January YP Connector

PAGE 4
PAGE 6
Contents
4 // January Luncheon
Amanda Goodman “Surviving the Boys’ Club &
Perfect Polly”
6 // Recap Dec. Luncheon
John Gronen “Dubuque Forward”
PAGE 8
8 // How to Get Comfortable with Being
Uncomfortable
10 // Sponsor Highlight
Recognizing Hotel Julien Dubuque
12 // YP Sponsors
PAGE 10
13 // Upcoming Events
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
#YPDUBUQUE

Yp Luncheon
Amanda
Goodman
“Surviving the Boys’ Club
& Perfect Polly”
Presenter Amanda Goodman
Wednesday, January 19th
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Holiday Inn Dubuque
Amanda Goodman is an Emmyaward
winning journalist who spent
18 years in the TV news business,
with her last stop at KWWL in
Waterloo.
She wanted to make a more
positive impact on our community,
so she left the news industry to
serve as the Executive Director of
Family & Children’s Council of Black
Hawk County. She is an outspoken
advocate for children – she is
known to not be afraid to rattle
some cages.
Amanda is able to merge her two
passions: investigative journalism
and child advocacy. She uses social
media as her platform to not only
advocate for children but also
empower women. Every post has a
3.4 million person reach.
Amanda continues to work with
state legislators to toughen the
laws against child predators. Her
hope is that anyone who hurts a
child in Iowa will face a minimum
of 25 years in prison. She is also
demanding that the federal laws
regarding the sex offender registry be changed. Amanda
is working with federal lawmakers to make sure if you
hurt a child, you are on the sex offender registry for life.
Because of her work, Amanda was awarded the Women
of Persimmon Child Advocate of the Year Award.
While she will always be a child advocate, Amanda
is leaving FCC to start her own Reputation Brand
Management firm while partnering with Pixel Labs in
Cedar Falls. In her words, your brand and business are
the castle...reputation management is the moat.
Originally from Pennsylvania, Amanda always knew she
wanted to raise her family in the Midwest. She and her
husband have four children: Gia, Nico, Luciana and Aria.

Recap!
DUBUQUE FORWARD
DUBUQUE FORWARD
DUBUQUE FORWARD
John
Gronen
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JOHN’S PRESENTATION AT THE
DECEMBER YP LUNCHEON:
- “Take a position and stand up for it. Don’t let others tell you no.
Fight for it and go after it. We need people at the table.”
- Take risks.
- “Do not ask permission to become involved.”
- Conflict can be a healthy and good thing. Don’t avoid conflict.
Any great partnership or relationship has conflict and it creates a better outcome.
- “Don’t surround yourself with ‘yes people.’”
- Different ideas are beneficial. Listen to those who do not think like you do.
- Learn from experience, but don’t write off someone because they are young.
- When people, communities, private and public sectors come together we can
create something great
John Gronen’s vision for the community continues to move Dubuque Forward. He
encourages all young professionals to get involved and remember that we are far from
perfect here, and we need to continue to work and grow as a community. Growth and
revitalization will only make Dubuque more attractive to other businesses, and other
young professionals.

How to Get
Comfortable with
BeingUncomfortable
by Nikki Bauer
Express Employment Professionals, Licensed Realtor with The Healey Group, Ruhl & Ruhl,
and YP Co-Director of Signature Events
How do you do it? How do you get
comfortable with being uncomfortable?
Two simple words: you don’t.
It sounds contradictory, right?
That’s because it is.
Getting comfortable with the
uncomfortable is setting priorities for
yourself. It is not letting others dictate
where you are going but allowing yourself
to choose where you want to go. Personal
and professional growth starts with taking
risks, even if those are small.
So, where can you start if you’re looking
to make small strides in that direction?
What I prefer to do is take small risks every
single day that I wouldn’t voluntarily do.
And trust me, it’s hard. It’s not comfortable
and even gives me a hint of anxiety. But
that is the point. Stepping out of one’s
comfort zone can lead to many things you
never thought possible.
What does that look like?
- It could be as simple as sitting alone in a restaurant over lunch.
- It could be picking up a phone to make that cold call or asking someone they don’t know to
coffee. (My personal favorite)
- It could be speaking up in a board meeting, a work meeting, or just in your own
- It could even be as simple as wearing that great new dress or shoes you bought on a whim and
haven’t had the nerve to wear in public yet.
What I’m getting at is that we’re never
going to be comfortable all the time in life.
That’s the beauty and chaos of it all. We
can plan, prioritize, and try to control as
much as humanly possible, but when we
really succeed is when we let go.
So let go of trying to feel comfortable
all the time.
Go to that event alone.
Sit at a restaurant alone.
Make that phone call or coffee date.
Wear the dress or the shoes!
Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable
is getting used to situations out of your
comfort zone and actively pursuing interests,
activities, or social settings that are out of
your norm. Stretch your limits and learn from
that. Growth never came from a comfort
zone, that I assure you.
Nobody is truly fearless, but we can always
try to fear less.

Sponsor highlight
Hotel Julien Dubuque
Located in the heart of Dubuque’s Old Main District, Hotel Julien Dubuque offers the area’s
most elegant accommodations and impeccable service. Built in 1915 and extensively
renovated in 2009 to restore its original grandeur, this remarkable boutique hotel marries
modern amenities with historic charm, featuring richly appointed suites, a stunning
Grande Ballroom, exquisite meeting spaces, and a sunlit pool and fitness center. An
annual recipient of TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, the property is home to Potosa
Spa, Caroline’s Restaurant, and Riverboat Lounge, a local hot spot for live music and craft
cocktails. Over the decades the hotel has welcomed its share of dignitaries, including
Abraham Lincoln, “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Mark Twain, along with the notorious Chicago
gangster Al Capone.
Why does Hotel Julien YP?
YP is such a wonderful program for Hotel Julien Dubuque to be involved in. To us, it means
giving our employees a safe space to learn more about themselves, what’s going on in
the Dubuque area, and the role they play in the community and workforce. It’s such a
great resource to grow our young professionals into becoming the next great leaders of
Dubuque.

Happy New Year!
Upcoming Events
Amanda Goodman
YP Luncheon
“Surviving the Boys’ Club & Perfect Polly”
Wednesday, January 19th
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Holiday Inn Dubuque
YP Night at the Museum
Enjoy beautiful art and network withcomplementary hors d’oeuvres and drinks!
Thursday, January 27th
4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dubuque Museum of Art
Wendy Knight
VP of Institutional Effectiveness & Advancement, Northeast Iowa Community College and
Founder and Collaborative Strategist, Focus Forward
“Making the World a Better Place to Work, One Leader at a Time.”
Wednesday, February 16th
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Holiday Inn Dubuque

Thanks
Reading
FOR
For more information on YP Dubuque please contact the Dubuque Area Chamber at
office@dubuquechamber.com or 563.557.9200
Young Professionals Dubuque is a program of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce