When Stacy Brasher found out she had been nominated for Forty Under 40, she says she was "shocked."

"My jaw was on the floor for well over an hour. I am overwhelmed with gratitude," she says, noting the honor has made her "1 a.m. mornings and 11 p.m. nights with Back40 Design" worth it.

Brasher started with the Edmond-based design company as an account executive, where she doubled the monthly revenue goals set for her,
and now manages more than 250 Web clients. She recently was promoted to the firm's new position of operations manager - a move she says allows her personal and community passions to intersect.

"I am able to help more nonprofits than ever before achieve their marketing and public relations goals," Brasher says. "I am able to serve. And yet, be served, as well."

She previously served as director of public relations for Citizens Caring for Children. While there, she increased the organization's United Way allocations by 300%, and received a valuable piece of advice that set her career on a new path: "At times, you can do more for the nonprofit community from the outside, than within."

"Of course," Brasher says, "her advice was correct."