I’m a huge fan of Twitter. No matter your passion, you’ll likely find a like-minded community there full of influential and insightful people. This is no less true for the young nonprofit leaders’ community, where Rosetta Thurman (YNPNdc member) and Allison Jones (YNPN-NYC member) host a monthly conversation called #YNPchat. During this hour-long chat, young nonprofit professionals from all over respond to five questions on a set topic, and take this opportunity to engage with and learn from each other.

YNPN Twin Cities was fortunate enough to co-host this month’s #YNPchat with Allison, where we asked five questions about professional development:

1. In the current stage of your career, what are your goals around professional development?
2. How important is an advanced degree to achieving your career goals?
3. How much responsibility should nonprofit employers take for employee’s professional development?
4. What are the most cost effective ways to access professional development opportunities? 
5. What are some valuable professional development opportunities you have participated in?

As usual with these chats, the participants’ answers gave me a lot to think about, ranging from great tips on ways to find professional development opportunities to an interesting difference of perspectives on the question of advanced degrees.

I highly recommend reading Allison’s recap of the chat, which is a nice summary of what was discussed. After you do, here are three more ways you can help yourself and our community:

1. How would you answer the above questions? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to keep this conversation going. As YNPN-TC plans for future events centered on professional development, the answers to these questions is one thing we’re sure to refer back to.
2. If you’re not on Twitter yet, give it a try! Follow YNPN Twin Cities, Allison, Rosetta, and some of the other young nonprofit leaders on Twitter, and just see the amount of knowledge, tips, resources, and support you’ll receive.
3. And finally, jump right into the conversation yourself. Join your nonprofit peers at the next #YNPchat (first Wednesday of every month) on Twitter, and any other day you have a thought to share. Like any other network, the more you give, the more you get back in return.

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