New Bedford Area Chamber Launches SouthCoast Young Professionals Network
During the 2010 Board Retreat for the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, Board members identified the need to better engage young professionals in the business community. Business leaders were concerned with keeping new graduates and young professionals in the SouthCoast region to continue building the economy and creating a dynamic workforce.
As a result of this strategic planning, the Chamber has officially launched the SouthCoast Young Professionals Network (SCYPN), a group managed by young professionals, for young professionals to work with local and regional leaders, Chamber members and other young professionals groups to attract and retain young talent in the SouthCoast region while also establishing our next generation of business and community leaders. The group will operate as a formal affiliate of the Chamber with its own leadership team of members and its own program of work.
“Traditionally the Chamber has always identified trends in the economy and how it will affect our business community,” said Lynne Mastera, Chair of the Board of Directors and CFO of Precix, Inc. “The South Coast Young Professionals Network will proactively shape our future workforce and help create future leaders.”
Young Professionals Organizations (YP ORG) are being created throughout the U.S. to combat “brain drain”, the slow leak of talented and educated people from urban areas. “In the 1990’s the U.S. Census reported that 90 percent of America’s largest cities had a net out migration of young talent” reports Next Generation Consulting, a marketing research firm that works with cities to identify their causes of brain drain and how to combat it. YP ORGs are instrumental in cultivating young leaders to lead with vision and passion. By allowing young professionals to serve in leadership roles and learn more about what’s available in the community, YP ORGs are a proven way to develop future leaders.
Alicia Moretti, Administrative Assistant and Artists Market Coordinator for Artworks! is a member of the SCYPN Leadership Team who has already found value from her involvement with the group, “being fresh out of college I know there are many leaders in my area that I will be given the opportunity to work with and learn from through this group, this is an opportunity I wanted to take advantage of.”
The Chamber will officially launch the SCYPN at their next Business After Hours meeting to be held on February 8th at Buttonwood Park Zoo. At 4:30 p.m. an information session will be held about the SCYPN. All interested parties are invited to attend this session, whether they are a young professional or a more experienced professional who sees this as a valuable opportunity for their younger staff members. The Business After Hours networking mixer will start at 5:00 p.m.
If you would like to receive more information about the SouthCoast Young Professionals Network please contact Noelle Pina at 508-999-5231 or email npina@newbedfordchamber.com.
Photo caption: A new network of young professionals is looking to bring the region’s future leaders together for educational, networking and just plain fun activities. Launched by the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, the group is organized led by a leadership council including: (l-r) Michelle Hantman, Andrea Amaral, Alicia Moretti, John Long, Kati Sorensen, Noelle Pina, Darren Fredette and Kate Ouellette.
Photo courtesy of the New England Business Bulletin
