A local medical professional told a Tulsa Regional Chamber audience Wednesday that participating in TYPROS can kickstart a career.

“Don’t underestimate the people in this room,” said Cassie Reese, chief external strategy officer at Parkside Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic and TYPROS chair in 2011. “All of the people that were our age 20 years ago, we were all in entry level jobs and not doing anything very impressive, and now, our peers are elected officials and CEOs and heads of foundations.”

Reese and Brian Paschal, CEO of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, were guest speakers at TYPROS Career Capital: How Involvement Now Shapes Opportunities Later, a professional development session led by TYPROS Executive Director Reagan Gowens.

A Community Development initiative of the Chamber, TYPROS was established in 2005. About 30 people attended Wednesday’s event.

Paschal, who served as TYPROS Executive Director from 2011-13, recalled their efforts to recruit Trader Joe’s to Tulsa and change Oklahoma law to allow grocery stores to sell full-strength beer and wine.

One example of TYPROS relationships leading to future partnerships, he said, is Mayfest and the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. Paschal said he remembered some of the board members he met when they served on a TYPROS crew.

“Fifteen, 20 years later, the power of TYPROS for me… it’s pretty comforting to go to city hall, to the capitol, or to a business meeting and there’s going to be someone that I know,” he said.

While much has changed in Tulsa since TYPROS’ inception, the need to forge relationships through volunteering and involvement will not just help the community but also lead to new opportunities down the road, the speakers said.

Reese said she hopes that TYPROS can continue to be the foundation of positive relationships and professional growth for young professionals.

The next professional development event in this series will be “Career Cost: Climbing the Ladder, Weighing the Cost” on June 3. It will feature speaker Edgar Bermudez, vice president and business development director at Wells Fargo. Registration for all TYPROS events is available at TYPROS.org.