Why Minnesota Rising Matters [to]: Lynette Dumalag

Minnesota Rising is excited to celebrate 5 years in May 2014! To commemorate the occasion and the amazing folks who have crossed our paths, we're featuring several blog testimonials throughout the month on "Why Minnesota Rising Matters."

Lynette is an Associate at Nelson, Tietz & Hoye, Inc. a commercial real estate consultant group. Lynette assists clients with strategic site planning, site selection, and lease negotiations. Lynette is involved with Aeon (Executive Committee & Boardmember), Torch Community (Past Partnership Director), Minneapolis Downtown Council, Minneapolis Foundation Fourth Generation, and CornerHouse. Her family emigrated from the Philippines and settled in the Twin Cities. She grew up thinking everyone had rice at every meal.

Minnesota Rising is an important resource for engaged citizens in our community. Our community has a wonderful history of philanthropy, civic engagement and individuals who simply want their town to be a wonderful place to live. Minnesota Rising is a great example of this. This is an organization that is a platform for young leaders in our community to share ideas and work towards a greater vision for Minnesota. I have met many wonderful and passionate people through this organization.

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion "Meaningful Engagement: Choosing and Getting Involved with a Nonprofit" at the 2012 Un/Conference. In this session we shared why nonprofits are looking for younger volunteers and donors; how to choose a nonprofit based on your values, area of interest, and skills; and how involvement enhances your personal and professional life. The attendees asked thoughtful questions and prompted a conversation about a meaningful contributions (in money and volunteer hours) while starting and building a career.

While Minnesota Rising is a resource for young leaders located in our great state, it an organization that established professionals are noticing. A few months ago, GREATER MSP, a regional economic development organization, hosted a panel about attracting and retaining Millennials to our region. Diane, our fearless leader at Minnesota Rising was there as a panelist. To many in the business community, the strength of the next generation of leaders is important in order to grow and sustain the economic vitality of our region. Many veteran business leaders were in the room and took notice of this growing and powerful group called Minnesota Rising.

Happy Anniversary, Minnesota Rising! I look forward to the next five years!

Why Minnesota Rising Matters [to]: Alex Tsatsoulis

Minnesota Rising is excited to celebrate 5 years in May 2014! To commemorate the occasion and the amazing folks who have crossed our paths, we're featuring several blog testimonials throughout the month on "Why Minnesota Rising Matters."

Alex is a professional fundraiser based in Minneapolis with a passion for helping nonprofits of all sizes grow their capacity to achieve their missions. Alex has worked as a fundraiser for a number of local non-profits, and is currently the Development Director at the Minnesota AIDS Project.

I often see (and you probably have as well) news stories or read blog posts about how difficult the job market is for folks entering in it now, but it took my participation in the Un/Conference this past year to really understand what that meant for people graduating or stuck in unpaid internships now.

When I initially pitched the idea for an Un/Conference session talking about overcoming generational bias for young graduates looking to launch their career, I had no idea the depth of the issue, or how many people I knew whom it affected. After digging deeper, the statistics were startling - youth unemployment was 16.3% (not to mention underemployment!), and the traditional college-job-retirement pipeline folks were used to didn't exist for many. Most of the hands in the room I was presenting in shot up when I asked about feeling stuck in unpaid internships, temp jobs that never turned permanent, and constant part-time underemployment. This was their new norm.

Working through that session at the Un/Conference and talking one on one with young people affected by the economy taught me a lot about the unconventional career paths people were taking, and how for many people, that was the new norm. It showed me how I could embrace the change, and how we could as a group work through the changes in the economy to still be successful in our careers and professional lives. People were excited to tackle the challenge and find ways forward, and to work together as a group to make sure we all had what we needed to succeed and do good.

Whether it was in how I volunteer and network, or in looking for my own next big opportunity, the Un/Conference and Minnesota Rising have had a great impact on me, and I look forward to seeing what the next five years of Minnesota Rising bring!

Why Minnesota Rising Matters [to]: Eric Sannerud

Minnesota Rising is excited to celebrate 5 years in May 2014! To commemorate the occasion and the amazing folks who have crossed our paths, we're featuring several blog testimonials throughout the month on "Why Minnesota Rising Matters."

Eric Sannerud is co-founder of Sandbox Cooperative and Mighty Axe Hops. He believes in a better food system for Minnesota and is acting to make it happen. He is a Udall Scholar, Pave Prospect, and Minneapolis Global Shaper. You can find him on Twitter at @EricSannerud or @SandboxCoop!

While I can no longer remember exactly why I registered for Minnesota Rising's #UnConference2013, the people I met and the impact it had on my life will never be forgotten.

Where do I start?

The gorgeous space? The good food (coming from a foodie: lunch was great)? Neither. The thing that made Minnesota Rising's Un/Conference unforgettable was the people. The Un/Conference could have been hosted in a haunted house with pizza hut (sorry) for lunch and the people would have still made it great.

As a presenter I had the privilege to engage in conversation with a room full of eager, smart, caring young folks. Besides the enormous support and intriguing new perspectives from the audience I found new friends: Nick, Andrew, Jenna and Jeny.

Nick and Andrew and I are now working together to expand the idea presented about, 'Community Consulting', and Jeny is co-founder with me on a crazy new young farmer and leader incubator called Sandbox Cooperative.

These four new friends are the enduring relationships built from Minnesota Rising's work in our State. Un/Conferences are 9 hours, friendship is forever. 

Why Minnesota Rising Matters [to]: Tanya Schmitt

Minnesota Rising is excited to celebrate 5 years in May 2014! To commemorate the occasion and the amazing folks who have crossed our paths, we're featuring several blog testimonials throughout the month on "Why Minnesota Rising Matters."

Tanya Schmitt got involved with Minnesota Rising in 2010 - taking an active role in planning the first Un/Conference. She is a Campus Recruiter at Ecolab by day, and spends the rest of her time being a leadership nerd, community lover, and life adventurer. Tanya is active in several community organizations, including the Minneapolis Hub of Global Shapers. You can find her on Twitter at @tanyaschmitt!

Minnesota is a wonderful place. I'm biased - I grew up in small town, central Minnesota and moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota. I complain when we enter the sixth month of winter each year, and love to travel to new cities (especially to get away from the cold) yet every time I return to Minneapolis and see the skyline, I am reminded just how much I love this place. It is my home - I choose to live here. There are people who might disagree, but Livibility agrees with me.  

It's because I love Minnesota, that the Minnesota Rising community is so important to me. Minnesota Rising is one of the few young professional groups which spans the whole state - that works to connect Greater Minnesota with the Twin Cities. It's the connections and collaboration which makes this group unique. I appreciate the opportunity to meet and connect with peers from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. While there are many young professional groups that host a variety of great networking events in the Twin Cities, the collaboration of these groups and connecting the leaders within these groups is important for our community both now and in the future. 

Minnesota Rising was instrumental in facilitating the opportunity for me to meet my mentor Jean who remains an important personal and professional connection four years later, introducing me to people in Torch and LOTT - groups I took active leadership roles in, and giving me a venue to meet leaders in various sectors that I run into or connect with at a later date. It's the connections, relationships, and collective vision of Minnesota Rising that make me proud of what the community has accomplished in the last 5 years... and even more excited for what is to come in the next 5, 10, and 20 years with the many seeds that have been planted.