By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

When Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announced the new members of the Oakland Together 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 on Feb. 21, two notable names stood out from the Clarkston area in Shaun Hayes and Sean Miller.
Hayes, 32, resides in Clarkston and is the executive director of the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester. He’s the former executive director of the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce as well.
Miller, 36, lives in Davisburg, and serves as the township clerk for Springfield Township.
The 11th Oakland Together 40 Under 40 class honors young professionals who live and/or work in Oakland County. These individuals exemplify Oakland Together, Coulter’s vision for a community working together to leverage its strengths, address its challenges, and find value in working with regional partners.
“It was a challenge picking just 40 people for this Oakland Together 40 Under 40 Class of 2023, but this group of impressive individuals offers a glimpse of the leaders of today and the future,” said Coulter. “From medical researchers to teachers and lawyers, elected officials, public servants and non-profit leaders, these remarkable people are helping to keep us healthy and safe, working with the most vulnerable among us and providing valuable public service to their communities.”
Both Miller and Hayes are excited to be on the list this year.
“I am both honored and humbled to have been named one of Oakland County’s 40 Under 40,” Miller said. “Serving this community as township clerk is the honor of a lifetime and I will be forever grateful to the residents of Springfield Township for putting their faith in me and electing me to this office. I am blessed to work with an amazing group of people, and I look forward to what we’ll continue to accomplish.”
“It’s been an incredible first year at Paint Creek Center for the Arts and I’m proud to be recognized for my work there,” added Hayes. “I have an amazing team and look forward to what we’ll continue to accomplish. I’ve wanted to make the county’s 40 Under 40 list for a few years now. To be named during the same week that I reached my one-year anniversary with Paint Creek tells me that I’m in the place that I need to be in my career. It’s an honor to be among such great company on this list.”
Approximately 175 candidates, born after Dec. 31, 1982, applied for the recognition. A panel of independent judges selected the new class.
Members of the Oakland Together 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 will be honored at a reception preceding Coulter’s State of the County address on March 14.
For more information on all the honorees, visit oakgov.com/40Under40.

PHOTO: Shaun Hayes, left, and Sean Miller.