Young professionals reach for leadership skills, experience

IOWA CITY - Iowa City can sometimes seem like a no man's land for young people in their post-collegiate years.

“We have the university here with all the students, and all of a sudden there seems like there's a drop-off at 24 to 25 (years old) all the way up to 40 of nothing to do, nothing available professional-wise and even socially,” said Jeremy James, 31.

That makes Iowa City different from places such as Cedar Rapids or Des Moines and can make it hard for people in his age group to establish themselves as leaders in the community, said James, a certified investment planner at the family business, James Investment Group, in Iowa City.

One way this is being addressed is through a group James helped co-found in 2011 called Empowered Professionals of the Iowa City Area, more commonly known as EPIC.

Affiliated with the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, the group is aimed at young professionals looking for networking and leadership opportunities.

There are about 160 members, James said, and an average of 25 to 35 people attend activities that include lunches with invited speakers, social events and opportunities to become involved in the community.

Johanna Laing, 31 and a member of EPIC's leadership council, said each activity is a chance to meet new people and learn something to help develop leadership qualities.

“I really do believe in servant leadership, and I think you can only become a leader as you serve,” said Laing, personal lines manager at AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance in Iowa City.

In addition to EPIC, she's volunteered with Project GREEN, which does beautification work, as well as Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army and the Iowa Equine Rescue and Awareness League.

Many of the qualities found in leaders are internal, but Terrence Neuzil said appearance also mattered when he was elected to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in 2000 at age 30.

Neuzil, who had his eye on elected office ever since high school, is believed to be the youngest person ever elected to that position in Johnson County. Now 42 and still a county supervisor, he said he started dressing nicer and even changed from being known as “Terry” to the more formal “Terrence.”

“Once I started getting gray hair, I was actually happy,” he said.

A mature appearance helped him gain credibility with older, more established community leaders, he said. He also learned that there was an expectation for public-sector leaders to attend a wide variety of events and to join organizations.

“I think that if anyone wants any success, particularly as a young person, they've got to get extremely involved in organizations,” he said.

Nancy Quellhorst, president and CEO of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, said established leaders in the Iowa City community are welcoming of young people and help them search for jobs, mentors and services.

“People are very approachable,” she said. “Ideas here are valued for their merit, not just because of by whom they're generated.”

The chamber's Community Leadership Program, started in 1989, is for people of all ages but has catapulted young people to leadership positions, Quellhorst said. Of the approximately 500 graduates of the program, 12 percent have gone on to serve in public office, 78 percent served on a government board or committee and 95 percent have participated in a community or service club, she said.