Transformation: Action Toward a Purpose

TRANSFORMATION: ACTION TOWARD A PURPOSE

HILLCREST

Educational cEntErs: HEal, lEarn and tHrivE

DAVITA

transforming tHE workplacE culturE

FEMA

crEating BusinEss continuity and rEsiliEncE

KHAN ACADEMY using vidEo to rEinvEnt Education

FLIBE

EnErgy and tHE tHorium supEr-fuEl rEvival

HuMAN TRAFFICKINg in amErica, rEally? autHor racHEl lloyd spEaks candidly Page 88

Kush inspires ICOSA’s use of metaphors to emphasize the business process.

Page 20

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table of contents

April - June 2012

In this Issue 6 Letter From The Editor 8 Letter From The Publisher 12 Inspirations 14 Advisory Board 18 Cover Profile 20 Opinion 114 Collaboration Close Up 120 Thank You

» How we tell stories shapes our world, and how stories are told to us effects how we perceive the world we live in. «

Language

The Nuance of Our Worlds

By Scott Kesterson pg.22

Rachel Lloyd

Human Trafficking in the United States

A

ren’t all preteen and teenage girls in America swooning over Justin Bieber, texting their bestie, watching MTV and dreaming of their prom? No! It is astounding to know that thousands of children in the United States, mostly girls, are caught up in the devastating and demoralizing business of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC)—a term that most accurately describes those being sold for sex. No longer can we think that it is exclusively “over

there” in places such as Thailand, India, Russia, Cambodia or elsewhere; girls are being exploited, abused and trafficked daily here in the United States.

On April 12, 2012, The Washington Post reported that teenage school girls in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia had been solicited by gang members of a prostitution ring. These girls were approached at school, on street corners, at the subway and on Facebook. Continued on pg.88

Rapid Transit Transformations Impacting Economic Health and Quality of Life for Years to Come pg. 38

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"Thorium is an amazing energy source and it has a tremendous backstory. We’ve proven the technology, and now we’re watching China and India take the lead and beat us with it."

- Richard Martin

Quote worthy pg.64

table of contents

April - June 2012

Academia

26 Heal, Learn and Thrive Hillcrest Educational Centers

30 Transform Thinking,

Transform the World

Regis University Delivers Education to Those at S ocietal M argins

34 A State of Transformation

Building Utah’s Innovation Infrastructure

GOVERNMENT

38 Rapid Transit Transformations

Impacting Economic Health and Quality of Life for Years to Come

42 Past, Present and Future

Nebraska’s Evolution from Agriculture to Innovation

44 Choosing to Compete

How Massachusetts Is Leading the Nation in Economic Competitiveness and Regulatory Reform

48 Transforming Politics as Usual

50 FEMA

Creating Business Continuity and Resilience

54 Shaunna Mozingo

Transforming the Building Energy Code Industry

BUSINESS

56 Bye Aerospace, Ascent Solar and

70 There Is No “I" in Team

58 Engineering Our Future

74 3 Tips to Transform–Not

60 Revving Up Small- and MediumSized Businesses

78 Khan Academy

64 Flibe Energy and the Thorium

80 Ten Lessons from Digital Innovators

68 Redefining Corporate Consciousness

82 PCL Constructors

the Military’s Energy Imperative

The Transformative Culture of DaVita

Destroy–Your New Growth

National Grid’s Commitment to STEM Education

Using Video to Reinvent Education

Thriving Enterprises Creating Jobs

Super-Fuel Revival

Best Practices in Transformative IT Leadership

Taking a People-Centered Approach to Profit

Structure as Transformational Metaphor

COMMUNITY

84 Women on Boards = Peak Performance for Organizations

104 My MS Stands for

88 In America, Really? Human Trafficking in the United States

106 Transforming Organizational Culture

92 Tracks of Giants

Taking Steps to Reconnect Humans and Nature

96 Young Entrepreneur, Paul Felix Brings Water to South Sudan

98 Jumping the Dragon's Gate

World Trade Center Utah Ignites Fire to State's Economic Growth

102 Walk Strong Foundation

A Joint Effort Transforms Lives in Veracruz, Mexico

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“Motivational Spirit”

The Story of a Twenty-Year-Old Start-Up

108 Destinations are Everywhere

A Transformation for Continuing to C are for the Third World

110 Wagner Equipment, JDRF, and

the Barbara Davis Research Center Treat, Prevent and Cure

112 Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame

Announces 2012 Inductees

The Wonder of Ten Great Colorado Women

BUILDING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESSES

ONE LEADER AT A TIME

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LETTER FROM the editor

Transformation Starts With You

T

ransformation is a funny thing. Its definition says it all—to change in composition or structure: to change the outward form or appearance of: to change in character or condition: to convert. Oftentimes people, and therefore organizations, resist change, causing leadership to push even harder toward a goal. This issue highlights some of the best transformational organizations and leaders around.

There are many interesting stories from academia, business, government and community/nonprofit organizations that are leading innovative transformational work or who integrate planning that has systematically changed business or strategy and developed economies and growth.

And, while you may wonder why you should read on, consider the story of Kent Thiry, the CEO of DaVita, and how he has created a corporate culture of respect and team. Or the story of Rachel Lloyd, who tirelessly works to change the laws for girls who are trafficked here in the United States.

Or, there is Flibe Energy, the revolutionary nuclear company that is bringing thoriumbased reactors back into the energy conversation. Or Votifi—a company so steeped in the political dialogue of the

American voter that they are transforming communication styles. Or, there is eight-year-old Paul Felix, who is on a mission to provide fresh, clean water to thousands of people on the other side of the world in South Sudan.

But these are just a few of the transformational stories in this issue.

Read on and hopefully you will be transformed too—even if for a minute. As Michael Jackson so eloquently sings, “I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. No message could have been any clearer if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make the change.

You gotta get it right, while you got the time 'cause when you close your heart you can't close your mind!”

Remember, transformation starts with you. No one can make you change if you don’t want to. The stories in this issue just might make you want to try.

All the best,

Rocha, Manish Sharma, Steve Sorensen, Cristin Tarr, Judy Taylor, Donnie Veasey COPY EDITORs: Maria E. Luna, Melissa Root

ART DIRECTOR: Nick Heckman - EKMN LLC PHOTOGR APHY and design:

FOUNDER AND PUBLISHER

Andrew Thompson, Shelby Soto

PRESIDENT & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Tim Bungum, Blake Rubenstein, Tammy Schmidt Social Media: Annette Perez, Eli Regalado

Gayle Dendinger Jan Mazotti

VICE PRESIDENT & EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Emily Haggstrom, Maria E. Luna

CONTRIBUTING writers: Cate Anderson, April Anderson Lamoureux, Justin Berry, Ben Bryan, Bridget Boyd, Andrea Constantine, Jennifer Cook, Steve Crabtree, Kelly de la Torre, Michael Ditchfield, Dawn Engle, Donna Evans, Gail Frances, Anna Frazzetto, Dave Guevara, Arthur W. Hamlin, Margaret Hardy Youssef, Heidi Heltzel, Linda T. Kennedy, Rebecca Kersting, Scott Kesterson, Sheila Mason, Anthony Pafford, Daisy

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ICOSA® CORPOR ATE HEADQUARTERS 4100 Jackson Street Denver, CO 80216 Office: 303.333.3688 Fax: 303.333.4832 Email: janm@icosamag.com Website: www.icosamag.com

VIDEOGR APHY:

Advertising inquires: Please contact Jan Mazotti at janm@icosamag.com

Kim DeCoste

MANAGING EDITOR: Annette Perez STAFF writers: Michael Connors,

- Jan Mazotti

ICOSA® welcomes editorial submissions from its readers. Whenever possible, submissions should be sent in electronic format. All unsolicited materials should be submitted to the publisher at the address below. Items not sent electronically will not be returned. The publisher reserves the right to decline use of materials at their discretion and assumes no liability for unsolicited materials.

ICOSA® (ISSN1938-2081) is published four times a year.

No part of ICOSA® may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. ©2012

All third-class postage paid at Denver, Colorado.

To view an electronic copy of ICOSA® (ISSN1938-209X) or to get your free subscription, go to www.icosamag.com.

Friend us at ICOSA Magazine® on Facebook or check the ICOSA® Channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/ICOSAmagazine.

The title ICOSA® is an analogy for great connections and collaboration. An icosahedron, the strongest of the polygons, combines 20 equilateral triangular faces together. We use this analogy because we believe that if we all work together and collaborate, we too can become stronger – just like the triangles.

Cover Photo of Departure of the Winged Ship is courtesy of Vladimir Kush. To see additional works visit www.vladimirkush.com.

FORBES BEST STATE FOR BUSINESS FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING. OR UTAH, FOR SHORT. Although Forbes has consistently ranked Utah in the top five, it doesn’t get much better than being named #1 two years in a row. Unless you consider our low cost of doing business, expanding infrastructure and young, educated workforce. Looking for the best state for your business? Try the same place eBay, Lifetime Products, Adobe, Procter & Gamble, IM Flash Technologies, Oracle and Fusion-io have found a home. For facts and figures about relocating or expanding to Utah, call 801.538.8879 or visit business.utah.gov.

© 2012 Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. eBay, Lifetime Products, Adobe, Procter & Gamble, IM Flash Technologies, Oracle and Fusion-io are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

LETTER FROM the PUBLISHER

The Transformation of the ICOSAhedron

By Gayle Dendinger with Annette Perez

W

e have received numerous inquiries over the past few years regarding the name ICOSA. Readers have questioned: What does ICOSA stand for?

What does ICOSA represent? Is ICOSA an abbreviation? The icosahedron in its original form is a math concept. Later, Buckminster Fuller turned it into a recognizable architectural icon. And now, we are changing the perception of the icosahedron to represent connection and collaboration.

The Icosahedron The icosahedron is one of five platonic solids and is a regular polyhedron with 20 identical equilateral triangular faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices. The name “icosahedron” originates from the Greek word εικοσάεδρον, meaning “twenty.” The element of water is represented by the icosahedron and was assigned by Plato. I personally think that Plato screwed up by not making the icosahedron the world or the ethos.

The icosahedron shape is found in various present formulas today. Because the icosahedron is the easiest shape to amass because it builds from a single basic unit protein used repetitively; it saves space in the viral genome and is often the way many viruses such as the herpes virus accumulate.

This is known as icosahedral shells.

Additionally, the boron B12 uses the shape as a basic unit structure.

In the game Dungeons and Dragons a 20-sided dice is used to determine the triumph or disappointment of an action.

The popular game Scattergories uses the icosahedron to choose a letter of the alphabet, obviously omitting six letters. The Magic 8-Ball, a ball used to answer yes and no questions, uses the shape set in liquid to reply to the requests.

Buckminster Fuller Buckminster Fuller, one of the world’s first futurists, said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Fuller was a visionary who believed that technology could save the world from itself, if it was properly used. He contributed a wide range of designs, inventions and ideas to the world, particularly in the area of practical, inexpensive shelter. He is best known for transforming the geometric shape into an architectural astonishment—the geodesic dome—a remarkable, sphere-like structure made of a complex network of triangles. Two of the most prominent geodesic domes include the Epcot Center in Disneyworld and the U.S. Pavilion at the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal.

Additionally, Fuller transformed the idea of the icosahedron into a Dymaxion map, which is a projection of a world map onto the surface of an icosahedron. This can be unfolded and flattened to two dimensions.

Originally the Dymaxion map appeared in Life in 1943 as a pullout section to cut and assemble. “Fuller intended the map to be unfolded in different ways to emphasize different aspects of the world.”

From Icosahedron to ICOSA Over the years I have explored the great work of the simple geometric shape and Buckminster Fuller’s astounding work. I believe the icosahedron is a structure to model our philosophies around—especially considering its remarkable physical and optical characteristics.

It is one of the most interesting and useful of all polyhedrals, or it can be metaphorically seen as a jewel that symbolizes great value—the value of connection and collaboration.

We are by no means a traditional magazine or media company. We do not operate on a traditional business plan. We believe every collaborator is one of the twenty triangles that when connected create the icosahedron. Each of us is a triangle representing an entity that exists by itself with multiple characteristics—it may be animate or inanimate. In business, an entity is a person, department, team, corporation, cooperative, partnership or other group with whom it is possible to conduct business. The aligned potential of each triangle allows us to connect our resources, collaboratively harness our creative genius so that we can together learn, invent, and communicate to tap into the power of collaboratively achieved results.

The icosahedron is a design that accommodates relationships and ideas. Not only is this platonic solid quite remarkable in its geometric sense, it is found throughout nature, has been the inspiration for design, makes a multifaceted navigation platform, and is the basis for viral connection and communication for the best and brightest in the world. For ICOSA, the icosahedron is the basis of a name, a logo and a concept—a brand that we have transformed from a simple geometric shape to one that represents the collaborative and collective power of us all.

Learn more about our work today at www. theicosamagazine.com.

All the Best,

- Gayle Dendinger

The Surface of the Earth Icosahedron Globe July 2008 Edition is courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. To learn more about the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or to order the Dymaxion map, please visit www.noaa.gov.

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The percentage of people who can even understand this problem is becoming a problem.

America needs more engineers. Simple as that. And as a company that depends heavily on engineers, National Grid has invested more than three million dollars in our “Engineering Our Future” Program. Every year, we’re creating paid internships, mentoring programs, and job shadow opportunities that allow high school students in our region to get hands-on engineering experience. And with programs that build technology, science, and math skills, engineering feats like building smart grids and next generation delivery systems will be in very good hands. For more about what we’re doing, visit www.nationalgridus.com/commitment

©2012 National Grid

Surface of the Earth Icosahedron Globe July 2008 edition

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INSPIRATIONS

The Transformation of the Butterfly

By Rebecca Kersting

L

ike many other insects, butterflies develop through a process called complete metamorphosis, the change from one form to another.

Butterflies go through four stages in their lifetime—egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult, and their lifestyle varies considerably during each of these stages. During the larval stage, the caterpillar invests all its efforts into feeding and growing. Metamorphosis from larva to adult occurs during the pupa stage, whereby the larval tissues are broken down and develop into adult tissue while in the cocoon. Then, the adult butterflies are responsible for mating and carrying on the species Successful organizations have a lifecycle that is similar to that of the butterfly. Over time, they emerge, grow, evolve and mature.

The key to this growth is being able to create potential and then turn that potential into actual accomplishment. Potential is gained when the infrastructure, resources and vision are developed and organized.

Taking pertinent advice from the theories of organizational experts may also increase potential. However, even when stories of potential and accomplishment occur, it is only when organizational potential is allocated to support chosen, value-creating strategies that it becomes truly transformational.

» Successful organizations have a lifecycle that is similar to that of the butterfly. Over time, they emerge, grow, evolve and mature. « The inability to transform theories and visionary goals into action is one of the most common blunders that organizations face.

The key to this metamorphosis is to stop thinking and to start doing.

In order for collaborative efforts to take full advantage of their potential, efforts should be allocated to value-creating processes that support the organization’s vision. By systematically focusing only on actions that will support the organization’s vision, team members will be more likely to move in the direction of that vision.

Just as something does not come from nothing, in an organization, potential does not transform into accomplishment by itself.

Even the most honest and hard-working team members will fall below their potential

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if there is nothing driving them to perform at their best. That is why even temporary collaborative projects need someone to ensure that quality progress is made and deadlines are met.

Passionate project leaders are the guiding force behind transformation from vision to doing. They are responsible for motivating team members. They must coordinate and direct all resources where appropriate. Most important, they must provide motivation and highlight the final beauty.

In this issue of ICOSA we will look at organizations who have transformed their potential into action. We will also look at the motivating leaders who are the driving forces behind these collaborative outputs.

Hope you are inspired!

Advisory board

Pam Jeffords

P

am Jeffords enjoys a diverse and dynamic professional career, as best described by a recent conversation with her family.

After many dinner conversations about her day, her husband and four children finally recommended that she give them a more formal presentation about her new business ventures so they can understand what she does.

Before her current entrepreneurial activities, Jeffords spent 20 years enjoying the growth and excitement of the telecommunications industry, serving in leadership roles for MCI, Qwest and PAETEC. Pam’s current business ventures have roots in her active involvement over the past 11 years as a volunteer with the Mile High United Way. She joined a team of highly energetic women that share a common belief in the collective power of a group of woman. This group, called the Women’s Leadership Council, is now more than 3,000 members strong and dedicated to inspiring, educating and encouraging women to invest in their community.

Raised in the Deep South with several generations around the dinner table, she reflects appreciatively on the endless stories that were told year after year. She is known for using stories and analogies to get otherwise difficult concepts across and make them clear. She often refers to herself as the “stereotypical southerner”—there is no food she can’t fry, and she embraces some very traditional female tendencies and sees them as assets in many business settings. She believes women rally in situations of crisis—a death in the family, a missed forecast projection, whatever the crisis; women rally and just “do it.” She believes that if you ever want swift change, just find a pissed-off mom.

This past decade has certainly presented our community, our country and the world with enormous challenges that no one has escaped from. We are in the midst of an education crisis and economic instability,

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Pam Jeffords Chief E xecutive Officer The Vx : Virtual E xchange 7935 E. Prentice Ave . Suite 201 Greenwood Village , CO 80111 T: 303.638.6480 E: pamjeffords@thevx .com www.thevx .com which affect families across the board. Two years ago, Jeffords and a few members of the Leadership Council had an idea that if there were a way to bring all the various women’s organizations and interests groups together to “rally,” it would be a collective powerhouse focused on extraordinary issues.

They acknowledged that even with all of these organizations in existence, it still remains a fact that women in business and community organizations are underrepresented in rank and influence. Several independent studies and consulting firms’ research agree that the performance of businesses and communities are positively impacted when women are strongly represented at board or top-management levels.

Companies with the most gender-diverse management teams outperformed the industry average on many financial measurements.

With the Mile High United Way’s endorsement, Jeffords and her colleagues formed a for-profit venture, The Virtual Exchange (The Vx). The Vx is a membershipbased organization that expands on the current foundation of women’s organizations and serves as the vehicle to provide a collaborative platform for growth to take on overarching issues. In other words, rallying a very big group of pissed-off moms, daughters, business leaders and mentors. Each initiative The Vx takes on will involve multiple women’s organizations and clubs, have a clear call to action, and establish the alignment of key people and organizations.

Jeffords is also part of the Denver-based consulting firm, Execution Specialist Group (ESG). ESG is a group of experienced industry leaders that assists corporations in the execution of their strategic plans.

ESG’s “been there, done that” experience is valued by their clients, and the flexible, collaborative engagement model provides a confident approach to execution.

To someone who does not know her, it may seem like she “just has a few different business cards,” but the synergies and alignment are clear when you meet her. Her desire is to align a group of individuals, create collective power and leverage that power to focus on extraordinary issues. When she speaks, you are not really sure which venture she is talking about, as the ideas are interwoven among the organizations.

Her passion around philanthropy, her focus on defining women’s leadership and her desire to foster a culture of execution is threaded through everything she works on.

Recently, her eighth grader came home from school and said that one of the moms came to talk to his class, and he thought she should join the woman’s group. He added, “She seemed very smart and talked about the importance of leadership—isn’t that what you do?” While Pam was excited that her son might finally understand her work, she does think she might get a little concerned if her first grader starts providing referrals.

Pam earned an undergraduate degree from LSU and an MBA from Georgia State. She lives in Highlands Ranch, Colo., with her husband and four children. She currently serves as the CEO of The Vx, as the co-chair for the Mile High United Way Women’s Leadership Council, and is a member of ESG.

Cultivate fresh ideas and help them take root.

Live, learn, and work with a community overseas.

Be a Volunteer.

peacecorps.gov

Advisory board

minicamp of almost 100 Jewish, Muslim and African refugee youth whereby they could experience understanding, safely ask questions, and become more aware of their communities, while creating a global citizen ambience at a local level.

Tarr continues to actively work with CISV and recently directed the first International People’s Project in Denver.

Twenty-two adults from around the world collaborated with a local nonprofit— ristin C. Tarr is Denver Indian Center—and three major cofounder and managing corporations on a two-week service project. director, speaker, trainer The committed volunteers planted a and corporate social community garden, conducted a Native responsibility specialist at American youth camp and documented Business Service Corps, LLC (BSC). As a several tribal elders’ oral histories. She has transformative social enterprise, BSC assists also implemented training and diversity companies with high-impact community programs at both the national and engagement programs. The company has international CISV levels. developed a unique experiential leadership In 2005, Tarr joined the staff at training program focused on corporate, the South Metro Denver Chamber of global and community citizenship.

Commerce. She was instrumental in building For Tarr, global citizenship started multi-sector collaborations to promote at age 11 while traveling to Europe as tourism in the South Denver region, where an international peace ambassador. She she launched the brand “Best Trails,” participated in a one-month multicultural nominated for top tourism initiative in program sponsored by Children’s Colorado. She also received a proclamation International Summer Village (CISV) and from the City of Centennial and twice traveled with her delegation (two boys received the Leadership in Motion award and two girls and an adult leader) to a through the chamber. Tarr led the Nonprofit summer camp or “village.” Here she Business Partnership committee at the lived with children from 12 different chamber, which encourages cross-sector countries across the world to create partnerships to better our communities. lifelong friendships through cultural She has served on the executive ristin arr understanding and global citizenship, a committee for three years. pretty powerful impact for an 11-year-old.

