Gary Craig

@gcraig1

Sometimes maligned as the “me generation,” the so-called millennials are anything but.

As Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks spoke Saturday to a room of millennials — men and women in their 20s and early 30s — she highlighted the traits that, according to research, the generation embraces.

They are philanthropic. They are world travelers. They are tolerant. They prefer urban living. Their generosity and concerns cross international borders, and they are as likely to volunteer in other countries as in the United States.

They have been labeled “first globals” because their perspective is so far-reaching.

“We know you see a world without borders and you live life the same way,” Brooks said at the kickoff meeting of “monroe 200,” an initiative designed to harness the brainpower and energy of local millennials and see what and how they can contribute to the county’s future. Specifically, the goal is to craft plans to help keep young people in the region, instead of losing them to the “brain drain” that prompts many to look elsewhere for livelihoods.

Held at Monroe Community College, nearly 200 millennials attended Saturday’s session. The key concern — keeping them local — became evident when Brooks asked for those who had either grown up locally or attended college locally to stand, and much of the crowd did.

Asked how many expected to live in the region in 10 to 20 years, far fewer responded — probably less than half the crowd.

Yet those who were there acknowledged the attributes of Rochester and the region that may change minds: higher education, an active arts and music scene, an entrepreneurial spirit that has rebounded from the crippling declines of the major employers, affordable housing, short commutes, and a shared enthusiasm for making their community a better place.

“You realize if you don’t help everyone around you, then you’re not even helping yourself,” said Lori Bartkovich, 34, who works with veteran counseling at Monroe Community College.

The founders of The Rochester Brainery — Stephanie Rankin and Danielle Raymo — told the crowd why they chose their home region for their business, which offers an eclectic range of classes stretching from managing social media for small businesses to making cranberry orange marmalade.

A Greece native, Raymo said she saw a similar business in Brooklyn when she lived there in 2010 and imagined how Rochester would be the perfect turf for the same concept.

“I saw so much opportunity in Rochester as well, and I did not want to miss out on that,” she said.

Brooks laid out the plan for monroe200 in her State of the County address this year. The participating millennials will continue to meet in various work groups, focusing on initiatives including education, jobs and economic development, and housing. In six months, they are expected to complete a list of ideas to make the region more attractive to their generation.

“With 72 million strong,” Brooks said of the nation’s millennial population, “first globals are the ones who are going to reshape our democracy.”

GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/gcraig1