40 Under Forty: Bert LaValley, 33
Photo by Erika Sidor
When he was a toddler, LaValley built an elaborate system of levees, dams and canals in his family's driveway to manage stormwater runoff properly. By the time he co-founded Sustainable Comfort in 2014, energy efficiency had long been in his blood. At Sustainable Comfort, he and his team rehab 100-year-old triple-deckers around Worcester to make them viable for working-class people. Since its founding, the company has grown an average of 65 percent annually and now employs more than 30. Firmly bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, LaValley partnered with chef Jared Forman and drinks connoisseur Sean Woods to launch the downtown Worcester restaurant deadhorse hill in 2016, followed by simjang in 2018. Because of his experience founding a business and dealing with administrative and regulatory issues, LaValley's title – paperwork – at the restaurant reflects his behind-the-scenes role. Through simjang and deadhorse hill, LaValley is involved in the public mural program POW! WOW! Worcester, feeding the artists who graffiti the city's outdoor walls. LaValley volunteers with the Seven Hills Foundation in Worcester and the children's museum EcoTarium.