By Tomas Varela,

President of NExT Philadelphia, sums up a dichotomy of being a civic-minded Black person in Philadelphia.

“We have the burden of strengthening our own institutions while diversifying others,” he says. “We want more of our Black individuals to go to HBCUs, but we also don’t want Temple University (TU) to be all White. To me, that means you have to either have people do both or you have to increase the tent.”

Increasing the tent, making sure that as many people as possible have access to opportunity, is a goal at NExT, an auxiliary group ofthe Urban League of Philadelphia (ULP), an historic civil rights organization. The ULP was established in 1917 to advocate on behalf of African Americans through policies, addressing business and talent diversity, and fostering community and economic development.

“NExTshares these tenants,”Varela says.

NExThas nearly young professional members, aged 21 to 44, who work to support the ULP through volunteer efforts, and host programming that caters toward millennial professionals who want to give back. Varela, 36, has led the organization for one year, previously served asmembership co-chair and vice president. He holds a Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University and is pursuing his doctoral studies at Rowan University. Though Varela attended TUas an undergrad, HBCU graduates abound in the organization: The vice president attended Clark Atlanta, and another executive team member went to Norfolk State.

Varelahas prioritized carrying out national UL efforts including an advocacy engagement campaign connecting with millennial members.NExT is also part of a coalition of Black professional organizations in Philadelphia that collaborate on events to promotenetworking across industries.

“There are so many organizations that are doing a lot of great work,” Varela says. “Rather than create my own projects, I look at how I can lend my time and talent to initiatives that already exist to help build their capacities.”

SIDEBAR

NExT Philadelphia FAST FACTS:

• NExT is open to members of any profession.
• June 10 - 16, NExT hosted #PHLGradWeek, a weeklong campaign featuring events about professional development, financial investing, philanthropy and more.
• For more info: urbanleaguephila.org; Instagram: @nextphila; Twitter: @nextphila; Facebook: NExT Philadelphia