We all love a day off work, and a conference is one of the best excuses to get away from the grind for a refresh. While Des Moines in February isn’t exactly San Diego in the summer, there are still lots of reasons to head over to Grand View University  for YNPN’s annual NON-CON for young professionals. Here are 9 of them.

Based on The YNPN  Discussion Group: Is Mentorship for Me? on January 10 at West End Salvage

Jackie Norris will knock your socks off. First you’ll want her to be your mentor for the rest of your life. Then she’ll make you feel so powerful you’ll realize you don’t need a mentor. At least not in the traditional sense.

You don’t need one mentor. You need 100 mentorship meetings with 100 different people. That’s what Jackie calls situational mentorship.

Based on the YNPN Des Moines Discussion Group: Confidentiality in Storytelling on November 8, 2018

During the past five years, the marketing world has woken up to what writers and readers everywhere have always known: People crave stories. And storytelling is often way more effective than data when it comes to convincing donors to give, because it builds on emotion, empathy, and trust—universal human values.

In our number-centered world, that means stories have real ROI, as this chart by Michael Brennan, CEO of Marketing Insider Group shows.

In the nonprofit world, stories are extra effective, but they can also be extra tricky, especially when you’re writing about people with lived experience of poverty, trauma, or abuse. You must walk the fine line between telling a good, true story and respecting the wishes and safety of your subject.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Meghan Smith is the RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps Program Director at EMBARC. She has a Bachelor's in Business Administration and Economics from Wartburg College.

Interesting Facts: My first two "jobs" after graduating from college were first to be a camp counselor in rural Iowa and then to serve as an AmeriCorps member in New York City. Very different experiences, and going straight from one to the other was a bit of a culture shock.

Love/Hate: I love finding connections, whether it's an actor from an old favorite turning up somewhere unexpected, meeting someone with whom I have an unexpected mutual friend, or something deeper. I can be impatient, so I hate waiting - I always have a book or my phone handy to distract me when I can't avoid a wait.

Passions:I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had in my life, so I'm passionate about others having opportunities to thrive and removing the barriers to success that too many people face. Also tea - I always have some nearby.

Food: I don't really like cake, so for special occasions my mom always makes mint chocolate brownies going back to my elementary school birthdays. My favorite time of year is whenever I have a pan or two of these in the fridge to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Steph Ferguson is the Digital Coordinator for HCI Care Services and Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa. She attended Iowa State University where she studied Culinary Science and Journalism & Mass Communications.

Interesting Facts:
I was once a food writer and recipe developer for Cuisine at Home magazine, hence the culinary science degree. And I attended a culinary school in Spain! I'm a native of Des Moines and have recently returned to my hometown after a two-year stint in Omaha. I rescued my border collie, Beans, from the Nebraska Humane Society in 2015 and we have been inseparable ever since.

Tiffani Brendeland is an Account Executive at (C)3 Marketing. She graduated from Iowa State University with a B.A. in Advertising.

Interesting facts: She likes to hunt (2nd shot gun season on deer) and fish (mainly walleye); she's a wanna be runner (5K, 10K and Halfs) and; a closet nerd- give her all the books!

Kristen Corey is a Program Planner at the Iowa Department of Human Rights' Office on the Status of Women. She has degrees in M.S., Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture; B.S., Sociology and Environmental Studies (minors: Agronomy and Psychology).