Chattanooga Chamber launches mid-career leadership program to retain young professionals
Hinton & Company's new leadership accelerator kicks off in Chattanooga with a goal to engage young professionals in the community.
The major metros in East Tennessee, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities, have all identified a challenge in increasing the number of young professionals in the community. There are two key parts to that equation: retaining the ones we have and attracting newcomers.
An in-depth report from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Center for Regional Economic Research shows Chattanooga’s in-migration rate for young adults (35.3%) is higher than the out-migration rate (27.9%). But compared to surrounding cities like Knoxville, Nashville, and Atlanta, the net in-migration rate trails slightly.
However, Chattanooga’s “stay rate” is one of the highest in the region at 72%.
East Tennessee chambers believe the key to retention and attraction lies in a couple of key factors: plugging young adults in with gainful employment, family connections, quality of life, and upward mobility.
“Our member businesses tell us that developing their next generation of leaders is one of their biggest challenges,” said Charles Wood, CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.
A new partnership between the Chattanooga Area Chamber and Hinton & Company focuses on the leadership and career growth that leads to upward mobility.
One Accelerator, five months, 11 professionals
Hinton & Company developed the Ascension Leadership Accelerator in partnership with the Chamber for emerging and early mid-career professionals who are poised to move into larger leadership positions in the coming years. Eleven professionals from ten organizations were selected for the first cohort, which will run for six months.
Organizations across sectors and cities are navigating the same challenge: senior leaders are transitioning out, and the professionals behind them, many of them high-performing individual contributors, need more than technical skills to step into leadership roles.
“Organizations invest in developing their people, but too often the focus is only on what leaders need to do,” said Wade Hinton, the CEO of Hinton & Company. “We also focus on who they need to become. That’s the difference between a stressed-out manager and an intentional leader.”
The program will combine individual assessment, supervisor input, personalized development planning, group learning, peer accountability, and one-on-one coaching to help the eleven emerging leaders work with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Meet the inaugural cohort
- Destiny Burns, Learning Consultant, Kenco
- Jaleesa Brumfield, Director of Early Learning, City of Chattanooga
- Kyree Brown, Director of Accounting, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga
- Bryant Fairley, Director of Engagement, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- Stacy L Johnson, Finance Manager, City of Chattanooga
- Ashley McKnight, Talent and Culture Strategist, EPB
- Kristy Miles, Manager, Unum
- Emily Allen Murphy, Director of People & Culture, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga
- Nahomi Ortiz, Director of Talent Management, Chattanooga State Community College
- Natalie Patric, Director of Community Engagement, United Way of Greater Chattanooga
- Brian Lebron Reed, Associate Product Manager, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
The inaugural cohort runs through June 2026. Enrollment for the fall 2026 cohort opens in April.
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