Emily Wagner
Standing in front of Cape Cod's business and nonprofit leaders at our Annual Community Breakfast last month, I couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude.
Twenty years. That's a lot of coffee connects, a lot of after-hours gatherings, a lot of people finding their people and their place on the Cape.
If you missed this year's breakfast and the 20-year exhibit we shared, it's worth taking a look at the gallery below, tracing CCYP's journey from 2005 to today. But honestly, the most striking part isn't the timeline. It's the "Who's Who" of accomplished Cape and Islands leaders who came up through this organization. It's a testament to what happens when you invest in young talent and give them room to grow.
The Numbers Tell a Story
I'm 18 months into this role as Executive Director and the momentum is real. CCYP is buzzing with energy, and the data backs it up.
Financially, we're in solid shape. That's thanks to revamped and doubled membership, improved program participation, increased sponsorships, and incredibly generous donations from current and past board members who believed in us at our 20-year mark.
Our job board posted over 500 positions in 2025, mostly full-time roles across diverse industries, including a significant number of public sector opportunities. It's the kind of data that makes you feel hopeful about what's possible here.
And then there's the membership and networking data: This year, we had over 50 events across the Cape. Over 2,500 participants. A 60% leap in membership. We're getting a new member roughly every 40 hours.
At our October Coffee Connect, I actually made our host site partner a little nervous. She called the night before after I sent the headcount: "Um, the last time you were here you had 12 people. What do you mean you have over 60 registered??" (It turned out great and we're excited to partner with them again next year.)
Celebrating Leadership
We were thrilled to present our 2025 awards, recognizing the individuals and organizations making significant contributions to Cape Cod's workforce, economy, and community. CCYP Board President Patrick Ehart said it best: "As we mark 20 years of building community and connection on Cape Cod, these honorees exemplify the spirit that has sustained CCYP over the last two decades: the belief that success is measured by what we build together."
Our three awardees—President and CEO, Seamen's Bank Lori Meads; Cape Cod Community College; and CCYP Board Member Risa Oliveira Ramos—are investing in our collective future, not just through their work, but through their commitment to the next generation.
Getting Intentional About What's Next
With all this momentum, we're also taking time to pause and reflect. We want the next 20 years to be as intentional as the first.
After two decades, we know what works: professionals thrive on Cape Cod when they have strong networks, meaningful mentorship, and pathways to grow personally and professionally here. We plan to double-down on our work in 2026 and, thanks to capacity development funding from HAC and Cape Cod 5, we completed a membership survey and SWOT analysis. The findings were clear: there's a skills gap for community leadership roles at all levels, and there's a mentorship cliff after age 17. The survey identified three focus areas that weren't surprising but were validating:
- Networking & Connection
- Education & Mentoring
- Collaboration & Partnerships
We're also working with Mass Mentoring Partnership in Boston, to evaluate our work within their National Quality Mentoring System Assessment, a system rooted in national evidence-based research that will help us fine-tune our programming.
Peer-to-Peer Is Where We Live
CCYP has been doing mentoring since 2014, lots of different types over the years. Right now, we're leaning hard into peer-to-peer mentoring, because that's really what we do best.
Peer-to-peer sits right at the intersection of networking and community building, and that's exactly where CCYP lives. We've always existed at the meeting point of two essentials: people and place. You need both.
Nobody builds anything alone. not careers, not businesses, not communities. Connection isn't a nice-to-have. It's the number one driver of progress.
What's Coming
Our 2026 board is being onboarded in the next few weeks, and their first big project will be diving into the tactics behind those three strategic focus areas. During orientation, we'll also do a deep dive on our values and mission statement, neither of which have been formally updated in five years.
And our regular beat marches on. Connect Events for 2026 are fully booked. We're so grateful to all our host partners, many of whom were in the room that morning.
At the Summit earlier this year, we had Sophia—an incredibly talented local author and community builder—doing live, on-the-spot poetry. She wrote us this gorgeous piece that's printed on the last page of our program book. Art meets poetry meets documentarianism. It was perfect.
All of this—the growth, the momentum, the community—it happens because people keep showing up. Thank you for being part of this. Thank you for believing in each other. Let's keep showing up and building together.
