There are multiple speaker series presented in and around St. Louis, but none specifically tailored for young Jewish students and professionals ages 20 to 40. Not until now.
The Ignite Young Jewish Professionals group is gearing up for an exciting fall and winter with the debut of the Staenberg Speaker Series. Imagine having access to esteemed luminaries in your field. That is the goal of the series, providing an extraordinary opportunity for attendees to gain insights from accomplished Jewish professionals in the community, hear their stories, career wisdom and receive invaluable advice.
“We are so excited to launch the Staenberg Speaker Series. This series is a great opportunity for young Jewish professionals to learn from successful role models and build relationships with other community members,” said Shani Roberts, Director of Ignite YP.
Kicking off the series on September 20 is none other than Maxine Clark, the founder and Former Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop, as well as the CEO of the Clark-Fox Foundation and Chief Inspirator at Delmar DivINe.
“We are so excited to kick off the Staenberg Speaker Series with entrepreneur, innovator and business leader Maxine Clark,” said Mia Kweskin, Chair of the Staenberg Speaker Series.”Ms. Clark has not only had a storied career and incredible success with Build-A-Bear, but she also demonstrates what it means to build and foster community and building community is what Ignite is all about!”
The idea of providing mentorship for young people, in any way possible has been a hallmark of St. Louis philanthropist Michael Staenberg’s career. Last May, he was invited to speak to the Ignite crowd and share his story.
“He shared how grateful he was for the mentorship opportunities he had in his life that paved the path for his success,” said Roberts. “It was a day or two after the event when the idea dawned on me. At Ignite, we are always trying to come up with new ways to bring Jewish young professionals together for meaningful and impactful programming. I thought, let’s create a networking division of Ignite – focused on helping our awesome community members grow in their careers.”
It was one call to Staenberg that resulted in the creation of the Staenberg Speaker Series.
Any and all Jewish students and young professionals in the St. Louis area are welcome to attend. Registration is required via Ignite’s website. Like all Ignite events, attendees will be alerted electronically to the location of the event.
