5Q: Charlie Vincent, organizer for Millennial Summit

The Millennial Summit is a one day conference on August 1 designed to bring together young professionals around important issues facing Delaware. We sat down with organizer Charlie Vincent, who also runs the marketing and consulting firm Innovincent, about how the event came to be and what it means for the growing number of millennials working in the state.

What inspired you to hold an event targeted at millennials?

Robert Herrera and I work with many organizations that have the same issues, namely: how can you recruit and retain good talent and also bridge the generational divide in the workplace. #MILLSUMMIT is our way of bringing everyone to the table for a conversation about how to tackle these and other issues in a focused and fun way.

Do millennials face different barriers to engaging with the professional community than other generations?

Youth and inexperience seem to be the stick that the older guard uses as a deterrent. Today, there is a groundswell of professionals (younger and seasoned) who are interested in getting involved and creating change as opposed to talking about it. One of the goals for the #MILLSUMMIT is to help emerging leaders learn about ways they can get involved and make a difference and meet others who feel the same way.

What topics do you anticipate coming up at the Summit? Are there particular issues you would like to see addressed?

We have 70-plus speakers and 15 different panels for attendees to choose from, with topics ranging from diversity as a business imperative to making the arts relevant to millennials to discussions about the future economic policies of Delaware. There is something for everyone, regardless of age. Next year we hope to expand the #MILLSUMMIT to a multi-day event and make it even better.

What type of connections and relationships do you want the Summit to facilitate?

The theme of #MILLSUMMIT is to learn how to take charge, get involved, and make an impact in your career and community. With the help of nearly every organization in the state with a young professional arm, we hope to help connect those who are looking to get involved with those groups who can help them learn how to and hopefully become a change agent. To help make these new connections, you can sign up at millsummit.com.

Much has been made of the millennial generation’s habits, preferences, and economic prospects. Looking past the stereotypes, what have you learned about this generation?

Our generation is good at a lot of things and particularly at working together in ways different than other generations. The #MILLSUMMIT is a good example of how different coalitions can unite and leverage their resources to create and execute on something new that’s never been done before.