqua, Bench Jeweler at Christopher's Fine Jewelry, Pawleys Island, SC
- Vanessa Guarino, Director of Social Media at Louis Anthony Jewelers, Pittsburgh, PA
- Ricardo Guerrero, Manager at Ben Bridge Jeweler, Bellevue, WA
- Peter Hannes IV, Chief Operating Officer at Craig Husar Fine Diamonds, Brookfield, WI
- Iris Jarvis, Vice President at Young Jewelers, Jasper, AL
- Kathleen Thompson Kimball, CEO/President at George Thompson Diamond Company, Camarillo, CA
- Chelsea Holtzman Lawrence, Chief Marketing Officer at CD Peacock, Oak Brook, IL
- Joseph Meadows, Creative Design Manager at David Douglas Diamonds, Marietta, GA
- Mike Nekta, Partner at Leon Diamond, New York, NY
- Mallory Shelter, Owner at Shelter, Washington, D.C.
- Megan Sherrer-Neel, Graduate Gemologist/Marketing and Sales Manager at Lou’s Jewelry, Mobile, AL
- Chris Wattsson, Owner and Bench Jeweler at Wattsson & Wattsson Jewelers, Marquette, MI
- Rose Wong, CEO and Founder at Kolohe Jewelry, Honolulu, Hawai’i
The following individuals have been selected as recipients of the 20 Under 40 recognition in the Supplier category:
- Allyna Ahrens, Director of Sales at Aurora Payments, Tempe, AZ
- Aaron Ariel, Co-Founder at Dialog Solutions Inc., Vancouver, BC Canada
- Dakota Badia, Co-Designer at Buddha Mama, Miami, F
- Mathew Behnam, President at Everspark, Great Neck, NY
- Cecily Bowen, National Sales Director at Hearts On Fire & Memoire, Boston, MA
- Fernanda Durmer, Owner and Designer at Universal Deco, Denver, CO
- Vanessa Fernández, Jeweler and Artist at Vanessa Fernández Studio, Miami, FL
- Kiran Golakiya, Chief Operating Officer at Dharm International LLC, New York, NY
- Nichole Guillory, Public Relations and Social Media Manager at Stuller, Inc., Lafayette, LA
- Joy Haugaard, Creative Director and Co-Founder at Lionheart, New York, NY
- Joshua Israileff, Co-Owner at ASBA USA, Inc, Sarasota, FL
- Jean Kee, VP of Design at John Hardy, New York, NY
- Jonathan LeVian, VP of Sales and Marketing at Le Vian, Great Neck, NY
- Haim Medine, Creative Director at Mark Henry Jewelry, New York, NY
- Raja Mehta, President at AG Gems, Los Angeles, CA
- Trevor Mendelsohn, Vice President of Merchandise and Sales at Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels, Beverly Hills, CA
- Paras Pandya, Managing Director at ASHI Couture, New York, NY
- Jordan Peck, Head of Operations at Brevani, New York, NY
- Romy Schreiber Gow, Art Director at Gumuchian, New York, NY
- Ross Wesdorp, Senior Director of Sales/Co-Owner at Jewel-Craft, Inc., Erlanger, KY
Jewelers of America’s 20 Under 40 Program is sponsored by Jewelers Mutual Group and Synchrony. For more information about the recipients and to view the full list of honorees, visit www.jewelers.org/ja/events-news/20-under-40.
