Staff members honored with ‘Forty Under 40’ awards

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Enid Cardinal and Sharitta Gross

Two Rochester Institute of Technology staff members have been selected “2014 Forty Under 40” award recipients from the Rochester Business Journal.

Enid Cardinal, senior sustainability advisor, and Sharitta Gross, program coordinator with RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education, will be honored at an awards luncheon Nov. 20 at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

The prestigious designation, in its 20th year, is given to the region’s top 40 men and women under the age of 40 who have achieved professional success and made significant civic contributions in the local area.

“I am honored to be counted among such an impressive list of leaders in our community,” Cardinal said.

Cardinal, who joined RIT in the summer of 2011, often bicycles to work and shops at local farm markets. She is the adviser to Rochester Recover, a student club that works with FoodLink to redistribute excess prepared foods from campus dining to area meal centers, is on the regional board of The Nature Conservancy, and is involved with a number of state and regional sustainability professional organizations. She’s the chair of RIT’s Committee for Sustainable Practices, which contributes to the development and propagation of policies, practices and ideas in an effort to protect the environment and foster the sustainable use of our material, energy and natural resources.

“I have the utmost respect for Ms. Cardinal, her passion for sustainability, and her tireless work with our students and our community,” said Nabil Nasr, associate provost for Academic Affairs and director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies. “I am confident Enid will continue to be a tremendous asset to our region.”

Gross, who helps match RIT students with employers for co-ops, is a member of the YWCA Board, the Anthony L. Jordan Foundation Board and the Determined Individuals Victoriously Achieving Success (DIVAS) program at RIT.

“I have devoted myself to different causes in the RIT community, such as Partnerships in Pluralism, Veterans Day Breakfast and the CARES program,” Gross said. “Those things are important to me because they allowed me to become involved with the university in a way that differs greatly from what I do on a daily basis, which is also part of who I am.”

Manny Contomanolis, senior associate vice president and director of RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education, said he is “not at all surprised Sharitta has been recognized in this way. She is a bright, engaged professional, always willing to contribute positively.”

Gross said she hopes to set a positive example for other first-generation college students of what is possible for them.

“It is indeed an honor to represent all the communities, past and present, that exist within my life — my family, where I grew up, RIT, and my high school, School of the Arts,” she said.