When the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals (ULGMYP) revived itself after the pandemic, it did so with four members. At the end of last year its membership peaked at 130 at the end of 2024.
“We’re really excited to still see the momentum,” said President Kayla Conklin in an interview for the 365 Amplified podcast, which will be released on all major podcast platforms tomorrow. ““We also have seen more engagement this year from our members…more people showing up to different things, the word getting spread about our events.”
She and incoming president Deja Mason, who takes the helm on January 1, hope to keep that momentum going by raising $25,000 through the group’s annual gala fundraiser, set for Saturday, December 13, at the Marriott on John Nolen Drive.
Tickets are available at this link.
Conklin notes that the ULGMYP operates under the auspices of the Urban League of Greater Madison, but doesn’t get funding from the parent organization.
“We are fully self-funded,” she noted.
All funds raised will support programming for 2026, including professional development and networking events, support for small businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as some community-focused efforts.
“We also get to feed back into the community, into these small businesses as well, and specifically these Black-owned small businesses, and make sure that they get the platform and the highlight and the representation that they so sincerely deserve because they make good stuff,” Mason said. “My heart is tied to food security and wanting to make sure that people have food on the table and that they have resources available to them. So I’d really like to put more of a stamp in our fundraising as well, to really help in those spaces.”
The organization is open to all, but its leadership is unapologetic in the group’s focus on creating an empowering space, especially for Black professionals aged 21-40.
“We really created a safe space for young, Black professionals and their co-conspirators to grow and focus on ways that we can bring that back to our workplaces and into our community, to be impactful on purpose and with intention,” Conklin said.
And the group’s vision of what it is to be a “professional” is intentionally broad.
“If you have a job and you’re driven to do something, you are a professional, and we welcome you into our space,” Conklin said. “You do not have to come with degrees and awards and recognition to be in our space.”
Mason, who came to Madison from Dallas to attend the University of Wisconsin and “never left,” said she joined ULGMYP four years ago for her own development as not only a professional but a Black woman professional.
“I wanted to be able to find spaces that will continue to want to develop me as a young professional, and continue to build into me, not only professionally, but also socially,” she said.
Those connections are important for Black professionals in predominantly white workplaces, she added.
“I think the vast majority of us in the chapter are one of one in our workplace,” she said.
“It feels like we can be authentically ourselves” among ULGMYP members, Conklin said.
The fundraising gala on Saturday, December 13, will kick off at 6 pm at the Marriott Hotel, 706 John Nolen Drive (formerly the Sheraton, near the corner of John Nolen Drive and Rimrock Road). The theme is “A Legacy Beyond the Stars.”
“We have some live entertainment…a live artist and a live saxophonist…raffle prizes…and of course, you know we like to get down at the end, so we’re going to have a dance party too,” Conklin said.
The entertainment will include DJ Gemini Gilly, who’s also the DJ for the Wisconsin Badgers and Milwaukee Bucks.
Tickets are $150, or $130 for ULGYP members.
