Category: Press Release

July 17, 2023

For Immediate Release:

Tucson Young Professionals (TYP) welcomes a new Executive Committee and new Board members to lead the organization through its continued growth.

The TYP Board of Directors unanimously voted for its FY24 Executive Committee leadership team as it kicks off this fiscal year and works on an ambitious strategy for continued growth and service to the Tucson community.

The organization will now be led by incoming Board President Emilia Eldridge, Human Resources and Organizational Development Manager at The University of Arizona. Emilia joined the board in 2020 and has managed our largest Teams, which has included the Nonprofit/Public Sector Team and the University of Arizona’s TYP Team. She is passionate about professional development, the inclusivity of the organization, and creating opportunities for people to build strong connections to the community.

Joining her is Jessica Sueskind (Vice President), COO of JKaiser Workspaces, and Jean Montano (Secretary), Senior Manager of Inside Sales & Customer Experience for Republic Services. Josh Bedyk (Treasurer), a Commercial Mining Representative for Caterpillar Inc., will continue in his role for another year, as well as Danielle Raines, the Associate Director of Development for the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona, who will continue as a Member At-Large. Filling the Immediate Past President seat for one year will be Devon Underwood, Founder and Principal of the Talent Store. TYP thanks Devon Underwood for her two years of committed service to TYP as Board President – it was a transformative period for the organization!

“The outgoing Executive team, working closely with our Executive Director Zach Yentzer, was critical to not only continuing the growth of membership and resources, but also in developing crucial infrastructure, such as Committee development, and initiatives like Expanding Our Impact, to continue growing our mission. While much of that work was behind the scenes, the impact of it will be felt by our entire membership in FY24!,” shared Eldridge. 

Among the strategic initiatives the new Executive Committee will lead, a major focus will include hiring and supporting the next Executive Director in their transition into the organization as Zach Yentzer departs into a new community role, and the work of TYP’s Committees, including Philanthropy, Advocacy, Professional Development and more. 

The Committee will also accelerate the work done by the last, in ensuring that TYP’s events, programming, and value represents and serves the racial, cultural, economic, geographic and career-stage diversity of its membership. 

Outgoing executive board member Celeste Tracy (Member At-Large) has been a mainstay of the organization for a number of years and has played a critical role in expanding and growing Tucson Young Professionals into what it is today! 

TYP also welcomed 6 new board members in June, from a very large cohort of quality applicants, including Mike Plunkett (Founder and Creative Principal, Good Boy Bentley Creative), Moises Gomez (President, MJ8 Partners), Drew Karczewski Jr. (Financial Services Professional, New York Life), Dan Goers (Owner, Go Bold Digital), Stefani Quihuis (Talent Acquisition Manager, Mister Car Wash), and Casey Carrillo, (Director of Strategic Partnerships, University of Arizona Center for Innovation).

“I believe this new leadership team confirms that we are without question the premier young professional organization in Southern Arizona, representing the most diverse array of sectors and industries and career stages. We are now working to use our standing in the community to be strong advocates for the needs and wants of the young professionals that live and work here,” said Zach Yentzer, Executive Director. “My thanks to Helena Riggins, our incredible Membership Experience Director, for her vital work, and to our Board who gives so generously of their time and talent.”

TYP is deeply grateful to three off-boarding Board members for their service and contributions over the last two years: Joshua Polacheck (Consultant), Nicole Barraza (Director of Governance and Outreach, Southern Arizona Leadership Council), and Heath Vescovi-Chiordi (Director of Economic Development, Pima County).

You can learn more about Tucson Young Professionals by visiting the website at: TucsonYoungProfessionals.com.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Emilia Eldridge

President, Tucson Young Professionals

contactus@tucsonyoungprofessionals.com

October 13th, 2021

For Immediate Release:

TYP welcomes a brand new leadership; expands to the largest Young Professional group in the state with over 750 members.

