Young Education Professionals

Our Mission Young Education Professionals is a nonpartisan organization, created by and for young professionals, that connects tomorrow’s education leaders through relationship-building, knowledge development, career and professional development, and community engagement. Our History The original Young Education Professionals (YEP) was founded in Washington, DC in the late 1990s by leaders such as Michael Petrilli (now President of Thomas B. Fordham Institute) and Jennifer Vranek (now Founding Partner of Education First Consulting). The group was phased out in the early 2000s. In 2007, Kate Blosveren Kreamer (now Deputy Executive Director of Advance CTE) revived and re-launched the group with the next generation of young education leaders. The group called itself Young Education Professionals-DC (YEP-DC) and earned a strong reputation for connecting tomorrow’s education leaders. In less than four years, YEP-DC grew from fewer than 100 members to over 3,000. As YEP-DC members moved to other cities and the organization's reputation grew, as did interest in creating new YEP chapters. In spring 2012, YEP launched its expansion with new chapters in Colorado and New York City. The Bay Area, Birmingham, Boston, and Twin Cities chapters followed soon after. There are over 12,500 YEP members across all of the chapters. YEP is a completely volunteer-run organization.