Our Community Engagement and Advocacy Committee acts as a conduit of influence through committee members sitting on a variety of community boards and committees. It is the mission of this committee to educate YLNI members about issues that affect the community, especially the young leaders demographic. In keeping with this mission, the Community Engagement and Advocacy Committee reviews public policy issues, community initiatives, and other pertinent issues and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. In addition to education, its goals are to strengthen the relationship between our members and the community and public officials, and create awareness of legislation and advocate on behalf of our members.

HOW YLNI DECIDES LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES:

It is the responsibility of the Community Engagement and Advocacy (CEA) Committee to monitor local, state, and federal issues, watching for issues that impact the mission of attracting and retaining young professionals through leadership development, community impact, and social engagement. Once an issue or issues are found to impact YLNI's mission, CEA researches and discusses the issue. In some instances, for issues that may require a survey of our membership and/or additional education for members, forums or meetings may be held providing non-partisan information. CEA then analyzes and reviews the data and makes recommendations to the YLNI Board of Directors. The YLNI Board discusses the recommendations, weighs the pros and cons of taking a stance and then votes on whether to accept the recommendations as submitted by the committee. 

YLNI has supported community initiatives such as the Harrison Square project, Riverfront Development, and the Downtown Dining District. At the state level, YLNI has opposed several pieces of legislation including HJR3 and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. YLNI supports the Regional Cities initiative.

Community Engagement