Joung Lee is a Senior Analyst for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He’s also a 28-year-old in a field that skews toward older demographics. Because transportation professionals are spread across the country, Joung started Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT) in April 2008 to connect his peers and grow interest in his field of work. YPT already has over 200 members, and Joung hopes to grow the organization over the coming months.

“There are existing groups that cater to women in transportation and to young urban planners, among others, but this is the first group to cater specifically to the young transportation element,” said Joung. “Many young professionals starting out in transportation seek peers with whom they can better relate in addition to their older colleagues, but because the field is so scattered, it magnifies the difficulty of seeking your cohorts. YPT aims to act as a catalyst and a gathering point that had been missing.”

Joung sees YPT both as a forum for networking among professionals already in the transportation field, and as a way of raising awareness about the field’s critical role in society. “Transportation infrastructure plays an underpinning role in our economy and our quality of life,” Joung said. “Right now, the U.S. is lagging far behind in terms of infrastructure investment in general. I hope YPT can help to raise awareness among the general public that transportation can’t be taken for granted.”

Jenny Magill is an Americorps VISTA volunteer, working with the Nashville area CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). CASA provides trained advocates to children who have been victims of abuse or neglect, and Jenny focuses on recruiting volunteers, raising money, and increasing public awareness of child abuse and CASA’s program. She recently designed and is now implementing a comprehensive volunteer recruitment plan, targeting the need for more male and minority volunteers; she also organized the Red Shoe Party benefit which was held this past weekend.

“My job is never boring! I give presentations to community groups, contact and talk with media outlets about publicity opportunities, host info tables at local events and conferences, meet with potential volunteers, and seek out new partnerships with community groups and businesses,” shared Jenny. CASA is the only organization providing advocates to abused and neglected children in the Nashville area. CASA is only able to serve about 1/3 of the children in need currently, so more volunteers are needed to increase capacity. “The best thing about my job is the knowledge that putting in my best effort will truly make a difference to the children and families we serve, and to the community as a whole.”

“The 9th annual Red Shoe Party, our biggest fundraiser event, was held Saturday, April 12th. In honor of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s ‘ruby red’ slippers, and the theme that ‘there’s no place like home’ for the children we serve, the Red Shoe Party is an opportunity to celebrate the dedication and generosity of our incredible volunteers and to raise needed funds for the continued success of our program.”

Andrew Grimes is a Lexington, Kentucky based entrepreneur and wildlife and travel photographer currently working to develop a photography website, InTheRestOfTheWorld.com. “I want people to look at the images on ITROTW and want to travel to the over 100 countries that are represented, to want to see the animals in their natural habitats, and to want to see the sunset from across the world.”

During the day Andrew works with the Social Marketing and Digital PR Team at New Media Strategies (NMS). NMS is a pioneer and leader in the online intelligence, brand promotion and brand protection industry has been one of Inc. 500’s Fastest Growing Companies in America for three years running. Andrew is also currently juggling his MBA coursework at the University of Kentucky. Sharing images of the world is at the heart of Andrew’s work. “I want people to look at In The Rest Of The World and feel emotion that would hopefully lead them to experience the vast beauty that lies beyond the US.’”

New-media renaissance man Bill Bowles, best known for his round-the-world vidcasts at MyNameIsBill.com, today launched a new project at MeetThePlayGroup.com. “Unlike my last project, this one will follow the same people over the course of six weeks. Its the behind-the-scenes story of a struggling theater company in San Francisco. I will follow the many adventures and misadventures of “The Play Group” as they try to get ahead in the fast paced world of independent theater production,” shared Bill, who is pleased to be keeping his vidcasting skills in top shape while he finalizes plans for his next project. MTPG episodes will air three times a week; click here to view the first episode.

Student-run think tank The Roosevelt Institution recently announced an innovative summer leadership program, the Roosevelt Academy, which will bring top students to DC for a summer of on-ground policy work and training. Nate Loewentheil, Executive Director of the group, is enthusiastic about the new opportunity for students. “This is exciting because it helps us achieve our mission of connecting students directly to the progressive movement, and supporting the important policy work happening in Washington. The program will place students into 10-week internships at top policy organizations around Washington, combining the internships with a training program in policy, communications, organizing and other important political skills,” Loewentheil said. Nate designed the program with the understanding that unpaid internships are often non-starters for some college students; as such, “students will also earn $3500 stipends, allowing individuals from all socio-economic backgrounds to participate.”

Roosevelt chapters funnel the energy and intellectual talents of college students into work on local and national policy. Loewentheil stepped into the leadership of Roosevelt after graduating from Yale; Caitlin Howarth, a recent University of Virginia grad, currently acts as Director of Operations. New chapters are springing up around the country, reflecting a growing interest among students in all aspects of the political process. The group is currently accepting submissions for several annual publications and essay contests. Contact Nate or Caitlin directly to get involved.

