Six UMSL alumni have been named to the 2012 "40 Under 40" class by the St. Louis Business Journal.

When you open the  Jan. 27 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal, you may notice a few familiar faces. That’s because six UMSL alumni have been named to the 2012 “40 Under 40” class.

The annual list recognizes individuals in the St. Louis community who have made an impact in the business world before reaching the age of 40.

UMSL alumni honorees are:

• Sarajeni Hammond (BSBA 1998)
• Frank Nelson (MBA 2005)
• Art McCoy (PhD education 2002)
• Libby Newport (PMBA 2010)
• Jason Jan (BSBA 1999)
• Basia Najarro (BSBA 2003)

UMSL Chancellor Tom George said he’s not surprised that six UMSL alumni are being honored this year.

“We educate St. Louis,” George said “Our alumni are living and working in the region, leading Fortune 500 companies, heading up the state’s education system and doing research at some of the nation’s most elite hospitals. Congratulations to all this year’s honorees, especially those who are UMSL alumni.”

Hammond is the director of global organization development at Emerson Electric Company. She has been with the company since July 2004. Prior to joining Emerson, Hammond served as human resource manager at Charter Communications.

Nelson is president and chief financial officer of 1st Financial Federal Credit Union. He’s held that position since 2009. Prior to joining 1st Financial Federal Credit Union, Nelson was chief executive officer of Missouri Valley Federal Credit Union.

McCoy is superintendent of Ferguson-Florissant School District. At age 19, he was the youngest certified teacher in the Rockwood School District, and at 22, he became the youngest metropolitan administrator in Missouri. He joined the Ferguson-Florissant School District in 2008. Prior to that, he served in administrative positions in the Rockwood, Pattonville and St. Charles school districts in Missouri.

Newport is senior director of pharma and biotech account management at Express Scripts. She joined the company in 2006 as director of client audit. Since then she’s held several positions at the company in program integrity and specialty pricing.

Jan is owner of FroYo Premium Frozen Yogurt. Prior to opening in 2008, Jan served as partner and district manager at Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in Orange County, Calif. He’s also served as a financial analyst at MCI Worldcom in St. Louis.

Najarro is division administrator and assistant director of medical education in the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. She’s held that position since April 2010. Prior to joining the School of Medicine, Najarro was director of conference services at Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis.

All 40 recipients will be honored during a dinner on Feb. 9 at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis.