20 under 40: Ryan Swehla

Favorite quote or saying, why?

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

This epitomizes my favorite hobby: being in the Sierra Nevada and climbing mountains. There are few places I enjoy more than the Sierra backcountry. It’s amazing that while we live in the most populous state in the nation, it is so easy to find a trail, walk off of it, and find places that have only been seen by a handful of people ever!

Community or professional highlights:

Two organizations that I believe are dramatically changing the landscape of our community for the better are Great Valley Academy & the Downtown Modesto Partnership. I serve on the board of both. Great Valley Academy is changing the paradigm of elementary school education in the region by focusing on the whole child. With two campuses serving 1,500 students (and more to go), it’s changing the educational landscape in a big way. The Downtown Modesto Partnership is focused on building the strengths our downtown already has (the largest employment center in the region and the focal point of dining, arts and entertainment) and improving on the challenges the downtown faces. I believe there is no single greater way to improve the quality of life in our community and attract high-wage employers than to make our downtown the most desirable place to be in the Central Valley and beyond.

Regarding my professional life, my business partner and I started NAI Benchmark 6 1/2 years ago during the middle of the worst economic downturn in most people’s lifetimes. We’ve been blessed to be able to grow the company every year since then to now 22 team members and two offices (Modesto and Stockton). Just this month we made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the nation. And this year we were once again recognized as one of the largest commercial management and brokerage (sale and leasing) companies in the region by Central Valley Business Journal and Costar, a commercial real estate research company.

Your life changed when:

My life changed when I was reacquainted with the woman who is now my wife. Like many high school graduates in Modesto, I left for college thinking I would not be moving back to Modesto. I came back for the summer after freshman year and ran into a beautiful girl I had known only as an acquaintance in high school (she was also back for the summer). We dated through college and got married shortly after and are proud to be celebrating our 15th anniversary this year. I could not imagine my life without my amazing wife. People who know her recognize that she’s an angel and that I just got lucky! Not surprisingly, under her care we’ve raised three wonderful children who have also been life-changing for me.

What do you want people to know most about you?:

I have been blessed by the relationships in my life. I have two amazing parents (still married) who have been examples and guides in countless ways. They have made me into who I am today. I also have two great brothers (including an identical twin!), parents-in-law, and extended family. Three of my grandparents are still living (ages 98, 91 and 89) and two of them just celebrated their 70th anniversary. I really couldn’t ask for better! In third grade, I met my best friend and business partner, Joe Muratore. We have been fast friends for 30 years and worked together for the last 14 years. I could not imagine going through the trials and tribulations of growing a business without Joe. We’ve been able to achieve much more working together than if I were on my own.

What do you like most about living here?

We have been fortunate to know a phenomenal group of friends who are committed to making Modesto the best community it can be. Our friends have made our experience here so rich. And our community has such great assets: the most economically and culturally vibrant downtown in the Central Valley except for Sacramento, a deep culture of community involvement, amazing tree-lined streets and bike and walking paths, weather that is the envy of most of the world and a cornucopia of farm and backyard produce, and Yosemite and the Sierra as our playground! As a side note, it’s also a thrill to be able to ride our bikes to almost any activity, event or venue year round – and we do it all the time. If you have not ridden your bike (or driven) to the Thursday evening downtown market – “DoMo” – then you are missing out. I firmly believe that it’s my responsibility as a parent to show our children the wealth of cultural and social activities and community assets in Modesto. We really do have an amazing community and it’s tragic that we graduate bright, college-bound students each year who don’t know what our community has to offer and have no desire to return.

Why is community involvement important?

Community involvement is how great things happen. It is so easy to complain about the problems in our community (problems and struggles shared by many other communities). But it’s so much more rewarding to be a part of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens who change the world (borrowing from Margaret Mead).

This story was originally published August 21, 2016 at 6:12 AM with the headline "20 under 40: Ryan Swehla."