young professionals Archives - The Young Professional

January 26, 2021

Tom Marsden

Melissa Katz Joins tHRive Board

tHRive is pleased to announce that Melissa Katz has been elected as Vice Chair of Branding on tHRive’s Board of Directors for the 2021 calendar year. The young professional program of the Hampton Roads Chamber is approaching its sixth year as one of the 757’s premiere young professional networks, and boasts a roster of over 3,000 diverse members in practically all of the region’s primary industries.

Melissa Katz will support the branding committee, as the Branding Vice Chair. This role is responsible for defining, sharing, engaging, and evolving what it means to be a part of tHRive. In 2021, the team is focused on re energizing members in areas of professional development, cultivating relationships, and community engagement. When asked why she joined the tHRive Board, Katz stated “I’m very excited to join this impressive Board, and hope to use design to create a positive impact with the people in our region.”

Katz will also be integral in telling the story of tHRive and giving a voice to young professionals throughout her two-year term on the Board. “As we begin 2021, I am very pleased to have Melissa joining our Board of Directors,” says tHRive Chairman Tom Marsden. “She will no doubt play an integral role in representing the young professional community, and I commend her for committing time and energy into moving our region forward through her work with tHRive.”

Melissa Katz is employed as a Design Manager at The Port of Virginia where she leads the creative direction and evolution for their visual design and experiences.

January 26, 2021

Anne Baumler

tHRive Announces It’s 2021 Board

tHRive, the young professional program of the Hampton Roads Chamber, has announced its new Board Leadership for 2021. The working Board, with the support of the Chamber, has elected Tom Marsden as tHRive Chairman for the 2021 term, along with four new Board members.

Marsden is a Vice President at Marathon Consulting and previously served as the Vice-Chair of tHRive’s Regional Engagement Committee in 2020. As tHRive Chairman, he will serve as the program’s leader and work alongside the Board of Directors to continue the progress made by his predecessor, Norfolk Southern’s Assistant Director of Labor Relations, Daniel Sileo. Like it did many with many organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many challenges for tHRive in 2020. His goals for a renewed and reenergized 2021 include: getting back and delivering tHRive’s core principles of professional development, creating strong relationships, and community engagement; reengaging current members of tHRive and attracting new members; enhancing the diversity of tHRive as a representation of Hampton Roads’ young professional community; and championing the responsibility of tHRive’s members to give back to and make an impact in the community, among many others.

Hampton Roads Chamber President & CEO, Bryan Stephens says, “I am immensely impressed with the 2021 tHRive Board of Directors. They represent the best of our young professionals in the Hampton Roads business community. I am confident they will continue to lead the 3000+ members of tHRive to accomplish their objectives this year in spite of the pandemic. I look forward to watching them as they cultivate regional awareness and community development by providing a platform to empower young professionals, give them a voice, and invest in the future of our region”.

tHRive is supported by a robust and active team of volunteer committees devoted to promoting an attractive and dynamic community by engaging in the development of the region.

Marsden says, “On top of all the excitement for what 2021 will bring, I am very excited to take on the position of the chairman of the board of tHRive. I thank our previous chair Daniel Sileo for all his efforts for tHRive. I take on this responsibility knowing that I have a strong and energized board around me to recalibrate tHRive for the business environment of 2021 and beyond. We hope to continue to grow on what tHRive has done well and use tHRive as a conduit to make an impact on issues that are important to the 757 young professional community.”

The 2021 tHRive Board is as follows:

Chair – Tom Marsden
Marathon Consulting
Vice President

Chamber Liaison – Anne Baumler
Hampton Roads Chamber
Director of Events

Director of Administration – Lauren Bland
Hampton Roads Soccer Council
Executive Director

Branding Chair – Lauren Roberts
Chesapeake Public Schools
Special Education Teacher

Branding Vice-Chair – Melissa Katz
Virginia Port Authority
Design Manager

Membership Chair – Kiersten Stanton
Aerotek Inc. – Aston Carter
Business Development Manager

Membership Vice Co-Chair – Neil Anglen
Business Development and Sales

Membership Vice Co-Chair – Ashton Love
Investment Executive
Davenport & Company

Events Chair – Caroline Myatt
The Foleck Center
Marketing Manager

Events Vice-Chair – Monica Wilsey
Heather Murray Homes
Business Development Manager

Regional Engagement Chair – Amanda Green
Hampton Roads Workforce Council
Youth Program Coordinator

Regional Engagement Vice-Chair – Amasa Smith
CIVIC Leadership Institute
Director of Programming and Communications

January 26, 2021

Tom Marsden

2021 Membership and COVID Poll

As we all know, 2020 has been a challenging and unexpected year. tHRive is excited to step into 2021 with a fresh and renewed focus. tHRive is taking a look at all aspects of our programming to make sure it aligns with our members’ goals and tHRive’s mission. We also want to ask our members how they are doing and how they have been affected by the current pandemic. All of these answers will help chart tHRive’s course for now and into the future, so we can bring the most value to its members. Please keep in mind these survey results are 100% anonymous.

