One thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? That there are so many impressive younger folks in the construction industry! It was tough, but our judges have selected the Top Young Professionals Class of 2020 for ENR's New York and New Jersey region.

Every year, we select individuals younger than 40 who have shown extraordinary leadership, career progress and community involvement. The winners will be profiled in the Jan. 20, 2020, edition of ENR New York, both in the print magazine and online. They will also go on to the national 20 Under 40 contest; those results will be announced later this year.

Our judges had the tough decision of deciding who among the more than 50 contestants would make our list. I'd like to give special thanks to them. They are, in alphabetical order by last name:

• Guillermo Diaz-Fanas, a senior technical principal at WSP USA in NYC, a member of ENR New York's Top Young Professionals 2019 Class and the founder of the nonprofit Qu-AKE, which empowers LGBTQIA+ individuals working in the built environment.
• Ted Hammer, managing principal at Architectura's Manhattan office, who can brag more than 35 years of national and international experience as design lead on diverse project types
• Connie Zambianchi, president of Amaracon Testing and Inspections, a Hicksville, N.Y., firm she founded in 2015 -- who made ENR's 20 Under 40 list for 2019

And now, in alphabetical order by first name, here is ENR New York's Top Young Professionals Class of 2020!

1. Amen Mulkhlis, Senior Engineer, MTA - New York City Transit
2. BJ Kraemer, President & CEO, MCFA
3. Charlie Marino, Director, Energy + Performance, AKF Group
4. Chitwan Saluja, Director of Digital Technology, Jacobs
5. Drew DePalma, Director of Operations, M&E Engineers Inc.
6. Francesca Brando, Associate, Thornton Tomasetti
7. Jared Donnamiller, Partner, AKF Group
8. John Barrot, Associate Principal, Arup
9. Jordan Henshaw, Chief Estimator, Kiewit Eastern
10. Laura Benoit, Senior Project Manager, Gilbane Building Company
11. Melissa Johnson, President, Melissa Johnson Associates
12. Michael Mudalel, Senior Associate Engineer, MFS Consulting Engineers & Surveyor, DPC
13. Omotoye Omoniyi, Lead Superintendent, Gilbane Building Company
14. Rawle Sawh, Director of VDC (Virtual Design & Construction), Gilbane Building Company
15. Raymond J. Kesel, Associate,  Stantec
16. Robert Fields, Senior Environmental Engineer, STV
17. Samaneh Gholitabar, Assistant Project Manager, STV
18. Samantha Brummell,  Project Engineer, Thornton Tomasetti
19. Sarah Friedman, Senior Project Manager, AECOM Tishman
20. Sarah Quintal, Energy and Resiliency Analyst, Ecology and Environment, Inc.