On Thursday, April 25, the Long Beach Post hosted an event to honor young people from around the city who are doing great things to better their community and beyond. Out of hundreds of nominations from our readers, judges chose 40 winners who run the gamut from educators to artists to business owners to community activists, all of whom represent just a selection of those who are today contributing to the betterment of Long Beach.

A self-proclaimed technology and code geek, John’s dedication to fostering Long Beach’s growing tech community is unparalled. By day, he runs The Waypoint, the app he co-created that assists sailors with weather forecasts, tide information, navigation and marina slips. But in his spare time, John is the Executive Director of Long Beach Tech, a group that aims to connect digital startups in Long Beach through meet-ups, funding resources and, now, an interactive map, created earlier this year during an all-night hackathon he organized.

For more about Long Beach Tech and to view the map of local start-ups created during the hackathon, visit longbeachtech.org