Tarr’s passion for collaboration, M anaging Director Business Service Corps, LLC Little did she know, this would shape citizenship and community sparked her life and her career. After high school, the inception of BSC in 2010 with 7979 South Bemis Street Tarr traveled extensively and lived abroad. her business partner, Candace Littleton, Colorado 80120 She graduated college with a degree in Ruiz. They founded BSC to assist T: 303.243.4983 marketing and international business. companies in creating civic programs cristin.tarr @Business ServiceCorps.com Her first job was on Wall Street as an and train employees on how to be www.Business ServiceCorps.com investment banker. Later, she worked better community stewards. BSC has for six years at American Airlines in transformed the idea of global citizenship was president of the CISV chapter then— airport budgets and as the director of to include employees at companies that received a call from a CISV parent saying international and domestic sales. are concerned with local problems. She that her son was in the library at Columbine Tarr has volunteered at a variety of fundamentally believes that it takes a village High School that fateful day. The distraught nonprofits. After moving to Colorado, to support a village, and that we all need to mother asked how she and CISV could help. she met two women with previous CISV work together to solve pressing issues. The That was the beginning of CISV Denver’s experience, and the three cofounded the private sector can find value in social impact multicultural minicamps, which now Denver Chapter of that organization. through creating a focused, high-impact occur every January. The minicamps bring Today, CISV’s Rocky Mountain Denver community program; engaging employees; together inner-city and suburban youth to chapter has involved well over 1,000 youth building reputation; and ultimately making a spend one weekend together to learn from and adults in international and domestic positive change where we live and work. Tarr each other with the goal of promoting programs, encouraging peace through and her husband, Jonathan, are raising three tolerance, diversity and fun. After the friendships. On April 22, 1999, two days boys in Littleton, Colorado, and both are 9/11 tragedy, she again organized a special after the Columbine tragedy, Tarr—who active in their local community.

Cristin C. Tarr

C

C

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cover profile

Metaphors Can be Used as Symbols

By Gayle Dendinger & Kim DeCoste

A

bstract concepts are sometimes difficult to conceptualize, so we will periodically use metaphors to evoke a broad array of visualizations by likening an idea to something a little more concrete and perhaps more fun.

In the last few issues we have been utilizing metaphors to emphasize important business processes. We recently wrote about Infrastructure, which is symbolized by the spider. The Resources issue used the metaphor of the bee. The Vision issue was symbolized by the compound-eyed dragonfly. Today, as you see by our beautiful cover, we draw our inspiration from the transformative magic of the butterfly. And, going forward, we will draw inspiration from the various pieces used in the strategic game of chess.

One of the great values of ICOSA is that it gives us the ability to access the best and brightest, the most talented and most interesting, and the most successful and influential people in the world. We are excited by this notion and inspired by the people we meet, whom we try to “bring to you” in the magazine and through our other media platforms.

I love metaphors because of the strong messages they portray in a very simple but vivid manner. Several years ago, I ran across the artistic works of Vladimir Kush while accompanying my wife on a shopping trip at the Miracle Mile in Las Vegas. Since that time, my goal has been to meet Kush, start collecting his work, and be able to display his paintings and their strong messages as covers for the magazine.

I am very proud to announce that all of these things have happened, and I am extremely honored to be able to call attention to the magic of transformation with Kush’s piece Departure of the Winged Ship on the cover of this issue. By coincidence, we heard from Kush that Disney has shown an interest in using this work as an inspiration for a ride at Disneyland—and it is not too hard to envision why.

I am very proud to introduce readers to the world of Vladimir Kush—where myth, metaphor and poetry combine in new forms to create metaphorical realism. I see the beauty in the work and how it brings to life the concepts

I feel are essential to being successful in the game of connection and collaboration.

Kush’s story is fascinating. He was born in Russia, in a one-story wooden house near the Moscow forest-park, Sokolniki. His father, Oleg, was a mathematician with artistic tendencies, who encouraged Kush’s natural talent from the time he was a boy. His father also provided him with books of romantic travel by hard-to-get, and sometimes banned authors, such as Jules Verne, Jack London and Herman Melville, hoping that his mind would carry him to faraway worlds and alternate realities. These books proved to be the foundation upon which Kush’s vision for himself was built.

He entered art school at age seven, and around 12 to 14 years of age his fascination with three-dimensional geometric figures— icosahedrons and dodecahedrons—grew. In

» "Art should inspire thought." « - Vladimir Kush

Butterfly Apple

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fact, he began to build them from paper. He studied all of the classics from the Renaissance to the Impressionist period and, of course, the Modern masters. His formal training led him to the Art Institute of Moscow where he explored different mediums and styles and came to understand the science behind art, including color theory and composition.

At that time, the school championed what they called the Cézanne method, which he mastered, but later abandoned because he believed that it lost form in color and ultimately emotion dominated the space instead of intellect. He believes, “Art should inspire thought.”

Like all young men in Russia at the time, Kush served his duty to the Russian Army, where they quickly ascertained his skills and put him to work on propaganda posters and murals of generals. Upon completion of school and army duty, Kush returned to his humble childhood home on Arbat Street and went to work to help support his family. Thankfully, during this time he came to know some people who worked in the U.S. Embassy. Eventually those connections would allow him to follow his dreams to what he felt was a great new land of opportunity for him, here in the United States.

Kush’s early years in the United States were important. He worked hard to produce good works, and his first great success happened to occur at a show in Coburg, Germany, in 1989.

At that exhibition he sold almost every piece he brought, and he was on his way! That success was a forerunner to many more in Hong Kong and in his new hometown of Los Angeles.

Among the bohemians of the Santa Monica pier in the shadow of the roller coaster, Kush sold portraits to support himself, working out of a tiny garage and continuing the quest for studio space. Ultimately, his journey took him further west to his own “promised land” in Hawaii, which he calls home today.

Over time, his work gained momentum, and by 1995 at an exhibition in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Fine Art Gallery, Kush gained even more success. By 1997, he was exhibiting in galleries in Lahaina, Hawaii, and Seattle.

Departure of the Winged Ship

His own first gallery was opened in 2001, and Kush Fine Art in Lahaina is now one of four galleries in the United States. Going forward, he hopes to expand globally.

Vladimir Kush, like most of us, is still called back to his home country from time to time. Moscow’s cold, dark winters still force his imagination to roam as it did when he was young. But now he draws on his memories of the Hawaiian skies, which are apparent in many of his works. Kush says, “Due to political and geographic restraints, I was forced to travel with my mind as a child, and it is this most of all that has shaped my artistic perception and voice, but I would likely never have painted the colors or clouds seen in my paintings if it hadn’t been for the sights of my tropical, second home.”

It has been written that Kush has developed his own artistic credo. It

substantiates his metaphorical realism and, above all, it demands the following likeness, which is the evidence of high professional skill—it makes the viewer believe in the world imagined by the artist, as realism does in fiction and film; avoidance of actual living forms, presenting the aesthetic object rather than emotional subjects; and the use of deep irony to reach real aesthetic enjoyment.

Vladimir Kush explains further, “I want to touch my audience on a much deeper emotional or intellectual level than would be possible by painting a pretty landscape or still life where viewers are tempted to place themselves in the landscape, or consume the bowl of fruit—the goal of realism is also its limitation. I try to provide layers of meaning for viewers to explore and emotionally respond to the discoveries they find in my art.”

It is that perspective that I love. Not only are the stories in this issue about transformational works being done by business, government, community and academic institutions, but we are using it as a platform to transform the message of the magazine and its related media forms to new heights. We look forward to further collaboration with Kush and others in the world of art.

The metaphor invokes reality, both in form and in action, but it does not replicate it. Kush and I challenge you to consider transformation in this way and take the essence of the cover to draw inspiration. Do not be too literal in your interpretations. It is not unlike the mystique of Mona Lisa’s famous smile, evoking emotion, inspiring debate at its motive and enchanting all who see it.

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opinion

White Light Leadership The Inside Story of Transformational Leadership

By Steve Sorensen

B

ecoming a transformational leader is no easy task. Many try, and most fail. I've studied leadership academically and throughout my 30-plus years leading business units for very large companies, one would think I’d have a leg up on transformational leadership. In fact it’s simple to understand, but very difficult to achieve.

Trying to define leadership is like trying to describe the prismatic effect of turning white light into a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The fact is, it’s very simple; white light—known as visible light— enters a medium that turns it into a rainbow.

A prism takes visible light and allows us to see a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum,

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and the electromagnetic spectrum is one of four forces that holds the universe together.

It’s extraordinary!

Welcome to transformational leadership 101.

White Light Leaders White light offers us an easily understood lesson in leadership. It represents the everyday leader—effective, a direct communicator, maybe a linear thinker with the knowledge of how to get things done. They are valued because of the quantifiability of their abilities such as measurable grade history, advanced educational degrees, documentable work success and so on. These leaders typically have a great education, years of successful work

experience, along with a firm grip on systems thinking. To this person leadership is the title, the corner office and a position to be coveted and won—like a trophy. These leaders institute organizational values, work at charisma, love structure and have an inside-out way of communication. Inside-out communication typically falls into the expert or telling category. And while it is terrific that a company can quantify and categorize these people down to their shoe size, far too often they are sought out simply because they are a commodity—a safe hire who will pass muster. This person is a brilliant “white light” but has yet to hit the prism, or worse, doesn’t know there is a prism.

Prism-Like Leaders Enter the prism—when the white light leaders find the medium of transformation— they have a true understanding of the power of transforming themselves first before they begin to try and transform others. No one needs to point out transformational leaders; they radiate a multifaceted spectrum. They are obvious without seeming obvious because they radiate a presence that others gravitate to.

Transformational leaders begin as the white light with the years of learning and a successful work experience; however,

once they go through the prism they can never return back to white light.

They have transformed from leaders with knowledge to transformational leaders with wisdom. Transformational leaders embrace innovation, creativity and messiness for the sake of growing a culture where people want to work and contribute. They embrace divergent thinking because the best ideas come from those who often have a unique opinion. They are listeners—speaking less and learning more.

Wisdom hires knowledge and fundamentally understands the specific needs of the organization. These leaders will find employees that fit the culture, further fostering collaboration—as knowledge of the job can be taught and learned. Wisdom is discerning, not reactive, weighing all sides before making decisions based on principles and integrity. Wise transformational leaders live values and demonstrate these values every day, in every situation. As a matter of fact, transformational leaders are the values others aspire to. Transformational leaders are the same regardless of who surrounds them. They are authentic and seek the knowledge and thoughts of others. They don’t fear disagreement because they recognize it’s the very basis of learning.

Like so many intangible concepts, defining transformational leadership is relative to the time, place and position of those asking the question. However, simply “asking the question” puts us on the path of discovery, and therein lies one of the first tenants of transformational leadership. This natural curiosity begins the process of understanding that the world can be shaped into definable components and thereby events may evolve to a point of possibility. This begins the journey to discover that there exists a “white light” leader within us seeking the prism.

» Wisdom is discerning, not reactive, weighing all sides before making decisions. Wise transformational leaders live values and demonstrate these values every day, in every situation. «

» Transformational leaders embrace innovation, creativity and messiness for the sake of growing a culture where people want to work and contribute. They embrace divergent thinking because the best ideas come from those who often have a unique opinion. « Two of the most powerful questions we can ask are “What if?” and “Why not?” These questions are the catalyst of thought that have placed humans on the moon and cured numerous diseases. We have enumerable reasons to be optimistic about our own futures. It is a future that we can image for ourselves and ultimately make a reality.

We must be open to those possibilities and allow the miracles to come. The simplicity of gratitude opens doors, dissolves barriers and ignites the transformational process. In fact, transformational leaders derive their vision for themselves and those they impact because of the “What if?” and “Why not?” questions.

Great leaders are not great leaders because of a title. Great leaders are such because they find the prism—and they take action to transform. By taking the right action, transformational leaders find that all types of people gravitate to them and actively seek to “follow” them—never feeling feared, cajoled, forced or manipulated.

If you can’t lead yourself, you will not become a transformational leader to anyone else. When transformational leaders get a sense that something’s amiss, they point the finger at themselves as the one to turn it around.

Transformational leaders lead their lives for health, family, spirit and well-being. Holistic living is at the core of transformational leaders and often runs counter to how we typically define leadership because transformational leadership is about living leadership, not talking about leadership.

Committed to the vision, transformational leaders never lose sight of where they are going.

They surround themselves with those who aspire to the vision and share the belief that they will obtain it. Each day provides the opportunity to move from “white light” to the extraordinary aura of the electromagnetic spectrum—a rainbow of wisdom. The prism is waiting.

Leaders, transform thyself!

Steve Sorensen is the founder of Enlighten 360, LLC, a consulting firm helping companies achieve increased revenue and velocity of growth through improved sales strategies. Steve has successfully engaged companies such as Microsoft, Charles Schwab, Anheuser Busch, Graybar Electric,Yellow Technologies and Oracle. To learn more, visit www.enlighten360.com.

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opinion

Language The Nuance of Our Worlds By Scott Kesterson

An Afghan boy tending his goats watches a patrol of Afghan soldiers with Canadian advisers during operations in Panjawi, Kandahar Province. Though early education is compulsory for youth, economics, tradition and threats from Taliban keep enrollment to less than 55%. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

I

n a small village in Afghanistan, a U.S. Army Special Forces unit was working to train a group of locally recruited Afghan men to become members of the newly formed Afghan Local Police. The idea was not foreign to the Afghans. Traditionally, Afghan villages have provided their own security by rallying the village’s fighting-age men in times of danger to protect them from outside threats. The fact that U.S. Army Special Forces were training locally recruited men to fight against insurgent dangers was also not unique. U.S. Special Forces has used locals as a means of fighting unconventional warfare since their inception in the early Vietnam War period. However, on this day the trainers were going to test a new technique to try and enhance their capabilities.

Inside of a local building, the Afghan recruits were gathered as one of the Special Forces trainers

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put a small pocket-size projector on the table.

The projector was the size of a digital camera and used the latest in DLP HD projection technology, making it possible to project an image of nearly 70 inches on the wall. The device had portable speakers, and the Afghans were shown a training video done in their local language, acted out by a local soldier from their region who spoke with a familiar narrative style. The effect was profound—providing a visual mechanism to convey the learning objectives with the necessary nuance of the local dialect to an audience that was entirely illiterate.

The demonstration was a culmination of nearly four years of my work in Afghanistan, starting in 2006 through the present day. Over that time I had filled the roles of filmmaker, visual storyteller, visual media trainer, writer, counterinsurgency adviser, and at times a de

facto cultural adviser. I have worked in the southern regions of Helmund, Kandahar, Uruzgon and Zabul, in remote regions of the Hindu Kush, in the areas south of Herat and into Ferra, in the north and the Mujadeen and Taiban disputed areas of Kunduz and east to the Pakistan border. My guiding principle was the differences defined by Tribal traditions— nuances that could take a lifetime to master.

At the core of these differences, however, is the common thread of storytelling. Rooted in the oral traditions of ancient culture, the stories and the way they are told serve as weaves in a tapestry that form the bonds between the members of the tribe. What I discovered was that within a culture defined by differences— was a common approach. It was a missing key, so to speak, to the greater mystery of an ancient and outwardly divided world.

For the Afghans who watched the image stream from a pocket-size projector, what they saw could almost be considered “magic.” For most that were there, they experienced a first encounter with moving images, leading many to move toward the wall where the projected image was being displayed to try to touch what they were seeing. These actions were a reminder of the power of film and visual imagery.

Beyond this event, however, there was a deeper and more central motivation to the approach— to use visual media to bridge cultural difference and develop understanding by using the framework of local narratives to tell stories in ways that were familiar. In other words, how we tell stories shapes our world, and how stories are told to us effects how we perceive the world we live in. The use of film or visual media, therefore, offered a means of engagement that could move beyond the confines of language to foster a broader understanding that was relevant to local culture and values.

Film as a training and information tool is by no means an original idea. It was used to great effect by Sergei Eisenstein in the post-Bolshevik era, and even by Walt Disney as a propaganda tool for the U.S. government during World War II to increase support for the war effort. What has been largely overlooked, however, is how the nuance of a local narrative promotes reception of the visual message.

This is arguably an essential detail to any successful advertising campaign; it is also a concept that is often overlooked when a visual story is developed outside of a native

The fact Afghanistan is a country living within the grip a perpetual war was a daily backdrop to my work. There was no place that was so sacred or out of reach of a conflict rooted in the clash of beliefs. As I watched the young girl being pulled from the room prior to the soldiers conducting a search, I felt a deep sorrow for the loss of innocence as even the room of this young Afghan girl could not escape the wars reach. Afghan soldiers following intelligence leads, remove children from a room before searching for weapons near the village of Hesar, Oruzgon Province, Afghanistan. No weapons were found during the search. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

» How we tell stories shapes our world, and how stories are told to us effects how we perceive the world we live in. «

As I followed the soldiers on their patrol in the Panjawi Valley following a heavy rain, I was taken by how this image could just as well been Vietnam. Here again, searching and fighting an elusive enemy. Afghan soldiers along with their Canadian advisers conduct a routine “presence” patrol in the Panjawi Valley, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Patrols such as this are part of the strategy of stabilization in the region, by attempting to maintain a visible presence in local villages. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

culture. The idea of “selling” something, be it ideas or merchandise, with a level of fidelity that embraces local customs and traditions is a concept that is too often viewed as inconsequential within the larger view of strategic interests and organizational objectives. What Afghanistan has taught is that local successes directly influence strategic outcomes—“local-local” takes on a new level of importance.

My background is diverse and perhaps unconventional when viewed from my career today. I grew up working in my father’s custom remodeling business. The experience was formative—watch, learn, apply and adapt.

Nothing was predictable, and problems were solved by constantly pushing toward new limits of adaptability. Following my education at Oregon State University with a degree in history, I worked my way up through jobs in sales to a position of national director of marketing. I spent time in Europe, tried to master French, and along the way developed a keen appreciation for the subtle differences that allow us to interpret our world in completely different ways. As was said to me once, “An English speaker sees the word le pain and translates it as bread. A Frenchman sees the word le pain and thinks of a culinary experience that involves wine, cheese and political debate.”

Seeking to return to a more tactile work experience, I returned to contracting in early 2000. A year later I was transformed by the events of 9/11. With a lifelong passion for photography, I followed my desire to be witness and part of the events of a two-war world, shut

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opinion

I saw this as a moment that seemed to capture the rugged yet optimistic spirit of the Afghans. These soldiers had just completed a funeral ceremony for the family. As they finished, one of the Afghan soldier stood on the running board of his truck to set the Afghan national flag in its mount as if to remind them all of the greater dream of a unified country. An Afghan soldier mounts the national flag on the roof of their truck before leaving on patrol near Solemanbad, in the Daikondi Province, Afghanistan. The Afghan soldiers, in conjunction with U.S. Army Special Operations, were in the village to return the body of an Afghan soldier to his family. The soldier had been killed by an IED. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

down my business in January 2006, secured an embed with the 41 Brigade Combat Team and embedded as a filmmaker in spring 2006 for a 15-month tour de force of Afghanistan.

In June 2006, I followed a small team of American advisers into the Zabul Province in east Afghanistan along with 30 poorly trained and equipped Afghan Army soldiers. After a week of fighting, ammo supplies were nearly exhausted, resupply was unknown, and three Taliban factions had surrounded the small and very remote firebase we were occupying.

The two American advisers and myself shared a dinner together on what we thought was going to be our last night to make a stand—we called it our last supper—and we nicknamed the firebase “the Alamo.” With the sun falling and night setting in, the two American soldiers wrote notes home, I videotaped a message to my parents—all of us saying the same thing—we were doing what we believed in. With Taliban forces massing, and death now an accepted guest at the table, we were saved by the sudden arrival of resupply and reinforcements, scattering the Taliban soldiers to the hills. That week changed our lives forever.

In July 2006, I linked up with the Canadian Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry (PPCLI) from Edmonton, Canada, and their sweep from Kandahar to Helmund Province.

I learned the delicacy of international agendas ( 24 )

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and war, falling in on some of the most intense fighting any of the soldiers had ever seen. The footage that I captured was the first combat footage taken of the Canadian forces since Korea, and quickly became part of the Canadian national debate on the war in Afghanistan and the county’s involvement.

From Ottowa to Edmonton, the footage was both reviled and revered. A year later I would be awarded an Emmy for Best Photography, and the power of the visual narrative and its ability to move nations was now part of my personal experience.

January and February 2007 took me north of Kandahar to the Uruzgon province.

I teamed up with American advisers and U.S. Army Special Forces. Living in a remote firebase outside of a small town called Oshay, we patrolled miles of the territory on foot, searching for an elusive enemy that found havens among the people, too often hiding in plain sight. It was during this period that the improvised explosive device (IED) took its place as a battle tool of the insurgency. The stories of the National Geographic photography team that had suffered a near total loss a few months earlier from an IED were still fresh.

Midway through my two-month stay, I filmed a special forces soldier disarming a pair of anti-tank mines that had been rigged with a cellphone, a remote trigger and a pressure

plate with the intention of destroying part of our convoy. As I filmed I asked him if he was concerned that the mines might explode. His answer was what one would expect in a place so far removed and defined by extremes: “A little, but I think my training is enough to get us through.”

The years have passed quickly from my initial experiences in Afghanistan. In 2006, I would never have imagined that I would spend close to four years in that country. As time has passed my reasons for returning have changed as well—it has added purpose and intent to my initial drive of passion and desire. It is a place where the rural, rugged and often savage are somehow tied to sense of freedom and the feeling of being alive. It is a mix of ancient, historical and primal.

Afghanistan more than anything is outwardly too complex and chaotic to make sense of it all, yet it has a strange element of equilibrium that has allowed it to outlast invaders and thousands of years of change. A land that is referred to as a wasteland by some somehow provokes a love affair with its tribal residents that it is worth fighting and dying for. These are the deeper narratives that have ultimately pulled me back, in an attempt to unlock something that seems to add form and reason to what otherwise is too easily passed off as disorder and disarray.

In spring 2011, my interpreter and I dressed in local fashion and drove our Toyota Forerunner north from Kabul to the city of Kunduz. We had been invited by an old Mujahedeen leader to be his guests at a traditional Shura to film the process.

The opportunity was significant, allowing me to capture material that would later be used in the development of visual training programs to teach engagement strategies to various military units. We traveled through corrupt Afghan National Police check points, through areas controlled by local roaming bands of thieves and regions known to be Taliban areas of operation.

We did so without an umbrella of military assets overseeing our way, but rather in the manner in which Afghans travel every day. We were made honored guests of the old Mujahedeen commander, with private rooms and personal bodyguards. We lived there for a week on the cliff above one of the Taliban strongholds known as Chadara.

Near the end of the week, the Shura was held, and under the large tent the mix of local elders, old Mujahedeen and Taliban commanders assembled.

The rhetoric of war was left at the edge of the rugs along with their saddles and shoes, as they sat in a circle, barefoot, to pray and vent their frustrations. It was a glimpse into the burden of traditions and the narrow lines of separation we too often tend to obscure.

