Meet Danielle King of Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals in Downtown LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle King.

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Danielle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved to California in August of 2017 from Phoenix, Arizona with my older sister right after finishing two years of teaching through Teach for America. It was a terrible move because I didn’t know anyone here (besides my sister and an older cousin who lived an hour away from where I stayed) and being from Oklahoma… the change of pace was difficult to get acclimated to.

After being California for a few months, I grew bored not having anything productive to do. Prior to moving here, I was involved with the Greater Phoenix Urban League Young Professionals, Big Brothers Big Sisters, pageantry and nonprofit services and I hadn’t had the opportunity to find that sense of purpose in California.

Four months after moving to California, I researched Urban League chapters in the state. The Urban League Young Professionals chapter that I was apart of in Arizona was the only organization I knew of that was as active in civic engagement as they were in social functions. It was the balance I was looking for!

I attended my first Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals function in January 2018 and my spirit was filled. I had found my people and filled the void. From there, I became an official member of the Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals and was appointed the Community Service Committee Chair soon after joining.

After three months of being active in LAULYP, the Executive Leadership Team (president, vice president, secretary and parliamentarian) spots were open for elections. I thought I’d make a good vice president, so I tried to convince Brandon Carter to run for president. I told him that I would support him 100% and be his right hand. He was impressed! He instead talked me into running for president and he became the vice president of LAULYP.

I’m currently the president of the Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals and I just finished the first year of my two year term.

Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest obstacle that I’ve faced as president is living far away from the majority of people I serve. I live in Ontario, CA (if you’re not familiar, I’m about 50 miles East of Los Angeles), so any event I attend or meeting I attend, know that my travel time was easily over two hours to and fro.

That wouldn’t be so bad if this was a financially compensated position… but it’s not, lolol! My passion for the League and service gets me through those terribly frequent trips to the gas station (cute. real cute, lolol).

Another obstacle that I face is the internal battle I have with myself during every social event we have. I am an extroverted introvert that fools people into thinking I’m outgoing.. but after 7:00 pm, ya girl is SPENT. I don’t want to look at anyone, talk to anyone, be friendly to anyone… but being the leader of LAULYP and it literally being a brand I represent, I get over myself and make it ‘do what it do’ (I’m aware of my limits, reflect weekly and take the time I need to breathe whenever needed. #MentalHealthMatters)

At the end of the day, this is great work that’s necessary. I’m blessed to be a part of the movement!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals story. Tell us more about the business.
The Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals is an auxiliary group of the Los Angeles Urban League which is comprised of working professionals between the ages of 21 and 40. Our members display a commitment to corporate, social, and community contributions to enhance the African-American business climate in Los Angeles. We regularly volunteer in our community through our own projects as well as through the Los Angeles Urban League.

We’re known for our monthly general body meetings. They take place every third Thursday (we’re on Summer break, we’ll resume in September) from 7:00 pm t0 8:30 pm.
The general body meetings are so valuable because you do NOT have to be a member of LAULYP to attend and EVERY meeting, we host a speaker that’s relevant and extremely knowledgeable on the topic they’re presenting on.

Example: For the month of March, we wanted to highlight ‘March Madness’ and Women’s History Month since they both took place in March. We had April Dobbs (Fox Sports) come to speak on the discrepancies of women sports (media coverage, pay, etc.). She dropped knowledge, was engaging and brought giveaways! April! You the realest!

What sets us apart from other organizations is how we lean on our members to lead initiatives within the organization. We had a general member (Chauncey McNeil) host a forum on ‘How to Run for Office’ which brought in reps from the LA County Clerk’s office that explained a new program set to launch in 2020 to innovate the approach to voting. We have ‘leaders’ in the organization, but the only thing that sets leadership apart from members is the title. We all have the same respect for each other and are aware that titles don’t equate more experience, knowledge or better work ethic. We encourage/press members to make their mark in the organization.

I am most proud of our consistency as an organization. There are a lot of YPs, so it’s refreshing that we’re all on one accord regarding how we meet, when we meet, when we host programs, what type of programs we host, etc.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see the Los Angeles Urban League Young Professionals being the ‘one stop shop’ resource for the LA community. Providing well-rounded services for young professionals and their families through programming, fundraising and partnership with surrounding entities.

Pricing:

• General Membership (annual fee) – $60
• Student Membership (undergraduate/graduate) (annual fee) – $30
• LAULYP Shirts: -$10 for members $20 for nonmembers

Contact Info:

• Address: 4401 Crenshaw Blvd.
  Suite 201
  Los Angeles, CA 90043
• Website: www.laulyp.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laulyps/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/29336346256/
• Other: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001Xt-WZUPW1FRYQmFBEloBDw4NWFxGqkss255jvu0tjBT280i8wHhK2Df5tgqCn4z9BmieGIxsSyMDAYwhGIFBsqwhZDXpr2RTs1lkYnA2tWo%3D

Image Credit:
Outdoor group shot – Brandon McCray
Largest group shot – Tristan Thompson

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.