Prosper's Whiz Kids, 2005

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Driven by Success

By Rich Ehisen

     We all know them — the overachievers, the high flyers, the “whiz kids.” They are young and passionate, work long hours and always have lots of irons in the fire. But what possesses a 20- or 30- something to spend so much time grinding away in the office while their friends are off enjoying the freedom of youth? And how do they avoid burning themselves out along the way? According to some of the Sacramento region’s brightest young up-and-comers, the answer is simple — they wouldn’t have it any other way.            
     “I just really love what I do,” explains Greg Eldridge, 34, area manager for the international engineering consulting firm CH2MHILL. He clearly must, because he does a lot of it. Eldridge specializes in water resources, managing teams that tackle enormously complex water-use issues for a host of state, federal and local government clients. Those projects have generated more than $6 million in fees for the firm over the past three years, which makes it easy to understand why CH2MHILL Vice President Jim Hartley calls Eldridge a “rising star.”             
     The soft-spoken Eldridge also spends a lot of time as the company’s voice, both in business development and by representing CH2MHILL at numerous political events. A husband and the father of a two-year-old, he also plays a prominent role on various community boards and associations in his Folsom neighborhood, including a seat on the board of directors of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce.
     “The more you bite off, the more you can chew,” he reasons. Indeed. When Eldridge earned his master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis, he did what is normally a two-year program in only nine months.             
     The desire — some might say compulsion — to take on such daunting challenges is a common trait among local overachievers. Perhaps no challenge among the people mentioned here is as great as that facing the Sacramento Theatre Company’s (STC’s) youthful new general manager, 31-year-old Kendra Lewis. STC has a long history in the Sacramento region, but it has also endured decades of financial hardship and constant management turnover.             
     Although Lewis is young, her seven years of previous nonprofit administrative experience has given STC hope the cycle has ended. Since May, she has been in charge of all of the theatre’s business operations, from fundraising to staff and payroll. STC is actually so confident in Lewis they are counting on her to lead them to more than $2 million in donations and ticket sales next year. While she acknowledges that expectations are high, she says taking on STC’s difficulties is also a great opportunity.            
Continued...

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