Please click here to take the survey! Thank you for all your help.

January 26, 2021

Tom Marsden

Message from the 2021 tHRive Chair

Dear tHRive Membership,

Welcome to 2021…we’re excited to see you soon!

2020 was far from the year that we all had planned, this includes the goals of tHRive. Most of our plans switched to handling the COVID-19, and due to the nature of our in person events, a lot of our plans had to adjust. During these times many of us had to put our work and family effort to the forefront, which created a difficult scenario for tHRive to execute many 2020 goals. The board and our committees have started planning for a renewed 2021 and are very excited to getting back and delivering on tHRive’s core principles of professional development, creating strong relationships, and community engagement.

tHRive did have some successes in 2020 and started out strong with a great financial event hosted by our Diamond Partner, ABNB Federal Credit Union. We also continued our regular table for tens and even hosted a few virtual events. We hope we can get back to some of those events tHRive has been known for, but in the meantime we plan to get a bit creative with our programming. Our fundraising and volunteering efforts still continued throughout the pandemic, and we ended up raising almost $2,600 for our organization of the year, and contributed 20 hours of volunteer hours. We thank all of our members that have assisted in those efforts. Due to the interrupted efforts of 2020, we have decided to continue to support Samaritan House as our organization of the year for 2021!

One of our first acts in 2021 is to reach out to you, our members, to make sure our plans aligns with our members’ goals. Please let us know what we am do well and what we could do better. If you have any ideas on things tHRive could do, please do not hesitate to reach out to info@ypthrive.org, and please take time to complete the brief survey below that will help us develop programming for this year.

On top of all the excitement for what 2021 will bring, I am very excited to take on the position of the chairman of the board of tHRive. I thank our previous chair Daniel Sileo for all his efforts for tHRive. I take on this responsibility knowing that I have a strong and energized board around me to recalibrate tHRive for the business environment of 2021 and beyond. We hope to continue to grow on what tHRive has done well and use tHRive as a conduit to make an impact on issues that are important to The 757 young professional community. Thank you all for continuing to support tHRive, making it one of the premier young professional organizations around!

At your service,

Tom Marsden
tHRive Chair

tHRive Announces Samaritan House as their 2020 Community Partner

February 25, 2020

Sarah Hill

tHRive Announces Samaritan House as their 2020 Community Partner

tHRive, the young professional program of the Hampton Roads Chamber, is pleased to announce Samaritan House as its organization of the year. A crucial part of tHRive’s mission is to invest in the future of our region by facilitating young professional engagement through community involvement with local nonprofits and volunteer opportunities. This year, tHRive will be volunteering, advocating and fundraising for Samaritan House throughout their regular events. Members can sign up to attend the March 3 kickoff event and learn more at ypthrive.org/events.

Robin Gauthier, the Executive Director for Samaritan House shared her thoughts on the partnership. She said, “Samaritan House has been helping victims of violence in our community for 35 years. The continued success of our mission relies on the generosity of our community and local professionals like tHRive. We are grateful that tHRive selected Samaritan House as their nonprofit for 2020.”

The mission of Samaritan House is to foster personal safety, growth and self-sufficiency in adults and their children through freedom from sexual and domestic violence, human trafficking and homelessness. They own and operate 14 safe houses for emergency shelter for individuals and families fleeing violence and those at risk of losing their homes. Clients receive support through case management, counseling, victim advocacy, nutrition assistance, transportation, access to medical care and vocational training. They also have a children’s program, which works with youth to establish healthy relationships, build self-confidence and break the cycles of violence.

“We’re so excited to partner with the Samaritan House for 2020,” says Amanda Green, tHRive’s Regional Engagement Chair. “There will be several ways for young professionals to get involved with our efforts including hands-on volunteer opportunities and fundraising events. We can’t wait to see all we are able to accomplish.”

