The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Concord Young Professionals Network introduces you to our “Young Professional of the Month,” Lydea Irwin. Each month the CYPN steering committee recommends a young professional in the community it thinks readers would enjoy getting to know better.
How old are you? 31.
Where do you live? Downtown Concord.
Where do you currently work? I’m a staff attorney with the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation. We license individuals and entities that are in the investment industry, register stocks and other investments, investigate violations of our financial laws and regulations, and bring lawsuits when necessary. It’s a great job where I get to help people and every day I seem to be working on something different.
Where did you go to school? I received my Bachelor’s in biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York, my MBA at UNH in Durham, and my law degree at UNH School of Law here in Concord.
What do you like to do for fun? I love to read (mostly fantasy and sci-fi), watch TV (sci-fi, comedy, baseball and football), and play tabletop games with my friends. We all try to meet up at least once a month for a few hours to play. We’re currently in an ongoing campaign as travelers and explorers in space.
Favorite places to be? I was born in San Diego, and grew up in Rhode Island, so it makes sense that my absolute favorite place is the beach. Really any beach will do, but I’m smitten with the ones in southern California.
How did you find out about CYPN, and how has it benefitted your business or you personally? I found out about CYPN through Facebook when one of my friends RSVP’d for an event. It’s really been a wonderful way to get to know more people here in Concord, and to get to know the city better as well.
What has been your favorite CYPN event so far? I really enjoyed the networking event at Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden in Concord. It was such a lovely location, a beautiful night, and a few of us went for ice cream afterwards!
If you could visit any country, where would you go? I’d really love to someday visit Morocco. Morocco seems to have a bit of everything: incredible beaches, access to the Sahara Desert, a unique culture with beautiful architecture, abundant wildlife and, of course, delicious food! Visiting a country in Africa would also allow me to cross one more continent off of my travel list and leave me with just Antarctica.
Where is the best place you’ve visited? The Galápagos Islands, hands down. I was incredibly lucky to visit there with my family when I was in middle school, and it was such an extraordinary place — all the wildlife, and areas that seemed untouched by man. The people were so nice and the food was amazing.
Last book you’ve read? I just signed up for Kindle Unlimited and it has lots of shorter books that I’ve been devouring. The last substantial book I read was Oathbringerby Brandon Sanderson, the third book in an unfinished series. I especially enjoy Sanderson’s world-building abilities; the worlds he writes about are so unlike our own and are not your traditional fantasy worlds.
About CYPN: Concord Young Professionals Network is a professional and personal development initiative of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce that promotes the growth of Capital Region professionals in their 20s, 30s and 40s. CYPN invites all area young professionals to attend Neighborhood Nonprofit Night on Monday, Sept. 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. The complimentary networking event is part of CYPN’s new CYPN Gives professional development series, focused on introductions and skill-building for nonprofit volunteer and board service. For more information about CYPN Gives or to RSVP for upcoming events, visit ConcordNHChamber.com/CYPN. Email events@ConcordNHChamber.com to sign up for future event updates.
