Young Detroiters Working to Retain Talent

A vital component of retaining talent is creating opportunities for young professionals to meaningfully engage with their community. We want opportunities to build our leadership skills, tap into our potential, and network with other enthusiastic young adults. Recently, I enjoyed such an experience at the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) National Conference, held in Grand Rapids, MI. YNPN boasts 47 chapters and over 20,000 members from around the country –  many of whom were represented at the conference in Grand Rapids. Members flew (or drove) in from Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and New York City, among others. In addition to numerous networking opportunities, the conference covered a wide range of topics. Rosetta Thurman gave an inspirational talk on how to be successful in your non-profit career and Detroit’s stand out, Tammie Jones, led a discussion on how to use data to further your organization’s mission. The discussions were sincere and thought provoking and all the talks provided suggestions for immediate actions we can take to further our careers and exercise our leadership skills.

Michigan’s young adults are responsible for positive palpable changes in our communities. As the host, YNPN Grand Rapids showcased the role non-profits and young adults have played in revitalizing the city. Evidenced by the impressive representation of Michiganders at this national conference, the talent, commitment and drive to effect positive change is alive and well. Kelly Cleaver, 26, of Gleaners Food Bank, took the initiative to start the YNPN Detroit chapter; one year later, it already boasts more than 100 members! Our generation recognizes the importance of making Michigan a desirable place to live and work- too many of our classmates have left the state. We have the energy, ability and desire to tackle the brain drain.

I’m looking forward to when YNPN Detroit will host the national conference, so we can showcase Detroit’s impressive array of talent, leaders and organizations. As stakeholders in the future (and present), invite us into the space where critical decisions are made. We are the emerging leaders and thinkers –  get us before we decide to leave.

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Place Comes First

Place trumps everything. Among my college educated friends who have yet to start families, they’d sooner move (and many have) to an exciting or beautiful place without a job prospect, than to stay in or move to Southeast Michigan with an excellent job offer. While there are exceptions, my husband and I included, the overarching trend has been to join the mass exodus to Chicago, New York, Seattle, the Bay Area and the outdoor lovers to Colorado and Salt Lake City. What do we 20 and 30 somethings want in a place? We’re shedding the oppressively dull and uncreative suburban lifestyle of our parents for the vibrant cities where creativity and culture in all its forms flourish. We undeniably value walkable cities, where cars are convenient, but not necessary; where the cultural and social options are so plentiful, you’re forced to be selective in your spare-time pursuits; where the community of energetic forward thinking entrepreneurs and intellectuals is so vast, that new exciting relationships continuously materialize. Despite the spread of technology, personal laptops and email notifications going off in our pockets and purses, we do not want to be physically isolated, living miles from our like-minded peers. We want to be tangibly connected to the world around us. Perhaps as our work days are increasingly isolated in a world of technology, we find ourselves developing an insatiable craving for the jostling excitement of a concentrated population of young movers and shakers.

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