//Our Organization//
Wichita Urban Professionals (ICT-UP) is dedicated to empowering the young, diverse and talented.
The organization involves members
ages 20-45 in engaging and relevant personal development opportunities, which include professional development trainings and dynamic social networking events.
OUR MISSION
Developing a rising network of black leaders to improve the urban community of Wichita.
// LEADERSHIP //
JONATHAN LONG
FOUNDING PRESIDENT
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT,
WICHITA REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
DANIELLE JOHNSON
VICE PRESIDENT
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION,
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY
ALICIA SANCHEZ
SECRETARY
DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION,
WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY
ROBERT MOODY
TREASURER
ATTORNEY
MARTIN PRINGLE
CHRISTINA M. LONG
HISTORIAN
EDITOR, URBAN MAGNATE
OWNER,
CML COLLECTIVE, LLC
A core group of millennials came together, under the leadership of Jonathan Long, in 2013 and spent one year strategizing and structuring a course of action to help Wichita better attract, retain and develop its minority professional population.
In 2014, Urban Professionals, launched. With partnerships between ICT-UP and the Kansas Leadership Center firmly in place, Wichita Urban Professionals set out to be the go-to network for the city's young, diverse and talented.
Since then, the organization has grown its network and reach to more than 200 and launched a publication that generated reads by more than 1,000 per issue. In 2016, the organization began taking steps to be a stand-alone entity. That same year, the organization won the Wichita Business Journal's Leaders in Diversity Award. While the transition is ongoing, ICT-UP members continue to advance the Wichita-area's attraction, recruitment and retention efforts through collaborations with organizations including Young Professionals of Wichita, among others.
//ICT-UP HISTORY//
Photo credit: The Wichita Business Journal and ICT-UP archival photos
