WELCOME TO THE 6TH ANNUAL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SUMMIT!
Presented by


The journey of the Eugene YP Summit has brought us a long ways. Over the last six years we’ve determined that we are IN, we’ve been elevated, we’ve established who we are, we’ve dedicated ourselves to being HERE… we made steps toward what’s next during a worldwide pandemic. And now we’re ready to REengage, REconnect, and REinvest in our professional goals, personal passions, and community involvement.
Join us for the 6th Annual Eugene Young Professionals Summit as we REinvent our future possibilities. We are excited to see you in-person, where you’ll have the opportunity to hear from an inspiring keynote speaker, participate in breakout sessions tailored to help you continue growing personally and professionally, and network with fellow young professionals.

RECORDED
SESSIONS


KEYNOTE
ANTONIO
NEVES
AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST, AND AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST
View Keynote Recording Here
Find The Edge Again: Rekindle The Spark That Makes You Energized, Engaged & Bold
Whether you’re a leader at the helm of an organization or a professional at a crossroads in your career, you know a simple truth: in these complicated times, it’s more challenging than ever to feel motivated.
So how do you hit the reset button to rekindle excitement, increase focus, and get clear again on what’s most important?
Antonio will lead us to find that edge again, so we can REignite the energy and drive we brought to the table on day one, REdiscover purpose in our work and take action to spark positive change, REframe challenges as opportunities we can leverage to our advantage (hello pandemic), and REcommit to a long-term mission that helps us power through tough times.
We are doubling down to REfuel energy, REkindle excitement, and REcommit to being bold in 2021 – won’t you join us?!

Shaking Off the Sunday Scaries: Using Self-Assessment To Minimize Workplace Anxiety
James Cochran | Marketing Strategy Lead, University of Georgia
It’s Sunday night. You order delivery, apply a face mask and zen out with a little Schitt’s Creek. But as Monday morning inches nearer, that nervous energy in your gut only grows stronger, heralding the arrival of your old friend: the Sunday Scaries. Minimize workplace anxiety with a candid conversation on social norms and a self-assessment of personal priorities. Anxiety not required but transparency is.
Speaker Bio
James is a passionate communicator who left the 60+ hour-a-week agency grind for the sometimes too stable world of higher education. He is an advocate for more empathy in the workplace and helping people avoid learning through failures by dissecting his own. When not at work, you can find James with his lovely partner eating and drinking his way through Athens, Ga., with his nose in a book or riding the rollercoaster of Georgia sports fandom.

Flying in the Face of Conventional Leadership
Christine Waugh | Owner, Leader Support Service
It’s time to question the myths that have been handed down through generations of leaders and managers. They were developed during an age when people stayed on their jobs for life. The boss was the be-all know-all, and the workers were, well, just workers. We’ll reexamine five of those old leadership myths, discover their fallacies, and consider strategies that work today. These myths are:
- Abide by the Golden Rule
- Hire for Experience
- Motivate with a Paycheck
- The Workers Work for You
- Customers are Always Right
Speaker Bio
Christine Waugh owns Leader Support Service and works with leaders and teams that want to soar. She is an author, business consultant, and workforce development trainer with a management background in the real world. But she also taps into life experiences, from the mundane to the extreme. Her insights are unique, sometimes contrarian, often provocative, and always helpful. She will lift and propel – you, the people you work with, your organization and its bottom line.

Kind and Effective Leadership
Justin Freeman | Owner, Bagel Sphere
Our work environments, volunteer service projects, and civic engagements are all in need of kind and effective leaders. This session will show how kindness to self, coworkers, and external stakeholders can build upon one another to drive meaningful, positive transformation in the workplace and community. Rather than just a “feel good” session, we train with a bias towards action, giving tangible, real-world steps that attendees can implement to promote the cultural change they want to see in their daily lives.
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Justin works in food manufacturing, consults with businesses on strategy and “getting unstuck,” and serves on boards for organizations with great missions and big social impact. His greatest joy and interest in professional work is in the development of people. Justin has been blessed by wonderful mentors, and it is his privilege to volunteer and pay forward the good guidance shown to him. He works with individual entrepreneurs, mentors student-led startups at the University of Oregon, and teaches conference workshops on a variety of professional and organizational development-related topics.

Manufactured Moments
Andrea Beem | The Beem Team, LLC
In a new virtual world in can be hard to connect with people in life and business and even harder to stand out when “customer service” is a phrase everyone uses. Attend this session to learn how “manufactured moments” can help you create a magnetic environment in business and life.
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Andrea Beem is the owner of The Beem Team, a Real Estate company that helps their clients stand out in a competitive market. Andrea lives in Albany Oregon with her family. She has been in the real estate industry since 2008, is a speaker, and working on becoming an author! She is the Past President of the Willamette Association of REALTORS and the current President of the Albany Business Builders BNI Chapter. She believes in investing in the lives of people as a lifelong legacy.

The Benefits of Civic and Community Engagement
Robert Steck |Â Chief Executive Officer, Partnered Solutions IT
Are you curious how to give back to your community in a meaningful way? It’s possible to make a difference, get involved locally, and have fun while making new friends and professional connections!
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Simply put, Robert is a problem solver. He always puts the client’s needs first and is constantly coming up with cost-effective solutions to allow businesses to make the right decisions in IT or Marketing.

Starting Over, Again
Carrie Paul | Lane County District Attorney’s Office
Starting over is sometimes decided for us by factors that we have no control over. Sometimes it’s a sprinkle and sometimes it all at once. We will never be prepared for the surprises of life but we can prepare ourselves to be resilient and embrace the unknown. In this session, attendees will learn strategies to cope with change ranging from mild to extreme.
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Carrie has volunteered and worked for the Lane County District Attorney’s Office for over 12 years. While working for full-time, Carrie attended graduate school earning her Master of Business Administration. Carrie and her husband recently welcomed a new baby with special medical needs, 9 years after their first child was born, while working from home during the pandemic.

Rebound: The Challenges and Opportunities of our Economic Future
Henry Fields | Workforce Analyst, Oregon Employment Department
In the first half of the discussion, we’ll look at recent trends in our demographics and workforce, and at the forecast for where our economy’s headed. Then we’ll break out into groups to work on common interests towards improving our community and economic well-being. Attendees will walk away better informed about the major issues in our economy and with the tools and resources they need to get started working towards the economic future they want to see.
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Henry Fields is the Workforce Analyst for Lane County, serving the public’s need for economic data to improve business decisions. A graduate of U of O and Indiana University, he’s built his career here in Eugene helping people feel informed and engaged in our changing economy. In his free time he likes to garden, learn languages and debase himself for the enjoyment of his two young children.

Startup Stories Panel
Panel led by Caitlin Vargas | Startup Community Director, Onward Eugene
Wondering where to begin with your idea for a startup? Dive into a dynamic conversation with founders Melissa Prestinario of Seat Slicker and Chris Lee of Concierge365 to hear about what it took to make the leap, with moderator Caitlin Vargas. They’ve got a wealth of insights and advice for your entrepreneurial journey.
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Caitlin helps passionate local entrepreneurs as the Startup Community Director for Onward Eugene; an organization dedicated to economic prosperity. After spending close to a decade fundraising for nonprofits including Eugene Mission, Caitlin now spends her time engaging underrepresented communities in their first steps on the path to entrepreneurship.