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.

Though he is currently the owner and Co-Founder of Long Beach’s first co-working space WE Labs, Markus has made a name for himself as one of the city’s great cultural advocates—someone who believes in fostering collaboration among musicians, writers, videographers, graphic designers and traditional visual artists. In addition to finding local bands to play at several Downtown venues, he has also used his organizing power to help create an art gallery, a booking and tour management company, an event production and consulting firm as well as RU Long Beach, a collection of artists that hosted events bringing local artists under one umbrella.

To learn more about WE Labs, visit http://welabs.us/