Age: 30

Title: Director, government relations and membership services, LeadingAge Iowa

Family: Wife Alaina Blake

A reason why he is a Forty: Blake is a judge advocate with the Iowa Army National Guard, serves on the Urbandale Civil Rights Commission, and helps organize the Urbandale Fourth of July celebration.

What drives him: Goals. “I joined the U.S. Army in my late 20s, while married and with a professional career, because it was a life goal to serve in the military. I found an opportunity that worked, and I took the chance,” he said.

An interesting fact about Blake: He’s lost count of how many times he has watched the original “Star Wars” trilogy and would love to create a Sundance-style film festival in Des Moines.