On October 15 the SLO Chamber brought together more than 60 emerging leaders from throughout the county to start a discussion and idea share on ways to engage the next generation who will shape the future of San Luis Obispo’s community, political landscape and business environment.
“The U40 Activate Summit was created as a SLO Chamber initiative to get young people more involved in the evolution of our community,” Hathway CEO Jesse Dundon said. “We started by bringing together 60 of our brightest minds to discuss the critical issues our generation is facing and what we can do locally to make a change and I’m excited to see the momentum continue as the SLO U40 movement takes a life of its own.”
The summit was a direct result of a priority set by the SLO Chamber Board of Directors to engage young leaders and create avenues for on-going participation and contribution to the SLO community.
“I think we’ll look back at the U40 Activate Summit as the spark that set ablaze a new movement of engagement in SLO’s under 40 demographic,” said Ryan Alba, innovation specialist at Collaboration Business Consulting. “It was incredible to experience such a sense of community around our shared concerns and interests.”
Click here to view a photo gallery of U40
Housing, political action and continued learning were three prominent topics that surfaced during the group-discussion as common concerns weighing on minds of participants.
The four-hour gathering brought community-building ideas to light, such as community-wide WiFi and a desire for sustained focus on environmental conservation. The summit was facilitated by Dr. Eric Olsen, professor in the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly, and Samson Blackwell, talent acquisition director at Cal Poly.
The information gathered on the specific issues as well as opportunities for continued engagement with and support of emerging leaders will be discussed at the Chamber’s annual planning retreat this December.
“This is the first of many steps as we continue to work to make a more connected SLO County and attract as many different voices, opinions and insights to the table,” said Molly Kern, the Chamber’s director of communications and business education.