About 300 young minority professionals came out recently to the Young Professionals Network event. The focus was to connect young minority employers from the region’s leading companies with each other for professional, social and philanthropic engagement.
The event is part of Regional Business Council’s diversity initiative, which helps to increase workforce diversity in the St. Louis region and strengthen the local region’s attractiveness to people of color.
The RBC is a consortium of 100 CEOs representing some of the region’s largest companies. The Young Professionals Network is comprised of minorities under 40 from St. Louis companies, students from local universities, and members of local organizations seeking business contacts and networking opportunities.
RBC has a mentoring program that pairs business and engineering students with RBC executives who share their career experiences and provides students with practical knowledge and access to a number of opportunities that exist in the St. Louis region. A diverse program for African Americans is the African American Corporate Network, which connects African Americans with the St. Louis business community.
Scott Wilson, president of S.M. Wilson & Co., was glad to see more young professionals coming out to network in St. Louis. Wilson’s main objective was to make sure that more minorities are working in business industry in St. Louis.
“RBC seems like a genuine effort to make a difference and create more diversity in St. Louis. We’re trying to concentrate on the diversity side of life,” Wilson said.
Steven Harris, of the RubinBrown accounting firm, is glad to know that people in higher positions in business are helping minorities.
“It’s what we need in the St. Louis community – growing young professionals and getting us all connected,” Harris said.
Harris challenges students who are still in school or recent graduates to make sure their contacts and networks are maintained.
“You never know where those opportunities and people can take you,” Harris said.
“There may be an opportunity where we can pull someone else along and make sure they can get to where they’re trying to go.”
“The more diverse we are, the more we’ll accept each other. The more diversity will make a harmonious workplace,” Wilson said.
Harris explained the overall goal of the Young Professionals Network: “to develop a sense of urgency, commitment and sense of togetherness in the region.”
The RBC had its first Young Professionals Network program in 2008 with a networking reception. Over 300 young professionals from a variety of St. Louis companies attended the event. The membership of the program has grown to 500 members who have participated in social, philanthropic and professional development events.
For more information, visit www.stlrbc.org.
