FIRST LADY SILDA WALL SPITZER LAUNCHES YOUNG LEADERS CONGRESS TO BOLSTER I LIVE NY INITIATIVE
To build upon the I Live New York Initiative, First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer today announced the creation of the Young Leaders Congress (YLC). The YLC is a group of dedicated and passionate young leaders appointed by the First Lady to tap the collective strength of the next generation throughout the state to engage their peers in addressing the state’s net loss of young people and making New York a more attractive place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.
The I Live New York Initiative was announced last May by the First Lady in response to New York’s ongoing and crippling net loss of young people, particularly Upstate, for over two decades. This alarming loss has been measured by demographers Warren Brown at Cornell and Robert Scardamalia at the Department of Economic Development to show the population loss rates in some parts of the state to be as high as 22 percent among 20-34 year-olds and 29 percent among 25-29 year-olds from 1990 to 2000, with further findings that showed these rates accelerating.
The YLC is a direct outcome of the I Live New York Summit, which convened more than 600 key stakeholders at SUNY Cortland last fall to build working solutions for the economic, cultural and educational forces that can create job opportunity, promote entrepreneurship and foster livable communities. It will be housed out of the Buffalo Upstate Empire State Development office.
“If we are going to succeed in retaining and attracting the next generation, young people themselves must be engaged as part of the solution,” said First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer. “As I traveled the state, I began to learn of regional young leadership groups, each having begun in a grassroots way without coordination among one another but all with a similar purpose. One of the most important conclusions from the Summit was that these groups could and should benefit from communicating with each other, sharing best practices, and bringing their dynamic vision, energy and dedication together to be a part of the solution.”
Daniel C. Gundersen, Chairman, Upstate Empire State Development said: “Just as our Regional Blueprint meetings informed the Governor's strategy for revitalizing Upstate, the YLC will enlist regional input to help us ensure young people have viable futures in New York. I look forward to working with the inspiring and talented individuals on the Congress to make New York the best place to live, work, raise a family and run a business -- for young adults.”
Michael Frame, Chairman of the YLC and Director of Federal Relations for Binghamton University said: “Thanks to the leadership of the First Lady and Empire State Development, the YLC will provide an opportunity for the under-40 demographic to help play a role in attracting and retaining our peers as well as allowing opportunities to be engaged in developing the vibrant communities across New York State where we want to live. We are planning an action-oriented agenda for 2008 that will allow anyone across New York to make an impact in their community.”
In the coming months, the YLC will develop an action agenda based on the I Live New York report and focus on four core areas to maximize its impact on attracting and retaining talent. The four core impact areas include:
Over the past year, the First Lady traveled throughout New York and met with young professional groups, soliciting their ideas on how to create a more vibrant New York. The groups were vocal in their belief that they would greatly benefit from an active forum to exchange information, share best practices and to connect with other like-minded organizations. The umbrella YLC will identify regional assets and develop strategies to harness those resources in collaboration with local advocacy groups and key economic development agencies.
The YLC will set attainable and measurable goals for each impact area and meet on a monthly basis to evaluate their progress and assess results. The YLC will also play a significant role in crafting the theme and content for the 2008 I Live New York Summit and will present white papers on all of their focus areas, in addition to fostering engagement of the “under 40” demographic with programs throughout the year.
The I Live New York Initiative, led by the First Lady, complements Governor Spitzer’s vision for building a strong Innovation Economy to create opportunity and a more secure future for all New Yorkers. Among areas hit hardest by the net loss of young people is Upstate, and to address this critical loss of talent, the Governor has proposed a $1 billion Upstate Revitalization Fund that will improve infrastructure; expand regionally-specific “City-by-City” economic development plans; establish a housing and community renewal fund; stimulate the agribusiness industry; achieve universal broadband access; improve parks; and, expand international marketing.
Governor Spitzer has also proposed investing in the strength of our higher education institutions to draw business to New York State by creating a $4 billion endowment for the State University of New York (SUNY) system including the hiring of 2,000 new professors, and the establishment of an Innovation Fund for cutting-edge applied research. A key element of the administration's revitalization plan will be improving links between SUNY campuses and local employers to promote job growth.
An I Live New York Talent Task Force headed by Upstate Empire State Development and workforce experts throughout the state began its work last fall and will pilot three workforce projects between now and the next summit. An I Live New York Summit report with additional output recommendation from the summit will be issued in the coming weeks.
Appointed Members of the Young Leaders Congress are: