Greensboro City Councilmember Justin Outling, a partner with Brooks Pierce law firm, has – along with 39 other local young black leaders –been named one of the “40 Under 40 Most Influential African Americans In The Piedmont” by Black Business Ink magazine, which researched young black leaders in Guilford County and Forsyth County to pick the winners.
A gala honoring the award recipients will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22.
According to the magazine, the list of “40 Under 40 Most Influential African Americans in the Piedmont” is comprised of “outstanding leaders who are confident, ambitious and achievement oriented.” It adds that, “These individuals help build their community, seek new challenges at work, are not afraid to question authority and serve as a model for all to emulate.”
All 40 of the award recipients were nominated and evaluated by two selection committees – one in Guilford County and one in Forsyth County.
Outling, who’s served as a Greensboro city councilmember for the past five years, practices law with a focus on business litigation and white-collar criminal defense. In 2016, he was named the “Outstanding Lawyer of the Year” by the Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers. Last year, Outling received the NC Bar Association’s Citizen Lawyer Award.
Another young leader in Greensboro also honored with Black Business Inc. magazine’s award was United Way of Greater Greensboro Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer Brian Graham. He joined United Way in March 2019 and he leads the organization’s finance team and oversees all of its financial and operational areas with a focus on strategic management in order to maximize return on investment for United Way. A graduate of NC A&T State University and the University of Virginia, Graham has over 15 years of financial leadership in nonprofit organizations – as well as five years of public accounting experience.
