FOCUS St. Louis recently named 30 participants as part of its Spring 2021 Emerging Leaders cohort. The three-month Emerging Leaders program provides professionals between the ages of 22-35 with the opportunity to strengthen their personal, professional, and civic engagement leadership skills.
“It’s a program for young professionals to increase their engagement in the region, build their own toolkit around leadership, and activate their participation in our region to add value in the places and causes that are most important to them,” Shalia Ford, director of Leadership Programs, said.
Cohorts will attend an opening reception, a two-day retreat, complete a group civic action project and engage in numerous seminars. They will also have access to FOCUS Now, an all-program graduation/networking event, and a complimentary four-month FOCUS membership.
One day in particular included in the program’s itinerary is Personal Narrative Day, where a deeper discussion occurs on topics ranging from mindfulness to why self-expression matters in how you dress.
“Personal Narrative is a big component in being an Emerging Leader because when I was that age, I was thinking ‘Oh, gosh do I look right, do I feel right, am I right for this?’” Matthew Kerns, director of Emerging Leaders and Member & Alumni Relations, said. “Imposter syndrome is a real thing and I certainly want to alleviate that in people so they don’t have to think through those things, but instead understand they are strong leaders.”
The current cohort includes individuals from various sectors in the workforce including legal, higher education, consulting, and other professions.
One of the participants is 28-year-old Dr. Mauyra Cockrell, who is the owner of the consulting firm, YKnot Consulting, which specializes in human resource development and improving business relationships. Through the program, Cockrell looks forward to networking and applying the principles she learns to her business.
“I’m looking forward to focusing on consulting and coaching and learning more about what’s going on in other industries’ engagement with job and community awareness,” Cockrell said.
A large component in FOCUS’ mission and the Emerging Leaders program is the embracing of diversity, equity, and inclusion. “It’s so much more than just what you look like on the outside, but maybe those things that you don’t see.” Ford said.
Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, all of Focus’s programming is virtual. Brittani Williams, who works in nonprofit development, was part of the first virtual Emerging Leaders cohort last fall.
Although the organization was met with challenges in restructuring its format, Williams said they still did a great job with implementing it.
“They did a great job of staying connected and curating diversity of leadership from gender to race,” Williams said. “I enjoyed having the opportunity to utilize the virtual features of breakout rooms, large groups and breakout rooms with smaller groups. My cohorts and I formed a great bond during and after the program.”
FOCUS Emerging Leaders program launched in 2012. More than 450 professionals across various sectors have completed the program. As of today, FOCUS has 10,000 alumni from all programs combined with more than 70% still residing in St. Louis.
FOCUS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to sharing directorial resources and improving the qualitative traits of how a leader should be.
For more information about FOCUS, visit its website: https://www.focus-stl.org/.