The traditions of the Shura provided a sacred space for the airing of one’s “dirty laundry” without threat of retaliation while within the circle. The issues that were shared had a common thread—frustrations with a corrupt

As deployments are extended without warning, compounded by the uncertainties that war holds, the idea of going home, as was the case for these 10th Mountain Division soldiers is an emotionally complex moment. There is a duality within this image of the patience and duty bound part of the solider shown by those in the foreground, contrasted with excitement and anticipation from the movement of the soldier on the right of the frame as well as those standing. I could feel all of this, their eagerness, their caution, even the apprehension from these soldiers as the Chinook landed to take them back to Kanadahar and then home and all of the uncertainties that awaited them. U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers watch as a CH-47 Chinook helicopter lands at the forward operating base near the village of Terin Kowt. The U.S. soldiers were heading back to Kandahar to prepare for their return home following a 15-month deployment in Afghanistan. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

government that failed to respond to the demands of the people. Finding common ground seemed as easy as a beer, a cigar and the shaking of hands. But this was Afghanistan—where hope for resolution was seemingly distanced by immeasurable space and where the common target of frustration is the basis for the tribal agendas of want and demand. The past was inescapable, and the future anchored by an invisible chain of tradition. Order was found only within the daily chaos of ideological rants.

Second Lt. George Leverton, an Army advisor, rides a donkey along with two Afghan soldiers during operations in Zamburay Valley, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Due to the rugged terrain, much of the operations in Afghanistan prevent use of modern transportation. (Photo Copyright 2012: Scott Kesterson)

Afghanistan, like so many ancient cultures, finds its strength in what our Western approach sees as an anchor of traditions. It is a mixed blessing, as tradition provides ritual and a measure of order, yet also enables the burden of inflexibility and the need to keep past issues alive.

These are pivotal insights, however. As we work to change a strategic direction, it can only be done with the incremental steps at the most basic of levels. Embracing difference and local uniqueness is the first step to blazing a path toward a future with change. Ancient ways die slowly—we must find the mechanisms to language the differences and highlight the common ground. Afghanistan is a narrative of a larger story of global interconnectivity and change. It is only one of the many emerging markets that are challenged by desire, but held back by traditions whose reason is too often lost to history. Yet change is upon them and is ultimately inevitable, a process that if nurtured can forge bonds and loyalty equal to the stories they themselves tell of old.

Scott Kesterson is a consultant in the areas of visual information, knowledge transfer and engagement strategies for the Department of Defense and the private sector. His film, Bards of War, chronicling his 2006/07 year in Afghanistan is currently in post-production and is scheduled for release on DVD in fall 2012.To learn more about the film, visit www.bardsofwar.com.

To contact Scott, visit www.alstrat.com or email him at kesterson@alstrat.com.

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Academia

Hillcrest Educational Centers

Heal, Learn and Thrive Hillcrest Educational Centers By Sheila Mason

L

ocals have written about Gerard “Jerry” Burke’s successes before.

They have highlighted his drive and commitment to community, and especially his leadership and ability to steer his agency in a turbulent economy. Spending time with him, you notice his deep traditional knowledge, and he deftly interprets his world through it. This complements his milestones, formal degrees, impressive professional affiliations and even the local college scholarship that bears his name. His story is Hillcrest’s story, and it is worth sharing outside of the Berkshires.

Burke is the president and CEO of Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. (HEC), a private, not-for-profit school for youth with extreme behaviors, located in the tranquil hills of western Massachusetts. Although a culturally rich area that boasts renowned institutions such as Tanglewood, Williams College, the Norman Rockwell Museum and ( 26 )

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the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, it is still searching for a sustainable workforce identity. General Electric and Sprague Electric pulled out in the late 1980s, leaving a wake of malaise, empty storefronts and sagging employment opportunities. In subsequent years art communities and niche companies have spawned exciting growth. Strategies to attract more business and industry are well underway. Burke is an integral part of these efforts and is heavily engaged in the community in addition to his work at Hillcrest.

Of the eleven committees he serves on, the most notable are chairman of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Executive Committee of the Berkshire Business Roundtable and a member/director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. With close to 500 employees and a $25 million budget, HEC is one of the top ten companies in the county. Employee satisfaction is evident as a majority of the senior team have worked at HEC in various capacities for fifteen

years or longer, and in Burke’s case since it was founded 26 years ago. What’s more, when talking to the senior staff, you get a sense of pride and loyalty—one that is impressive and palpable. In fact, during the Hillcrest Annual Campaign—the annual fundraiser—employees raised more than $50,000 for the fifth consecutive year.

Before there was Hillcrest, there was Avalon, a struggling for-profit residential school for troubled youth that eventually succumbed to financial pressures in the mid-80s, along with other private schools in the area. Enter Burke in 1985. He, along with the Hillcrest Hospital Foundation board, acquired Avalon and formed Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. (a separate entity from Hillcrest hospital, but still the cause of local name confusion today).

With little resources and an appetite for risk, slowly and quietly, the board of directors with Burke’s leadership turned the school into the nonprofit gem it is today.

Hillcrest’s main priority fits in one sentence—to serve children and families in desperate need of social services. Formally stated, the mission is, “to facilitate the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth of students through the development of new skills that will enable them to succeed in their home community.” They have truly evolved into a last hope for hundreds of people, and have built a successful reputation on meeting this challenge. This is in part due to their constant mode of self-reflection and self-improvement— or what Burke calls, “The Hillcrest dialogue.”

He recently instituted a Cornell University training program. This $160,000 investment replaced the previously homegrown physical intervention model, which decreased physical interventions and related costs and improved overall safety of staff and students. To further raise standards, HEC instituted a “Learn More/Earn More” incentive program to train, motivate and retain valuable staff. They also maintain a license from the Department of Early Education and Care and certification by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in addition to a prestigious accreditation by the National

» Hillcrest’s main priority fits in one sentence—to serve children and families in desperate need of social services. «

Joint Commission in Behavioral Health Care. When talking with direct care workers, teachers, clinicians and administrative staff, you quickly realize they feel equally invested in the Hillcrest mission and are supported here, beyond the paycheck. The senior team does this by keeping staff informed of company news through inclusive and transparent staff meetings, the intranet and printed publications.

The residential school program serves youth and young adults who have been severely neglected and abused, have witnessed

abuse or are otherwise in need of critical therapeutic care. Referred to as high-risk and high-demand children, they have trouble functioning in a traditional setting for a variety of reasons, and many have lived in unsuccessful foster or group homes or had stays in psychiatric hospitals. The goal is to get these youth stabilized, treated and returned back to their home communities, families (if appropriate) and schools. A stay can be anywhere from nine months to several years.

Most do not have emotionally supportive parents, nor otherwise engaged family members who could intervene. Often, parents are struggling on many levels themselves— they are apt to be single, financially and psychologically unstable, abusive or victims of abuse, and to have issues with drug and alcohol addictions. Referrals come to Hillcrest from state and welfare agencies and school systems in Berkshire County and greater Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and other areas in the Northeast. Before arriving at Hillcrest, it’s not uncommon that a student

has been turned away from at least five other non-Massachusetts agencies—the result of a tight economy and the pressure on state politicians to keep monies in house, while trying to do what’s best for the child.

Reading the background of an HEC student is an experience you will not soon forget. It will turn your emotions from sadness to anger and outrage, and back to sadness all within one paragraph. The ugliest and most frightening words in our language are used—victim of rape, suffered broken bones, witnessed repeated domestic violence, starvation, verbally and

Jerry Burke

physically assaulted, attempted suicide, and severe trauma—these are just a few descriptors.

These children have been betrayed in egregious ways and have experienced repeated failure.

It’s a failure that breeds yet more failure along with a sharp mistrust of others, a state of fear and an inability to cope, if left untreated.

Studies show that the earlier the child enters treatment, whether from long- or short-term abuse, the better their chances of healing. A staff psychiatrist summed it up neatly: “If you had a physical wound and delayed treatment, the greater your chances would be of ancillary

problems including scarring. Same is true with our minds. The earlier we reach a victim of abuse, the better their chances of leading a productive life.” This is the crux of Hillcrest’s work.

They operate three residential campuses and a day academy for approximately 106 students. The residential campuses are all former summer cottages, lovely Gilded-Age mansions once owned by wealthy New York and Boston residents who wanted to escape the city heat. The buildings and grounds still maintain the glory of the past with open fields, high ceilings, ornate woodwork, expansive fireplaces and inviting libraries. They are still respites—places that mirror the Hillcrest motto “Heal, Learn and Thrive.” Each child has a customized and comprehensive education and treatment plan, and like any other public or private school, students must pass mandated exams before moving to the next level.

Hightop campus, in Lenox, Mass., cares for male students in the treatment of abusive sexual behavior in addition to aggression, self-injurious actions and emotional

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Academia

Hillcrest Educational Centers

deregulation. Most have been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, learning disabilities and mild development or neurological challenges as well. The Fernbrook program, housed next door to Hightop, treats young men with extreme psychiatric, emotional and behavior disorders such as fire setting— and common with victims of sexual abuse.

Hillcrest Centers, also in Lenox, works with young women who have experienced physical or sexual abuse and trauma. These young women can be severely aggressive, sexually reactive, or self-injurious. Most have been in psychiatric hospitals, and many have moderate to serious learning disabilities. In Great Barrington, the Brookside Campus serves as an intensive treatment unit that provides nonmedical stabilization and diagnostic services for youth.

What’s striking when walking the campuses, aside from the high student-staff ratio—one-to-one in most cases—isn’t the occasional verbal or physical outburst, but that despite what these students have been through they look like our, or our neighbors’ children.

They are energetic, clean, dressed appropriately and healthy looking. Some are chatting happily with peers or staff and are busily engaged in class and outdoor sport activities. These children look hopeful, and you feel optimistic knowing they are on a better path with people who understand their needs.

Over the years, Burke has proactively worked in the community with troubled youth—even through the various financial and population fluctuations. In fact, Burke used to run a group home for children but closed it in the late 1990s when it became a liability. Near the same time, he saw a decline in adolescent girls needing services and discontinued that program for a few years until the population rebounded two years ago. Today, HEC has a dedicated girls’ campus and program.

During the 1990s there was also a huge philosophical shift in the human services field that opined that children younger than ten should be kept out of residential care. To keep serving that population, and also others who only needed a day program structure, Hillcrest opened Housatonic Day Academy in Pittsfield in 1995. To serve the students and families of a fast-growing autistic population HEC created autistic-specific programming for both residential and day programs. They invested $40,000 in 2008 for a new addition and an autistic-specific program at the Housatonic Day Academy, and in July 2011, they also created an autistic-specific residential program on the Hillcrest Center Campus with a capital investment of $359,000. ( 28 )

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» "By exploring collaborations and partnerships with organizations in the region while emphasizing the diversification of our services, programs and clients, we will provide an array of beneficial communitybased services for those in need, that extend and strengthen the Hillcrest legacy." « - Jerry Burke

As Burke carefully navigates the predicted market challenges ahead, he and the Hillcrest leadership also remain committed to opportunities for development and growth.

Researching and anticipating trends, much like a for-profit business model, are what’s keeping them relevant and sharp, and only adds value to their current mission and programs. In testament to this, Hillcrest Dental Care was founded in 1985 originally to provide care to the children of Hillcrest, for whom access was a major obstacle. Since its establishment, the clinic has steadily expanded and now serves close to 9,000 patients from the region. In keeping with the mission, the majority of patients served are individuals and families without previous access to regular care, war veterans and recipients of Mass Health Care.

They now employ five full-time dentists who use eight treatment rooms and state-of-the-art equipment; there are plans to open a satellite office to reach others who lack access.

Hillcrest Psychological Services is another community-based program that specializes in

high-risk assessments and evaluation services for families and schools in Berkshire County.

In another very recent change, Hillcrest formalized an affiliation with Berkshire County Kids’ Place in 2011, a fully accredited Children’s Advocacy Center for child abuse victims and their non-offending family members in Pittsfield—again, staying true to the mission of helping children and families and advocating on their behalf.

Burke says, “By exploring collaborations and partnerships with organizations in the region while emphasizing the diversification of our services, programs and clients, we will provide an array of beneficial community-based services for those in need, that extend and strengthen the Hillcrest legacy.”

Sheila Mason is the Director of Development and Community Outreach at Hillcrest Educational Centers. Prior to Hillcrest, Mason worked in college relations and development.

Academia

Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins

Transform Thinking, Transform the World Regis University Delivers Education to Those at Societal Margins By Donnie Veasey

Students of JC: HEM program

F

or the past several years, Denverbased Regis University has been at the forefront of an international effort to deliver online higher education to refugees in Kenya, Malawi and Syria, with future expansion to others with little access to higher education. As Colorado’s only Jesuit Catholic university, and one of 28 Jesuit Catholic colleges and universities in the United States, Regis University has been developing curriculum and teaching online courses as part of Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins (JC:HEM), an initiative of the Society of Jesus that brings Jesuit higher education to those at the margins of society. ( 30 )

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Working with the Jesuit Refugee Service, JC:HEM has enabled more than 300 refugees to study courses both online and on-site in partnership with a global network of Jesuit universities. Refugees can earn a diploma in liberal studies and pursue community service learning tracks for a certificate of completion in ways that benefit daily life in the camps.

“Of course, Regis University is not alone in its involvement in this massive undertaking to make a positive difference,” notes Steve Jacobs, assistant vice president for academic affairs at Regis University, and one of many individuals committed to the success of JC:HEM. “More than 15 other Jesuit colleges and universities

in the United States are also involved in this work.” Those participating institutions include Boston College, Canisius University, Creighton University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, Marquette University, Seattle University, St. Joseph’s University, St. Louis University, University of San Francisco, Wheeling Jesuit University and Xavier University.

Led by a passionate commitment from Regis University President Michael Sheeran, S.J., Regis University’s role has been impressive and in some ways unique. Two years ago, the university’s College for Professional Studies’ (CPS) faculty and staff initiated a

credentialing process, making Regis University the first credentialing university for JC:HEM. With several other Jesuit universities, CPS faculty and staff then helped to develop the curriculum. In February 2011, CPS faculty began teaching the online courses to refugees in Kenya and Malawi.

For its work with the JC:HEM program, Regis University was recently recognized with a national award, when the College for Professional Studies received the University Professional and Continuing Education Association’s Outstanding Credit Program Award. The award recognizes credit-bearing continuing education programs that are “original in substantive ways” and that aspire to and/or demonstrate “excellence in achieving its educational objectives.”

“Jesuit Commons truly provides a model to which colleagues at other institutions can aspire,” wrote Bilita Mattes, chair of the 2011-2012 UPCEA Awards Committee and associate provost for Strategic Markets, in a congratulatory letter to Father Sheeran.

In March 2012, Regis University hosted the first international JC:HEM think tank at the university’s sprawling 87-acre North Denver (Lowell) campus, where 120 Jesuit Catholic higher education leaders and innovators from around the globe, as well as staff from Jesuit Refugee Service, participated with a goal of charting the future of the JC:HEM program. Attendees represented some of the brightest and most innovative leaders of Jesuit Catholic higher education and refugee programs from 25 countries.

Among the who’s who of think tank attendees were Vincent Cochetel, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regional representative for the United States and Caribbean; Michael Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago and secretary of Higher Education for the Society of Jesus; Heroic Leadership author and Jesuit Commons President Chris Lowney; Peter Balleis, S.J., international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service; author Paul Nakai, who facilitated the conference; Gregory Lucey, S.J., president of the Association of Jesuit Catholic Universities (AJCU); Charlie Currie, S.J., former AJCU president; and

Mary McFarland, international director of JC:HEM and a Gonzaga University professor in Spokane, Washington.

So what exactly is JC:HEM, how did it get started, who makes it work, and how is the program improving the lives of those at the margins of our society?

The seeds for JC:HEM were planted during a 2006 Regis University–sponsored international conference focusing on adult and distance learning. Then, two years ago in Mexico City, Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, called for a renewed commitment of Jesuit colleges and universities to share the future for a humane, just and sustainable globe.

“Who needs the knowledge we can share, and how can we share it more effectively with those for whom that knowledge can truly make a difference, especially the poor and excluded?” Father Nicolas questioned in his April 23, 2010, address.

In this spirit, with historic support from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and in partnership with the Jesuit Commons and the International Jesuit Refugee Service, refugees who live at the very margins of society, be it through poverty, location, opportunity or circumstance, are engaged in Jesuit higher education.

The work was inspired by an Australian Jesuit who helped create online higher education for refugees along the Thai-Burma border.

But, Father Balleis, Lowney and McFarland are credited with being the leaders of this later initiative, which is being funded through 2014 by a generous European donor. Current students are refugees living in Kakuma Camp, Kenya; Dzaleka Camp, Malawi; and are urban refugees in Aleppo, Syria. Jesuit university faculty and staff volunteer to teach and support students in their learning. The students, in groups of 30, take four to five courses each year. Students complete three certificate programs over a three-year period leading to an undergraduate diploma. The diploma in Liberal Studies is a 45-credit-hour offering awarded by Regis University. For-credit courses use immersive virtual learning environments partnered with online and on-the-ground tutors who are JRS and JC:HEM staff.

» "Who needs the knowledge we can share, and how can we share it more effectively with those for whom that knowledge can truly make a difference, especially the poor and excluded?" « - Father Nicolas

Vincent Cochetel

» "There are 11 million refugees, 27 million internally displaced persons, an estimated 3.5 million stateless persons, and 837,000 asylum seekers, who endure an average 17 year stay at refugee camps." « - Vincent Cochetel

Rigorous admissions standards are observed, including evidence of English proficiency. Unique to the program, and reflective of the Jesuit educational mission, the Community Service Leadership Track offers noncredit certificates of completion that include leadership training in counseling, community health, English as a Second Language, special needs and tutor training.

The first international JC:HEM think tank offered the perfect place to explore and examine JC:HEM’s current success and its future path. The focus and desired outcome of the think tank was to expand the vision and outreach of JC:HEM, “To empower those at the very edges of our societies through access to Jesuit higher education so that together we may foster hope to create a more peaceful and humane world,” notes Jacobs, who also served as conference chair. Participants came armed with intelligence, extensive interest and

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Academia

Jesuit Commons: Higher Education at the Margins

passion and a deep desire to ensure that JC:HEM continues to evolve as a worldwide presence. Each of the attendees vigorously participated and contributed to myriad dialogues, discussions, debates and presentations conducted during the four-day event.

During his 45-minute keynote address, UNHCR’s Cochetel did not pull any punches in telling attendees that “We need to be better when it comes to the refugee situation.”

There are 11 million refugees, 27 million internally displaced persons, an estimated 3.5 million stateless persons, and 837,000 asylum seekers, who endure an average 17 year stay at refugee camps.”

He noted the huge demand for higher education among refugees, especially the young ones who are often living in despair, wishing to continue their education and to be of greater service to their communities. Cochetel emphasized the benefits of higher education for refugees, noting that that education cultivates civic leadership, which is essential to any durable solution, develops skills and confidence, fosters the ability to make strategic life choices, provides training for highly qualified teachers for primary and secondary schools, and promotes economic gains.

The JC:HEM programs are coordinated

by Portugal native Luis Amaral, S.J., at Kakuma—the largest of the three refugee

Dr. Clotilde Giner

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» "Jesuit Commons truly provides a model to which colleagues at other institutions can aspire." « - Bilita Mattes

camps with 85,000 refugees. Dr. Anne Ziegler coordinates the work at the Aleppo camp in Syria—with 10,000 refugees registered by UNHCR. And Frenchwoman Dr. Clotilde Giner serves as JC:HEM site coordinator at the Dzaleka, Malawi, camp where 16,000 refugees are located. Like all of the JC:HEM think tank attendees, Giner’s commitment to making a difference is powerful. Giner relishes her role as Dzaleka JC:HEM coordinator because it gives her that direct opportunity to combine her interest in migration and refugee issues, education and an unquenchable desire to make this world a better place.

“The job description fits me perfectly,” Giner says. “I give a lot for things I believe

in. Migration and refugee issues are something I’ve always been keen to work on and therefore any opportunity I have to advocate or to defend their view or give my own views, I do.

I believe so much in the JC:HEM program.”

According to Jacobs, conference chair, another aspect that contributed to the uniqueness of the think tank was that each participant was individually invited for his or her expertise, wisdom, and vision of the future. Among those attending the think tank were representatives from the Jesuit Refugee Service; the Pontificia Universita Gregoriana in Rome; Hekima College in Nairobi; the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Geneva; St. Joseph’s University Lebanon; Deusto University Spain; Asociacion de Universidades Confiadas a la Compañia de Jesus en America Latina; Australian Catholic University; Jesuit Refugee Tertiary Education Committee Australia; Catholic University of South Sudan; Institute of Advanced Technology Kenya; St. Xavier’s College Mumbai; Catholic University of Argentina; Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico; Entreculturas; Universidad Alberto Hurtado; Universidad Catolica del Uruguay; Center for Research and Action in Peace in Ivory Coast; Internet 2; GreenBridge Computing; and Jesuits from as far away as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Thailand, South Africa, Latin America, Australia, Europe and India.

Father Garanzini’s keynote address, titled “The 450-Year Jesuit Mission at the Margins,” was also among the many captivating and thoughtprovoking presentations.

In addition to charting the future of JC:HEM and focusing on current education programs in Kenya, Malawi and Syria, conference delegates addressed topics such as curriculum, Ignatian pedagogy, human and fiscal resources, organizational structures and technology. The think tank also showcased two special exhibits that helped participants to better visualize the plight of refugees—a photographic exhibit of refugees by nationally recognized photographer Don Doll, S.J., and a display sponsored by David Yunger, CEO of GreenBridge Computing and consultant with Microsoft Partners in Learning, that demonstrated multi-point servers his company uses in emerging markets worldwide in order to enable digital access and education capacity in the developing world.

Regis University’s participation in the formative days of JC:HEM came with several challenges. Bill Husson, now vice president for

JC:HEM Participants

New Ventures and Strategic Alliances at Regis University, was at the time spearheading the university’s initial involvement with JC:HEM. Husson and others spent countless hours overseeing and orchestrating the academic and administrative efforts, including traveling to Africa and working closely with Mary McFarland, who became the international director of JC:HEM in 2010. One of the many challenges of the project involved varying competencies in computer literacy, as some of the students in the refugee camps have a fair amount of computer literacy, while for others computer and online learning is less familiar.

“Part of the initiative involves enhancing that familiarity with computing, Internet services and library resources,” says Marie Friedemann. She adds that from cultural sensitivities and social structures to values and linguistics sensitivities and meanings, “We are walking into a completely new arena, and we are going to do as much if not more learning than the students. But it’s exhilarating.”

The JC:HEM program combines the best of new technology with the Jesuit concept of Ignatian pedagogy, which emphasizes experience and new learning, reflection and evaluation, action and service. While JC:HEM

» JC:HEM does not offer immediate solutions to the refugee crisis, it brings refugees into a wider community of academic study, engages their minds and equips them with skills they can apply today. « does not offer immediate solutions to the refugee crisis, it brings refugees into a wider community of academic study, engages their minds and equips them with skills they can apply today, thus offering them a possibility of a life worth living and giving them confidence and skills for the future.

According to McFarland, these programs contribute hope and opportunity

by developing leaders among the refugees themselves. Because of their academic experiences, in the first year alone students have created new community health initiatives and a disability center and have experienced enhanced employment opportunities with nongovernmental organizations supporting the camps.

During its conclusion, the JC:HEM think tank offered a final round of spirited discussions, poignant presentations and the promise of recommendations that will guide the organization’s future in bringing Jesuit higher education to others at the margins of society. When the JC:HEM pilot programs conclude in August 2014, it is expected that more than 1,500 refugees will have participated in three countries. And the future will see expansion to other regions and needy populations.

To learn more about the JC:HEM work, watch a brief video by Mary McFarland, international director of JC:HEM, at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-Fk32znSt00, or visit www. jesuitcommons.com.

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Academia

Utah's State of Transformation: USTAR

A State of T ransformation Building Utah’s Innovation Infrastructure By Justin Berry

A

2010 study by the Kauffman Foundation ranked Utah as number one in patents per capita, prompting CNN Money to call the state “the hand’s down leader in inventiveness.”

In 2012, the Milken Institute cited impressive results by the Salt Lake City, Ogden and Provo metro areas. All three climbed into the institute’s top 25 list of Best Performing Cities based on their highly diversified economies that include thriving medical device and software companies.

Utah has long been known as the Beehive State, and for good reason. With a strong industrious spirit and entrepreneurial drive, Utah is a hive of productivity. Transforming those traits into tangible economic development is not an easy task and takes years of planning ( 34 )

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and a willingness to lay the groundwork. Now, on the tails of the economic downturn, Utah is transitioning into a state rich with innovation, technology and robust industry, thanks to two related initiatives.

The initial planning and development of a long-term transformative plan began back in 2000, when then-Governor Michael Leavitt became concerned about a forecasted gap in the job market that presented a very large problem.

The average wage in Utah was eroding in comparison to other states, but it was not that Utah lacked jobs—rather it lacked high-paying jobs. The governor identified high-tech jobs as the solution to this problem.

Leavitt began an effort to court hightech firms to bring their operations to Utah.

However, this was a slow process, which led to a new awareness that in order to support

a high-tech economy, the state needed to develop a well-educated, high-tech workforce.

The Governor’s Engineering Initiative was born from this need, and it was Leavitt’s plan to double the number of engineering and computer science students at Utah colleges and universities in just five years.

University of Utah (U of U) Dean of Engineering Richard Brown recalls Leavitt’s remarks at the dedication of the Warnock Engineering Building. “As he told the story, it was in a discussion with John Warnock, one of our Ph.D. alumni and a founder of Adobe software, that the governor became very aware of this need,” Brown said. “John told him, ‘Governor, if you’re serious about building a high-tech economy, you’d better do something about engineering education,’ so Governor Leavitt started the Engineering Initiative.”

The initiative focuses on recruitment, outreach and retention of students. Current university students work with high school classes to provide engineering-based activities and learning modules. Efforts are also made to help university students stay in engineering programs by offering advising, peer mentoring and activities to engage them both academically and socially. For prospective students, the university offers summer camps that focus on the core engineering programs and provide pre-engineering students the chance to work together to solve problems and experience various aspects of engineering firsthand. And at the U of U, Brown says they have increased the number of engineering graduates by 84 percent since the beginning of the initiative.

“It’s necessary to have the right workforce in order to attract the companies here. We’ve seen time after time, the companies will go where the workforce is,” Brown said. “And as we attract industry, their demands for a more educated workforce just grow!”

The College of Engineering will graduate about 700 engineers and computer scientists this year. According to Brown, the students his college is now training will be uniquely positioned to take their place in the technology economy. About 100 undergraduate students per year and 100 graduate students at any given time will take classes or be doing research in the Nanofabrication Laboratory of the new James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building. This 208,000-square-foot facility has an 18,000-square-foot clean room laboratory, with 6,000-square-feet of working space (class 100/1000/10k) adjacent to a 5,000-square-foot microscopy core.

“We have in our microscopy suite almost an exact copy of the equipment that is used at one of Utah’s leading semiconductor companies, IM Flash Technologies,” Brown

said. “In addition to educating the engineers needed by such companies, we will work with Salt Lake Community College and Utah Valley University to train the microscopy technicians that they need. I’m convinced that one of the reasons Utah has come out of the current recession ahead of almost all other states is that we have a very healthy, diverse economy that is strong on high-tech.”

As the engineering workforce grows, hightech industry has provided high-paying jobs to those graduates. One of the leading technology companies in Utah, L-3 Communications West, claims that it has hired an engineer every day for the past five years. While large out-ofstate companies such as eBay, Intel and Micron expanded into the state, Utah was nurturing start-ups for economic growth as well.

In an effort to increase the innovation capital of Utah, leaders from the business community came together with government officials and created the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR).

In March 2006, at the urging of thenGovernor Jon Huntsman Jr. and Lt. Governor Gary Herbert, lawmakers passed legislation creating USTAR, a long-term, state-funded, industry-led agency positioned to help strengthen Utah’s knowledge economy. This measure drew from best practices of other states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona and structured USTAR with three main elements.

First, USTAR provides funding that accelerates the ability of the U of U and Utah State University (USU) to recruit world-class researchers, specifically into high-growth focus areas such as energy and biomedical innovations. Second, the initiative enables the construction of two state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research and development facilities at the Salt Lake City and Logan campuses. Third, USTAR operates outreach teams across the state to help entrepreneurs and existing companies commercialize new technology and access the resources available at higher education institutions.

USTAR Executive Director Ted McAleer is excited about the unique opportunities the program offers. “One of the things that Utah is well known for is the entrepreneurial nature of our people,” he said. “We have a lot of start-up companies, and a lot of new ideas being generated in Utah. USTAR is like a fuel additive that makes a strong engine run faster.”

It is the collaboration and focus on innovation between the universities around Utah and the industry partners that has come together as part of the USTAR program. And it is this combination of facilities, human capital and entrepreneurial nature that sets Utah apart from other states.

USTAR At the heart of USTAR’s efforts to transform the state’s economy are the James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building at the U of U, and its sister facility, the USTAR BioInnovations Center at Utah State University. These centers mark the beginning of a new era of interdisciplinary translational research, scientific discovery and technology commercialization.

The Sorenson building demonstrates how architecture and workplace design can support transformative research and business expansion by encouraging interaction across disciplines. The 208,000-square-foot building is the new home of the Brain Institute, the Nano Institute and the Department of Bioengineering; USTAR faculty researchers and junior faculty; and administrative and laboratory personnel.

The building contains wet lab and research computing space, faculty office space, meeting rooms and public areas designed to promote interaction within the scientific community and industry. It also includes a state-of-the-art nanofabrication facility with 18,000 square feet of clean room space, biobay, and a 5,300-square-foot microscopy and materials characterization suite. The building is a crossroads, located almost halfway between the School of Medicine and a cluster of School of Engineering facilities.

"The building site both physically and academically unites the health sciences with main campus. Through the USTAR initiative we are crossing traditional boundaries to accelerate research at the interfaces of medicine, pharmacy, engineering, computer science and life sciences," said Dinesh Patel, Ph.D., a Salt Lake City-based venture capitalist and chair of the USTAR Governing Authority.

“It is a truly stunning workplace,” Patel continued. “And as exciting as the state-of-the-art nanofabrication, imaging and other laboratory resources are, it is the building’s open design that will, in the long run, create magic. The atrium and café, the floor plan of the labs, the viewing corridor of the nanofab—these are intentional elements that encourage

accidental interactions. And these informal interactions—these hallway conversations—are what lead to new, boundary-breaking ideas.”

David S. Layton, president and CEO of Layton Construction, led the team that built the new facility, which he calls one of the most technically advanced buildings in the state. He is encouraged about the impact this project and the USTAR program will have on the future economic growth in Utah and invites industry to come to the state and explore the rich knowledge landscape.

“If industry takes the time to come and do a little due diligence, they’ll see the depth and quality of the personnel, the facilities and the political and economic climate that is supportive and conducive to advancing research and discoveries,” Layton said. “When we look back in the history of the state of Utah, I believe the USTAR Initiative will probably be one of the top five significant economic decisions that we made in the state—in terms of the overall quality of life, economic benefit and advancement of our state in the international scene.”

Tom Parks, vice president for research at the U of U, sees the Sorenson building as a symbol of the continued dedication to growth. “The USTAR program itself is a testament to the long-term vision and commitment of the state for a better economic future for the people here.

This building is a beautiful example architecturally, and functionally it is a really great building that is the evidence of the concrete commitment of the governor and the legislature to support long-term economic development in Utah,” he said.

Executive director of the U of U Technology Commercialization Office, Bryan Ritchie sees the new USTAR Innovation Center as an opportunity for the university to move into the 21st century and to bring all kinds of talents, abilities and ideas into one place. “At the university, we’re starting to get lots of attention as being a world leader in commercialization,” he said. “Our name is already out there, we’ve already started to build a reputation, and now to have people come in and look at this—this seals the deal.”

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Academia

Utah's State of Transformation: USTAR

“The University of Utah is first in the nation for starting companies based on university research,” McAleer said. “This is the second year in a row the university has beat schools like MIT and Columbia, and both BYU and USU are highly ranked as well. It is this entrepreneurial spirit that is making Utah the innovation nerve center of the nation.”

With the new USTAR center at the U of U joining its 118,000-square-foot sister facility already in operation at USU in Logan, the ability to bring in research “All-Stars” is fulfilling the objective to become a worldclass research destination. John White, the executive director of the Brain Institute at the U of U, is one of these researchers.

“There are superb opportunities for industry collaborations,” White said. “The people who are in this building are USTAR faculty, and we came here specifically because we were intrigued and excited by the idea of working more closely with industry partners.”

White understands the opportunity to join forces with industry partners and develop start-up companies. “USTAR is not just about

» Utah is transitioning into a state rich with innovation, technology and robust industry, thanks to two related initiatives. « basic science, USTAR is about taking cuttingedge science and engineering, and moving it out into the world,” he said. “It is our charge from the state, and we need industry’s help, so I think the whole design of the program and the building stand as an invitation for industry partners to come in and work with us.”

With all of the advances being made to help secure Utah’s economic future, it is vital that these new discoveries and scientific innovations make the jump to industry.

Bringing in top researchers and providing state-of-the-art facilities is only a portion of the equation. It is vital to transition these into production to help build the Utah tax base and economic impact.

Bryan Ritchie, executive director of the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) at the U of U, realizes the importance of taking discoveries and getting them into practical use. “Here at the U of U, the specific approach for USTAR is to bring ( 36 )

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those resources and researchers together, put them all in one place, have them fertilize one another’s ideas in terms of what we can accomplish across departmental silos, and see where that can go in terms of commercialization.”

It has always been the goal to make these transitions into the marketplace and provide new jobs for the state. “We start moving this technology closer to the commercial market, and a lot of that work will come back and be done here,” Ritchie said.

By leveraging the strengths of the University’s TCO in tandem with USTAR’s outreach resources, researchers who aren’t full-blown entrepreneurs can still contribute to the commercialization effort. Miriah Meyer, a USTAR assistant professor of computer science at the U of U, identifies herself as one of these individuals, admitting she is not at all entrepreneurial. The USTAR program helps those like Meyer transition their ideas to industry.

“The commercialization office and USTAR are incredible resources,” she said.

“Having so much support and people who are eager and excited to work with me to bring the work I’m doing to a much broader audience, when I don’t have the skill set to do that, is amazing. It’s an incredible opportunity.”

Collaboration is the heart of the USTAR program—not only between the various disciplines represented by researchers and faculty, but between the academic and business worlds as well. The U of U’s Utah Nanofab, for example, works on a regular basis with more than 40 companies, and the university’s Energy and Geoscience Institute has more than 60 supporting industry partners. USU’s commercialization office routinely solicits industry feedback on its USTAR efforts as well.

Associate Vice President of Research at the U of U Cynthia Furse pointed out, “Industry sponsored research is really critical to our research mission. It is particularly important because it takes the exciting, fascinating things that we discover and turns them into something real that impacts our society, our people and our local economy.”

“The combination of the USTAR and Engineering Initiatives to transform our state is unique,” McAleer said. “Through the foresight and dedication of state government and business leaders, we are simultaneously powering up our human capital, our innovation infrastructure, and the workforce of the future. You combine that with already strong spirit of creative entrepreneurism and a business-friendly government, and you have a recipe for long-term growth and success.”

Utah and USTAR By the Numbers

Utah’s Engineering Initiative began in 2000. Nine of Utah’s colleges and universities participate in the program.

In the most recent legislative session, the initiative received $2.5 million in ongoing funds to recruit additional faculty, improve engineering programs and provide scholarships.

Utah’s 1,962 engineering graduates (2011) help to attract new companies such as Adobe, Microsoft and EMC, while sustaining Utah’s major employers, including L-3 Communications, IM Flash, Kennecott Rio Tinto and ATK. Engineering graduates with a B.S. degree or higher earn average salaries of $65,000 or more. Nearly 80 percent of Utah’s B.S. engineering graduates get jobs in Utah companies and contribute to the tax base at a significant rate.

Utah’s university-based engineering programs spent more than $100 million in research expenditures in Utah last year, while producing new patents, new companies and new jobs.

USTAR was formed in 2006, and through FY2011, the state of Utah has invested $73.5 million in the research program and recruited more than 40 top researchers. In that time, USTAR researchers and related efforts have attracted more than $170 million in out-of-state funding.

USTAR researchers at the U of U and USU have developed more than 190 invention disclosures and patent filings through FY2011.

In the same time frame, USTAR’s regional outreach teams have helped entrepreneurs start more than 40 new companies and raise more than $42 million in private investment.

The Brookings Institution has stated that USTAR is not only Utah’s primary innovation driver, but also a “national best practice.” 1 1

http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2011/1114_nevada_economy.aspx.

GOVERNMENT

FasTracks

Rapid Transit Transformations Impacting Economic Health and Quality of Life for Years to Come By Ben Bryan

D

owntown Denver is being transformed by the $500 million redevelopment of Union Station and some 19 surrounding acres. When completed in 2014, this project will not only be a multimodal transit hub for the entire region, but will serve as the gateway to a significant new activity center bustling with housing, office buildings, retail shops, hotels and public spaces.

But the real transformative element, the catalyst for this important project is transit—and rapid transit in the metro area (light-rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit) has the potential to impact more than just downtown Denver. The Denver metro area is in the midst of perhaps the largest rapid transit building project in the nation— FasTracks—and it may well transform virtually every region of the

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metro area. Approved by voters in 2004, FasTracks will consist of 140 miles of new rapid transit. It adds on to some 40 miles of existing lightrail developed to date by the Regional Transportation District (RTD).

How the metro area takes advantage of this huge and significant infrastructure investment could determine the extent of our region’s economic health in the next 50 years, while definitely having a major impact on our region’s quality of life.

Denver’s Rapid Transit History Rapid transit is increasingly viewed as a critical element of a metro area’s infrastructure. Tom Clark, CEO of the Metro Denver Economic

Development Corporation (EDC), ranks metro Denver’s rapid transit development behind only Denver International Airport (DIA) as the area’s most important infrastructure investment of the past 30 years.

Like many metro areas, Denver wrestled for decades with rapid transit—focused public policy issues: technology, construction and operating costs; competitiveness with highway and bus investments; and how to appropriately pay for it. RTD eventually proceeded on an incremental approach to rapid transit, developing in the mid 1990s a small core light-rail line in the central area of Denver supplemented at the end of that decade by the construction of the Southwest light rail line along South Santa Fe Drive.

The big boost for Denver’s transformational rapid transit development program, however, has come from metro area citizens’ willingness to vote for bond issues and sales tax increases: first for the T-Rex joint highway and light-rail project along I-25 in the southern portions of the metro area in 1999, and then for FasTracks itself.

FasTracks has four new rail lines under development—a combination of light-rail and commuter rail—which will total more than 50 miles at a cost of approximately $2.8 billion. These lines generally reach out to the west, east and north, to supplement the existing rail lines to the south. Most of the work will be done through an innovative public-private partnership—the largest such transit-oriented partnership in the country—which has attracted more than $1 billion in federal funds.

Ridership on RTD’s existing light-rail lines has consistently exceeded projections. Currently there are more than 66,000 daily weekday rapid transit trips, and while this is a relatively small number of overall transportation trips taken by all residents of the metro area, it represents one-quarter of all commuters using public transportation and stacks up very well nationally. Current and future ridership will be concentrated in and around central Denver, which is the job and activity locus of the metro area and where highways are constrained and opportunities to expand highway capacity is very limited.

According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Denver is in good company as there are now more than 30 metro areas in the U.S. with some form of rail rapid transit, including almost

» The work will be done through an

innovative public-private partnership—the largest such transit-oriented partnership in the country—which has attracted more than $1 billion in federal funds. « all of the cities with which Denver competes for jobs and economic development. Debate still rages in some circles over the efficacy of rail transit and its costs per rider, fueled in part by a shortfall in funds necessary to build out the entire FasTracks network on the schedule originally set out to voters.

But the reality is that rapid transit is already transforming commuter patterns and the “built” environment in major regions of the metro area will create similar opportunities in many other regions in the very near future.

Transit Oriented Development Molly Urbina, Interim Manager of Community Planning and Development for the City and County of Denver, points out that, “The most powerful element of the public investment in rapid transit, particularly rail rapid transit, is the certainty that is created.” Transit riders can be confident that the rail route and station locations, will not be changed—it is fixed for the foreseeable future and beyond.

This certainty also benefits city planners and real estate developers, particularly in and around station locations because riders will congregate there regularly—resulting in real estate development known as Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

The timing and scale of the Union Station development, Urbina believes, is directly related to rapid transit investments. It will be not only a hub for rapid transit but the major connecting venue between rapid transit, regional and local buses, and the mall shuttle.

Union Station is the most obvious example of rapid transit helping spur real estate development—TOD—albeit at the most important station in the system.

However, Union Station is by no means the whole story. FasTracks alone has 50+ new stations in its program. Any station location is potentially important because users of transit patronize them on a fairly constant basis, and if areas immediately around stations are properly developed, a symbiotic relationship can ensue: Station areas that provide convenient access, housing and amenities can increase the number of transit riders patronizing the stations, which can then increase the usage and value of the adjacent real estate. TOD can stimulate new growth, create new neighborhood/community centers as well as revitalize existing ones.

Benefits accrue for people who choose to live near stations as they have an inexpensive and reliable transportation option, making them less reliant on a car and its expense, while also having access to convenient amenities such as neighborhood retail. Benefits accrue to the region: less pollution from cars and less congestion on roadways.

And, quality of life can be improved all around.

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GOVERNMENT

FasTracks

Marilee Utter, an executive vice president of the Urban Land Institute and formerly a Denver-based TOD consultant, notes that “One of the keys to RTD’s relative ridership success and potential for TOD is that the rail lines serve many of the region’s major activity and employment clusters.” Examples on existing rail lines are the Auraria Higher Education campus, the Denver Tech Center and downtown Denver. Examples on soon to be completed lines include the East line, which will serve Denver International Airport, and the extension of the line along I-225, which will serve the new, state-of-the-art Anschutz/Fitzsimmons Medical Campus.

TOD can be as simple as building apartments near stations, such as the recently announced Arista Uptown Apartments in Broomfield or the RiNo Center at 32nd and Broadway in Denver. The real opportunity, however, is for city planners, together with RTD and private sector developers, to work together to, ”holistically create community centers at transit stops,” in the words of Patrick McLaughlin, a TOD specialist with RTD. An existing example is what the City of Englewood facilitated at the old Cinderella City Mall site along South Santa Fe Drive and the Southwest light-rail line. It is now a bustling civic center for Englewood with residential, office, governmental and retail uses mixed with public spaces, whereas before it was a rundown skeleton of a mall.

In developing both its most recent comprehensive plan, Blueprint Denver, and a zoning update, the City and County of Denver focused heavily on the TOD opportunities presented by rapid transit generally and FasTracks specifically. At virtually every stop on the various rail lines in the city a TOD plan is either underway or soon will be. Rapid transit, according to Steve Gordon, the city’s point person on TOD planning efforts, “has created the opportunity to view the city in a different way.”

Interestingly, suburban cities such as Greenwood Village have also embraced the potential of TOD. George Weaver, its community planning director, notes that Greenwood Village had long sought to create a community center or civic center and once the T-Rex project became a reality, focused these efforts around the light-rail station on the Southeast line where Arapahoe Road intersects with I-25—the station is now officially designated the “Arapahoe-Village Center” station. Shea Properties, working closely with the village, has already built a 200,000 square foot office building next to the station on the west side of I-25, the first of three planned office buildings. A big tenant is Regis University, whose web page boasts of the location’s easy access to light-rail.

The village made a number of direct investments in infrastructure here and facilitated a number of others, including a creative solution to the need for the Colorado Department of Highways for a nearby service facility and the Village’s desire for a structured, multilevel parking garage: The two are combined, therefore saving adjacent land for private development, which not only will create activity but potential new tax revenues.

