MADISON — The Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals will be hosting its First Annual Emerge Gala on March 29 at the Concourse Hotel.
The Emerge Gala will bring outstanding young professional leaders together for an evening to celebrate our many contributions to our community. The celebration will recognize extraordinary young professionals who are excelling in their chosen professions, a community leader who has impacted the young professional community through mentoring and creation of growth opportunities, as well as recognize one area employer as representing the best place for young professionals to work. Members of the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals will also be recognized for their commitment to carrying out the mission of the Urban League.
The Emerging Leader of the Year Award is presented to a young professional who exemplifies the qualities and characteristics of an exceptional leader in our community. The recipient of this award will be announced at the Emerge Gala. The top three nominees in this category are: Althea René Miller, GED Instructor, Omega School, Inc.; Corinn Ploessl, Marketing Coordinator, Wegner CPAs; Lauren Rock, 2-1-1 Volunteer Coordinator, United Way of Dane County.
The Trailblazer Awards are presented to young professionals who are growing and excelling in their respective fields and who have shown leadership within their company and industry. The recipients of the Trailblazer Awards are: Tawsif Anam, Managed Care Policy Analyst, Wisconsin Department of Health Services; Joe Maldonado, College Continuation Manager, Boys & Girls Club of Dane County; and Alder Scott Resnick, City of Madison Common Council District 8.
The Impact Awards are presented to community leaders who have established a record of consistent outreach to young professionals in the Greater Madison area and who have invested time in the professional growth and development of young professionals. The recipients of the Impact Awards are: Honorable Paul Higginbotham, Judge, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV; Oscar Mireles, Executive Director, Omega School, Inc.
The Workplace Excellence Award is presented to a business that represents the best place for young professionals to work in the Greater Madison area. Madison College's demonstrated record of commitment to the development of young professionals, adoption of work-life friendly policies, and recognition of generational differences that attract and retain young professionals certainly makes it worthy of the award this year.
"Recipients of the Emerge Gala Emerging Leader of the Year Award and the Trailblazer Awards were selected by a panel of their peers from various community partners of the Emerge Gala. We are pleased about the quality of the awardees being recognized at the Gala," said Nia Trammell, president of the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals. "We are also pleased that Mayor Paul Soglin has designated March 29, 2014 as ‘Young Professionals Day in Greater Madison’ in support of the Emerge Gala."
A letter from Mayor Soglin from February 7, 2014 to the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals' leadership noted that the mayor's office was "excited about the idea of delegating a day to celebrate the contributions of our young talent in our community, whether it be professional, financially in the form of spending power and property tax impact, or civically in the form of service on city commissions and committees or through community volunteer work."
For more information about the Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals Emerge Gala visit www.ulgm.org/emergegala.
