June 2014

Spring has sprung and Young Leaders have the spotlight!

with Newsletter Editor, Elizabeth Fischer Laurie

I recently took a few painting classes at Merlot's Masterpiece on U Street. Although it is clear I am not Monet, it turns out that I can paint reasonably well for an untrained person. More importantly, though, I realized that I had not done anything creative like painting in a long time, much to my own detriment. The last few weeks I have been more enthusiastic at home and work and am looking forward to several more upcoming painting opportunities. I may even buy my own easel and palette. 

This reminded me how important creativity in some form is to our success. As government employees, it is often easy to forget the importance of creativity in our daily life. Bureaucracy necessarily breeds process. Process often does not breed creativity. 

Given this, it is important that we each find our own creative outlet, whatever that may be. Some people choose to decorate their homes, some choose photography, some choose knitting, some choose to write, and some even choose to design exercise routes and routines. Whatever your creative outlet is, make sure that you nurture it to ensure success in your daily life.

If you are looking to volunteer while you nurture your creativity, please join us at Kelly Middle School on June 7th. I have participated in these types of school makeover days in the past and found them to be very enriching, creative experiences. Often they hand volunteers materials and let them exercise their judgment with color and, sometimes, design. You can feel good while getting those important creative juices flowing, ensuring your continued success both personally and professionally.

President's Corner

by Ginny Hill

Summer is a time to serve. YGL is really cranking up the dial on service this season and we hope you'll join us.  In addition to various volunteer opportunities, we're also involved in Millennial Week in DC.  This includes a partnered event with Capital Cause which will makeover a DC Middle School.  

As government employees and contractors, we serve every day we go to the office. But I encourage you to take some time this summer and think about even more ways to serve. Put your energy and time to good use, and remind yourself that service can be FUN! (Then reward yourself with a day at the pool if needed!)  Also, if you have an idea for a volunteer event, email your local chapter and organize it!  It's great leadership and coordination experience for you (add that to your resume), and you'll be enabling others to do good in the community.  That's what I call a win-win!

We want to hear from you!

Did your chapter do something awesome this month? Have a member who deserves to be featured in an upcoming newsletter? Want to share information about a nationally available event?

Contact Newsletter Editor and YGL Chief of Staff, Elizabeth Fischer Laurie, at chiefofstaff@younggov.org to share your story. Content and photos may be featured in our newly redesigned national monthly newsletter.

YGL & Capital Cause Invite you to Millennial Week's Day of Service

YES WE CAN:  Makeover Middle Schools

On Saturday, June 7, 2014, Millennials will take over DC Public Schools middle schools where at least 70% of children struggle with reading and math, and will involve volunteers in creating cultural and career-ready academic environments.   

Together with young philanthropists across the city, during Millennial Week, volunteers will gift youth with the tools they need to prepare for a brighter future! Working closely with school administrators to prepare learning environments with career-ready, college-ready and culturally-relevant murals, messages, tools and information – volunteers will create learning environments that educate youth and inspire them to be future-focused. 

Please contact Events Director, Lillian Amaechi, eventschair@younggov.org or CLO, Miguel Joey Aviles, CLO@younggov.org to get information about serving as a volunteer. You can register here.

The Details: 

• Saturday, June 7, 2014
• 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Location: Kelly Middle School, 301 49th St NE, Washington, DC 20019

Millennial Week is here!

YGL is an event partner of Millennial Week DC, a social and cultural platform targeted to the US Millennial audience. Millennial Week will be hosting over 5 events including Millennial Made. Millennial Made will present an evening filled with wine sips and delicious bites crafted by Millennial entrepreneurs in the food industry. This event will include live cooking stations manned by young chefs from Union Kitchen, a first of its kind Millennial owned start-up hub for DC food entrepreneurs. Millennial Made will feature a wine tasting from Vinolovers, a 5 flavored Gelato Station and Moonshine cocktails from Bloomery Sweetshine.

The Details: 

• Thursday, June 5, 2014 
• 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
• Location: WeWork, 641 S Street NW, Washington, DC

Why NextGen?

