Page 62 - BusinessWest April 27, 2026

Corrine Ryan
Managing Attorney – Hampden County,
Community Legal Aid: Age 37
Corrine Ryan wasn’t sure what she would do
with the law degree she was earning at
Georgetown University Law Center. But she
knew it would be in the broad realm of public
interest law, which is dedicated to representing
and advocating for the rights and interests of
individuals or groups that are typically under-
represented or marginalized in society.
And that is exactly the path she has
followed, rising to the role of managing
attorney at Community Legal Aid (CLA), which
provides free civil legal help to low-income
and elderly residents in Central and Western
Mass. across several practice areas, ranging
from eviction defense to education law;
immigration to Social Security.
Ryan doesn’t handle many cases in this role;
instead, her multi-faceted work is focused on
staff development, professional development,
grant writing, meeting with legislators to secure
adequate funding, community engagement to build
awareness of what CLA does, and direct oversight of
its many operations, from the more than 100 calls
the office receives each day to implementation of
new programs.
Since becoming managing attorney, she has led several
new initiatives, including the Commonwealth Care Alliance
(CCA) Medical Legal Partnership, a collaboration between
CLA attorneys and CCA medical staff that gave critical legal
help in 350 cases to poor and elderly patients presenting
with health-harming legal needs between 2022 and 2025,
as well as the Family Preservation Project, a first-of-its-kind
interdisciplinary team that helps families with open child
welfare investigations, with the goal of keeping families
intact.
“It’s an access-to-justice gap, really, and we try to fill
that gap by providing representation to people who
can’t afford attorneys,” Ryan said, adding that one of
her biggest challenges is coping with the reality that
CLA must turn away half the people who apply for
help because it simply doesn’t have the capacity.
Active in the community, she serves on
the board at Square One, an agency she’s
passionate about, most recently as board
chair. In addition, she is a board member
with the Hampden County Bar Assoc.
Meanwhile, in her day job, she finds all
aspects of the work — and fighting those
legal battles — immensely rewarding.
“You can really move the needle in a huge way
and change people’s lives,” she explained. “Whether
it’s defending against a conviction or helping people
get services in schools ... we win a lot of the time, but even
when we don’t, it’s that dignity and representation; they had
their fair shake at due process.”
—George O’Brien
Aimee Salmon
CEO, Positively Africana by Aimee:
Age 35
Aimee Salmon’s entrepreneurial journey began 18
years ago as a student at Mount Holyoke College,
when a professor assigned students to start a
business.
But her vision for that enterprise — and her personal
journey — started earlier than that, before she
immigrated to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.
Her business, Positively Africana by Aimee, brings
authentic handmade gifts and cultural items to
market in her downtown Northampton store,
as well as nationwide through an e-commerce
platform. She also offers African dance fitness
classes in person and online. In all of this, she creates
economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs
and artists in Africa, while 25% of her profits directly
support women in the Congo — funds that help create
sustainable income opportunities, strengthen local
businesses, and preserve cultural traditions through
women-led entrepreneurship.
“I grew up in the Congo, and I wanted to create
something that was not just a job, but a legacy to
my grandmother and the women I saw working every
day in my hometown in the Congo,” Salmon explained.
“I also realized a need for cultural representation, through
everyday African stories. I wanted to bring my voice and my
entrepreneurial passion to this platform to highlight those
stories and bring them to life, building a community around
fitness and retail and media and storytelling — they’re all
interconnected.”
The 10 individuals who nominated Salmon for 40 Under Forty
all wrote eloquently of the connections she is forging between
cultures — which is also reflected in her board service with the
International Language Institute (ILI).
“Aimee’s business is not just retail — it is bridge-
building,” ILI Executive Director Caroline Gear wrote. “As
someone who has watched her leadership up close, I
can say that Aimee combines entrepreneurial drive with
deep integrity. She builds partnerships thoughtfully,
invests in community relationships, and leads with
purpose. Her business success is inseparable from her
commitment to cultural representation and economic
empowerment.”
In fact, Salmon said, her success is gratifying
precisely because of its worldwide impact.
“It’s a work of love. I do it from the heart because
knowing that I’m helping someone every day feels
good to my soul. When people are supporting us
here in the United States, the people we work
with in the Congo and other regions in Africa are
growing as well. Just watching their growth, seeing
their businesses thrive, gives me so much joy and
fulfillment. The African impact is a big piece of
what I’m trying to accomplish here.”
—Joseph Bednar
A40 2026
Business W est