The Young Professionals Program connects Chicago adults passionate about our Female Strong mission.
About
The Young Professionals Program acts as an arm of the Female Strong organization while offering young professionals in Chicago the ability to get involved in volunteer opportunities, grow their network, build leadership skills, and be part of a meaningful community. The Young Professionals Committee leads networking, social, and fundraising events to foster a community of togetherness and in service of programming for middle and high school girls.
Our Mission
To create better opportunities for middle and high school girls by providing access to tools, experiences, and resources needed to achieve their dreams and help close the gender gap.
Our 2021 Impact
We hosted a variety of events with amazing sponsors – Level Up Your Network, Summer FUNdraiser, Vibez Fitness, and the Holiday Cookie Exchange. $31,000+ was raised!
How to Get Involved
- Become part of our community! Provide us with your contact information using this link so that we can add you to our email list to be notified of upcoming events and opportunities. Participate in our fun line-up of social, networking, and fundraising events and bring your friends, coworkers, and family. See below for upcoming events and a link to our full year calendar.
- Partner with us through sponsorship. Reach out at info@femalestrong.org for more information!
- If you’re interested in becoming a mentor for a future YEA! class or a guest speaker, we’d love to have you. Reach out at info@femalestrong.com.
Upcoming Events
Lunch with Leaders: Women in Construction & Real Estate Panel
Mon, October 24, 2022 at Sterling Bay Properties
Women have historically been underrepresented in both Commercial Real Estate (CRE) and Construction, specifically when it comes to leadership within these industries. The latest CREW Benchmark Study determined that just 36.7% of all CRE positions are held by women, and the U.S. Department of Labor calculated that number as only 14.1% for women with roles in Construction. How do we break this trend? And perhaps more importantly, how do we inspire the next generation of female leaders to forge their paths to executive status, despite these statistics?
Join the Young Professionals Committee as we hear from a handful of leading women in Chicago’s Commercial Real Estate and Construction scene, including Suzet McKinney, Principal and Director for Sterling Bay’s Life Sciences Division; Trish Gordon, Vice President of Program Management at JLL; Diana Pisone, Principal and Workplace Market Leader at Stantec; and Jamie Redmond, Partner, and Operations Executive at Redmond.
The event will begin with a 45-minute panel featuring our incredible speakers who will share their insight and personal experiences. This will be followed by a “Lunch with a Leader.” Each table in the venue will feature one or more leaders in the industry who will continue to share advice while continuing the conversation around building a more equitable and accessible industry.
100% of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Female Strong. Seats are limited, register today at the link below! Thank you to our presenting sponsors Redmond, Stantec & Haworth, and our event host Sterling Bay!
Meet Our Committee
KARI GUARNACCIO, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE CHAIR
What Does Female Strong Mean to You?
Female Strong represents a group of people unified by a mission of empowering and elevating women and girls to flourish in our community. A community where we support each other to reach our dreams by creating opportunities and encouraging women and girls to be their authentic selves. Being exposed to statistics that show a rise in the diminishing confidence of girls over time, compared to boys, opened my eyes to an amazing opportunity for growth and change. It became clear to me that by nurturing girls, we will grow the professional pipeline with steadfast, capable, and confident women leaders, because I truly believe we, as females, are stronger together.
KRISTEN DAVIS
What Does Female Strong Mean to You?
To me, Female Strong means empowering the next generation of female leaders to be confident and fearless in all they do. I am forever thankful for the countless strong, inspiring mentors who have inspired and supported me both professionally and personally over the years. I know that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without having so many people believe in me throughout every stage in my life, and my goal is to make the same impact on others. We are stronger together, and I am grateful to be part of a team that is championing this collaboration through their mission.
ELISE GELWICKS
What Does Female Strong Mean to You?
Female Strong equips the next generation of female leaders to be empowered, creative, and supported. It is so gratifying to be a part of an organization that allows girls, no matter their background, to realize their full potential and exceed their childhood dreams.
EMMA MOLLER
What Does Female Strong Mean to You?
To me, female strong means embracing the often underestimated power of your femininity to make it your greatest strength. It means going into every situation and believing you are undeniably equal to everyone else in the room. More importantly, Female Strong means finding others to help strengthen you and teach you what it means to be strong and confident. Which is why I am thrilled to be a part of Female Strong. It is so inspiring to be surrounded by such amazing women of all ages and I can’t wait to see what we will all do together and independently.
MEGAN NEARY
What Does Female Strong Mean to You?
‘Female Strong’ means breaking down barriers and finding likeminded individuals that inspire you to be strong women with a shared purpose in lifting each other up.