The Final 7! Vote Now For the 2012 Hot 20

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Here it is! Your top seven picks for the movers and shakers of San Francisco.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!

The winner of the popular vote will appear in 7x7's October 2012 issue!

Susan Sarich - The idea for SusieCakes was born from Susan’s desire to create a business model that allowed women to have progressive careers in food service, combined with her drive to create a bakery that would offer the kind of old-fashioned, from-scratch desserts. With a simple mission, “Connecting through Celebration,” Susan has opened seven retro-chic Northern and Southern California locations from 2007 to 2012, offering sentimental dessert favorites including decadent custom layer cakes, whoopie pies, cupcakes, brownies, bars, and seasonal pies, including four locations in the Bay Area.

Jeremy Shaw of the Mission Community Market is a weekly, non-profit marketplace that aims to celebrate the glorious diversity of the Mission--arguably the heart of San Francisco--with an emphasis on local businesses, a farmer's market, and youth, in a safe public space. One of Jeremy's most recent ideas for bringing SF's communities together through food is the Chef's Market Box, which offers MCM patrons the opportunity to get a CSA-style box that contains all the ingredients needed for a recipe designed by a local chef.  

Kim Nalley has been awarded "Most Influential African American in the Bay Area," and is already being called "legendary" and a "San Francisco institution." With an international reputation as one of world's best jazz & blues vocalists, she has graced concert halls from Moscow to Lincoln Center. A true Renaissance woman, Kim Nalley has also been a featured blog writer for JazzWest and SF Chronicle's City Brights, a produced playwright, a former jazz club owner, shortlisted for a Grammy, an accomplished stage actress, a history academic, and an avid lindy hop & blues dancer. Her many philanthropic endeavors include founding the Kim Nalley Black Youth Jazz Scholarship.

Neal Gottlieb - In just seven short years, Neal has transformed what began as a whim into a local fan favorite in Three Twins ice cream with 4 scoop shops in the Bay Area, 13 flavors – including three new ones – a factory in Petaluma and 50 employees. Neal continues to be an advocate for Bay Area farms and California businesses, sourcing fresh and organic ingredients for his ice cream from within 17 miles of the factory. 

Kathryn Kalabokes has taken her initial vision of a small party planning business and built it into one of the elite wedding planning companies in San Francisco. Kathryn created the Dream a Little Dream Bridal Tour in which newly engaged women spend a day being chauffeured by chartered transportation to many of the top SF vendors covering every aspect of the wedding process from rehearsal dinner ideas to florists. Kathryn's mentor program allows eager college students or job seekers the opportunity to see the event industry from the inside, seek knowledge from professionals in the business, and start gaining contacts and a network. 

Steven Franklin had a goal to help people organize their space, to de-clutter their homes and to offer suggestions and advice if needed. He now runs the Organizer Guys, who specialize in residential organizing, estate organizing, packing, moving, downsizing and commercial solutions. 

Jeff Henry has designed some of the most preeminent spaces over the past 30 years. In 2005, Jeff made his first foray into transportation design with the renovation of Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. His design of Terminal 2 garnered universal acclaim as the future of airports.This past January, Jeff was inducted into the Retail Design Legion of Honor by the Retail Design Institute. Other organizations that have recognized his projects with awards include the International Interior Design Association, the Chicago Athenaeum, Lodging Hospitality Magazine, Neocon, and the American Institute of Architects.

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