Stephen Lynch is a graduate of the Advanced Technology Center’s (ATC) Cisco Network Engineering program and First Colonial High School, and he also was the founder and director of the ATC Alumni Association.

Currently, Lynch is a Senior Solutions Architect at ABS Technology. This year, he was named as one of Inside Business’s “Top Forty Under 40″ this year.

Inside Business puts together this annual list in order to recognize outstanding young businesspeople in Hampton Roads. Honorees are expected to not only exemplify success in their profession, but also actively serve the community.

“(Stephen’s) professional achievements have surpassed most people twice his age,” said Monica Curry, president of Monica Curry Consulting and one of Lynch’s mentors. “He was one of the youngest people to achieve the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification. The highest technical certification achievable within the field of Information Technology (IT)/Networking (less than 1 percent of all IT professionals worldwide). Less than 50,000 individuals have this distinction worldwide since the start of the program in 1993.”

Lynch passed this certification at the age of 21, during his sophomore year in college. Lynch then went on to earn almost 15 additional certifications.

His achievements continue as the Co-Founder/Technical Director of Creative Empowerment to the Dream Team Instructor with the Cisco Networking Academy, in San Diego, California. He was selected nationally as one of two instructors to lead, mentor and guide 30 students who are selected in North America (United States and Canada) to deploy one of the largest conferences in the world – Cisco Live.

With all of this success, Lynch is frequently found in the Cisco classroom or on WebEx mentoring upcoming professionals on the ATC Cisco senior networking project. He coordinates the assistance of alumni and businesses as mentors and judges for the students.

“Stephen is an innovative leader utilizing progressive technology, challenging the old ways and looking for new ways to solve problems,” said John Nelson, ATC Cisco instructor. “He works heavily in the education market to improve education not only in Hampton Roads but throughout the country.”