John J. Quinn, 38

By Mary Erpenbach

As a young man, Rockford native JohnQuinn traveled the world before deciding that Rockford - not London or Seattle or the Czech Republic, where he taught high school English for a year - was the place for him. It took hima few years after he returned, though, to realize just why he liked Rockford best.

“I actually wanted to stay in Seattle after graduate school,” he says, “but I couldn’t find a job.” So he came home. Met a girl. Settled down.

Then he had his epiphany: Yes, his travels had broadened his horizons, but they also put his hometown in focus for him. “Rockford had become the constant against which all other changes were measured,” he says. “Iwas able to see time pass against a constant backdrop - to see the growth of community and have a sense of history.”

When he came home in the late 1990s with hisM.A. in medical ethics from the University in Washington, Quinn took a job as an associate with Furst Group/MPI. He worked his way up to senior consultant level, then took fundraising andmarketing positions with Spectrum School, the Rockford Public Library and the medical foundation of the Swedish American Health System.

In addition to distinguishing himself professionally,Quinnwroteweekly columns for the Rockford Register Star, taught medical ethics at Rockford College and volunteered for an armload of local worthy causes: Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden, Next Rockford, Downtown Rockford Rotary, KidsWin, and more.

Today he’s back at FurstGroup as the company’s vice president and health care philanthropy practicemanager. And he’s as involved as ever inmaking Rockford a better place to live.

“Rockford is small enough that if you want tomake a difference, you can,” he says.