We want to see you for Young, Smart, and Local 2025 in Tulsa, OK!
Join us this year in Tulsa, OK!
Tulsa is renowned for its rich history, from being the home of Route 66 and Black Wall Street to its vibrant immigrant communities. It is also deeply rooted in a strong tribal history, as the city sits on the land of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Osage nations. Above all, Tulsa is celebrated for its unique ability to cultivate a strong sense of community for its residents.
Join us October 20-22, 2025 for the fifth annual YSL Conference, where you’ll engage in inspiring keynote and breakout sessions designed to help you attract and retain talent in your city.
There are many ways to stay connected until this year’s conference:
- Join our LinkedIn group.
- Sign up for the YSL newsletter.
- Consider joining the steering committee for the 2025 conference! Email Jen Kebea, President at Campus Philly, for more information
OVERVIEW
Across the nation, cities are realizing that talent will drive their ability to grow.
Young, Smart, and Local (YSL) is a national network dedicated to best practice around talent attraction, growth, and retention. The YSL conference brings together leaders from economic development, higher education, business, government, and community organizations. With over 1,000 network members and 250+ professionals in attendance each year, the YSL conference is a vibrant hub for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and actionable insights.
Conference highlights include keynote and breakout sessions focused on:
- The future of work: how cities, businesses, and talent are reimagining work
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in growing cities
- National trends, forecasts, and best practices in attraction, retention, and development
- Benchmarking and measuring the impact of talent initiatives
ATTENDEES
Representatives from cities and metro regions who are committed to talent growth.
- Economic development professionals from city, state, and local governments and NGOs
- Chamber of commerce leaders focused on talent and business growth
- Human resource and recruiting leaders from major employers
- Higher education leaders
- Destination marketing leaders who focus on attracting new business, talent, and visitors to a region