The kinds of zoning changes and infrastructure investments necessary to create true TOD opportunities are often expensive and not always obvious: parking garages, converting lanes of traffic into angled car

» Denver is in good company as there are

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parking, expanded sidewalks and bike lanes. Of all the investments made by Greenwood Village to support its Village Center, the most important, and perhaps least obvious, may well be the 6.6 acre retention pond area created on the east side of I-25, which is scaled to serve all adjacent Village Center real estate development.

The key to creating TOD that generates the symbiosis between real estate and transit ridership is the kind of density normally seen in central cities, along with pedestrian-friendly access for transit riders who are getting on and off trains. This means elements such as structured parking instead of big open parking lots; apartment and condo buildings taller than three stories; and ground floor, neighborhood-oriented retail.

TOD Examples Denver-based Koebel and Company, long-time developers of residential and commercial real estate in the region, have totally embraced TOD opportunities along the Southeast light-rail line. They developed the Apartments at Yale Station, a senior apartment project next to their own new headquarters building, and are working on TOD plans for adjacent real estate and for a site near the University of Denver station.

Buz Koebel, president, was a co-chair of the campaign for the T-Rex project in the late 1990s, and he believes that “Rapid transit is exactly the kind of infrastructure investment the public sector should be making to help improve the region’s economic growth and quality of life.” Their most ambitious efforts are at the Arapahoe-Village Center

station where they own a significant land holding on the east side of I-25 within easy walking distance of the station’s pedestrian bridge over the highway. The plans they are working on with Greenwood Village “embrace the kinds of urban mixed uses and higher densities commensurate with TOD,” says Carl Koebel, the company’s acquisition and development specialist.

One stop further south on the Southeast line, at the Dry Creek station, the reality of TOD is already taking shape at Vallagio, a mixed use development by Metropolitan Homes, which though located in the suburbs, has a decidedly “urbanist” feel. Also on the east side of I-25 and at the base of an existing pedestrian bridge, this development opens up to people exiting from the bridge with an inviting, curving entrance street divided by a heavily landscaped median, flanked by townhomes and lofts with ground-floor retail consisting of restaurants and neighborhood-type shops.

Peter Kudlo, president of Metropolitan Homes, is emphatic that Vallagio’s design and mix of buildings was “heavily driven” by the proximity to a light-rail station. He firmly believes that TOD is the “development concept wave of the future” in the Denver region.

» "Rapid transit is exactly the kind of

infrastructure investment the public sector should be making to help improve the region’s economic growth and quality of life." « - Buz Koebel

• T he Olde Town Arvada Station to be served by the Gold Line, under construction.

•W elton Street stations north of downtown Denver served by the original core light-rail line developed in the 1990s.

Development activity at these locations should start to become apparent as the economy improves and the rapid transit system matures.

Economic Development and Quality of Life Obviously, the recent recession and subsequent slow economy has adversely affected investments in real estate development generally and TOD efforts specifically: Private developers don’t have demand for new buildings (though demand for apartments has increased recently), and local governments are constrained by lower tax revenues. Nonetheless, RTD publishes an annual report on TOD, and the 2011 report documents the following development activity since 1996 within one-half mile of station locations: • 20,000 apartment units • 5.6 million square feet of office space • 5.2 million square feet of retail space Economic development officials are buoyed by Denver’s increased image as a progressive region and credit to a great degree the investment in rapid transit. Paul Washington, Denver’s executive director for Economic Development, points to a recent Brookings Institute report documenting that from 2008-2010 the Denver region was the number-one metro area for in-migration of 25-34 years olds. What is the connection? A recent supplement to the magazine National Real Estate Investor makes clear that “Generation Y’s housing preferences are driving apartment firms toward urban, transitoriented development.” This population cohort, as Washington points out, tend to be urban, eco-friendly and very mobile and thus are attracted to cities with rapid transit.

For both Paul Washington and Tom Clark of the EDC, the region’s progressive, forward-thinking investment in rapid transit is a key component of their economic development sales pitch. It has clearly resonated, a significant example being the success in landing the headquarters of DaVita, one of the leading dialysis provider in the country. These economic development officials note that not only was the region’s investment in rapid transit cited by DaVita as a factor in their relocation to our region, but it was critical in their selection of a site near Union Station for a new headquarters building.

As Phil Washington, RTD’s general manager, is quick to point out, “RTD has an obvious stake in the success of TOD. RTD is more than the T (transit) in TOD.” They have their own TOD planning staff and have identified four pilot TOD projects—station locations where they can leverage existing activity and help facilitate land assemblages to create a greater likelihood of success: • The Alameda Station served by the existing Southwest and Southeast light-rail lines and adjacent to the Denver Design Center.

• The Federal Center Station near 6th Avenue Highway and Union/ Simms, to be served by the new West light-rail line scheduled to be opened in May 2013.

Concern exists among advocates of TOD that planning officials may be overzealous in their requirements, and that developers, and especially their lenders, having been burned in the recent recession, will not embrace TOD and its new paradigms, such as lower parking ratios. Marilee Utter is quick to point out, however, that Union Station aside, TOD is a nascent concept both in the Denver region and across the country, and education with planners and developers as well as the public itself is critical.

Tina Griego, a columnist for The Denver Post, may have summed up the transformational potential of rapid transit and TOD best when recently writing about the light-rail station to be built in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood; “Everybody likes to dream … The light-rail station has opened a door to this neighborhood. Challenges loom.

Opportunities await.”

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GOVERNMENT

Nebraska's Evolution to Innovation

Now, in 2012, plans are taking shape for new, yet reminiscent, kinds of goals and dreams to be realized in the form of collaboration, communication, cutting edge research and intellectual property development related to the areas of food, fuel and water on the newly christened Innovation Campus. It is here where university, government and private-sector entities will work cooperatively to solve issues that are critical to Nebraska, and globally. Always woven into this objective are common desires for a prosperous and comfortable future for all involved.

What’s more, since the University of Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference, it stands at the cusp of even more exciting ecological, biological and life-altering discoveries, from intellectual drawing boards and research laboratories to tangible products. Is there any doubt that the University of Nebraska’s Innovation Campus may very well become one of the premier—if not the premier—international institutions of its kind? And, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is positioned to play an integral role in the future research, development and subsequent created intellectual properties and potential new company formation that takes place at the Innovation Campus.

This past legislative session saw the rollout of the new Talent and Innovation Initiative (TI2) administered by DED. The program has been enthusiastically embraced in the brief time in which it’s been in place. The four-part TI2 includes the InternNE program, Business Innovation Act, Site and Building Development Fund and Angel Investment Tax Credit.

Past, Present and Future

InternNE, a partnership with Nebraska businesses to create new, quality paid internships for college and university students, has received 193 business applications, of which 141 companies have been approved, with 403 intern positions created of which 121 are currently filled with interns earning an average $11.41 an hour, resulting in $1.847 million in funds awarded to date.

Nebraska’s Evolution from Agriculture to Innovation

T

By Anthony Pafford

he storied 109-year history of the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln isn’t lost on any Nebraskan. After relocating the “Grand Dame” to Grand Island in 2010, ground is being broken at the former state fairgrounds for new, as of yet uncharted, history to be made in the shape of future economic development. In many ways there is considerable crossover in what took place for more than a century and what is about to take place for the next century and, hopefully, beyond.

In the past, the State Fair celebrated the current and future growth of Nebraska’s number-one industry—agriculture—in all forms. Whether it was the Future Farmers of America showing their prize livestock, or implement dealers featuring the newest, state-of-the-art machinery; whether it was children competing in feats of endurance such as pedal tractor competitions, or people vying for blue ribbons for quilts, canned goods or photographs, the 10-day annual event symbolized Nebraska’s collective goals and dreams for a prosperous and comfortable future.

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The Business Innovation Act (BIA) helps businesses develop new technologies and leverage innovation, resulting in the creation of higher-paying jobs. BIA will distribute approximately $9 million during FY2011-2012 and another $9 million during FY2012-13 to small business owners and entrepreneurs via competitive matching grants for research, development and innovation and outreach services.

Included under the BIA umbrella are The Nebraska Innovation FundPrototyping (pre-seed stage) that awards up to $50,000 grants per project to create prototypes of products growing out of research and development at businesses operating in Nebraska, or from research at in-state public or private colleges or universities. Of the 30 applications received thus far (four in distressed areas), 14 (three in distressed areas) have been approved and received $698,125, leaving $301,875 to fund future projects.

Taking the process one step further, the Nebraska Innovation FundCommercialization awards $500,000 per seed stage investment project for commercialization of a Nebraska-based business or individual’s prototype or process. Currently, six applications are pending for some of the available $3 million in funding.

The Nebraska Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Initiative financially helps individuals and businesses in Nebraska with applications into the Federal SBIR (Phase 0) and provides matching

» Gallup’s Entrepreneurial Acceleration

System, a mentorship program that matches new small business owners and entrepreneurs with trained and certified mentor guides recently certified 46 guides who will now assist 160 companies and 746 managers, impacting 4,939 employees. «

funds for successful applications (Phases 1 and 2), with total funds available of $1 million. Currently, three businesses have applied and two are approved for Phase 0 for $10,000 total. Two Phase 1 applicants have been approved for $195,000 total, and three Phase 2 applicants are approved for $300,000 total.

The Microenterprise Technical Assistance Fund helps with financial packaging needs, including identifying and determining which programs are the best fit for growing microenterprises in Nebraska.

Currently one application has been approved for $300,000 for the next two years.

The Microenterprise Lending Program (micro-lending) encourages and supports implementation of Nebraska-based technology and innovation throughout the state’s rural and urban areas to create high-growth, high-technology businesses and to attract and grow quality jobs and more wealth to the area. As of March 15, three applications had been received.

Other key Nebraska economic development initiatives include The Small Business Innovation Economic Gardening Program, which has received 13 and approved four applications—two from distressed areas—for $130,000. The program provides $400,000 total to eligible state service providers and nonprofit organizations offering technical assistance to eligible Nebraska-based businesses.

Gallup’s Entrepreneurial Acceleration System, a mentorship program that matches new small business owners and entrepreneurs with trained and certified mentor guides recently certified 46 guides who will now assist 160 companies and 746 managers, impacting 4,939 employees.

The State Small Business Credit Initiative, which includes the Nebraska Progress Loan Fund and Invest Nebraska Angel Sidecar Fund, provides loans to qualifying small businesses and has received seven applications and awarded one applicant $300,000 of an available $8.7 million.

The ongoing Site and Building Development Fund is designed to help communities build available industrial sites and buildings for businesses with rapid development trajectories.

The Invest Nebraska Angel provides early investment capital that matches private angel fund investments in start-up businesses that develop, modify or employ new technology. Currently no applications are pending for the available $3.86 million of funding that can be used for advanced intellectual property development and evaluation, advanced proof of concept work for scientific discovery, advanced prototype design and development, hiring key personnel, and other related activities.

The Angel Investment Tax Credit encourages investors to commit to high-tech start-up Nebraska enterprises by providing those who qualify with 35 four percent refundable state income tax credits. So far in 2012, $1,551,166 in credits have been approved.

When these comprehensive initiatives are combined with the existing Nebraska Advantage incentives, it’s very clear that the state is positioned as a top development contender to which other states and countries will be measuring themselves.

The two-phase Research and Development Fund has received and approved two applications for $200,000 of the $1 million available as part of Phase 1. No applications have been received for the $2 million available under Phase 2.

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GOVERNMENT

Massachusetts Economic Development Policy and Strategic Plan

Choosing to Compete How Massachusetts Is Leading the Nation in Economic Competitiveness and Regulatory Reform By April Anderson Lamoureux

M

assachusetts is recovering faster and stronger than the rest of the nation, as evidenced by an unemployment rate significantly lower than the rest of the country and exciting growth trends in our world-leading innovation economy, including the life sciences, clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors. None of these successes happened by accident. In fact, we’ve maintained a steady strategy over the years that included making targeted investments in key areas such as infrastructure, innovation and education. And as a state, we are now reaping the benefits of having spent the economic downturn laying the foundation for greater prosperity ahead.

To maintain our position as a global leader in education, research and development, and economic innovation, we must continue to reassess our approach and compare it to our competitor states. And we are doing just that. The foundation for our economic progress is our state’s economic development strategy titled, “Choosing to Compete in the 21st Century: An Economic Development Policy and Strategic Plan for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Created by a 34-member Economic Development Planning Council of public and private interests, our plan provides a consistent and comprehensive framework for economic development to extend far into future.

The plan concludes that the Massachusetts economy is driven by a diverse but related group of innovation-based industry clusters that compete successfully on a national and global level, with the benefit of one of the best educated workforces in the country.

The council’s goal became to help those businesses and entrepreneurs create and retain jobs here in Massachusetts, and to do so they created five themes to advance toward a more competitive Massachusetts economy: Advance education and workforce development for middle-skill jobs through coordination of education, economic development and workforce development programs; support innovation and entrepreneurship; support regional development through infrastructure investments and local empowerment; increase the ease of doing business; and address our cost competitiveness.

Massachusetts Business Roundtable, we are intensely focused on implementation. There are a total of 55 action steps associated with the five themes, including benchmarks for success, and each action step has an assigned “owner” and “contributors” who are responsible for advancing the actions. The state has hired a performance management consultant to guide the progress and has created an online tool for the council and the public to monitor implementation at www.mass.gov/compete.

An early result of the plan has been the execution of a comprehensive strategy to achieve meaningful regulatory reform in Massachusetts. Under the theme of increasing the ease of doing business, Massachusetts has launched a first-in-the-nation effort to systematically reform the public rule-making process and the way our state views government regulation and its impact on the economy.

The regulatory reform initiative has four parts aimed at reducing small business impacts of new regulations, reviewing and reevaluating the continued need for “old” regulations, increasing awareness of state government regulators, and creating and maintaining open lines of communication with the business community on the topic of regulation.

Through a legislative mandate in 2010, all agencies proposing new regulations in Massachusetts must prepare and publicly release a small business impact statement that analyzes the potential impact that regulation will have on small businesses in the Commonwealth. The law requires that agencies answer five questions relating to business impacts, but does not describe the process for how this requirement should be implemented.

» Massachusetts has

Now that the state has a clear, written strategy that was developed and endorsed by a publicprivate partnership, including members of the ( 44 )

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launched a first-inthe-nation effort to systematically reform the public rule-making process and the way our state views government regulation and its impact on the economy. «

Recognizing the value in small business impact statements for regulatory changes, a uniform template for state agencies to report impacts in a consistent and comprehensive fashion was developed. When regulations are proposed today, a statement of small business impacts is filed with that draft regulation and published online by the Secretary of State’s Regulations Division. Individuals with concerns about the regulation or the impact statement are then invited to participate in a public comment and hearing process, to discuss these matters and make suggestions for improvements. The intent of the small business impact statement is to provide the utmost transparency during the regulatory process, and to bring the potential

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GOVERNMENT

Massachusetts Economic Development Policy and Strategic Plan

small business impacts into the forefront of the public debate. Governor Deval Patrick has taken a strong position in favor of this process and recently said, “If compliance can be made easier and cheaper, we will make it easier and cheaper. If compliance is too cumbersome or costly, relative to the benefits, the proposed regulation will not take effect until we identify a less cumbersome path forward.”

The second part of this reform initiative takes aim at reducing regulatory impacts of existing regulations and seeking opportunities for streamlining, improving transparency of processes, and improving government efficiencies. Governor Patrick kicked off this effort with a directive to all agencies in late 2011 to review at least 10 percent of their existing regulations over a 12-week period and seek opportunities for changes. During that period, more than 200 existing regulations were reviewed across nearly 60 agencies, resulting in 150 recommendations for regulatory rescissions or modifications. Of the recommended regulatory improvements, 25 of the amendments will seek to align Massachusetts with a national model or standard that is utilized by other states to support the ease of interstate commerce and export opportunities for our businesses.

We are proud of the initial results of the regulatory review effort, and we will continue to pursue an aggressive schedule of regulatory review with a goal of reviewing 1,000 regulations across the administration by the end of 2012. While engaging in continued reviews, agencies have simultaneously begun to advance regulatory amendments that are making a difference to small businesses in Massachusetts today.

For example, the Division of Professional Licensure recently filed regulatory changes to clarify the application process for new salons and provide a means for transferring ownership of a salon without disrupting business, positively affecting the 9,000-plus salons in business today. In late April–early May, the Division of Marine Fisheries filed regulations to extend the season for recreational sea bass and fluke fishing and increase catch limits, positively impacting the more than 800 licensed recreational fishing vessels in the state.

The Department of Environmental Protection has completed a topto-bottom review of its regulations to find smarter ways to protect the environment while reducing regulatory burdens on businesses. The department worked hand-in-hand with both businesses and environmental stakeholders to identify more than 20 reforms that will streamline environmental permitting, eliminate duplicative approvals, and encourage better environmental outcomes by reducing barriers to environmentally beneficial projects such as renewable energy sources. These efforts will promote a more predictable and transparent development process to support new commercial and housing growth in our communities. These are all productive and thoughtful ideas generated by our state regulators, and businesses are feeling the immediate positive benefits of these changes.

» The intent of the small business impact

statement is to provide the utmost transparency during the regulatory process, and to bring the potential small business impacts into the forefront of the public debate. « ( 46 )

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» More than 200 existing regulations were

reviewed across nearly 60 agencies, resulting in 150 recommendations for regulatory rescissions or modifications. « To encourage more of this thinking and to improve awareness of the connection between regulators and the health of our small businesses and greater economy, the state’s third objective for regulatory reform involves training and encouraging state regulators. To initiate this effort, Governor Patrick taped a video message to state employees asking for their best ideas for regulatory reform and encouraged them to continue their pursuit of government innovation. The video features some small businesses in action and was sent to state regulators in every agency to generate a sense of recognition, enthusiasm and shared purpose.

Training sessions for state regulators are under development now and are expected to be launched later in 2012.

As the reevaluation of existing regulations continues, Governor Patrick will personally recognize the state regulators who present the most innovative and significant ideas for regulatory reforms, intending to eliminate unnecessary burdens on businesses and improve state efficiencies. These individuals will have an opportunity to meet with the governor and discuss regulatory issues, and they will be publicly recognized in local newspapers and on the state’s website for their outstanding contributions to the project. These small gestures go a long way in reinforcing the importance of regulatory reform across all agencies and all levels of state government.

And finally, the administration, through its Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development, has appointed a state regulatory ombudsperson who will lead the overall regulatory reform effort inside state government and act as a liaison to the business community to ensure that they are engaged from outside of state government. Together with Michael Hogan, president and CEO of A.D. Makepeace, member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and Economic Development Planning Council, and leader of the Planning Council’s Subcommittee on Increasing the Ease of Doing Business, it will convene business leaders, chambers of commerce and trade associations through a Business Advisory Group on Regulation to discuss regulatory issues of importance to their members. They have also established an intake process for small businesses to make recommendations for reforms directly to state government.

Massachusetts has made great progress in its economic recovery, but there is more to do to stay ahead. “Choosing to Compete” has provided a productive vehicle for engaging business leaders in a public-private partnership that supports continued economic prosperity in our state, and through regulatory reform we are making sure the world knows that Massachusetts is the best state in the country to do business.

April Anderson Lamoureax is the Massachusetts assistant secretary of Economic Development and has been recently appointed to serve as the state’s regulatory ombudsperson. In this role, she leads the overall regulatory reform effort happening inside state government and acts as a liaison to the business community to ensure that they are engaged from outside of state government. To learn more about the work going on in Massachusetts, visit www.mass.gov/compete.

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Business friendly regulatory atmosphere World class telecommunications infrastructure OVERALL FOR NEWLY Wage credits, including teleworkers ESTABLISHED OPERATIONS Research and development credits The Tax Foundations, 2012 Available sites and buildings Low cost, reliable power Key transportation routes FOR MATURE R&D Unmatched work ethic OPERATIONS The Tax Foundations, 2012 Real estate tax refunds Investment tax credits Minimal congestion Speed to markets Centrally located PRO-BUSINESS

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LEGAL CLIMATE

2010 U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform

A great place to live, work and play. And most of all, a great place to grow a business.

Ranked among the best.

Call us at 1-800-426-6505 or visit: www.NebraskaAdvantage.biz

GOVERNMENT

Votifi

Have you noticed, however, there is a growing number of people who no longer have landlines or who screen all their calls at home? Do you ever stop to consider who they are?

Many are millennials—those newly minted adults just entering the world on their own. Culturally it is interesting to note that many are minorities. In fact, 56 percent of minorities only connect to the Internet wirelessly. But, there are other important political and economic demographic blocks of people whose voices are absent when politicians are defining their messages and crafting their platforms, and they are doing so largely based on generalizations and assumptions.

To be honest, it seems those invisible folks are fine with it—if they wanted to be polled or to reach out, there is nothing stopping them.

You know when people are not excited by their choices, you can often hear their frustration at the two-party system or frustration that “big government doesn’t listen.” Many believe political leaders don’t even care what we think. That is debatable. But what is clear is that it is difficult, if not impossible in these polarized times, to find a way to have civilized discussion across demographic or political divides based on ideas and positions, rather than polarizing rhetoric. There are, some say, 12 percent on the far right and 12 percent on the far left who are making the majority of the noise and who are influencing traditional mainstream media. The rest sit quietly in the middle and go unheard, and sadly, unrepresented.

Transforming Politics as Usual

By Kim DeCoste

T

f you live in the United States, you have probably noticed that despite the fact we vote in November, on presidential election years—particularly in swing states—the races start months before you cast a ballot.

If you live in a swing state, you may also have been among the millions of people who loudly complained in 2008, as we saw the coming-of-age of “robo-calls” and telephone polling. Clearly, candidates were trying to get their messages out, and many were trying to gauge how those messages were received. There are people who are so polite, they just cannot hang up when a telephone pollster catches them, so they dutifully answer the questions—age, income, gender, race—and then rank responses on the scales they are given from carefully crafted scripts.

The fact is, politicians and others are paying staggering sums of money to get those replies from people who still answer a landline when it rings with an unknown caller on the other end.

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In 2008, Lou Aronson had an epiphany while standing at the school bus stop sending his son off to school. He heard the crowd talking about robo-calls, and he suddenly realized a need. How could mobile devices be engaged to reach that invisible block of people?