NextGen is a powerful experience but don't just take my word for it. Read on to hear from Andreas, who wrote about his experience at a past conference. Better yet, register today to attend this year's event, scheduled for July 24-25 in Crystal City, and see for yourself the positive effects of NextGen. An early bird rate is available through June 13th. 

Written by Andreas, a Local Government Employee.

Five years ago, I was a young professional in a new local government job. I was going through a phase of discovery about my new career choice. I was mainly focused on projects surrounding 311 Call Center, performance management, and scorecard reporting, along with other special projects. In my research of other cities and projects I came across GovLoop’s first annual Next Generation of Government Summit. Having no travel budget approved; I took my own vacation time and stayed on a friends couch to attend this summit. I was excited about the opportunity to meet other fellow young professional government employees, gain encouragement and learn from their experiences. I had no idea what I was getting into.

As I arrived at the Westin in Arlington on that first day, I had no idea what to expect. It was exciting. There were high-energy conversations about transformational projects that were taking place around the country, and the best part was, everyone was engaging and easy to approach. Taking full advantage of this opportunity has shaped my career in so many ways that continue to show for themselves. Through the Next Generation of Government Summit I was introduced to thought leaders around the county – which led to my attending the Gov 2.0 conference later that fall – which introduced me to Code for America through a fellow – and later becoming a Next Generation of Government Summit board member. All of these occurred due to my taking the first step to attend the Next Generation of Government Summit.

My challenge for you is…what will your NextGen story be? Who you will you meet? How will the summit excite you to new levels in your job or career?

The path is up to you, I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to attend this Summit as it has transformative qualities that will impact your career.

CLO Connection by Miguel Joey Aviles

Growing the World’s Best Leaders - YGL University Survey 

YGL Members, help us to unleash the hidden power of education!

YGL is committed to provide an authentic voice to a new generation of aspiring government leaders. In YGL we know that no one dreams of having a mediocre career – every emerging leader dreams of making a difference. That’s why we are in the process of building the YGL University, a novel initiative to equip young leaders with the right skills at the right time for the right mission.

Federal Agencies are facing tremendous budget constraints, and often funding for training and development is the first department to feel ill effects. This is our time to stand up and offer a solution to the people who need it the most.

Our goal is to provide unparalleled learning experiences by connecting formal, informal and collaborative learning. YGL University will deliver targeted learning when and where our members want to learn. The training classes will be relevant to their day-to day job, ranging from leadership development, soft skills, personal branding, networking, team building, and other important topics.

YGL University’s purpose is to provide easy access to training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to thousands of Emerging Leaders around United States. We ask you to complete a very short survey that will help us customize the YGL University Learning and Development Strategy that will help grow the world’s best leaders in the coming year.  

Please take a moment to tell us what you need, and YGL University will help you get there.  Take the survey now on Survey Monkey. 

The Latest from FEDManager.com with Lynnie Martin

Recently Lynnie Martin interviewed Dora Quinlan, Director at the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida. Quinlan talks about her proudest career accomplishment (it involves mentoring!), the leadership lessons she shares with her staff, and why it can be important to stay open to opportunities. You can read the full article here. Each month, the Young Government Leaders' feature column offers a fresh perspective on news and information, not just for current and future generations of YGL, but to all feds interested in hearing from those who will meet the next set of challenges facing the federal government. More articles relevant to your professional life can be found on fedmanager.com.

YGL & the Federal Times with Tyler Robinson

YGL's Chairman, Tyler Robinson, regularly writes for federaltimes.com. 

In May, Tyler took a break from writing and instead spoke on Fed News Radio as part of a panel focusing on trust across a federal employee's career. The show featured three employees, including Tyler, at various points in their careers. The panelists defined "trust" and then went on to discuss the importance of trust in the government. Listen to the full show here.

Young Government Leaders is a 5,000 member, non-profit organization committed to providing the authentic voice for our generation of aspiring government leaders. We are actively building a community of leadership for young public servants across the country through professional development activities, networking opportunities, social events, seminars, fellowships, and scholarships. You can find out more and join for free on our website.