Five people with ties to PSU were recognized among the New Hampshire Union Leader’s “40 Under Forty” Class of 2007, which celebrates up-and-coming leaders under 40 years of age who are making a positive difference in New Hampshire.

The list of finalists was published in the online and print editions of the Union Leader in January, and a reception was held in Manchester on March 13 to honor them.

Those honorees with PSU ties were:

Casey Bisson, an information architect at Lamson Library who developed Scriblio, a software application that enables Internet users to access online library databases. He recently received a prestigious Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration for his role in developing this groundbreaking application. (For more on Bisson, see the cover story in the Winter 2007 issue of Plymouth Magazine.)

Sheila Colson, a PSU graduate student who teaches first and second grade in Rochester at the William Allen School. Her colleagues portray her as a dedicated teacher who is committed to helping students. Colson also teaches Sunday school, coaches high school softball, and volunteers on the town recreation committee.

Jessica Dutille, who earned her bachelor’s degree and MBA at PSU and is an adjunct faculty member, is the executive director of the Pemi Youth Center in Plymouth, which offers young people a safe and supportive after-school environment. She cofounded the Faith, Hope and Love Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring relief to children and youth suffering from poverty, hunger, and homelessness. (For more on Dutille, see page 10 of the Fall 2006 issue of Plymouth Magazine.)

Rachelle Moore, a PSU graduate, is assistant principal at Green Acres Elementary School in Manchester. She is known for her mentoring skills and for encouraging students to set ambitious goals and achieve them. Moore’s long-range goal is to open a drug and alcohol treatment center for adolescents.

Brad Simpkins, an MBA student at PSU, is chief of New Hampshire’s Forest Protection Bureau, which is responsible for fighting forest fires, enforcing forestry laws, and monitoring the health of New Hampshire’s trees throughout the state’s nearly 5 million acres of forested land. Simpkins has served as chief for the past two years, having worked his way up through the department’s ranks beginning as a forestry technician in the State Forest Nursery in 1998.

The “40 Under Forty” Program, now in its sixth year, attracts a multitude of nominations from which 40 finalists are selected by judges at the Union Leader. Class of 2007 nominees had to be under 40 years of age by February 1, 2007, and must have lived in the state for at least the past three years.

Nominations for the New Hampshire Union Leader’s “40 Under Forty” Class of 2008 are now being accepted.—Bruce Lyndes