Based in Washington, D.C., Aronson managed to define the idea with his partner Vijay Perincherry, a scientist who thought about the challenge and believed he could develop a cluster-based algorithm to help him bridge some of the gaps. Using his Ph.D. in applied mathematics and working across industry sectors such as housing, retail, transportation, advertising, bond trading and data management, Perincherry worked and reworked it until he came up with the solution—Votifi.

“Votifi is transforming polling while disrupting politics. We deliver polls and survey questions while using the results to help simplify your access to political content, quantify where you fit on the political map, and amplify your voice through discussion with people who share your views and debates with people who are on the other side of an issue,” explains Aronson.

In fact, Aronson says, Votifi is really a hub for political engagement and exploration, whose primary focus is the $3.6 billion political information services industry, which is primarily tied to the

» It is difficult, if not impossible in these

polarized times, to find a way to have civilized discussion across demographic or political divides based on ideas and positions, rather than polarizing rhetoric. «

» "We discern the fundamental connection between emotion, engagement and activation while clustering and connecting people regardless of the mode of input." « - Lou Aronson

landline phone. As he describes it, “Our platform is geared toward the mobile device and engagement. Content is delivered both online—desktop and laptop—and via mobile—smartphones and apps. By delivering poll questions via SMS, email and our app, Votifi gains unique access to Americans irrespective of the availability of a landline, personal computer or in-home Internet. And, we discern the fundamental connection between emotion, engagement and activation while clustering and connecting people regardless of the mode of input. The Votifi platform provides issue-focused and weighted analysis of opinions of the largest segment of the American voting population in real time.”

It is hard at first to understand what an incredibly disruptive idea this is. But, if you are politically inclined, or a political junkie, as Aronson describes himself, this makes your heart beat a little bit faster. Both of the other co-founders, Aasil Ahmad and Sid Smith, were also politically connected and involved. Ahmad worked in politics both in the United States and in Asia for about 10 years. He worked with grassroots campaigns to develop effective technology strategies, and he sees the incredible reformative potential this platform may have on our democracy. Smith worked as an attorney for emerging growth companies and investors and describes himself as a “disaffected Democrat who worked in New Jersey politics for several years.” He, too, recognizes the powerful transformative potential Votifi brought to others like him.

Votifi allows users to log in, create a profile or remain anonymous, and then engage with others in discussions about topics of interest.

It is poll-driven, eliciting opinions from users and simultaneously factoring out data that are not pertinent. And it could allow someone interested in influencing the vote, for example, to see the opinions of entire sectors of the population currently being missed by the traditional call center pollster.

When we talk about connection and collaboration at ICOSA, we are interested in seeing how bright new ideas are changing old-school paradigms. The transformative power of the Votifi platform is stunning

and certainly reflects our interest! It has been argued that our nation is at an inflection point, where it is easy to lose perspective. Aronson and his team firmly believe that Votifi addresses this by allowing users to engage in a new, objective fashion. After all, “you cannot solve anything until you start talking,” he says.

“What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate,” a recent NPR story, addresses the challenge Votifi is tackling—the imperative of how we can use data to understand what people are saying, not just for their sake, but for our own as well. Basically, the company attempts to give users an understanding of where the issues really lie. Aronson riffs on Gil Scott-Heron’s 1974 poem when he says, “The revolution will not be televised… but you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be broadcast to your smartphone.”

What Votifi does allow is for us to look beyond “the theocracy into which we were born” says Aronson; “It helps to normalize an online dialogue and take it beyond 140 characters, which sadly, is the amount of information upon which some people base their views and opinions.” He goes on, “When we engage on Votifi, we see that through all the rhetoric and bombastic language that is thrown at us, ‘there really is a there there.’ In other words, we are able to get to the true heart of the matter and have productive conversations.”

Talking about transformation vis-à-vis the American political scene, we at ICOSA are not unlike most people in the United States. We want to see change, and we believe that connection and collaboration are necessary for us all to get together and drive change. But we have to start somewhere. We can’t even know what hard choices we are going to have to make unless we start having these conversations.

Votifi levels the playing field for the political debate and provides substantive information back to policymakers and others about what we really think and helps each of us play a role in transforming politics-as-usual into the politics of now.

To learn more about Votifi, visit www.votifi.com.

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GOVERNMENT

FEMA

FEMA Creating Business Continuity and Resilience By Kelly de la Torre

A

resilient community depends on all of us, says Tim Manning, Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Years of experience in wilderness mountain rescue, as a fire fighter, an EMT, and the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the state of New Mexico uniquely situates Manning to help create and implement FEMA’s whole community vision. FEMA is in the process of building scaffolding to link disaster to recovery with its Whole Community Approach to emergency preparedness planning.

This scaffolding consists of a community network, appropriate tools, and strategies that are put in place before disaster strikes so that critical recovery mechanisms can be mobilized immediately. “Our collective preparedness relies on the strength and preparedness of everybody,” says Tim Manning. “Building resilient communities is a top priority.”

Manning explains that the “Whole Community approach is a reflection of what FEMA has learned over the years in responding to and preparing for disasters and emergencies. We have learned that the public isn’t a liability in the response but is the most important part of the team in responding to a disaster.” Manning draws on his experience as a fire fighter to explain. “As a firefighter, there was no emergency where the public wasn’t already helping when I arrived on scene. The public helps in the community in an emergency.” It happens naturally. Historically, however, emergency planning was undertaken from the perspective of what the government needs to do. For example, deployment of police and fire department assets in this manner often treats the public as something that needs to be worked around. “The reality,” says Manning, “is that the majority of response in an emergency is neighbors helping neighbors.”

Resilient communities depend on multi-stakeholder participation.

“It’s a large team effort,” stresses Manning. FEMA targets partners from every critical sector, including state, local and tribal government agencies, cities, counties, private sector companies, and the public, to name a few. Next, the planning needs to coordinate with FEMA operations. Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 “provides FEMA guidance on the fundamentals of planning and developing emergency operations plans” and in one respect, “provides methods for planners to conduct community-based planning that engages the whole community by using a planning process that represents the actual population in the community and involves community leaders and the private sector in the planning process.” The goal is to achieve coordination and integration of plans “across all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and ( 50 )

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Tim Manning

» "Our

collective preparedness relies on the strength and preparedness of everybody,” says Manning.

“Building resilient communities is a top priority." « - Tim Manning

individuals and families.” Manning notes that this is fundamentally different from what FEMA has done in the past.

Business continuity and resilience enables disaster recovery. “Disaster recovery is characterized by having a restored and thriving economy in an area and you can’t have that until your retail and business sectors are operating, the tax base is operating, and the people of the community are back to work. You can’t have that until you have resilient supply chains and resilient businesses,” explains Manning.

At its most basic level, recovery can’t start until consumers have access to resources.

Ensuring access to critical resources means that businesses need to work to identify weak links in the flow of information and in their supply chains so they can establish procedures to eliminate downtime.

Importantly, industry is recognizing that they can use emergency preparedness to gain market advantage over competitors.

According to Manning, FEMA has seen large retailers insist on continuity in their first and second tier supply chains.

Inherent in FEMA’s Whole Community Approach and directly applicable to the ability to maintain business continuity, is the understanding that the community is a critical element in preparedness planning.

Indeed, preparedness planning is personal to a community requiring consideration of a number of characteristics including, for example, its population distribution, its resources, and its culture, just to name a few. Based on this philosophy, says Manning, FEMA is taking a more holistic approach to planning and encourages all members in the community to undertake advanced planning.

Companies are critical and integrated members of a community’s ecosystem and their business resilience is directly dependent on its employees, the people that are dedicated to both the community and to getting operations back up and running. This can’t happen if those employees can’t get to work. To address this, FEMA recommends that companies encourage their employees to individually prepare for disasters so that they can get to work. In another example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA developed a process to credential personnel. For companies and their supply chains, credentialing their employees can help expedite their drivers through road blocks and cordoned areas in order to get supplies to where they are needed. This can be especially important where an employee is “borrowed” from another utility in order to get power lines up and running.

Employee preparedness is just one way that private industry is stepping out-front on the issue of planning in order to drive company preparedness. The issue is multi-faceted and another way for companies to build market advantage is to explore opportunities to use emerging technology. Under Federal law, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security do not endorse private enterprises or their products. And while Mr. Manning did not discuss any particular technology or company, private industry is making strides in developing innovative solutions to address emergency needs. For example, emergency and disaster situations are frequently accompanied by a disruption to the power supply. Companies can prepare by investing in alternate means of electricity generation sized to at least power critical operations.

Preparedness however, does not need to be limited to traditional tools.

Advanced technologies can be incorporated into the toolbox and some of these new technologies can provide viable and economic solutions for times when there is not an emergency while adding benefit when there is. For example, mobile solar generators could provide an alternative to traditional diesel generators. Mobile solar generators can provide a lifetime of energy savings because they can be placed at the facility in advance of an emergency and be used to reduce facility energy use and cost during times of peak load demand—the time when energy costs are highest. The facility energy savings realized can help offset the cost of the unit and decrease the pay-back period.

For example, SolaRover, a Colorado company, offers a rapidly deployable critical-output mobile solar power generator system that properly configured, can deliver up to 50 kW of continuous power.

Comparatively, the cost per kilowatt hour is dramatically less than that of a diesel generator because the diesel includes fuel costs, resupply logistics, maintenance and overhauls that must be taken into account over the lifetime of the generator.

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GOVERNMENT

FEMA

Manning in the disaster zone

A mobile, zero emission and silent generation unit addresses not only the need to restore power to get operations up and running, but has the unique ability to be “pre-positioned” next to the most critical services for public safety and commerce. These mobile solar power units can be strategically placed throughout a region or a predicted disaster zone to power systems or assets vital to recovery, like emergency clinics, police, fire, emergency room facilities, refrigerators and street lights without the requirement to find a safe storage facility for fuel or undamaged functional infrastructure for resupply support. Because the system is mobile, however, if a critical need is identified during the recovery process, or the disaster strikes in near proximity to the preparedness area, the units can simply be “unplugged” and transported to the new location. Strategic distribution of units throughout a region can help by providing clean and silent back-up power that could be rolled into neighboring cities if required.

For communities, it is also critical to protect assets that support public health. A strategic use for a mobile unit like this is to power pharmacy refrigeration units. In the event of an emergency, uninterrupted power ensures the community access to critical life-saving pharmaceuticals and from the insurer’s perspective protects against loss. During a natural disaster, loss of refrigeration can wipe-out stock piles of essential pharmaceuticals costing upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A small up-front investment in clean mobile solar technology can mitigate this type of asset loss to the benefit of the community on multiple levels. ( 52 )

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A clean and silent energy mobile unit could further be used to power cell phone towers or could be integrated with water purification units.

In essence, in a disaster, the mobile solar generator could function as a mobile operations center for a facility by powering critical assets, enabling cell phone use and providing access to clean water to the facility and also to the community. In short, removing power disruption from the equation, expedites recovery by maintaining business continuity.

» "The

public isn’t a liability in the response but is the most important part of the team in responding to a disaster." « - Tim Manning

With its Whole Community Approach, FEMA is transforming the historical approach to preparedness planning. Meanwhile, the private sector, the community and the state, local, tribal and federal governments each have a role to play in mitigating and preparing for potential disasters. For each of us, “The time for planning is right now; take a few minutes and get ready,” says Manning. If each member of the community contributes, and we integrate not only the stakeholders but also the right kinds of material and equipment, we can bridge the gap between disaster and recovery and bring all of our communities back on-line quickly.

FEMA encourages everyone to take a look at www.ready.gov for tips on planning.

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© 2012 Harvey Nash plc. All Rights Reserved.

GOVERNMENT

Transforming the Building Energy Code: Shaunna Mozingo

Shaunna Mozingo Transforming the Building Energy Code Industry By Suzanne Pletcher

W

hen Shaunna Mozingo raised her hand in 2006 at a City of Westminster building division meeting and volunteered to learn building energy efficiency codes, she had no idea that simple act would transform her career and life.

Back then, she was a building plan reviewer in the Westminster building division. Today, she is a nationally recognized expert in building energy efficiency codes. She works alongside the United States Department of Energy and others, for instance, leading teams of diverse people from the fields of construction, design, community and county building departments; tradespeople in insulation, heating and air-conditioning; and others through the long conversation that leads to final agreement on the next generation of energy efficiency building codes. Those codes are the evolving blueprint for improvements in American buildings that provide greater comfort and lower utility bills to inhabitants as well as preserve precious energy and water resources that are increasingly a top priority for city and county planners and code officials—as well as climate scientists.

“She is definitely motivated, she’s willing to pursue an issue that she’s passionate about and she’s passionate about just about everything that she does. She’s not afraid—not afraid to ask questions, to pick up the phone and call someone regardless of their position or status,” said Dave Horras, chief building official for the City of Westminster, who served as both boss and mentor to Mozingo.

Horras led the fateful meeting with the entire city building staff during which Mozingo raised her hand and volunteered. The staff was discussing the 2006 international energy conservation code, and Horras was adamant that, if the building department was going to adopt the code, then it also was going to enforce it. He needed someone to head up the effort. Mozingo had been in the job less than a year at that point, but she told Horras she would take it on. One of the first people she called was Gil Rossmiller, chief building official in Parker. Rossmiller was the only other building official in Colorado who was at that time fully implementing the 2006 energy code. They sat down for an entire day, and he taught her the basics.

Then she volunteered for the energy code interpretations committee with the International Code Council (ICC). The committee took requests for interpretations of the code and rendered an opinion, so she knew she would learn many of the details. Learning the code, which is updated every three years and is now at the 2012 level, might be compared to learning law, or ( 54 )

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» "Shaunna is a leadership type. She makes

people comfortable in the trainings that she leads, and she is not overbearing. She is very good at letting people find their own way." « - Gil Rossmiller

» "By adopting and

enforcing more recent codes, communities are providing economic and environmental benefits to all citizens." « - Shaunna Mozingo

accounting—the complexity is astounding and intimidating to most people—including the building community. But, there are major benefits to the building energy code.

Explained Jim Meyers, an energy code analyst for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project who helped Mozingo with her first workshop on the 2006 code, “Buildings use 39 percent of our total energy in the United States. The more energy-efficient buildings we construct to new energy code standards, the more potential we have to use far less. By adopting and enforcing more recent codes, communities are providing economic and environmental benefits to all citizens.”

But at that time with the 2006 code, Westminster decided that it would require builders to start sizing heating and air-conditioning equipment specifically to how the more energy-efficient buildings were built rather than by rule of thumb. Mozingo remembers that builders were up in arms, so she held a public meeting for anyone interested in the issue, and they discussed it and learned together.

“I thought that other communities would be adopting the 2006 energy code soon, and they would have a steep learning curve,” Mozingo said. So she decided to share what she knew, applied for and received a small grant, and developed a weekly energy code training program called Westminster Wednesdays. The trainings were open to all. “Shaunna is a leadership type. She makes people comfortable in the trainings that she leads, and she is not overbearing,” said Rossmiller. “She is very good at letting people find their own way.”

In 2011, Mozingo was named president of the Colorado chapter of ICC. Then the national ICC asked her to teach the code in other states, so she took a vacation day here and there to do just that. Shortly thereafter, she was asked by Colorado Code Consulting to take on a new job with them to manage an energy contract they had with the state of Colorado, visiting each of the 339 jurisdictions and working with them on building codes. “I didn’t want to leave Westminster,” she said. “I had a great job and they gave me such wings!”

But Horras knew better. “I saw early on that she wasn’t going to be with us for the long haul just because she had so much going. She had so much potential that, ultimately, I encouraged her to look at other options,” said Horras, who remains a Mozingo fan and mentor to this day.

So Mozingo took over the management of a $1 million contract and visited every corner of Colorado to ask what help was needed.

» "For me, it has

been transforming that I have found my niche. I love to learn, and I love for everybody else to know what I know." « - Shaunna Mozingo

She would find out where the community was weak and design a training to fill the gap. “My family calls it my ‘out to save the world’ complex,” says Mozingo, and added that she wants to please people and help out. In fact, she has tackled other interests with the same zeal. She learned auto mechanics so that she wouldn’t have to rely on someone else, and ended up working on other people’s cars. And, when her boyfriend raced motocross, she took up the sport and learned to race.

But what grabbed her most was teaching. “I remember the first time I ever taught, I thought, ‘Ah, that is what I like,’” she said. “The next day on my lunch hour I went for a walk and thought about all the different kinds of classes that I could create and teach.” As it turned out, she would be teaching and leading workshops nationally. From her experience in Colorado, she convened a national-level meeting of all the different parties affected by the improvements in energy codes. She figured that if everyone came together and worked out their differences and made compromises, that the new codes would be better for everyone.

Today Mozingo is working to develop “train the trainer” programs nationally, consulting with the National Renewable Energy Lab and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on energy codes, among other things. “Before that first code hearing, I had never opened an energy code book in my life,” said Mozingo. “For me, it has been transforming that I have found my niche. I love to learn, and I love for everybody else to know what I know.” But in the process of her own transformation, Mozingo helped to transform the group of building code officials working in Colorado. Now they know that there are many people whom they can turn to if they need help, and they are not afraid of the more stringent energy codes, said Mozingo.

She also has played a role in transforming the housing market in Colorado. Today, close to half of new homes are built to Energy Star efficiency standards, and those standards are pegged to the latest energy codes. Mozingo and her colleagues are now concentrating their efforts upon commercial buildings. “Soon we will be making a major difference in commercial buildings, and I’m excited about that,” she said.

Suzanne Pletcher is director of communications at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project based in Boulder, which promotes energy efficiency policy in six states of the Southwest. To contact her, call 303.447.0078 x5 or visit www.swenergy.org.

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BUSINESS

Bye Aerospace & Ascent Solar Collaborate with the Department of Defense

Bye Aerospace, Ascent Solar and the Military’s Energy Imperative

By Kelly de la Torre

Silent Guardian solar electric drone

T

he Department of Defense (DoD), by executive order and legislative mandates, is required to reduce energy use, and transformational changes are under way to meet those mandates. Fortunately for the consumer, history shows that in times where the needs of the market align with defense priorities, we all benefit. Supported by strategic government investments, transformations have produced some of the greatest American success stories. Expansion of the railway system under President Abraham Lincoln led the industrialization of the West.

A public-private partnership led to development of the first commercial nuclear reactor under President Eisenhower.

A key transformation occurred in the aeronautics industry under President Wilson. In 1915, President Wilson created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA), in order to elevate America’s positioning in the aeronautics industry. In 1915, the United States was not competitive in its aviation capabilities and lagged behind Europe. With an initial appropriation of $5,000, NACA’s mission was to “direct and conduct research and experimentation in aeronautics, with a view to their practical solution.” Until World War II, research had both military and commercial applications.

During the war, however, efforts were directed almost exclusively to the military, and the military’s ties with industry became much

stronger. The result was the creation of the aerospace sector, and the effort showed that when the government puts its weight behind developing a sector or technologies, the potential benefits to our armed forces and our nation as a whole are huge.

We’re at a critical juncture. The size and scope of the energy challenges facing the United States are enormous, necessitating an efficient process to expedite deployment of new technologies. Under the leadership of Dr. Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for Installations and Environment, the DoD created the Installation Energy Test Bed, a signal of DoD’s recognition that it can be a powerful catalyst for energy innovation. To get to market, however, emerging technology must move through the innovation pipeline comprising four critical phases: research, development, demonstration, and deployment. Each phase transition represents an opportunity for great achievement or a chance for

» Starlight is intended to be a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV system with military applications for border patrol, visual and thermal reconnaissance and forward air control. «

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failure. Especially critical is the transition from demonstration to deployment—often referred to as the valley of death. Testing of prototypes often requires large-scale complex development and manufacturing capabilities.

To a large extent, DoD has these capabilities and extensive experience. For example, DoD pioneered and paved the way for commercial adoption of the jet engine, gas turbines, solid state electronics and the Internet, to name just a few technologies.

According to the July 2010 CNA report titled, Powering America’s Economy, the DoD has an established and robust research and development base for energy technology. The sheer size of DoD’s energy requirements (nearly 1 percent of all energy consumed in the United States, according to CNA) and the demonstrated need signal huge opportunity for the innovator; whereas the DoD has the large scale ability to demonstrate, test, fund and field new technology. Aligning the goals of these agencies would expedite deployment of new technologies.

In 2010, the DoE and DoD entered into a Memorandum of Understanding defining the framework for cooperation and partnership between the agencies in order to maximize DoD access to DoE technical expertise and find solutions that meet DoD objectives.

What DoD offers is an accelerated innovation cycle, and there are a number of companies poised to take advantage.

For example, the development of a veryhigh-altitude solar-electric lighter-than-air unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform is moving forward. Two Colorado companies, Global Near Space Services (GNSS) and Bye Aerospace, recently collaborated on design and research for the development of a unique solarelectric-powered airship named “Starlight.”

The Starlight is a lighter-than-air UAV that uses solar electric energy stored in batteries to run propellers to keep the drone on a location.

A special combination of technologies and design enable the drone to maintain station for four months at a time. Starlight is intended to be a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV system with military applications for border patrol, visual and thermal reconnaissance and forward air control. The civilian applications include traffic control, pipeline and power line inspection, aerial law enforcement, forest fire detection and aerial photography.

Aerospace projects such as Starlight are highly complex, requiring technology from a number of different sectors. A critical element is that the drone must be lightweight. This can be achieved by incorporating lightweight solar energy collectors and using advanced composite materials. "One concept currently in development—the Silent Guardian

unmanned aerial vehicle—relies on thin-film solar photovoltaics, stored electric power and other technologies to enhance its potential for long endurance, quiet operations and low emissions," said George Bye, chair and chief executive officer of Bye Aerospace.

New developments in thin film solar photovoltaic (TFPV) technology have seen the conversion efficiency increase from 11 to 20 percent in research labs. This high conversion efficiency of sunlight energy to electric energy appears to allow for a meaningful supplement to some long-endurance flight aircraft. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (Ascent), a developer of flexible CIGS solar panels, has been named a development partner for Bye Aerospace’s aircraft programs for the aerospace and defense markets. According to Victor Lee, president and CEO of Ascent, “Ascent Solar’s transformational technology enables renewable power generation in aircraft applications while adding minimal weight to the vehicle.”

