Wanted in Newburgh: Pattern for Progress Fellows

Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, a Newburgh-based nonprofit policy and planning organization for the nine-county region, is seeking midcareer professionals to join its Fellows program in the class of 2014-15.

Pattern for Progress officials said program fellows will attend a series of interactive classes with experts on the Hudson Valley region and work on a unique research project tied to the organization”™s 50th anniversary year.

A Pattern spokesperson said the fellows program was started in 2007 to expand the horizons of professionals already acknowledged as leaders in their communities and disciplines. It helps participants gain a more intimate knowledge of the region and encourages them to explore regional approaches to their work. The fellows program has produced more than 140 graduates, including leaders in finance, government, economic development, land conservation, law, human services, health care and academia.

Classes will meet every other Tuesday from October through May at the Pattern office at 3 Washington Center on the campus of SUNY Orange in Newburgh. Classes will run from 4 to 6 p.m.

The spokesperson said the 2014-15 fellows project will dovetail with a larger initiative that Pattern staff will lead in regard to retaining and attracting young people and families to urban centers in the Hudson Valley. The organization is seeking businesses and nonprofits to sponsor the urban centers project.

For more information on becoming a Pattern fellow or fellows sponsor, visit the pattern-for-progress.org website. To become involved, contact Jonathan Drapkin, Pattern for Progress president and CEO, at jdrapkin@pfprogress.org, or Robin DeGroat at rdegroat@pfprogress.org, or call 845-565-4900.