“The fact that tHRive designated Samaritan House as their charity for 2020 is exciting and humbling. Members of tHRive are committed to influencing change for our neighbors in need through leadership, financial support, service projects and being the voice for the voiceless in Hampton Roads,” says Tom Higgins, Samaritan House Development Director.

Lauren Roberts, tHRive’s Director of Fundraising, added that “partnering with the Samaritan House as our Organization of the Year is a wonderful way for the members of tHRive to make a major impact on the community! The Samaritan House does essential work in our region and we will be able to support them via volunteer power and with financial assistance through all we have planned for 2020.”

tHRive’s past community partners have included the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Virginia, and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. Last year tHRive raised $5,000 for CHKD, and this year tHRive’s financial goal is to raise $7,570 for Samaritan House.

tHRive is a program of the Hampton Roads Chamber created by a small group of diverse young professionals all driven to provide a platform to advance and empower millennials in our region. tHRive has numerous signature events throughout the year and various monthly events spread across the region. These events will promote an attractive and dynamic community by engaging in the development of the region, and will focus on tHRive’s three main goals: Professional Development, Cultivating Relationships, and Community Engagement. Visit www.YPtHRive.org. Like us on Facebook at YPtHRive and follow us on Twitter @YPtHRive.

Hampton Roads Young Professionals Learn How to Optimize their Financial Futures

February 15, 2020

Sarah Hill

Hampton Roads Young Professionals Learn How to Optimize their Financial Futures

Over 30 millennials gathered to take charge! Of their financial future, that is. tHRive held its first Impact Talk of 2020 on Thursday, February 6 at Gather in Norfolk. It was hosted by Heiner Kessler of ABNB Federal Credit Union. Kessler is an Investment Advisor who is well versed in all aspects of financial planning including initiating IRAs, establishing term insurance, income planning in retirement, and more. The topic of Kessler’s speech was, “Take Charge of Your Financial Future.”

For many young professionals, financial decisions are overwhelming. But they are also critical. During his talk, Heiner Kessler provided a wealth of information on how to invest wisely. Topics included taking control of your money, becoming a more knowledgeable investor, advocating for yourself in the workplace, and planning for retirement.

Heiner Kessler from ABNB advises young professionals from the 757 about finances.

One of Kessler’s key pieces of advice to young professionals: you cannot be risk-averse. There are smart risks, or investments, you can make to increase your overall wealth. According to Kessler, “If you’re not willing to lose money in bad times, you won’t make money in good times.” When you make a mistake, learn from it and move forward. tHRive members who had questions asked them freely, making the event both educational and interactive. tHRive is proud to make learning resources available for young professionals in the 757 community. A huge thank you to tHRive Diamond Sponsor, ABNB Federal Credit Union.

For more upcoming tHRive events, visit yptHRive.org/events.

December 31, 2019

Sarah Hill

Message from the Incoming 2020 Chair

Members of tHRive,
I am truly honored and excited to assume the role of tHRive’s 2020-21 Chairman of the Board. This essential program of the Chamber has rapidly grown over the past four years under the leadership and vision of Julia and Alisa as they worked tirelessly to advance tHRive’s mission. I believe we are up to the challenge of continuing in their legacy over the next two years, largely due to the incredible individuals on the 2020 Board of Directors who have joined me to volunteer their time and effort on behalf of our valued members. Exciting times are ahead of us!

Above everything else, I am committed to doing even more in 2020 to transform tHRive into a value-add organization in the Hampton Roads community. Young professionals of the 757 are not just looking for another social club or group of friends to enjoy Happy Hour with. Don’t get me wrong—those things are great, but our potential is so much greater. We are uniquely positioned to truly make a difference in our region by giving back to those in need, by making our voices heard, by influencing the business and political leaders of our seven cities, and by providing our members with the tools they need to succeed in today’s workforce.

I hope you will join me and our Board of Directors in the coming year to make this vision a reality. We are realigning our internal structure and priorities to ensure that everything we do serves our greater purpose. There will be exciting changes, announcements, and ways to get involved in the coming months—so be on the lookout! One last thing: I am counting on you, our members, to make your voices heard. If there is something that you think tHRive could (or should) be doing in the 757 to support young professionals, or a missing service that is desperately needed in our community, we need you to let us know. Send your feedback to info@ypthrive.org and I will personally review it and respond. Your newly elected Chairman is eager to hear from you and ready to get to work. To 2020!

Daniel Sileo

tHRive Chair