Jon Henshaw, Internet strategist and Partner with Nashville-based Sitening, today launches Raven, a web-based set of tools to manage search engine optimization for Webmasters, SEO Specialists, and Search Marketers. “There are lots of individual SEO Tools available, but none of them work seamlessly together like Raven does. Raven brings together the four essential components of the search engine optimization process – research and analysis, link building, performance tracking and robust reports. Instead of having to bookmark and visit several different tool sites, manage link campaigns with a confusing mess of Excel spreadsheets and then spending hours tracking performance and putting together reports, you can do all of that quickly and efficiently with Raven,” shared Jon, who has been working on the product since mid 2007

“We originally started developing Raven in July of 2007. It’s been slow going, because we only worked on it in our spare time,” he said, while also sharing that he has been managing an ongoing stream of client work throughout the development phase. Towards the end of the year, however, Jon helped raise an angel investment to increase capacity. “That investment enabled us to not give away too much ownership in the company, while giving us enough capital to ramp up on developer resources and time. For example, the Angel investment enabled us to build a Firefox toolbar – something that we think adds a great deal of value to the service.” Though the product officially launches today, Jon and his team will be continuing to roll out new features every couple weeks through 2008. Chief among them will be the ability to track search engine performance outside of the US and agency-focused features like an API and white-label version of Raven.

25 y/o designer Mary Rambin recently kicked off her third year as the President of Moe Bags, a NYC-based design house best known for producing The CLICK Bag, a leading evening accessory for stylish women. “For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a television producer, so of course I went to the best school for TV and Film and interned the three years I was in school. However, when I graduated, I realized my heart was no longer in it. I took a year off traveling and working in retail when I had the idea to start my own company by reinventing an old design that no one had really ever seen. So I started Moe.” As is the case with many young entrepreneurs on the site, Mary occasionally runs into bumps: “As I am the sole owner in my company, finances are always a concern, especially with the retail market in decline; however, the support of one celeb or one department store can always get you back on track.” And what is definitely a testament to her hard work more than luck, select products from her line were recently picked up by Bloomingdale’s and have been seen hanging from the arms of leading celebs for the past year.

For the Spring 2008 line, Mary will be moving production to China and introducing a few new twists. “Spring will have something for everyone: metallics that are always a favorite, linen to go with floral dresses, and the returning classic colors that have proven to be timeless.” You can also follow along with Mary’s style tips at her blog, StyleByMaryRambin.com.

2007 Truman Scholar and Harding University student Brett Keller recently helped launch the inaugural issue of Frank, a new politics and public affairs magazine tied to the Clinton School of Public Service. Each issue of Frank focuses on a different topic and aims to elevate the discourse on public service, which Editor Patrick Kennedy shares “is expanding beyond government into the non-profit community, business, and even pop-culture.” Kennedy was able to attract an impressive list of contributors — Karl Rove, Jesse Jackson, Simon Cowell, etc. — as contributors to the first issue, which focused on race relations in America by posing the question, “Has the Dream Arrived?” Keller got involved early in 2007: “I had been to the Clinton School several times for the extraordinary speakers. The school has really become the intellectual heart of Arkansas, so I started an internship so I could be involved, and most of my work has been with Patrick on Frank. The first issue was already coming along when I got involved, so I helped edit some pieces and put the Public Service in Review section together,” shared Keller.

Frank has already received some great press, namely this review in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Kennedy says we can look forward to exciting work in the future, as well. “The goal with everything we do is always to get better. It’s important that we continue to attract bright volunteer staffers, like Brett, in order to continue making quality material.” For a copy of the inaugural issue, contact Kennedy at frank AT clintonschool.uasys.edu

Freelance photographer and world traveler, Mia Baxter, recently completed a book tour with friend and co-author Jenna Bush for Ana’s Story, a book they worked on together about a 17 year old single mother in Latin America. “Jenna and I were documenting the lives of children living in exclusion in Latin America for U.S. Fund for UNICEF – her writing with my photographs. We were documenting Ana’s life and story this way, when it grew in to a book proposal. We met with publishers in NY during our holiday break last January, and Harper Collins gave us a chance. They believed in this project and I think it has been an incredibly positive experience for everyone. The proceeds of the book go to UNICEF and an education fund for Ana (who is now back in school).” Mia’s photographs play a key role in telling Ana’s story. “I am a strong believer in photography as a powerful tool in visual communication. Words tell truth as photographs display truth–they enhance the reality of a given truth. In Ana’s Story, one can see that Ana’s face is never fully disclosed. If people in her community found out that she is HIV positive she would face severe discrimination, be kicked out of school, or possibly even hurt. This protection of her identity, in combination with the detailed environmental photographs in the book, should enhance the fact that HIV/AIDS is real, that poverty and abuse are real, that the awful stigmas and injustices faced by far too many young people like Ana are real and are serious problems.”

To view more of Mia’s work, visit her website. She is currently living in New York but continues to work with aid organizations as a freelance photographer. “In this industry I have learned that each project inspires the next and I am often pleasantly surprised by what I get myself into.”

Communications specialist and newly-minted microfinance guru Lindsay Clinton will be starting a new position this week as the lead editor of Microfinance Insights, a Mumbai-based publication through Intellecap. “Last fall, I read Muhammed Yunus’ book, Banker to the Poor, which piqued my interest in microfinance as a tool to empower women and develop emerging economies,” shares Clinton, who then began a wide search for a position linked to this field. She came across the Intellecap position soon later and flew to India to meet with them. “The position appealed to me for multiple reasons: I can use my current skill set to write, edit, and direct content; I will develop a brand and manage a small business; and I’ll have the chance to learn the insides of a new sector.”

Lindsay will be moving to India this week, after three years working with The White House Project, a NY-based advocacy nonprofit. “The White House Project has reached new heights. We just finished our most substantial undertaking, a summit through brought together women presidents and prime ministers to talk about global security. It’s hard to leave this organization, after seeing what incredible work we can do, but it’s good to go out on a high note.” You can follow along with Lindsay’s work in India through microfinanceinsights.com