EVERETT — Snohomish County Young Professionals Network, a group that cultivates tomorrow’s business and community leaders, recently celebrated its second year of service.
Nationwide there has been an increase in number of professional groups aimed at the under-40-year-old demographic. said Ryan Crowther, communications manager for the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County and board member of SCYPN.
“The fact of the matter is that the work force is dwindling, especially between the ages of 21 and 39,” he said.
Crowther pointed to the aging baby boomer population that makes up a large portion of current business and civic leaders. As the aging boomers retire from the work force, a limited number of young professionals are waiting to fill those vacancies. This is especially true in Snohomish County.
A recently released assessment of the county by the Economic Development Council points out that the young professional age group is shrinking in Snohomish County while it is rising in King County.
Culture and lifestyle make Seattle one of the top magnet cities to attract young professionals. But young professionals don’t often find the same amenities in Snohomish County, Crowther said. The leadership is older and generational gaps seem greater. This may leave Snohomish County at a disadvantage in the coming baby boomer exodus.
This is where an organization like SCYPN can help to form a strong and lasting network of young professionals ready to step up into community and business leadership roles.
“We’re really trying to provide a fun, comfortable place for young professionals. It’s much more than a networking opportunity,” Crowther said.
Crowther, a Seattle-area resident, got involved with SCYPN when he took a job in Snohomish County. Initially he was surprised at the average age of professionals at the events he attended.
“It was definitely an older crowd,” he said. “That’s when I decided to get involved. It was just so nice to be able to talk about what is going on in the county from a young professional’s angle.”
Patrick Pierce, government affairs manager for the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce and one of the founding members of SCYPN, agreed.
“What young professionals value in a workplace is different from what the baby boomers do, which can create conflict,” Pierce said.
Bridging these gaps is often a subject of discussion at SCYPN events — both formally and informally. Not every SCYPN meeting has a speaker, event or theme. Many are purely social.
“We have social meetings with zero program — just invite people to come and meet and mingle, catch up and build relationships. That’s one focus. We have others where we have guest speakers,” Pierce said.
Guest speakers have been varied over the last two years. State Rep. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, recently addressed the group. The 29-year-old was elected to his 21st District seat in 2008 and serves as the vice chair of the House Transportation Committee and on a number of other committees.
“He obviously has some perspective of what it is like to be a leader, especially dealing with intergenerational issues, because a lot of people in the Legislature are probably twice his age if not older,” Crowther said.
Another recent speaker was Tracey Conway, comedian and cast member of KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” While no longer considered a “young” professional, Conway gave the group some valuable advice.
“She told us how to work a room,” Pierce said. “You need to walk in and know how to network. A lot of young professionals get in a room and don’t know what to do. So she gave us some tips on that.”
According to Pierce, there are three pillars of focus for SCYPN. Relationship building is first and foremost. This can be professional networking or simply offering a fun place to meet other people of a similar age group and interest.
Professional development is another focus. The group tries to bring in speakers and having workshops to give young professionals the tools they need to move forward in their career.
A final focus is community involvement. “That’s another thing that we think is important for young professionals. But we also think that our generation gets more involved in community issues than others,” Pierce said. “So we’re trying to harness that and use that as a tool to bring people together.”
With that goal in sight, SCYPN is currently working to develop partnerships with a couple of nonprofit groups to offer further community involvement opportunities.
Trying to find a way to draw diverse sections of young professionals together into one cohesive group is a challenge. But it is one that SCYPN’s board is pursuing with gusto.
Pierce said: “It’s still a growing organization. We’re open to fresh ideas and perspectives.”
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