Where Are They Now?: Connecting with four former 40Under40 winners
September 2026
For 20 years, the TCBN’s 40Under40 has highlighted some of the best and brightest in the region. Here, we take a look at what four past winners are up to (and most proud of) in 2026.
Christie Perdue: Inaugural Class of 2006
Christie Perdue is a principal at The Solvent Group, a Traverse City-based firm that has provided a variety of capacity-building services to more than 100 nonprofits across the country.
“I’m just super proud of the missions that we’re supporting, because it’s really amazing work,” Perdue said. “Everything from food insecurity to homelessness to child welfare to recovery to arts and culture, education and the environment.”
Though Solvent offers several services to empower nonprofits – board development, executive coaching, talent searches, marketing, communications and more – it prides itself on fundraising strategy and assistance.
“It’s really fun to be a part of these incredible missions and to watch our direct efforts in helping these nonprofits build relationships with donors and connect with new and prospective donors,” Perdue said. “All of that fuels these missions.”
While almost all businesses or organizations can benefit from consulting, nonprofits – which run on slim staffs with limited expertise – are often in serious need of outside help. Perdue is glad to help turn their idealism into real results.
"Nobody grows up saying ‘I want to be an executive director of a nonprofit.’ They get into that role because they're passionate about the work and they have a mission that inspires them,” Perdue said. “Then they need to figure out how to fund their programs, and that’s where we come in … it really is about taking those current leaders of a nonprofit and helping them be as effective as they can be.”
Perdue was a fresh 24-year-old and working at the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation when she was named in the TCBN’s inaugural 40Under40 class. She later logged 10 years at Otsego Memorial Hospital, where she worked in fundraising and marketing, before launching her consulting business in 2017.
She had fond memories of her 40Under40 win.
“I really was so excited about that award 20 years ago. Not only was I excited that I was on the list, but I was excited that a nonprofit was listed,” she said. “It just felt like such a recognition of important work that's being done in that nonprofit space.”
Joe Short: Class of 2012
Then as now, Joe Short was and is the wizard behind Short’s Brewing Co, which has continued to capture hearts, minds and market share since its 2004 founding in Bellaire.
“The number one thing I’m excited about is the fact that we’re Michigan’s largest independent brewer,” he said. “We’re the biggest of the small and the smallest of the big, and we’re still a very tight-knit, ma and pa operation.”
The company now employs about 150 people and operates locations in Bellaire and Elk Rapids, with a third coming soon to Traverse City’s aging Logan’s Landing (to be rebranded, at least on the Short’s side, as Short’s Landing) sometime next year.
“We’re adding our third location, which I’ve been reluctant to do for a long time, but we couldn’t say no because we have an affinity for shitty old buildings that need some love,” Short joked.
The original Bellaire location now consumes most of a city block and hosts tens of thousands of customers a year for food, drink, music and merch. The company also distributes, with its flagship Local’s Light being the state’s bestselling craft lager.
Short, who’s “47 going on 30,” remains very plugged in and active in virtually all aspects of the business, which he feels keeps the “magic” alive. But he’s also deeply grateful for his staff and leadership team, several of which have been with him since day one.
“Being able to hang out with these folks after 23 years is a real big joy,” he said. “We’ve acquired a ton of experience cumulatively together, and at this point it’s like dancing blindfolded. We know where our zones are, where our strengths are and where they’re not.”
Short’s continues to grow. It’s never been out of a desire to get bigger, Short says, but instead the simple need to expand to meet customer demand.
“We just kept reinvesting everything that we've had into working backwards from the consumer experience to deliver the best possible version that Short’s could be delivering,” Short said.
He says he feels the company is stronger than ever in its 23rd year, even as the beer market continues to falter.
“The industry's peaked and on a decline, and so we're navigating that. But we're well positioned as Michigan's largest independent craft brewer to weather the storm,” he said. “We've got great communities around us, and we've got a great following that's going to keep the beer flowing off the shelves and into the pints and the tap rooms.”
Short said landing on the 40Under40 list was a "big deal."
Tim Pulliam: Class of 2013
Tim Pulliam is a community builder – and a placemaker – at heart.
In 2008, he and a partner started Keen Technical Solutions, which delivers sustainable, energy-efficient solutions to clients across the country. And while Pulliam is certainly proud of that work, he gets most jazzed up at a variety of ongoing development projects now led by Keen.
“It’s all about community development,” he said. “We’re really, really excited about the Woodmere project and bringing that entire corridor to life.”
The Woodmere project Pulliam speaks of is the mixed-use development Mill District project, which is under construction now. It will include housing, retail and restaurant space tucked between Woodmere Avenue and the very popular Boardman Lake Loop trail.
“We want family-friendly amenities around that loop. Boardman Lake is beautiful and it’s the center of our town, but since they completed the loop, there’s thousands of trips a day in the peak season with only one or two things to stop at along the way,” he said. “We’re going to do it with Woodmere and we’re going to do it with Logan’s Landing.”
Keen jointly purchased the entire east side of Logan’s Landing with Short’s Brewing Company, with plans for a Short’s location and other attractions there.
It’s all part of a natural evolution for Pulliam and Keen, who spent their first several years chasing big contracts before deciding to dedicate their time and energy in projects located right in their own backyard.
“We were running all over the country trying to do work for all of these people that just didn’t really align with our goals or our mission. After COVID, my guys and I said ‘Let’s bring that value back to town. What can we do right here?’ And that’s when we started thinking about development,” Pulliam said. “We took all the lessons we learned and we’re spreading that value back around in the community.”
Pulliam is honored to be a past 40Under40 winner.
“There were so many inspiring people in Traverse City when I first moved here,” he said. “And I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that when I think of all of these people I look up to, now I’m on this list.’ You always got to remember that there’s people who want you to succeed – you’re not in this alone.”
Kate Redman, Classes of 2014 and 2015
Kate Redman is perhaps best known for spearheading the ambitious Commongrounds project, which resulted in a vibrant mixed-use development on Eighth Street in Traverse City.
The building includes a school, restaurant, bookstore, event venue (The Alluvion), housing, office space, coworking space and more. It opened in 2023 as northern Michigan’s first real estate cooperative, meaning it’s owned by its tenants and the community at large via shares.
“I feel really, really fortunate to have gotten to work on Commongrounds,” said Redman, 45. “So many people in our community worked on it and made it possible. We had a big learning curve, and people in the community … jumped in and helped us. In that way it’s also representative of what a great community we have.”
Redman now works for Nest Community Partners, an organization housed in Commongrounds that focuses on two of the Grand Traverse Region’s biggest challenges.
“We recognize that affordable workforce housing and childcare are two of our biggest needs, so we’re really trying to make some progress on those,” she said. “It really feels motivating to me to know that we could have a meaningful impact on the community.”
The organization has counted wins and a few struggles as it works on these matters. They’ll press on regardless.
“If these were easy problems to fix, they wouldn’t be the two biggest, persistent challenges we’re facing,” Redman said.
Redman was an attorney at the environmental law firm of Olson, Bzdok & Howard when she landed on the 40Under40 list. She recalls feeling honored to be on a list with so many impactful peers.
“When you’re a younger person in the community, you’re less likely to see your name in print, and it did definitely feel kind of cool to see that, especially alongside a bunch of other smart, kind and cool people doing interesting things,” she said. “I still look forward to the 40Under40 issue today.”
