Some are launching big projects, others face seemingly insurmountable tasks.

All, in their own way, are breaking new ground.

In December, Business First reporters and editors identified a lengthy list of people who will be making news and making big decisions in the coming year. We compared notes, haggled a bit, and whittled the list down to a select group.

Among them were two lawyers and an employee at an area legal nonprofit.

Jennifer Parker
President
Black Capital Network

Parker, 49, is about to become the new chairperson of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, making her the CVB's first female chair and the first minority to head the bureau's board of directors.

"Jennifer is the right person at the right time to chair the CVB," said Keith Belanger, M&T Bank senior vice president and current bureau chairman.

A 1984 graduate of the University at Buffalo Law School, Parker has helped the CVB forge a number of new relationships, including securing tourism-related designations from a number of minority groups and organizations.

"I couldn't think of a better person," Belanger said.

- James Fink

Joy McDuffie
Foreclosure-prevention specialist
Western New York Law Center

Original plans for the $1.1 billion Joint Schools Construction Board Project called for the rehabilitation of city schools.

To date, approximately 35 schools have been rebuilt by Ciminelli Construction Corp.

"They are "astoundingly beautiful," says project cofounder David Stieglitz of Stieglitz Snyder Architecture.

But McDuffie, who doesn't have a formal role with the project, is asking this question: Why do the neighborhoods surrounding the schools remained untouched?

"The neighborhoods could be brought back and jobs could be created," says McDuffie, who is planning to introduce her ideas of reintroducing the project's neighborhood aspect to city officials.

Stieglitz agrees with the premise of McDuffie's question. He describes the often-broken-down neighborhoods as "cesspools."

He says a second billion dollars was allocated for the reconstruction of neighborhoods, but turned down because "of politics" at the city level.

Stieglitz wouldn't elaborate on the fate of the second billion dollars, yet he is hopeful that McDuffie will be the catalyst needed to re-energize the neighborhood portion of the projects.

"She's knowledgeable, thoughtful and tough, and understands the issues," he says.

- David Bertola

Cheryl Green
Erie County attorney

Green, 39, began 2008 as a partner in the Williamsville law firm of Lustig & Brown LLP and ended the year as the first female county attorney in the history of Erie County.

She brought with her 12 years of experience in private practice, most recently having worked in the defense of professional malpractice and workers' compensation suits. Though her nomination was held up with some legislators voicing concerns over her proposed salary of $124,000, she was eventually confirmed and took office in April.

Since then, Green has wasted no time establishing herself as the legal voice of Erie County. She says her first year on the job has been tough at times, though she calls it "my favorite job I've ever had."

"Although there are many, many challenges on the horizon, probably the biggest challenge I see (in 2009) is to work on the relationship between ECMC (Erie County Medical Center) and the county," Green says. "We are working very hard, myself specifically, to try and reach a resolution for the community regarding that relationship."

- Matt Chandler