Out of the 76 main power players in Philadelphia who made moves in the last year and also have a huge role in determining our future, thirteen have Montgomery County connections, according to a new ranking by Philadelphia Magazine.

Abington biochemist Katalin Karikó took the crown as the most influential person in Greater Philadelphia with good reason: her mRNA research was instrumental in creating both Pfizer- BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon at Abington Hospital, was fourth. Stanford is the founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium which has vaccinated over 51,000 people, primarily people of color in hard-to-reach neighborhoods.

Eighth-placed Madeline Bell, CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia which has a King of Prussia outpost, helped get more than 19,000 teachers and daycare workers vaccinated. She also launched the hospital’s Center for Health Equity.

Other local influential people on the list include Stephen Klasko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, in tenth place, Pennsylvania Attorney General and Abington resident Josh Shapiro in No. 12, Bryn Mawr’s Michael Rubin, the Fanatics CEO and Philadelphia 76ers part owner, in No. 36, and Chris Gheysen, CEO of Wawa who attended Villanova and Saint Joseph’s University, is at No. 39.

M. Night Shyamalan, the famous filmmaker who grew up in Penn Valley and film moving and shows locally, is at No. 49 and Kory Aversa, is No. 66, of Aversa PR & Events reps Philly events, as well as Lansdale’s Stove and Tap and the famed Ardmore Initiative, Lola’s Garden and FCM Hospitality. and DePaul’s Table.

Michael Heller, one of the original principal owners of Valley Forge Casino and Resort, placed at No. 67, Brian O’Neill, who owns Discovery Labs in King of Prussia landed at No. 70, and Haverford resident Jeff Yass, co-founder of the Susquehanna International Group, is No. 76.

Read more about the most influential people in the Philadelphia region with Montco connections in the Philadelphia Magazine.