The Fairfield County Young Professionals Network has been on hiatus for the past several months. But through a change of leadership, the YPN is looking to reenergize and boost its list of active participants.
“To compete for top talent, Fairfield County must actively attract and retain the best and brightest generation of workers,” said Keith Reynolds, who is helping the network take off. Reynolds is managing director at Maxim Communications, a marketing, public relations and business development firm in Stamford.
The YPN, which is housed under the Business Council of Fairfield County, had been without staff resources for several months. But with a new group of catalysts, Reynolds said the YPN is hoping to grow its network of participants and become a vibrant resource for young professionals in the area.
“While young professionals do leave our region ”¦ they also arrive in large numbers,” Reynolds said. “The broader objective is to achieve a better balance between those arriving and those departing.”
As a founding member in both Westchester and Fairfield counties”™ YPN, Kevin McCarthy, 31, said it”™s more challenging to find participants for the Fairfield network.
While up to 150 people will show up for a Westchester event, only about 25 will come to a Fairfield event, said McCarthy, a broker with CBRE Inc. Though there are more companies employing young professionals in Fairfield County, McCarthy said the geography makes participation a major challenge.
“It”™s difficult to get people from Greenwich to go to Bridgeport and vice versa,” McCarthy said. “Especially with what it”™s like on (Interstate) 95.”
McCarthy said another challenge is figuring out what the Fairfield County network wants to be, whether it”™s a social outlet, a networking opportunity or an advocacy group. McCarthy said the Westchester group has been focused on networking and advocacy on issues like affordable housing.
With its revamp, every month the network plans to host two young professional-exclusive events, as well as general invitations to Business Council events.
On Nov. 13 at Tigin Irish Pub in Stamford, the group will hold a discussion about the election results from the national and state races with Channel 12 political commentator Joe McGee, who is also the Business Council”™s vice president of public policy.
A leadership luncheon with a senior executive from a Business Council member firm will be held Nov. 20.
“Our purpose is to enrich the community by providing business, networking and volunteer opportunities to support the career development and personal choices of young professionals,” Reynolds said. “And to promote the qualities that make Fairfield County an attractive place for young professionals to live, work and put down roots.”
At the network”™s peak, several hundred people were involved in network, Reynolds said. “(We) expect to reach that number again over the next several months.”
