Urban League Young Professionals of Greater Pittsburgh
The Urban League Young Professionals of Greater Pittsburgh was founded on February 20, 2002 by twenty-four African American professionals, committed to seeking greater leadership opportunities for their peers by using their diverse work and professional experience. The founding members include:
National Urban League Young Professionals
The National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP) is a National Urban League volunteer auxiliary that targets young professionals ages 21-40 to empower their communities and change lives through the Urban League Movement. The National Urban League Young Professionals: YP EMPOWERED!
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, several Urban League affiliates recognized the need to prepare a new generation of young leaders to take the mantle of leadership of the civil rights movement. Young African American men and women in their 20’s and 30’s were invited to participate in and take an active leadership role in their local Affiliate Urban League programs and activities.
These new professional auxiliary groups began to operate as programs of affiliates in:
Detroit, MI (“The Blue Monday Network”), Chicago, IL (“The Metropolitan Board”), Philadelphia, PA (“Philadelphia Urban League Young Professionals”), and Washington, DC (“The Thursday Network”).
As these auxiliaries began to grow, the Affiliate leadership took note of their success and began to ponder the power of a national movement of young professionals across the country. Simultaneously, Hugh Price, then President and CEO of the National Urban League, realized the need to make this potential national movement into a reality. He held a historic “Young Professionals Dialog Session” with over 200 young professionals in the New York area in April of 1998. This dialog session, in addition to a white paper submitted by Marcus Mitchell, ignited the spark that led to the formation of a working group, tasked with establishing the framework and foundation for the National Urban League Young Professionals.
These auxiliary groups actively supported the Urban League movement by educating other young professionals about the movement, recruiting new members, furnishing young volunteers, sponsoring educational initiatives like youth mentoring and tutoring programs, coordinating fund-raisers for scholarships and for the financial support of the affiliate, and delivering personal and professional development and networking opportunities to young professionals in their local communities.
Our mission is to support the Urban League Movement through our volunteerism, philanthropy and membership development. NULYP began with people just like you – people looking for an opportunity to make a difference. Your opportunity to continue that legacy starts now. There is never a more urgent time for people who possess your talent, drive and compassion to join this Movement as a Young Professions. If you are ready to make a difference, contribute to the progress of achieving equality, develop as a person, professional and leader, then make that move and GET YPEMPOWERED. Your presences in NULYP will definitely Empower Communities and Change Lives. Become a part of the National Urban League Young Professionals.
Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh
Recently ranked as one of the top performing Urban League affiliates in the nation, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh is one of only two affiliates to achieve this highest ranking in back to back performance reviews.
At our 95 year old Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pennsylvanians join together in efforts designed to enable African Americans to achieve economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. Through vital programs in employment and jobs training, education and youth development, family and child development, housing and self-sufficiency, we work to level the playing field for all Americans and to equip disadvantaged families to care for themselves. The CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh is Esther L. Bush.