These lightweight flexible panels have a high power density to weight ratio and are a critical enabling technology to the Starlight and other UAVs being developed by Bye Aerospace.

Ascent’s panels employ CIGS photovoltaic technology on flexible, plastic substrate—a technology that has the potential to transform the way solar power can be used in everyday life. The technology was founded decades ago to enable aerospace and high-altitude applications because of its lightweight, flexible characteristics and its seamless integration with a number of substrates. As a company, Ascent plays on its strength and thinks differently than traditional solar organizations. Their business model is not to compete with glass crystalline modules but to look for any other surface to generate power. Because the panels integrate seamlessly with any number of substrates, the applications for the technology are limited only by imagination and access to the sun.

Panel features can vary by application.

For example, for more robust applications, the panel can be attached to a thicker backsheet and protected by a finish. The panels can be integrated into fabrics used in forward operating bases and as portable solar chargers for soldiers without weight burden. For example, Ascent is testing multi-kW scale tent flies designed to shade the tents and offset peak cooling times. Another application is foldable blankets designed as charging stations that can be quickly deployed and folded after use with minimal weight impact to the soldier’s backpack. These products have the capability of directly reducing the military's dependence on conventional fossil-fuel-based power systems, while simultaneously reducing the physical burden and security risk to soldiers. Ascent has

Ascent Solar's thin-film solar photovoltaics

» "Ascent Solar’s transformational technology enables renewable power generation in aircraft applications while adding minimal weight to the vehicle." « - Victor Lee

already demonstrated commercial applicability as well in the electronics, building and transportation sectors.

Advances such as Ascent’s technology can also open a range of opportunities to address rural poverty reduction in underdeveloped parts of the world. The introduction of the cellphone has introduced opportunity to these areas. In some areas, however, people walk hours for access to diesel generators to charge their cellphone. Deployment of flexible solar charging stations provides an inexpensive and time-saving solution. These panels could further be applied to lanterns to replace those that are currently powered by kerosene.

With development of its technology, Ascent is helping power a transformation in our military and our commercial energy landscape.

History shows that transformation has helped the United States remain globally competitive.

It seems that if Ascent and Bye Aerospace are the models, the future is only limited by our imagination—and with the support of DoD, we can dream big.

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BUSINESS

National Grid

Engineering

Our Future National Grid’s Commitment to STEM Education

H

ow often do strategic, resultsdriven business objectives fully align with the right thing to do in the community?

At National Grid, natural gas and electricity are delivered to more than eight million customers in the Northeast every day, as well as to an additional eleven million customers in Great Britain. At the same time, National Grid is passionate about building long-term sustainability for the energy infrastructure because they are physically connected to customers via a pipe or a wire, thereby making long-term sustainability an

By Arthur W. Hamlin

important factor in doing business.

That's why they believe, indeed they know, that building sustainable networks and systems starts with attracting and developing the best ideas and people in the communities National Grid serves.

They call it Engineering Our Future. It’s all about how the organization can attract young people to careers in engineering and other technical degrees. To make it work, they are committed to focusing a significant portion of their community investment on building a qualified, engaged and successful engineering workforce.

Studies prove that students, especially

» Studies prove that students, especially younger children, simply do not understand what it means to be an engineer. Many believe that engineers are nerds who do math problems all day. That simply isn’t true! « ( 58 )

04.12 - 06.12

younger children, simply do not understand what it means to be an engineer. Few truly grasp the exciting experiences that engineers have, the cool inventions they create, the difficult problems they solve, or the significant impact they have on society. Unless they happen to have an engineer as a parent or other close person in their life, many believe that engineers are nerds who do math problems all day. That simply isn’t true!

Through its corporate citizenship initiatives, employee volunteerism and internal leadership and development activities, National Grid has created a comprehensive program dedicated to advancing this cause. Engineering Our Future has three related goals—to inspire, attract and develop future engineers. They have invested more than $3 million over the past few years in the program to target students of all ages and backgrounds to encourage them to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

On the one hand, it’s a completely selfserving strategy as they work to build and enhance the future workforce and ensure they have the right skills to accomplish their sustainability and stewardship mission. On the other hand, it brings massive benefits to the children they are affecting and the teachers supporting them. Everyone wins.

For example, there is a fourth grade class in central Massachusetts, which like dozens of other classrooms in the service territory across Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, have tapped into National Grid’s Engineering Our Future website and found a series of inclass programs and materials aimed at teachers and their students. For the younger ages, the Energy Explorer portion of their website provides free curriculum-based resources for elementary and middle school students. The site appeals to both teachers and students and encourages students to learn about electricity, natural gas, energy conservation, the environment and safety through interactive games, experiments and stories. Thousands of children have taken advantage of the Energy Explorer tools, and more than 2,000 students have participated in the program directly with National Grid personnel.

In the case of the central Massachusetts classroom, the teacher has downloaded e-books, supplemental teaching guides and printable activities for her students. And although the materials are freestanding and fun on their own, employee volunteers from National Grid visit the classroom to assist in the learning process—including bringing all of the typical protective clothing that their electric line workers wear such as hard hats and bulky rubber gloves. During these in-class activities, students can learn about restoring

power after a storm and can role-play while wearing the clothes and using a clothesline representing the electric line. Students also learn about energy efficiency efforts they can try at home and witness an electric meter spin when connected to an incandescent light bulb versus a fluorescent bulb.

Simple but meaningful lessons like this make an impression on the students about key focus areas—electrical and natural gas safety, energy efficiency and the environment. And through it all, National Grid and the teacher make multiple references to the importance of the STEM subjects in ultimately pursuing engineering-related careers.

Second, when it comes to inspiring young children about STEM and technical careers, the rubber actually meets the road when National Grid engages with students approaching graduation and, therefore, entering the workforce. In fact, they have two specific programs to attract and develop aspiring engineers. The Engineering Pipeline Program is a six-year program aimed at high school juniors with an interest in STEM subjects and, specifically, an engineering career. The company is about to enroll its third class of promising students and is eager to see the full benefit of this unique program in a few short years.

In short, qualified students apply to enroll in the program and are then given the opportunity to gain exposure to engineering and the utility industry through a combination of instruction in and out of the classroom, site visits and research projects. National Grid pays them for six summer internships, assigns them an engineering mentor, gives them chances to job shadow in a “day in the life” of a future colleague, connects them to other similar students through social networking, and even gives them opportunities to advise younger members of the program as they move through the “pipeline.”

In addition to supporting some 40 to 50 students each year through four-year engineering degree programs, the goal is to provide them with a job upon successful completion of the program six years later. And the early results are positive—interest and applications are high, the quality

of the students is impressive and even existing employees are getting excited by the promise of this new group of future employees.

In addition to the Engineering Pipeline Program, National Grid also works in partnership with local community colleges on the Energy Utility Technology program (EUT).

The EUT, launched four-plus years ago, aimed to compile curriculum used by six local community colleges and offered to students seeking two-year technical degrees.

In that time, nearly 400 students have received a technical certificate signaling successful completion of their tailored curriculum, and more than 100 students have been hired by National Grid in technical positions. “To know that we’ve created and shaped the learning of a population of future employees is not only gratifying, but strategically important to us,” says Marcy Reed, president of National Grid.

National Grid is incredibly excited about Engineering Our Future and the opportunities they are offering to students from elementary school through college. “It may be the right thing to do in the community, but it is also helping us meet our strategic, results-driven business objectives. We recognize that it is only a small part of what must be done to rebuild the national engineering workforce,” Reed says.

We need other corporations, government, education systems and nonprofits to band together and contribute to the effort. It may seem like a daunting challenge, but we must keep in mind the historic importance of the end goal. For as long as people have used tools, we have depended on engineers to figure out new ways to explore, improve and build our world. What the next generation of engineers will give us is unknowable. Investing in engineering today is investing in our future sustainability in untold albeit critically important ways.

For more information, visit https://www1. nationalgridus.com/Massachusetts-MARES. Arthur W. Hamlin is the director of Economic Development & Corporate Citizenship, at National Grid.

» The site appeals to both teachers and students and encourages students to learn about electricity, natural gas, energy conservation, the environment and safety through interactive games, experiments and stories. «

» "To know that we’ve created and shaped the learning of a population of future employees is not only gratifying, but strategically important to us." « - Marcy Reed

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BUSINESS

Gallup's Entrepreneur Acceleration System

Revving Up Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses Thriving Enterprises Creating Jobs By Steve Crabtree

R

ussell Knudsen has been crunching some new numbers.

Knudsen is the director of corporate finance for ePower Engine Systems, a small business that recently developed a hybrid drive train modification that significantly improves the fuel efficiency of large trucks. He was also one of 625 entrepreneurs and leaders in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a broad range of industries to take part in Gallup’s Entrepreneur Acceleration System (EAS) program in Nebraska last spring. ePower’s leadership knew there was significant interest in its technology but had set rather modest growth targets for the first five years. The EAS program led Knudsen to realize that was a mistake—that if ePower was able to expertly manage its own performance and establish powerful relationships with customers, sales of its pioneering product could take off much more quickly than anticipated.

Knudsen accelerated the company’s production schedule and now believes it can grow from 20 employees this year to as many as 500 in 2015.

Like many other EAS participants, Knudsen credits the program with helping expand his company’s horizons—and in fact ePower’s technology offers a nice metaphor for the program itself. The EAS uses Gallup’s expertise in behavioral economics to upgrade the management “engines” of SMEs that have significant potential for sustainable growth. In The Coming Jobs War, Gallup CEO Jim Clifton notes that there’s no shortage of innovations and perceived market opportunities in the United States; what America and many other countries need most is more entrepreneurial capacity to convert those ideas into winning business models—thereby creating jobs.

That critical need is what the EAS is designed to address. Gallup partners with the program’s sponsors in a given community—which may include governments, financial institutions, universities and other organizations working to promote economic vitality—to recruit SMEs that have the potential for significant growth. ( 60 )

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Entrepreneurs who take part in the annual program participate in a series of large-group workshops led by Gallup subject matter experts, and then work with Gallup-trained mentors on company-specific action planning. The curriculum is focused on five areas: • Leveraging entrepreneurial strengths: Gallup’s strength assessments identify the innate talents of SME leaders in order to ensure that they are in roles that capitalize on those talents. Gallup’s research indicates the entrepreneurial abilities, motivations and attitudes of individual leaders are important drivers of business survival and growth.

• Creating a road map for growth: Mentors and Gallup consultants help participants outline a bold vision for the future of their enterprise. They spell out the goals that give the business and its employees a sense of purpose and direction, while creating a detailed plan to achieve those goals.

• Building engaged workplaces: Entrepreneurs are taught about management principles and workplace conditions necessary to ensure employees are engaged, highly motivated and emotionally connected to the company. These attributes are proven to help businesses maintain stability and momentum even through the often-challenging early stages of growth.

• Growing an engaged customer base: Businesses grow not by adding new employees, but by adding new customers—so the entire EAS curriculum leads up to Gallup’s customer sciences. Participants gain insights about how to align all of their employees in the mission of understanding customer’s needs and establishing enduring customer relationships based not on price but on the value they’re able to provide.

• Establishing performance management metrics: Participants work with mentors and

Gallup consultants to arrive at a set of highly relevant indicators, including behavioral economic measures that allow them to closely monitor progress toward their businesses’ goals and growth targets.

Each of these areas addresses vital human components of business development—make-orbreak factors that traditional business incubators almost always fail to address. And the program’s mentor-based model gives Gallup the capacity to work with local and national governments, financial institutions and others pursuing sustainable economic growth initiatives.

The Employment Imperative Small- and medium-sized enterprises have received a lot of attention in the wake of the global economic crisis because they are the primary sources of job creation around the world. SMEs account for about two-thirds of employment in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and a far higher proportion in developing countries. And as Clifton argues, the employment shortage gripping much of the world isn’t just the most important problem for global leaders to address—it may be the only problem that truly matters. That’s because solving it would harness the human talent needed to find and propagate solutions to all the other challenges the world faces.

Consider the possible impact if ePower achieves its amped-up growth plan and adds 480 highly engaged employees by 2015. The company’s home cities of Florence, Kentucky,

» There’s no shortage of innovations and perceived market opportunities in the United States; what America and many other countries need most is more entrepreneurial capacity to convert those ideas into winning business models—thereby creating jobs. «

and LaVista, Nebraska, get an economic boost as the new jobholders settle in, pay taxes, buy homes and cars, etc. The new jobs bring increased spending power to the communities, raising demand for products and services and likely adding even more jobs. Moreover, the entire trucking industry benefits from the addition of human resources devoted to marketing and innovation that lowers fuel costs. The resulting savings may allow some trucking companies to expand their fleets and add their own new employees. In ePower’s case, the planet itself benefits from the more rapid proliferation of a technology that significantly reduces the emissions of large trucks. All of these factors and benefits are certainly important, but recent Gallup research demonstrates the toll that joblessness takes, not just on an individual’s financial status but on their emotional well-being and the way they evaluate their lives.

Not all job creation has the potential for ripple effects this far-reaching. But the broader point is that successful entrepreneurship puts more people to work finding and propagating solutions—whether those solutions are as simple as selling parkas in a mountain village, or as complex as implementing a new inventory system for a major retailer. That’s why the EAS’s ultimate objective is to help SME’s fulfill the all-important task of entrepreneurs everywhere in understanding and meeting the needs of potential customers.

That focus provided a moment of clarity for Dan Shundoff, founder and president of Intellicom, a business technology company based in Kearney, Nebraska. “You start to really look at the relationships between managers, employees and customers and the level of engagement you have, and you start to understand that we could do more. We could be more efficient, we could create more value—not just revenue, but value.” After participating in the EAS program, Intellicom’s leaders turned their five-year growth targets into two-year targets, and they are well on their way to meeting them. The company’s key performance indicators showed a 20 percent increase in employee productivity and a 24 percent increase in profits in the first half of 2011. And, the growth allowed them to add two full-time employees.

A Healthy Dose of Confidence The EAS’s potential impact on SMEs has been evident from the program’s beginnings in the city of Puebla, Mexico. Working with the Puebla government in 2007, Gallup consultants adapted the sciences the company had been

EAS participants describe a number of ways the program has helped them retool their strategies and workplace dynamics in order to maximize customer value and boost growth.

“The program has made us more aggressive. Until now, we were laid back and waited for opportunities to come. Now we capitalize on our strengths and we go get them. We upsell and we target. Since we started the program earlier this year, our number of clients is up 37 percent.”

– Megan Hunt, Princess Lasertron “Because of what we learned about strengths and talent, I now get to focus on what I’m best at. In February our pipeline had six prospects in it now we have 20.” – Justin Trowbridge, Big Chameleon Web Design “As a direct result of employing some of the engagement techniques and concepts from the program with our clients, we booked seven new projects just last month. Due to the increase in productivity and signed projects, our profits have increased to seven times what they were comparing the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year! We have 13 new projects in just the last nine weeks.”

– Neil Johnson, Phoenix Web Group “Based on what we learned from EAS, we decided to increase our focus on engaging our customers, and as a result one customer made their biggest order ever equaling $220,000. We now expect to hire three more people in the next 18 months.” – Casey Koch, LiteForm Technologies “Since we’ve been involved with the EAS program, we’re a lot more confident in our upward growth.

We’ve doubled our employee base since we’ve started, and our revenue from year one to year two has increased by over 60 percent. Gallup has also helped us identify metrics that give us a solid foundation from which to grow.”

– Daniel Lawse, Verdis Group

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Gallup's Entrepreneur Acceleration System

using for decades with large corporations to the needs of entrepreneurs and SMEs. The results were dramatic in some cases. Participants whose small businesses were struggling improved their day-to-day operations and sales growth, and just as important, experienced a renewed sense of confidence.

Blanca Garcia, a Gallup consultant who with Efrain Morales leads the EAS initiative in Mexico, tells the story of a husband and wife who were running a cartridge recycling business. They’d had serious problems and were considering shutting the business down. Learning about their strengths made them realize they had conflicting leadership styles, which left employees confused and disengaged. “She found out she is great selling and he at managing the operations,” Garcia says. “They split [those tasks], and now the business has grown. They not only improved their finances and created jobs, but found stability within their family.”

Other, more established businesses have been revitalized through their participation.

Jagusa was a hospital cafeteria management company before enrolling in an EAS program in Toluca, Mexico. As a result of the experience, they revisited their vision for growth, and the company now provides nutrition consulting to hospitals and large companies. It opened two new client sites in 2010 and added 60 employees.

“We were lost and we worked a lot,” says José Arturo López Jacobo, Jagusa’s head of quality.

“Because of Gallup we work less hours, but we achieve more. We are more organized because of our new action plans. We know how to act and how to motivate ourselves.” ( 62 )

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Boosting entrepreneurial capacity may literally change the course of history in countries with severe structural employment problems. The Middle East, for example, faces widespread joblessness among its large youth population, an issue that has fueled social instability in many countries. Even in those countries with high average education levels, job creation can be scarce. And if that education fails to give young people an entrepreneurial mind-set, along with the skills to design and implement effective business models, they are in dire straits.

A number of countries are addressing the problem with targeted education reforms, but they also need shorter-term solutions.

They need strategies that go right to the heart of the problem—empowering the untapped human potential that already exists within communities. “This whole initiative is organic,” says Gallup partner Todd Johnson of the EAS’s grassroots approach. “If you’re going to generate sustainable job creation, you’ve got to identify, engage and accelerate the entrepreneurs in your ecosystem—be it a city, a state or a country.”

EAS “Checklist” In The Coming Jobs War, Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton describes cities and the influential leaders within them as the “core of job creating energy.”

Based on results from the EAS and other SME growth initiatives, Gallup analysts recommend all cities take the following steps to help generate new sources of employment: Recruit a “Jobs Board” made up of the most influential leaders in the community.

Set specific goals for small business growth/job creation.

Determine capabilities among their groups/constituencies.

Seek sponsors and collaborators to help drive the board’s jobcreation mission forward.

Fund, drive and track the impact of small business growth initiatives.

Communicate best practices with boards of other cities.

Building Momentum Gallup closely tracks the feedback and progress of all EAS participants in order to continually increase the program’s value to SMEs and their communities. In addition to reporting on key performance indicators such as net sales, profits, employee counts and employee turnover rates, participants take a survey assessing their own level of confidence in the future growth of their companies—a factor that has itself been proven to impact entrepreneurial performance.

Ultimately, Gallup will gauge a program’s success not only by the growth of participating SMEs but by how well it cultivates entrepreneurial ecosystems in the communities where it is implemented. That means aligning the efforts of various stakeholders with potential to boost the community’s entrepreneurial activity, including new and established entrepreneurs, mentors, subject matter experts, industry specialists and local governmental and nongovernmental agencies.

Fundamentally, however, the EAS helps build those ecosystems one business at a time, by sparking the kind of momentum described

by Teresa Johnson, CFO of the Nebraska-based Phoenix Web Group. She says, “When we walked away from the table, for the first time we had a unified and clear understanding of how we wanted our business to grow. No more ‘cross our fingers and hope it works.’ We had clear steps to take. We were energized!”

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 

BUSINESS

Flibe Energy

Flibe Energy and the Thorium Super-Fuel Revival

By Kelly de la Torre

T

he United States electric utility industry is facing an energy dilemma defined by an aging generation fleet and distribution system, a need to expand transmission, increasingly stringent environmental regulations, and disruptive changes in the economics of fossil fuel resources—to name just a few challenges.

In part, these forces are driving a sweeping transition from coal to natural gas. Indeed, we are in the midst of a natural gas boom, and the low cost of natural gas is creating jobs and helping to fuel economic recovery.

However, the natural gas boom isn’t going to last forever, and if we want to really do something about our energy dilemma and global warming, says Richard Martin, author of the new book about thorium, SuperFuel: Thorium, the Green Energy Source for the Future, natural gas alone is not going to cut it. “Leading the way in the next big energy technology is the way to long-term prosperity,” urges Martin.

A thorium revival could help transform the energy dilemma into economic opportunity. Martin firmly believes that we can’t build our way out of the current energy dilemma using natural gas or renewable energy alone. “We need a transition period,

» "Thorium is an amazing energy source and it has a tremendous backstory.

We’ve proven the technology, and now we’re watching China and India take the lead and beat us with it." « - Richard Martin

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and the only way we’re going to do that is nuclear power.” When asked about the impetus for his book, Martin responded that “thorium is an amazing energy source and it has a tremendous backstory. We aren’t discussing a whiteboard technology.

We’ve proven the technology, and now we’re watching China and India take the lead and beat us with it.” Luckily, thanks in part to Kirk Sorensen and Kirk Dorius, cofounders of Flibe Energy, we are undergoing a thorium revival. The stakes are high, and the potential benefit to the United States is almost inconceivable.

Flibe Energy is leading the way with a technology and fuel source that could transform the nuclear energy industry.

According to the co-founders, the company will develop small modular reactors based on liquid-fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) technology. “Liquid-fluoride reactors operate at high temperature but not at high pressure because they use a chemically stable medium

as the fuel and the coolant, making them much safer to operate than conventional reactors. Thorium is the only abundant nuclear fuel that can be efficiently utilized in a thermal-spectrum reactor and is uniquely chemically suited for use in a fluoride reactor,” Sorensen explains.

This promising technology was proven to work in the 1960s but was then nearly forgotten. Thorium’s potential was defined by key personnel from the Manhattan Project, including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner and his protégé, Alvin Weinberg. According to Sorensen, in 1955, Weinberg took charge of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and began a personal campaign to realize the benefits of thorium. Under his leadership, two prototype molten salt reactors were built that demonstrated key technologies needed to bring thorium energy generation to reality.

At the time, however, politics and industry momentum were already firmly committed to

solid-uranium-fueled, water-cooled reactors and the idea of plutonium fast breeder reactors. Weinberg grew increasingly at odds with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission over his repeated concerns about these solidfueled reactors, and despite his 20,000 hours of successful molten salt reactor operation, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission ultimately removed Alvin Weinberg as head of ORNL and canceled his project.

With Weinberg’s departure the research into the potential of thorium as a nuclear fuel was nearly forgotten. Says Sorensen: “Textbooks did not mention it. Nuclear engineers were never taught about it in school.

