ML902 Symposium
Young Professionals:
The Future of Community Development

Duke Energy Convention Center
August 15, 2012

Cost: $220 (includes luncheon, materials and networking reception)

• Download a complete symposium brochure with agenda
• Check out the list of confirmed speakers (updated 7/26)
• Explore the agenda (updated 7/26)
• Download the full list of related resources (updated 8/9)

Reacting to economic injustice half a century ago, dedicated activists built an idea into a grass-roots movement, and then a movement into an industry employing tens of thousands of community development professionals. As we move into the next 50 years, we will need to think differently about how we do business and how to engage a new generation of industry professionals.

Whether you are a veteran of the community development movement and have watched this field morph and grow, or an early career professional determined to make a difference in your community, you will want to attend this exciting event. Early career professionals will be encouraged to seriously consider how their needs and desires can best be met in order to have a long, meaningful career. Seasoned veterans will be engaged to consider how they can best embrace, reward and sustain young talent to strengthen and sustain the community development field.

Our field is varied and sophisticated. It continues to offer a wide range of dynamic and rewarding career paths to interested and engaged individuals. Good jobs are available in nonprofit development organizations, as well as with other employers such as banks, real estate companies, social service organizations, academia, government, foundations, and think tanks. For our industry to continue to grow and expand, it must embrace young, talented professionals who will begin and hopefully continue their careers in community development. And for the future of community development to be successful, these two groups of professional must learn to partner across their generational divides.

During this symposium, seasoned and early career professionals will work together to determine ways our field can respond to increasing opportunity and increased need. Our aim is to address issues that are central to the future success of community development:

• How can we best collaborate internally in our organizations as well as externally in our communities across generational divides?
• What are the differences in needs, desires and work styles in the workplace and in the community between early career professionals and seasoned professionals?
• How can employers invest to best keep young professionals engaged?
• How can the experiences of seasoned professionals be effectively shared with the next generation of leaders?
• What internship, fellowship, and other programs are available to help shape the next generation of leaders?
• How can social media, virtual networking, face-to-face networking, mentorship programs, and professional associations be used most effectively?
  

The event is designed to benefit two distinct demographic groups – early career professionals and seasoned professionals – by looking forward into the future and providing a basis for considering your particular role as the field of community development evolves. You will be charged with developing an individual performance challenge to accomplish your goals, and you will work on it throughout the day. You will be offered insights into tools and models for your performance challenge, and will also engage in individual conversations with other seasoned and early career professionals. You will discover research by leading thinkers on the topic of cross-generational collaboration that will reveal how the generations often see work and the workplace differently, and how we can embrace and capitalize on these differences. You will explore best practices to attract, reward, and sustain young professionals, and the reasons why this field offers an excellent opportunity for a long and meaningful career.

All are invited to spend this fascinating and practical day with colleagues at all levels of experience. Through peer learning, small-group networking, and discussions with national trendsetters, Young Professionals: The Future of Community Development will provide you with concrete ways you can better contribute to the future of community development, and your own organization.

WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS SYMPOSIUM: Early Career Professionals: • How to communicate your own needs and desires with seasoned professionals in order to be most successful in your organization • How to best collaborate across generational divides to accomplish mutual goals • Tools and best practices to continue to address the generational divide performance challenge that you will begin to work on in the symposium Nonprofit Professional, Executive Director and Other Leaders: • How to embrace, reward and sustain young professionals in your organization and community • How to best collaborate across generational divides to accomplish mutual goals • Tools and best practices to continue to address the generational divide performance challenge that you will begin to work on in the symposium • Strategies to unleash the power of innovation that young professionals can bring to your organization today • How to develop, promote, challenge and fully engage young professionals to achieve their full potential • Best practices to foster cross-generational collaboration Funders, Intermediaries and Other Partners: • Research from leading experts on collaborating across generational divides • Tools and best practices to share within your networks • Ideas stimulated through discussions with young professional and seasoned veterans on how you can best support collaboration across generations