After the most challenging year in our organization’s history, TYP welcomes a new and expanded Board. Despite the challenges, we grew as an organization in the past year, hiring a new staff member, and growing our membership significantly.

We want to offer sincere thanks to outgoing President Crystal Adams, who has left Tucson for a position with the University of Utah, as well as our thanks to Dillon Walker (Immediate Past President), and Joshua Belhumeur (Past Vice President) whose dedication to TYP’s mission has been instrumental to the current success, and who will both continue on as part of our advisory board. We are very excited to welcome our new President Devon Underwood, who previously served as Secretary to the Board. As Founder and Principal at The Talent Store, an Executive Search, Recruitment, and Talent Strategy consulting firm, Devon has worked to bring world class talent into leadership positions across the country and moved back to Tucson 6 years ago to bring back what she learned to impact Tucson and Southern Arizona. In addition to her service to TYP, Devon serves as a board member for the Tucson Metro Chamber and welcomes her board seat at the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC).  She has also taken on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Executive Challenge to fundraise for Light the Night and is a proud and active member of the AZ Technology Council and Local First AZ. Having previous leadership experience with TYP as Secretary of the Board, matched with her community work in workforce development, TYP is in great hands as she moves into the President role.

Joining her is Emilia Eldridge (Vice President), who works at the University of Arizona (UA) in Hiring and Employee Relations Administration; Andrew More (Treasurer), Director at BlueStone Venture Partners, a leader in the biotech startup ecosystem; Danielle Raines (Secretary) Senior Coordinator of Stewardship Operations at the UA Alumni & Development Program; Celeste Tracy (Member At Large), Head of Accounts at Anchor Wave, a local marketing and web design agency; and, Joshua Polacheck (Member At Large), independent consultant and former Executive Director of the Pima County Dems.

“The outgoing Executive team, together with our Executive Director Zach Yentzer, steered TYP through the challenges of a global pandemic and a still ongoing economic realignment in Tucson,” Devon Underwood said, “They built strong partnerships with the region’s largest employers, launched the Nonprofit Leaders Academy (Emilia, TYP Vice President, was key to this) to develop up-and-coming leaders in the NGO sector, set-up a platform for a scaled membership to choose how they want to impact the community through our Teams, executed a beta TYP Mentorship program with SALC, and placed TYP in our strongest financial position ever. Thanks to the hard work of Josh, Dillon, Crystal, and the previous board, the new board is in a great position to hit the ground running.”

In the coming year, the new Executive Committee looks forward to resuming a strong slate of in-person and remote programing to foster strong ties among our young professionals, grow professionally, and aggressively advocate for the changes needed in our community to make Tucson and Southern Arizona a desired destination for businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals.

Our new leadership and board will turn our promises of racial, cultural, and economic diversity into concrete commitments in programming and recruitment of members. We know that unless we see a more inclusive economy, Tucson will fail to live up to its potential as one of the best places to live, work, and play in America. Devon Underwood explains: “many organizations made strong statements last year, but we will turn our words into action. As we continue to grow and advocate for inclusivity and equity we are committed to walking our talk.”

Outgoing executive board members Crystal Adams (President), Dillon Walker (Immediate Past President), and Joshua Belhumeur (Vice President) have been mainstays of the organization for a number of years in board service, and have played a critical role in expanding and growing TYP into what it is today. 

“I am looking forward to continuing the work with our staff and Board of growing our membership, our members’ impact through our Teams and Committees, diversifying our programming and events, expanding the TYP Mentorship Program, solidifying our advocacy priorities and voice in the community and much, much more!” said Zach Yentzer, Executive Director.

Additional new board members include: Melissa Ayala, Nicole Barraza, Josh Bedyk, Justin Lukasewicz, Yvette-Marie Margaillan, Melissa San Angelo, and Jessica Sueskind. You can find more about them here.

 

For press inquiries, please contact:

Zach Yentzer

Executive Director

zach@tucsonyoungprofessionals.com