Even personnel at Oak Ridge, unless they happened to personally know one of the ‘oldtimers,‘ did not know what had taken place in the ridged forests of eastern Tennessee in the 1960s.” Now, several decades later, Flibe Energy is in the process of demonstrating how thorium provides an energy solution.

In contrast to renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, whose energy must

be opportunistically captured and consumed, stored energy resources, such as hydrocarbons, allow energy to be controlled and released at a desired rate. Another stored energy resource, thorium, offers controlled energy release through fission with a million-to-one energy density of hydrocarbon bonds. “Until 1939, we had no idea that we could release the energy that was stored billions of years ago in the nuclear structure of thorium and uranium.

Now we realize that this stored energy might be the greatest and most valuable of all energy sources,” urges Sorensen.

In discussing liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) technology with Sorensen, it is hard not to get swept up in his true admiration for this powerful resource.

Indeed, the more you learn about thorium and LFTR technology, the more you realize its extensive attributes including safety, economic viability, environmental and nonproliferation advantages, just to name a few. An understanding of these attributes, however, requires a baseline understanding

of the technology. The key distinguishing factor for Flibe Energy is that their liquidfluoride reactors use a chemically stable liquid fuel form based on fluoride salts of lithium and beryllium. These salts have exceptional chemical stability and a tremendous heat capacity, allowing for high temperature operation at low pressures.

What this means is that these salts are liquid stable under a temperature range that spans a thousand degrees, making them a nearly ideal medium for sustaining nuclear reaction. A feed of fertile thorium is used in conjunction with an initial charge of fissile material to perpetuate the self-sustaining conversion of thorium into nuclear fuel.

The reactor is designed so that thorium can absorb neutrons released by fission in the core to produce uranium-233. The uranium-233 derived from the thorium is fed back into the reactor core to continue fission to produce high heat for electricity generation and to perpetuate the conversion of thorium into uranium-233.

How does a fluoride reactor use thorium? "hot" salt to heat exchanger fertile salt recycled fuel salt

Fluoride Volatility

Uranium AbsorptionReduction

UF6

Hexafluoride Distillation

Uranium Reduction

HF

thorium tetrafluoride

Fission reactions in the core sustain additional fission in the core and conversion in the blanket

Recycled 7 LiF-BeF2

xF6

Fluoride Volatility

fuel salt UF6 F2

H2

HF Electrolyzer internal continuous recycling of blanket salt

thorium is converting to uranium-233 in the blanket

recycled fertile salt "fuel" salt core (7LiF-BeF2-233UF4)

"fertile" salt blanket (7LiF-BeF2-ThF4)

"cold" salt from heat exchanger

Vacuum Distillation MoF6, TcF6, SeF6, RuF5, TeF6, IF7, Other F6

Fission Product Waste

external "batch" processing of core salt, done on a schedule 04.12 - 06.12

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BUSINESS

Flibe Energy

Thorium: Fuel for America’s Power Addiction The United States economy is highly dependent on affordable and reliable electricity.

Simply put, Americans want it all—an endless supply of clean, sustainable energy without any negative impacts. The mere mention of nuclear energy, however, typically conjures up emotionally charged images from recent events. And even people who have no

» The more you learn about thorium and LFTR technology, the more you realize its extensive attributes including safety, economic viability, environmental and nonproliferation advantages, just to name a few. « ( 66 )

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particular opinion about nuclear generation know something about the concerns relating to production of nuclear waste that results from use of low-enrichment uranium (LEU) in solid-uranium-oxide-fueled light-water reactors (LWR). In conventional LWRs, solid-oxide fuel rods are irradiated for a period of three to four years until the fuel rods can no longer sustain irradiation. These “spent” fuel rods still retain the majority of their original fuel and include high levels of transuranic waste, yet are not currently reprocessed; rather, they accumulate in dry casks at the reactor site pending eventual disposal in deep geological repositories.

In contrast, “an LFTR power plant would generate 4,000 times less mining waste (solids and liquids of similar character to those in uranium mining) and would generate 1,000 times to 10,000 times less nuclear waste than an LWR. Additionally, because LFTRs can be designed to burn nearly all of their nuclear fuel, the majority of the waste products (83 percent) are safely stabilized within 10 years, and the remaining waste products (17 percent) need to be stored in geological isolation for only about 300 years (compared to 10,000 years or more for LWR waste),” says Sorensen.

LFTR technology could further be used to reprocess and consume the unused fuel remaining in spent nuclear stockpiles and to extract and commercialize many of the

other valuable fission by-products that are deemed hazardous waste in their current form.

The statistics of usable fuel sitting off to the sidelines in spent nuclear fuel stockpiles are staggering. According to Sorensen, “The U.S. nuclear industry has already allocated $25 billion for storage or reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, and the world currently has more than 340,000 tons of spent LWR fuel with enough usable fissile material to start one 100 MWe LFTR per day for 93 years.” And, these numbers don’t even include the energy that could be produced from existing uranium and plutonium weapons stockpiles.

“Thorium and the fluoride reactors present an entirely different approach to fuel management that makes repeated recycling not only easy but economically advantageous,” says Sorensen. “LFTR is an inherently safe, intrinsically stable and self-regulating design that removes the root causes of today’s reactor accidents.” The LFTR system operates at near atmospheric pressure, making pressurized release, depressurization or explosion impossible. The reactor is further self-stabilizing because when the reactor gets hotter, its ability to generate heat goes down.

Conversely, when the reactor is cooler, its ability to generate heat goes up.

LFTR technology is far more fuel efficient when compared with solid-oxide uranium

reactors, and its high temperature operation enables use of more efficient power conversion systems. The combination of nearly complete fuel utilization and higher efficiency power conversion allows LFTRs to achieve energy production efficiencies on the order of 200 times that of a typical uranium reactor. “This significant efficiency gain translates to the equivalent of 4.11 million barrels of crude oil per year—more energy than that generated by a uranium reactor with a conventional steam conversion system,” stresses Sorensen.

Capital costs are also lower compared to solid-oxide uranium reactors. These cost savings are due to the smaller reactor and turbo-machinery size, low reactor pressures, minimal redundant safety systems and abundant supply of thorium. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2006 Mineral Yearbook, the United States is estimated to have 300,000 tons of thorium reserves—about 20 percent of the world’s supply—of which more than half is readily accessible. “Considering only the readily accessible reserves, this national resource translates to nearly 1 trillion barrels of crude oil equivalent—5 times the entire oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. In addition to naturally occurring reserves, the United States currently has a reserve of 3,200 metric tons of processed thorium nitrate buried at a test site in the Nevada desert.

This reserve alone is roughly equivalent to 21

billion barrels of crude oil equivalent when used in an LFTR with only minimal processing effort,” says Sorensen.

Remarkably, there are still more benefits to using thorium in a LFTR. It can produce a spectrum of radioisotopes for use in medical treatment, and rare isotopes needed to power NASA’s deep space exploration probes. In particular, the LFTR process produces widely used medical imaging isotopes from fission and promising targeted alpha-therapy agents from the decay of the thorium-derived uranium-233.

The vast majority of the radioisotopes currently used for medical treatment have half-lives of only a few days and must be produced weekly to ensure continued supply. Because of the liquid fuel form, these and other useful byproducts can be continuously removed from the fuel salt, even while the reactor remains online. Notably, the lone North American reactor currently providing these medical radioisotopes is scheduled to be retired in 2016.

If LFTR is so great, why aren’t we doing this already? According to Martin, the obstacles aren’t scientific, they’re institutional, political and business related. Martin further explains that “we’ve never done it before” is not a sound argument against LFTR development. If that were a real argument, then we wouldn’t have ever built any nuclear facilities. The natural gas boom is not going to last forever, and natural

gas alone is not the way to build a low-carbon energy system. For this transition period, he argues, natural gas with nuclear is the way to go. In the last chapter of his book Martin walks through the economics of achieving 50 percent of our existing electric generation capacity with LFTR technology. In short, the market limit is directly related to how many units can be built and how fast. In the real world this means that limits on output capacity will likely be more closely related to regulatory, finance and insurance hurdles as opposed to other challenges such as access to thorium for fuel.

According to those involved with the thorium revival, it is an ideal energy source, and the timing to develop markets for thorium power is now. Thorium is abundant and distributed worldwide throughout the Earth’s crust. The initial problem, however, is getting LFTR technology to market in the United States. “You likely have to do it in-line with Flibe Energy’s vision,” says Martin. The transition to low-carbon energy production will have to take place incrementally. Coalfired plants cannot just be shut down with a switch and abandoned—they need to be decommissioned. A first step is to stop building coal-fired generation and add new capacity with natural gas and thorium-based nuclear plants. The next step is to phase out the existing coal-fired infrastructure with new low-carbon baseload energy from thorium.

If we take these first steps, the United States can still lead the world in LFTR technology.

The United States originated molten salt reactor technology, but if we delay while China spearheads its commercialization, we will be left behind. “The natural gas boom is having and is going to have real economic benefits.

Simply being the low-cost energy provider to the world, however, is not a formula for long-term economic success. The next energy technology needs to be led by the United States,” urges Martin. Thorium may well become one of the world’s primary energy sources. The question is whether the United States is ready to seize the opportunity to position itself as the leader of the thorium transformation.

Kelly de la Torre is an attorney who understands the solutions that advanced energy can bring to the military, the U.S. government and our nation. She is working to bring together partners from various industry sectors and government to identify barriers to implementation and encourage dialogue and consensus on industry solutions. To find out about ALG | Attorneys and how ALG can help bring your company’s energy solutions to these discussions contact or Kelly de la Torre at 720536-4600 or go to www.antonlaw.com.

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BUSINESS

A People-Centered Approach to Business

Redefining Corporate

Consciousness Taking a People-Centered Approach to Profit By Andrea Costantine

C

ompetition, scarcity and bottom-line results have been the driving forces of thriving businesses in our modern world for the past 100 years. Knocking down everything in their path on the way to profit, businesses have been accused that the only thing that mattered was providing a lot of green to shareholders.

Generations change, consciousness evolves and ways of thinking become outdated. Such is the case with the singular bottom-line vision still seen in most of the corporate world. Over the past few decades a shift has started to foster a different kind of conversation within corporations, and today many companies realize their work must generate a significant social impact. In essence, this awakening is redefining corporate consciousness, bringing to the forefront the triple bottom line, which encompasses not only traditional profits, but people and the planet as well.

As corporate consciousness shifts, we can expect to see innovative companies emerge to the forefront, with greater technologies, better practices and leveraged human capital.

These companies will inevitably have the “it” factor—the factor that makes many of the socially responsible businesses stand out from the crowd and thrive, even during economic

» Generations change, consciousness evolves and ways of thinking become outdated.

Such is the case with the singular bottomline vision still seen in most of the corporate world. « ( 68 )

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downturns. You know these companies as Patagonia, New Belgium Brewery, Gaiam and many more. So, what does it take to create a business that not only finds and satisfies a niche for greatness, but one that can also do good with their people, the planet and their profits?

Today’s leaders have a choice in how they lead. Leaders, managers and executives must remember they are dealing with people—not robots, not zombies, not people who are inherently loyal just because they receive a paycheck. The individuals who comprise the spirit of a company are a pivotal part of its success and sustainability. When the leaders of the company embrace a people-first culture, significant change will occur—not only to the environment in which the team works, but in the bottom-line profits.

For companies to embrace a peoplecentered approach to doing business, they must first understand the needs and desires of their team and staff. Today’s workforce doesn’t only care about a paycheck. Instead, they want to work for a company that is dynamic, offers

work-life balance, is doing good in the world, and allows them to do a job they can be proud of. This is even more true in the upcoming workforce of the millennial generation who cares less about money, profit and prestige than they do about having a life outside of work and creating a large-scale social impact.

This raises an important question. What if companies could create an atmosphere where employees felt connected to their work and celebrated work-life balance, individuality and community all in the same place?

To begin the process of creating a dynamic, people-centered company culture, leaders within the organization must understand what it is that people need and want. There are three fundamental motivating desires that on some level all humans share. Those three desires are that each person needs to know they belong, that their life matters and has meaning and that they can make a difference.

If we look at these concepts in more depth, we see the connection of these fundamental desires and the workplace.

The Desire to Belong Despite an American culture that celebrates and prides itself on individualism, the need to belong is almost overpowering.

We see this form early in our social lives as we seek to make friends at school, throughout college and our higher education when we join fraternities and sororities, to the workplace where cliques are formed or where coworkers join forces in response to controversy in the office. You’ve likely worked at a company that had a culture of division—a “me vs. them” culture—where one department constantly fought another or where management and the rest of the staff didn’t see eye-toeye. In environments such as this, where “separation” is encouraged, we seek to create “belongingness” no matter the cost to ourselves and others.

When we feel we belong, whether that’s to a church, social group or our office, our loyalty is significantly heightened. Even in a culture where a slight competitive slant is needed due to the nature of the work, it’s important that the individuals within the organization feel as though they belong to something larger than themselves. A sense of belonging and acceptance has been linked to increased self-esteem. When people feel as though they are “in” something or belong to it, they will likely perform greater, think more creatively and constructively, and collaborate more cohesively. Leadership and management can utilize the concept of “belonging” to create a culture in which human capital is then leveraged to honor and empower employees. This can be done by valuing diversity, limiting competitions, encouraging compassionate communication among colleagues and management, and avoiding comparisons.

The Desire to Matter The second fundamental desire is to know that we matter, that we are important and that our lives have meaning. We sometimes see the contradiction to this in situations where employees’ voices are not heard in meetings, and the time spent together is really a lecture from the top down about what’s to come, not a collaborative conversation that accepts input and feedback from those who are actually in the trenches.

When we get disconnected from feeling as though our voices are heard, it’s easy for people to shut down. People inherently want to do well for their company, they want a job they can be proud of, and they also want to be recognized for how they contribute.

In a recent survey, 69 percent surveyed said they’d work harder if they were better recognized, and 78 percent reported that being recognized motivates them (Workforce Mood Tracker, 2011). This people-centered approach to profit is one of the easiest strategies a company can implement, without a cost of anything but human energy and attention.

I recently heard a retelling of a story where a manager told an employee, “If you don’t like what you are getting paid, I can get any other girl out on the street to do this job.” This type of leadership and management approach is broken, outdated and demotivating. When employees perceive they are easily replaceable, it greatly impacts their productivity and engagement. The attitude then becomes, “If they don’t care about me, why should I care about them?”

It then streams through the culture and becomes a breeding ground for workers with entitlement issues and management with leadership problems. In this case, employees will do what they can to get by and collect their paycheck, and nothing more. All the while, management will be wondering where all the good people are.

The Desire to Make a Difference The third fundamental desire is knowing they can make a difference. At the heart of all individuals, despite their position or title, they want to know that their lives and work can make a difference and have an impact.

That impact can be global, within the organization or even to the bottom line.

I think back to the Dunkin Donuts commercial of the 1980s where the employee got up and said, “It’s time to make the donuts” every single day he worked.

Although this is not a bad way to see one’s job, if your employees have taken on this energy in their work, it’s possible they’ve lost sight of (or never had it) the important role they play within the organization.

Many companies never give their employees a chance to see the bigger picture.

It’s rare that workers understand how their position impacts others and the bottom line; therefore, many employees are left disengaged and question the meaning of their role in the workplace. When the team is knowledgeable about the interconnectedness and meaning of what they do, they are more apt to take pride in their work, claim a deeper level of ownership and responsibility for the quality of what they produce, and participate at a higher level.

People-Centered Approach to Profits Taking a people-centered approach to profits is about transforming the way companies lead and manage. When companies evaluate how to increase the bottom line, the only way to get there is through leveraged human capital. The people within an organization are the ones who make a company remarkable, great and sustainable. If people feel they belong, they matter and they can make a difference, the company’s bottom line will improve.

» There are three fundamental motivating desires that on some level all humans share.

Those three desires are that each person needs to know they belong, that their life matters and has meaning and that they can make a difference. « Creating or changing a culture doesn’t happen overnight, and sometimes seeing the bottom-line profits increase will take additional time. Yet, those who have the foresight and the vision to create a thriving company can transform the way they do business. The people-centered approach is about empowering people to do their jobs, do them well, collaborate, cocreate and emerge as leaders.

An approach like this takes courage, but if you give a team the opportunity to participate in the change, greatness will bubble up from within. Creating this sense of connectedness within an organization will redefine corporate consciousness. Just ask the great leaders who work within the businesses and brands you love.

Andrea Costantine is a speaker, community involvement strategist and an author. Her latest book, Connected: 101 Ways to Be of Service and Create Community will be released spring 2012. Through her work, Costantine inspires Community through Compassion, Contribution and Connection. www.andreacostantine.com.

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BUSINESS

DaVita Inc.

There Is No “I" in Team The Transformative Culture of DaVita By Cristin Tarr and Jan Mazotti

C

ulture starts with people, and oftentimes betting on the corporate culture of a failing company goes beyond risky.

But Kent Thiry, chair and CEO of DaVita, a kidney dialysis company, took the realm of a sinking ship in 1999 and did just that. To save a company on the brink of bankruptcy, Thiry’s first task required a full restructuring of the company, and now nearly 13 years later, his approach to people, process and team has transformed the company into a Fortune 500 company with more than $7 billion in annual revenues and a stock price that has increased more than 2600 percent.

KT, as they call him in the workplace, believed that to turn the company around, it would take the commitment of the people as well as an approach with the end in mind. He was determined to create a special community in a real-world work environment. He said, “I wanted to create community where people cared about each other with unusual intensity; had an unusual shot at realizing their full potential as businesspeople and as humans; and would band together to give gifts to their patients, their families, their local communities, and the world—first by their behavior, and second by their accomplishments.” But, his words are really more than a rah-rah speech or excessive rhetoric; KT really means it—he believes in creating cohesion and a positive culture at work.

Thiry’s mind-set toward creating a transformative corporate culture and his leadership style are the basis for study and active discussions at prestigious business schools including Harvard, Wharton, Stanford and Kellogg. And, his unwavering determination is one of the most impressive corporate success stories in recent history.

Upon taking the helm of DaVita (at the time Total Renal Care), Thiry had to first address the significant issues presented by a disgruntled board of directors and upset employees, as well as declining results. In fact, the company was being sued by stockholders, was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange ( 70 )

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Kent Thiry

» "I wanted to create community where people cared about each other with unusual intensity; had an unusual shot at realizing their full potential as businesspeople and as humans; and would band together to give gifts to their patients, their families, their local communities, and the world—first by their behavior, and second by their accomplishments." « - Kent Thiry

Commission and had lost nearly 40 percent of its employees while much of the top management had been fired or had left—there was no CIO, CFO, COO or VP of HR. In search of a competent and brave CEO, Thiry was called by a headhunter to lead the broken company. He had a strong background in leading and structuring companies, first in his role at Bain & Company and later at a small dialysis company called Vivra. After leaving Vivra, he promised his wife he would slow down, not work so many hours and perhaps lead a nonprofit. KT said, “As I started to listen to the recruiter, all the positive memories of my first time in dialysis, at Vivra, came flooding back. It had been the most powerfully positive time of my professional life. There is a saying I love, and we use it at DaVita all the time: ‘Begin with the end in mind.’ I started at DaVita with more of an end in mind than any other beginning in my professional life.”

Today, DaVita has 42,000 employees, of whom 18,000 are technicians, and 142,000 patients who are seen three times a week— that’s more than 22 million procedures a year. DaVita is currently 157th on the Fortune 500 list, and has been awarded and recognized among Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies for the past seven years and honored as a democratic workplace by WorldBlu. DaVita, a public company, has enjoyed 10 consecutive years of increased revenue—from $1.4 billion in 1999 to more than $7 billion today. Moreover, the stock price has soared from $2 per share when Thiry arrived, to nearly $86 per share today. The company’s success stems from a fundamental feeling of being in a community—or “village,” as DaVita says. They set out to create a special place to work—a unique strategy that in some ways runs contra to a traditional capitalistic corporate environment—it is an environment of community first and company second.

DaVita Inc. is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to

improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services.

As of March 31, 2012, DaVita operated or provided services at nearly 2,400 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States and 15 outpatient dialysis centers located in India, China and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the company boasts 11 consecutive years of improved clinical outcomes—some of the best in the industry.

They also support numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. As a care provider, patients who interact with DaVita are often very ill. Therefore, Thiry made a conscious commitment to transform the corporate culture into one that turned purpose into action and action into values. It was about creating a positive atmosphere in which to work—and it was a purposeful leadership commitment.

“Virtually nothing we do has anything to do with health care. Nearly every human being wants to be a part of a special team that cares about one another, and for that team to be a part of an organization that is trying to be a force for good in the world, in addition to achieving the overall business objectives,” he said.

Additionally, DaVita is committed to what they call the Trilogy of Care: caring for the world, caring for each other and caring for their patients. Besides the demonstrable work of caring for each other and their patients, the company participates in more than 20 patient-, teammate- and community-focused programs.

Committed to raising awareness and giving back, the company has raised more than $3.4 million for more than two dozen charitable organizations, and more than $5.7 million has been given to teammates and their families through corporate support programs. DaVita is also the only kidney care company recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for its sustainability efforts—saving approximately 8.5 million pounds of medical waste by offering dialyzer reuse and diverting nearly 95 percent of its corporate waste through composting and recycling programs. Additionally, the company’s Bridge of Life Medical Missions have brought treatment and education to developing countries—18 missions since 2006 with more than 75 participating teammates spending more than 650 days abroad.

Furthermore, their taxpayer savings programs focus on keeping costs low while improving access to care, reducing hospitalizations

Photo provided by DaVita, Inc.

and leading innovation, resulting in DaVita generating approximately $509 million in overall health care savings.

KT feels strongly you don’t have to make concessions at work and settle for an unpleasant, unfulfilling workplace. In the early days, when he and his chief advisers walked in the board room, they were grilled on spending rather than capital assets or technical training that could logically improve the bottom line. Resisting the pressure to be a traditional corporate leader, Thiry and his team focused on the outcome of patients at the clinics. Compliance with their treatment was critical to their long-term health and survival.

According to various DaVita clinic reviews, one important factor affecting a patient’s continued return to the clinic was the extent to which

patients felt comfortable with and trusting of the dialysis center and its staff and their comfort in the dialysis center. