Two ’Ville Alums Named 2026 VISTA NextGen Superstar

A round of applause for two Millersville alums: Zachary Yurick '12, a crime victim and personal injury attorney at the firm Goldberg, Goldberg, and Maloney in Chester County, and Stephanie Carbaugh '14, director of marketing and hospitality at the West Chester-based home remodeling company COCOON earned recognition as 2026 VISTA NextGen Superstars.

The VISTA NextGen Superstar award, presented by Vista Today, recognizes 40 professionals under the age of 40 who live, work or study in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The recognition honors emerging leaders in various fields who have achieved notable success in their profession and actively engage in efforts to improve Chester County's quality of place.

Zachary Yurick

During his time at Millersville University, Yurick pursued a bachelor's degree in English.

"I originally wanted to be a writer. I didn't realize I wanted to be a lawyer until my senior year at MU," says Yurick. "I saw a girl in a fully motorized wheelchair unable to get over the raised lip of a sidewalk curb ramp. It all felt incredibly unfair. At that moment, I thought to myself: who could make sure that never happens again? The answer for me was a lawyer, changing the entire trajectory of my life."

Yurick spent more than five years as a child abuse prosecutor in Chester County, sending adults who sexually abused children to prison. As a prosecutor, he represented Chester County, not specifically the victim/survivor of the abuse.

"I was also only able to prosecute the immediate perpetrator," he explains, "and therefore, unable to hold the institutions that enabled them, or profited off them, accountable. For example, I was able to prosecute the human trafficker but not the hotel chain that profited off allowing their rooms to be used for trafficking."

Yurick made the switch to a crime victim attorney, so he can both represent the victim/survivor as well as go after the institutions themselves.

Despite the heavy workload and extraordinary effort behind being a victim attorney, Yurick remains motivated to continue this work because he has witnessed the positive difference he makes in his clients' lives. "Specifically, I have a painting hanging in my office of a sunrise that a young survivor made for me as a thank-you for helping her finally get justice a decade after she had been abused," he says. "On really challenging days, I just look at that painting."

When asked to define justice as an attorney dedicated to victim rights, Yurick emphasizes that it extends far beyond the courtroom. "Justice is for those who abuse children to be held accountable both within the criminal and civil legal systems," he says, "and for the institutions that enabled those abusers to be held accountable by being forced to make changes that prevent others from being abused. And for the victims and survivors to be made whole - physically, emotionally and financially - as best as anyone can. At the end of the day, justice is making sure the abusers are punished and the survivors are provided with everything they need to help them live long, happy lives."

For the next generation of lawyers aiming to excel in victim advocacy, Yurick offers the following advice:

"Do the work and become trauma-informed. I was a prosecutor for almost a decade, specifically a child abuse prosecutor, for a long time working alongside law enforcement and other government agencies. I learned everything I needed for my current role while being a civil servant first. Also, your policy needs to be: Do No Harm. Becoming trauma-informed is critical for not retraumatizing. Seek out formal training on that as early as possible and then check in annually.

"Lean on crime victim advocates. These people are angels and do more for victims/survivors than any lawyer ever could.

"The movement in this space of replacing 'victim' with 'survivor' is one of empowerment and forward progression. Working with survivors is a privilege; never forget that. Your job at the end of the day is to just help level the playing field so these individuals can have a voice.

"Lastly, don't let yourself get all self-righteous. The survivor is the one making the difference, not you."

In response to being named a 2026 VISTA NextGen Superstar, Yurick shares what this achievement means to him. "Success in my specific profession means having helped a lot of kids," he says. "I was born and raised in Chester County, so being able to help better the county that I've always called home and has given me so much, it means a lot!"

For more information on the VISTA NextGen Superstar initiative, visit: https://vista.today/vnsnomination-2026/.