New Leaders Council

Naomi Cole

City Club's New Leaders Council offers opportunities for civic involvement and brings together Portland's dynamic young adults for information, interaction and action—and fun!

In 2009, New Leaders Council (NLC) expanded its events-based focus to also include leadership development and outreach. NLC members direct their efforts toward one or more of these areas in order to create the greatest impact on Portland and its future leaders.

Events: By focusing on no-to-low cost events featuring community leaders, experts, elected officials and hot topics, NLC's Events group connects 20 and 30-something City Club members and friends to the Portland community. The Events group strives to create timely and interactive events on topics that feature why we love Portland! Recent events include: a tour of the Memorial Coliseum, "Beervana," an evening of dinner, discussion and beer-making, a Food For Families social action project, and a tasting tour of Portland's downtown food carts.

Leadership: For its first significant project, NLC's leadership group developed a three-part leadership development series entitled "Shake Things Up! Critical Skills for Portland’s New Leaders." There, participants learn research-based leadership fundamentals, hear perspectives from veteran Portland leaders and practice hands-on skills. At the monthly NLC planning meeting, the Leadership Spotlight brings Portland leaders - from New Season's founder Eileen Brady to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nigel Jacquiss - to speak with the group. This is a unique opportunity for young adults to meet Portland's leaders up-close and in-person.

Outreach: Outreach works with Portland's young adults to help them get involved in the issues that matter most to the city and community. Using Facebook and other social media sites, outreach creates an ongoing dialogue about important topics in Portland. In addition, the Outreach sub-committee connects City Club with other civically-minded organizations and works with those groups to create a vibrant civic life in Portland.