CAILYN YOUNG — Office & Outreach Coordinator
Cailyn Young
Cailyn joined the City Leadership team in July 2026 and serves as our Office & Outreach Coordinator.
What I do for city Leadership
As the Office & Outreach Coordinator at City Leadership, I help keep both our people and our day-to-day operations connected, organized, and moving forward.
My role touches several areas of City Leadership. On the operations side, I coordinate daily office needs, manage administrative workflows, organize meetings and communications, and work closely with our CEO, COO, and Director of Operations. As a member of the executive team, I have the opportunity to support organizational priorities while also helping make sure the details behind the scenes are taken care of.
I also help manage the employee experience from beginning to end. I help coordinate along with our Director of Operations, onboarding for new team members and interns, help employees get acclimated to our systems and culture, manage interns throughout their time with us, and coordinate offboarding when employees or interns transition out of the organization.
The other major part of my role is outreach and alumni engagement. I maintain relationships with our alumni, help keep them connected to City Leadership and Choose901, and connect them with community resources, programs, events, and professional opportunities that can help them continue growing in Memphis.
I also work with community partners and stakeholders on outreach initiatives that strengthen those relationships and expand our impact. Whether I'm helping an intern through their first week, communicating with an alumni member, coordinating with a community partner, preparing for a meeting, or solving an unexpected office need, my goal is to make sure people feel supported and connected.
One of my favorite things about my position is that no two days look exactly the same. I get to work with our team internally while also building relationships with the people and organizations we serve externally—and I get to see how all of those pieces come together to support City Leadership's larger mission.
CONNECT WITH ME
How I got to Memphis…
My journey with City Leadership actually began as an intern through MPLOY Youth, a program of the City of Memphis Office of Youth Services. What started as an internship and an opportunity to gain professional experience quickly became much more.
During my internship, I had the opportunity to take on real responsibilities and apply skills in leadership, coordination, organization, and communication. I learned how to manage multiple priorities, assist with projects and events, communicate effectively with team members and community partners, and help keep things organized behind the scenes. I also became more confident taking initiative, solving problems, and stepping in wherever I was needed.
One of the most valuable parts of my internship was learning that being a strong leader doesn't always mean being the person in charge. It can also mean being dependable, anticipating what needs to happen next, keeping people connected, and making sure the details are taken care of so that everyone can do their jobs effectively.
By the end of my internship tenure, I was offered the opportunity to officially join the City Leadership team. Being able to transition from an MPLOY intern into a full-time team member was an exciting next step because I was able to build on the skills and relationships I had developed during my internship while taking on greater responsibilities within the organization.
Since then, my role has continued to grow. Today, as Office & Outreach Coordinator, I use many of those same skills every day—just on a much larger scale. From coordinating office operations and supporting our executive team to managing interns, onboarding and offboarding employees, engaging alumni, and building relationships with community partners, I've been able to turn the foundation I developed as an intern into a role where I now get to help support others as they begin and grow in their own professional journeys.
In a full-circle moment, I now have the opportunity to manage and support interns myself. Having started my City Leadership journey as an intern, I understand how meaningful it can be when someone gives you an opportunity to learn, contribute, and prove what you're capable of. That's something I try to carry with me as I welcome and work with the interns who come through City Leadership today.
Why I Choose901
I grew up in a small suburban town outside of Memphis, but Memphis has always been a major part of my story. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I attended optional schools in the heart of the city, so much of my life was spent experiencing Memphis beyond the place I called home.
For college, I decided it was time to get away and experience something different. I moved to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University, an HBCU, which gave me the opportunity to step outside of what was familiar, gain independence, meet people from different backgrounds, and grow into a new version of myself.
But after graduating, I HAD to find my way back to Memphis.
Sometimes you have to leave home to truly understand what makes it home. Being away gave me a greater appreciation for the culture, community, relationships, and opportunities that Memphis has to offer. I realized that I didn't just want to come back to the area—I wanted to be part of what was happening here and contribute to the city that had played such an important role in shaping me.
Working at City Leadership and being connected to Choose901 has made that decision even more meaningful. Now, I get to experience Memphis not only as the place I grew up around, but as a city where I'm building my career, developing relationships, connecting people to opportunities, and contributing to the community in my own way.
For me, Choosing901 is personal. I left Memphis to grow, but I came back because I realized there was still so much here for me—and so much I wanted to be a part of.
MEET CAILYN
Outside of City Leadership, I'm continuing to invest in my own professional and educational growth. I'm currently pursuing my Master of Legal Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Law School, which has given me another opportunity to expand how I think about organizations, communication, leadership, and the professional world.
When I'm not working or studying, you can find me swimming, coaching kids, bowling or going to explore a different part of Memphis.