“ULGMYP has definitely built my relationships personally with young professionals in this city – both African American and non-African American. It has also built my connections professionally in that way,” Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals (ULGMYP) President Kurt Rose tells Madison365. “I think the importance here is that a lot of our professional young talent comes to Madison from other places and they often don’t really know how to plug in and find people who look like us.
“So, ULGMYP is a great place for us to do a great thing in the community but also to maintain some connections and retain our talent,” he adds. “We have a lot of companies here whose message is around diversifying their talent and their workforce and wanting it to be more reflective of what the country actually looks like and a great way to find that talent pool is to connect with the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals.”
The Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals is looking to expand its membership here in the Madison area by hosting its annual “Join Week” this week, Feb. 7-14. It’s a weeklong “blitz” of activity that will cater to young Black professionals that the organization hopes will increase awareness and involvement.
“The Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals is a voluntary auxiliary group of the ULGM. We have members that range from the ages of 21-40 and we come together as community leaders to develop programming and to assist in enhancing the African American community,” Rose says.
“We have done a variety of different programming over the years and since I’ve been a member this week – Join Week – is a good reflection of many of the things that we do.
ULGMYP Join Week kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. with a roundtable conversation on the Urban League of Greater Madison Black Business Hub and The Center for Black Excellence and Culture. The event will take place via Zoom and stream live on the ULGMYP Facebook page.
The event will feature Rev. Dr. Alex Gee, president and founder of the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development; Jerome Dillard, executive director of EXPO (EX-Incarcerated People Organizing); Anthony Cooper, CEO, president and founder of Focused Interruption; and Dr. Ruben Anthony, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison.
“We have some key community leaders involved in these very ground-breaking efforts who will be sharing information at this roundtable discussion that is open to the community to come in and ask questions about the two initiatives,” Rose says. “It will be a great conversation this evening on Zoom.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, 6-8 p.m., ULGMYP will host the YP Open House at Mercies Coffee, located at 1748 Eagan Rd, on Madison’s east side. This event will be an evening of shopping, networking, and learning more about the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals.
“As young professionals, we’re always looking for ways to connect, engage,and retain our talent within the city, so we’re really looking forward to tomorrow’s open house,” Rose says. “It’s a great way to learn more about what we do as an organization but to also make connections.”
The event will feature small Black businesses including DLK Printing, Poppins Extensions Plus, b.denae artistry, and Savannah Beauty Supply. This event is sponsored by R.A.M.P (Retaining, Advancing, and Mentoring Young Professionals) and Stafford Rosenbaum LLP. Light refreshments will be served. All guests are required to adhere to Public Health Madison & Dane County COVID-19 guidelines. To register, click here.
On Friday night, ULGMYP will be hosting an exclusive YP member event inviting members to come and see comedian Roy Wood Jr. and enjoy a night of fun, laughter, and fellowship with the YPs. This event is for dues-paying members only. In order to reserve a ticket, you must be a dues-paying member by Wednesday, Feb. 9, 8 a.m.
On Saturday, Feb. 12, 8:30-11 a.m., Join Week wraps up with YP Helping Hands, a day of community service at Goodman Community Center, located at 214 Waubesa St., on Madison’s east side. To register, click here.
The Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals chapter officially launched in 2012. YP chapters across the United States are grounded in the rich history of the National Urban League, a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality, and social justice.
“Join Week is a national initiative of the Urban League. We are one chapter that is part of a whole national network … which is even cooler because we have the ability to network with other chapters across the country and all of the work that we do,” Rose says. “This is a national initiative and every chapter across the country is currently running a Join Week right now recruiting new members to come on and jump aboard and really get to learn how the National Urban League Young Professionals work.”
For more information, contact Tracy Duval, ULGMYP membership chair, at [email protected]. To become a member, visit https://ulgm.org/volunteer/yp/ypmembershipform/.
