Lissa D'Aquanni

When Lissa D'Aquannni looks at Albany, she sees a wonderfully diverse community.

"It's a wonderful blend of nonprofit, government and corporate America and it's wonderfully diverse. Albany has everything," D'Aquanni said. "One of the things I love most is that it seems that most people in the Capital Region love the diversity as well."

Her favorite place is her downtown neighborhood. "Delaware Avenue has some wonderful businesses-- Andy's, the Spectrum, Nicole's. It's great. Hanging out in my neighborhood is the best." She concedes the area needs an Ethiopian restaurant.

D'Aquanni is a chocolatier. She is the owner of the Chocolate Gecko in Albany, creating gourmet chocolates since 1998. She has doubled her business every year for the 2 1/2 years she has been in business.

She learned chocolate making at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, but was influenced by her Aunt Loretta, who introduced her to chocolate-making 20 years ago when D'Aquanni was in high school.

She donates chocolates to worthy causes, such as Big Brothers and Sisters and the American Heart Association, and provided chocolate-dipped strawberries to widows and women living alone.

As a teenager, she wanted to be a social worker, but went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study engineering.

She says she likes "seeing the smiles on people's faces when they eat my chocolate."

D'Aquanni graduated from RPI in 1986, then remained in Albany to pursue political activism. She also has a master's degree in public administration form the State University at Albany. "As I became more a part of the community, the Capital Region became home."

AGE: 36

TITLE: Owner, the Chocolate Gecko, Albany

GOAL: "To not look back at age 60 and say I wish I had... to make the wold better by my having been here."

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Building community, getting people to mingle and network, gardening and antiquing for relaxation.

DRIVES: A 1984 Mercedes Diesel Turbo, "simple elegance and longevity."

FANTASY JOB: "I'm doing it."