Graham Harrell, right, talks about the Young Professionals Association of Chattanooga at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce open house in September.About Graham Harrell
Age: 28Job: Implementation advisor at MediTractNew position: President-elect of the Young Professionals of ChattanoogaPersonal: He and his wife, Erin, moved to Chattanooga in 2014
President-Elect Donald Trump will change a few things after his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Here in Chattanooga, another president-elect wants his organization to have a new focus: to help high school students land internships with area businesses so the students can develop skills they’ll need to make it in today’s complex, changing global economy.
Graham Harrell, the president-elect of Young Professionals Association of Chattanooga (YPAC), thinks the 150 or so 21- to 40-year-olds who belong to YPAC are a natural fit for Step-Up Chattanooga, a new program of the Public Education Foundation (PEF) that last summer placed 76 low-income Hamilton County high school seniors and juniors in internships at local businesses.
“Our goal is really to work with these students and help them find work experience,” says Harrell, who takes the reins in July as YPAC’s new president.