Community Champion Spotlight: Andrea Young-Atkinson | Purpose Fueled Saint Paul
Andrea attended her first Purpose Fueled Coffee event in St. Paul in March 2025. She’d come across it through her LinkedIn algorithm while leaning into her consulting practice. She listened to her gut and decided to take a chance.
She remembers being the newbie, uncertain about what to expect. Now she’s a Community Champion helping other newcomers feel the same welcome she found.
1. When did you first walk through the door? What brought you here?
I attended my first Purpose Fueled Coffee-St Paul in March 2025. I’d been networking heavily as I was leaning into my consulting practice and I came across PFC via my LinkedIn algorithm 😊. I listened to my gut and decided to take a chance!
2. What made you say yes to being a Community Champion?
One word: community. I saw firsthand as a PFC volunteer how people connected with each and even how I connected with attendees. I remember being the newbie filled with uncertainty about what to expect, feeling uncertain in very uncertain times, traversing difficulty. I am grateful to be a Community Champion to help build a place of respite, even if it’s for an hour once a month. No pressure, just communing.
3. What’s your favorite moment you’ve witnessed in the room (a conversation, a connection, a first-timer who clearly needed to be there)?
I can’t recall any one specific moment that I can name as my favorite, but seeing a newcomer’s smile and ease at the end of a PFC event is heartwarming. It’s a great testament to PFCs mission and vision.
4. What do you want every person who walks through the door to feel?
I want folks to feel welcome and at ease and that we are all there for the same reason: connection.
5. What do people not see? What happens behind the scenes that most people never know about?
Organizing volunteers, partnering with the host to make sure they have what they need, welcoming PFC attendees, recommending speakers, setting up, wearing multiple hats as needed!
6. What’s your favorite part?
My favorite part is greeting and meeting each attendee and finding a connecting point. We can always find one!
7. Why is your location the best location ever?
The St Paul location Dual Citizen is the best because of its accessibility to major highways. And there’s nothing like seeing the sunrise in the big windows. It’s pretty special to witness and it actually creates this great vibe too.
8. How do your best friends, kids, or family describe you? Who do they say you are?
My kids tell me I am awful at the Irish goodbye, like it’s not in my DNA. My friends always say I am empathetic which is expressed in my leadership style too.
9. What problem do you love solving for people?
I love solving operational and logistical problems and brainstorming ideas. It’s fun to bring innovation and order to a situation where none existed before.
About Andrea
Andrea is the Global People Technology Director at APi Group and a Community Champion for Purpose Fueled Coffee, Saint Paul (Dual Citizen). Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn.
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