Stay Work Play Unveils Bold New Strategic Plan and Brand, Elevating Its Mission to Champion All Young People in New Hampshire
“Game On: 2030” charts a forward-focused path centered on place, people, policy, programs, and investment — with a renewed commitment to making New Hampshire a place where young people can thrive.
October 15, 2026
Stay Work Play New Hampshire has unveiled Game On: 2030, a new strategic plan that significantly expands the organization’s vision for its role in New Hampshire’s future, alongside a bold new visual identity designed to match the energy and ambition of the work ahead.
The plan centers on one clear vision: Stay Work Play will be the champion for all young people in New Hampshire.
The new strategy comes at a critical moment for the state. Young people are making consequential decisions about whether they can afford to stay in New Hampshire, build careers, access housing and childcare, find community, put down roots and see a long-term future for themselves here. Those decisions have implications far beyond individual quality of life — they directly affect New Hampshire’s workforce, economy, communities and long-term competitiveness.
“Our mission has never felt more urgent,” said Corinne Breton, President & CEO of Stay Work Play New Hampshire. “Young people do not simply need to hear that New Hampshire is a great place to live. They need the ability to actually build a life here and see their dreams as accessible and feasible. Our next chapter is about using every tool we have from advocacy and community building to intentionally elevate the voices of young people themselves.”
Game On: 2030 grew out of a year-long strategic planning process shaped by young people, employers, community leaders, policymakers, partners, funders, and Stay Work Play’s Board of Directors and Board of Advisors.
Rather than beginning with a predetermined set of programs, Stay Work Play used the process to ask broader questions about what young people need from New Hampshire now, where barriers remain, and where the organization can have the greatest impact.
Across those conversations, several themes emerged consistently: young people want meaningful opportunities to lead; stronger connections to employers, communities and one another; a voice in decisions that affect their lives; and a New Hampshire where housing, childcare, career growth, community and quality of life make staying possible.
“This plan is not simply for the community — it came from the community,” Breton said. “People across New Hampshire challenged us to think bigger about our role. They helped us identify where Stay Work Play has a unique opportunity to connect people, elevate young voices and turn ideas into action. Game On: 2030 reflects that input and raises the bar for what we intend to do with it.”
A Strategy Built By New Hampshire
Game On: 2030 organizes Stay Work Play’s next phase of growth around five interconnected priorities:
Places — Creating spaces that foster connection, collaboration and belonging, including the long-term vision for a physical Stay Work Place that brings people, ideas and opportunities together.
People & Pipeline — Expanding pathways into careers, leadership, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, arts and creativity while strengthening connections between young people, employers and communities.
Policy — Deepening Stay Work Play’s advocacy on the quality-of-life issues that directly affect young people’s ability to stay and thrive in New Hampshire, including housing, childcare, workforce and education, transportation, community vitality and other barriers to long-term retention.
Programs — Building on Stay Work Play’s portfolio of statewide programming — including Rising Stars, Rising Stars Leadership, 603 After Hours, NH Nexus, the Advocacy Network, Policy & Pints, Policy & Pizza and other initiatives — to create more opportunities for connection, leadership and action.
Philanthropy — Growing investment in the people and ideas shaping New Hampshire’s future and creating new ways for businesses, institutions and individuals to directly support that work.
Together, the five pillars represent a shift from viewing talent attraction, retention, workforce development, advocacy and community building as separate challenges. Instead, Game On: 2030 positions Stay Work Play at their intersection.
“Our work has evolved because the challenge has evolved,” Breton said. “We cannot market our way out of the barriers that make it difficult for young people to stay. New Hampshire’s ability to retain its next generation depends on whether opportunity, community, and future-focused policy can come together to meet the need, today. Stay Work Play intends to help build all three.”
Five Areas of Focus
A New Look for a New Era
Stay Work Play also unveiled a new visual identity at its 17th annual Rising Stars Awards in Manchester on October 8, 2026.
The rebrand reflects the organization’s evolution from a primarily talent-attraction initiative into a statewide organization working across sectors and speaking a language that mirrors the needs and hopes of the next generation.
Bold, energetic, and flexible, the new identity is designed to capture the spirit of Game On: 2030 and the young people the organization exists to champion.
“The strategy got sharper. Our voice got stronger. Our ambition grew,” Breton said. “At a certain point, it became pretty obvious that our visual identity needed to catch up. We wanted a brand that could move from the State House to an after-hours event, from workforce conversations to arts and culture, and still feel unmistakably like Stay Work Play.”
The strategic planning process was supported by Blackbird Collective, with the new visual identity developed in partnership with The Brushed Life, LLC.
Stay Work Play will begin advancing Game On: 2030 immediately, using the plan to guide organizational growth, partnerships, fundraising, policy priorities, and program development over the coming years.
The organization sees connection as a central thread running through the strategy - connecting young people to one another, to employers, to leadership, to communities, to opportunities, and to the decisions shaping New Hampshire.
“The Granite State’s ability to compete for talent and sustain a strong economy depends on whether young people can see a future for themselves here,” said Mike Skelton, President & CEO of the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire. “Employers across the state feel that challenge every day. Stay Work Play’s new strategic plan recognizes that workforce retention is connected to far more than jobs alone and that it is tied to housing, childcare, career growth, and quality of life. This forward-focused vision strengthens an important bridge between young people, employers and the broader decisions shaping New Hampshire’s economic future.”
For Stay Work Play, the launch represents both continuity and an escalation of its original mission.
“We are here to stay, and we are here for good,” Breton said. “Seventeen years into this work, we know our task is bigger than convincing young people to choose New Hampshire. We have to help build a New Hampshire they can choose. Game On: 2030 is our commitment to doing exactly that and to bringing a much broader community along with us.”
Building Momentum Toward 2030
Download the full Game On: 2030 Strategic Plan + Explore Stay Work Play’s New Brand
You’ll get a prompt to download the file — it’s just because we have a lot to say! Trust us, it’s worth the extra click.