The Next Wave Award
RECOGNIZING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS.
“The Next Wave: Celebrating Young Profess10nals” is an annual award for young professionals (under 40 years old at the time of nomination) that are employed in the AAF 10th District.
Nominations are open and may be made using the Nominations Form on this page.
NOMINATIONS DEADLINE
JANUARY 31, 2026
CRITERIA FOR ELECTION
- Candidates must be 40 years old or younger at the time of nomination.
- Employed in the advertising industry (advertiser, agency, media or tech). Does not have to be a member of the AAF.
- Have outstanding career achievements/measurable results in advertising, whether in marketing, sales or media.
- Have qualities that motivate others exhibited through mentoring, activity, advocacy, training, or volunteerism.
- Inductees must be present at the awards luncheon.
- Must work or live within AAF District 10.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
Please complete the submission form on this page and attach a .pdf document that includes:
- How the candidate meets the criteria and what qualities make the candidate worthy of this recognition
- An overview of major career milestones and achievements
- A description of all volunteer activities and community activism, both within and outside of the advertising industry
- Any supporting recommendation letters or statements including testimonials from past clients and employers, mentors/mentees, volunteer organization representative, alma mater, etc.
2024 Award Recipients
Alex Bryant
Project Manager, GSD&M, Austin, TX
While at GSD&M, he’s emerged himself in the agency’s culture by co-leading their BLK Employee Resource Group, as well as most recently named Ad2Austin’s 32 Under 32 recipient and one of the Top 50 Black Marketers on the Rise by the African American Marketing Association.
Throughout his young career, Alex has received global honors including being featured on Oprah.com, receiving multiple American Advertising Federation awards, a Daytime Emmy, and being named a Modern Man of Distinction by Black Enterprise. Alex has also been featured on Hallmark Channel, Thrive Global as well as Soul and Spirit Magazine in the United Kingdom.
Erica Kosemund
Sr. Director of Gaming Brand and Partnerships, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
As Senior Director of Gaming Brand and Partnerships for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Erica oversees the creative and strategic team that drives brand initiatives, including partnerships and activations, for Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, which includes three resorts and 22 gaming sites.
Since 2016, Erica has grown Choctaw Casinos & Resorts’ brand affiliation with more than 25 high-profile partnerships – including the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, AT&T
Byron Nelson, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the Academy of Country Music Awards, Dickies Arena, and several others.
Madison McQuary
Brand Manager, Agency Habitat, Fort Worth, TX
Her notable achievements include the implementation of digital media campaigns for Pei Wei, MOOYAH Burgers, and Old Gringo, for which she has helped increase return on ad spend by 106%, resulting in $1.7 million in revenue. She has executed over 15 shoots, launched 7 social media accounts, developed over 50 SOWs, generated over 200 creative briefs, and provided over 75 performance reports. Impressively, her work for MOOYAH and Pei Wei has been recognized with three bronze Telly Awards in 2022 and 2023.
Madison also created an internship program at Habitat that reduced onboarding time by 50% and mentored 12 interns to an 80% full-time employment conversion rate post-internship.
Candace Pittman
Account Director, Gravity Global President, Pink Lemonade Labs
Early in her career, Candace spent a few years leading the advertising for Academy Sports + Outdoors, a sporting goods store with a presence in many states. Her accomplishments with her time at Academy include working with a third-party agency to execute, optimize and report performance of digital ads, driving a 20% increase in opens and 15% in click through rate and working with cross functional teams to pilot CRM based Direct mail program.
In August 2020, Candace created Pink Lemonade Labs, a full-service advertising and marketing company, and in January 2024, she joined Gravity Global as Account Director. Previously, Candace served as an Account Supervisor with The Marketing Arm (TMA) where her client is the U.S. Army National Guard, consulting with state and national client leadership to develop and implement state marketing and media plans designed to achieve the recruiting mission for the seven states in the mid-west region.
