Nathan Rothstein, 23, a native of Massachusetts, works three jobs, one as a recruiter for New Orleans College Prep Charter School, another developing the Newcomer Incentive Program for the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and an unpaid position developing the NOLA YURP Initiative, a Web site and nonprofit dedicated to helping foster a strong community of young professionals in New Orleans.

As a graduating senior, Rothstein had been offered a full-time position with the Democratic National Committee. He turned it down and headed south in June 2006, intent on absorbing as much of post-Katrina life and politics as possible.

“The minute I got here I decided to go to one meeting after another just to get a sense of what was going on. I didn’t speak; I just listened,” Rothstein said.

<pre><code>In April, Rothstein founded a Web site to help young professionals network, share resources and find jobs in New Orleans. While The Idea Village prefers the term "vanguards," Rothstein's project caters to "YURPs," or young urban rebuilding professionals.</code></pre>

The Facebook-style Web site, www.nolayurp.com, has attracted more than 500 members in the past two months. A list of 59 “member objectives” ranges from the vague and lofty - “alleviate the causes of poverty in New Orleans” - to the simple and specific—“create a political action committee . . . that could create and prioritize political objectives for young New Orleans professionals.”

Rothstein hopes to attract financing through grants and sponsorships in order to work full time as director of the organization. Advertisement

“A lot of people who are contacting me are saying, ‘I’ve heard a lot about everything that’s going on down here, and it sounds really exciting.’ There’s this buzz,” he said. “I think there’s this energy that maybe young people can do things differently than the current generation. If we start unifying now, in the future, all of us will be more well-connected and . . . will be able to accomplish a lot more.”