News
Young Professionals Begin to Form Vision for Omaha in 2020
Published: 11/19/2009
Envision a community featuring smarter, denser developments, improved and efficient public transportation, where diversity and authenticity are not only encouraged, but celebrated; for 275 Omaha young professionals a collective exchange of ideals, values, and dreams is forming a vision for Omaha in 2020.
The Greater Omaha Young Professional (Young Professionals), a program of the Greater Omaha Chamber, hosted Your Omaha 2020: Building a Young Professional Vision for our Community on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Holiday Inn Omaha Convention Center. The event featured face-to-face discussions as well as an online participation via RallyOmaha.com. Your Omaha 2020 was developed in response to formal surveys, various roundtable discussions, as well as informational meetings prior to the 2009 mayoral election.
"This event was the culmination of a five-year information gathering cycle involving opinions from Omaha-area young professionals. It became very clear that young professionals truly have a vision for the type of city that they want to call home, so we asked for help and created a committee to formalize the vision. As cities race to recruit and retain young talent, we want to help make Omaha stand out by putting forward our vision," said Lee Denker, a Young Professionals Council (YPC) member and UNO's Alumni Association president.
Craig Moody, chair of the YPC, led the discussion to align goals with five main visions of Omaha. These visions included: arts and culture, inclusive communities, public engagement, public transit and community development. Working in diverse teams and focusing on one subject at a time, the young professionals defined their vision for Omaha.
"This is really the first time that we are utilizing a collaborative effort to create a community guide document, moving towards action," said Kirsten Case-Penrod, manager of leadership and workforce development for the Greater Omaha Chamber.
At the conclusion of the event, participants voted for their top goal in each of the five vision areas in person and at RallyOmaha.com. RallyOmaha.com features online discussions about topics that young professionals are engaged in and gives a central hub for the overall forward-thinking discussions about Omaha.
"We plan to finalize the report that summarizes the results. We will then create a list of individuals, community leaders and groups that would benefit from learning more about the results. Our hope is that this information will be a catalyst for changes that will make our community stronger," said Denker.
The event allowed young professionals to solidify areas of growth and start an exchange of ideas during the unique platform.
"If there is no engagement, there is no community," said Lee Myers of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency.