9. Kevin Sousa, 32
Cutting-edge chef

"There's a community building right now of chefs that really want to make the food scene happen," says Kevin Sousa, who's arguably one of those exciting individuals. He's executive chef at Bigelow Grille and Alchemy, located in the Doubletree Hotel downtown. "There are two faces to our restaurant. The Bigelow Grille is contemporary American food with a focus on Pittsburgh, focus on regional products, regional preparation, locally procured," he says. "The other face is Alchemy, a 12-seat tasting 'restaurant within the restaurant,' featuring 16 to 20 courses of ultra-modern food and technique and technology that most people probably haven't seen if you haven't been to New York or Chicago or Spain. It's exciting for Pittsburgh."

Sousa actively supports local nonprofits, too. He contributes food to many events all year long, supporting more than 20 different organizations. He also sits on the board of directors for Bricolage, a local production company that stages distinctive theatrical events.

10. Matthew Eicher, 31
Firefighter

Matthew Eicher started a career in accounting and volunteered to fight fires on nights and weekends. But when one blaze raged on into his workday, Eicher realized he needed to make a change. So he quit his accounting job, and turned his passion into his full-time career. He's now a firefighter for the Allegheny County Fire Bureau. His team responds to emergencies at the Pittsburgh International Airport, performs safety inspections and provides training to the community.

Eicher also works part-time for Pittsburgh Fire and Safety, ensuring workplaces are complying with public-safety guidelines, and he volunteers with the Red Cross. He's one of the newest members of Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) emergency response teams, though disaster aid is not new to him. "I spent a week in the Etna/Millvale area when we had those bad floods, not only providing fire protection because they were overwhelmed, but helping the community. We played a significant role there," he says with pride.

11. Shannon Debes, 31
Civic educator

"I'm really interested in civic education. I want people to fully understand the issues," says Shannon Debes, "because when people are excited about things, more things happen." Debes began her career as a radio reporter and uses that experience to produce and host programming for Moon Community Access Television. "I realized they didn't have a public-information or community program, so I asked if I could start one," she says. Her program, "The Political Process," explains local political issues and features interviews with local politicians. Debes also chairs Moon Community Access Television's board of directors, and works with local government committees to communicate policies to the community. This fall, she's running for Moon Township supervisor. Win or lose, she want to help people make up their own minds about complicated issues.

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