Community and cultivate are two of Labor and Employment Law Section Chair Iyana Titus’ favorite words. That helps explain why nurturing new leaders and developing a more diverse section membership are among her goals for the upcoming year.
To direct young attorneys toward New York State Bar Association leadership requires a multi-prong approach, she said. For starters, you must reach out on social media and podcasts where they are, and eliminate the barriers that discourage them from becoming involved.
“We did a survey and we realized that people don’t always know how to get involved. And that’s fair. They signed up for membership and now are unsure what to do. It’s almost like you need to treat it as though you are onboarding a new employee. You need to connect with this person in a more formalized way than a generic e-mail. You need to introduce the section to the person, show them how to be involved, and get them on a committee.”
From there, she emphasized that the onus is on experienced committee members to identify potential leaders.
Titus has asked her committee chairs to identify rising leaders and to think about how the section can engage them by the end of her term.
“I want them constantly thinking about engaging more individuals as a means of cultivating new leaders,” Titus said.
She added that as chair she has a role as well.
“I need to be a brand ambassador for the section, where I’m the person who is receiving, meeting people, making them feel comfortable and...
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