Home to a wide array of social and ethnic communities, New York City has been dubbed the "world capital" with good reason. To foster leadership skills in young professionals working in this hub of multicultural environments, Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City (CUCE-NYC) and several partner institutions have just completed a first term of a new program.

The Strength Through Diversity -- Young Professionals Leadership Program (NYCLP) brought together 35 select young professionals, ages 25 to 35, twice monthly for six months to confront critical issues in New York's multicultural society. Workshops focused on diversity, project development, immigration, personal communication, economic development, and public relations and media. Each session was led by prominent executives, community leaders and government officials and was held at a variety of historic sites, financial institutions and religious centers. The group also traveled to Albany to meet with elected officials.

NYCLP is a joint project with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, New York Tolerance Center and the American Friends of Israel League.

"This country has a history of being overmanaged and underled," said Donald Tobias, executive director of CUCE-NYC, addressing the first graduating class at the program's closing ceremony at the New-York Historical Society, March 25. "Lots of programs aim to create managers. The uniqueness of NYCLP lies in turning young, accomplished managers into leaders with an ability to see what others don't."

The inaugural group included professionals working at such private and public institutions as the United Nations, Council on Foreign Relations, Department of Youth and Community Development, Goldman Sachs and Time Warner.

"Through a concept-mapping exercise, we identified a variety of issues that were most pertinent and pressing to New York City's demographics," said Sanae El Hitmi, a participant who works for the assistant secretary-general in the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations. "What followed was a fascinating journey that focused on devising constructive solutions."

At the closing ceremony, participants presented three "Diversity Projects" that were created over the course of the program. All three will be implemented in the next six months to address the specified issues.

One of the projects is Operation: Green Apple, which "is a school-based beverage container recycling project," explained project leader Jasmine Jusino, who works at the New York State Bronx Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center at Fordham University. "Recycling machines will be placed in one of the partner sites, Hostos Community College in the Bronx, and students will be encouraged to recycle bottles instead of throwing them out." The project will be launched on Earth Day in April, and the funds raised will be donated to such environmental organizations as Million Trees and national forests.

The other diversity projects are cultural field trips to high school age youth to foster community and the launching of an online magazine to showcase and celebrate the diversity of New Yorkers.

For Jusino, the best part of the program was its collaborative environment. "The fact that my competence was already a given made the pressure to perform disappear. Such an environment allowed me to think creatively and learn more by networking with other participants," she added.

The program's success has led to talk about replicating the model in not just other states but also other countries. "In addition to considering Washington, D.C., as a host site for next year, the program will also be launched in Israel," said Tobias.

"We are better off as a city because of the hard work you have done," said Commissioner Guillermo Linares from the New York Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, who addressed the inaugural class. "A powerful idea makes everybody a winner."

Kanika Arora, MPA '07, is a Cornell Chronicle writer in New York City.