2024 40 Under 40 Spotlight: Brendan Griesemer, 1999

Then: Principal planner, city of Springfield Department of Planning and Development
Now: Executive director, Restore SGF

After 27 years with the city of Springfield, Brendan Griesemer made a shift into a role that was both brand new and utterly familiar.

In January, he became the first executive director of Restore SGF, a nonprofit geared toward restoring historic neighborhoods.

Much of his time was spent in the city’s Neighborhoods and Planning Office, he said, setting up the organizational structure for neighborhood associations.

Restore SGF’s Restore My Block program builds on that work, encouraging people to work together to improve the appearance of their neighborhoods.

“We’re creating community. Neighbors get to know each other by assembling teams up and down the block,” he says.

Griesemer was in the inaugural 40 Under 40 class in 1999.

“I was just kind of at the beginning of my career, and I’d been involved in some really great projects and was able to have some impact,” he says. “To have that honor was really great.”

Best advice to young professionals? Volunteer your time with service and charitable groups that have no affiliation with your profession.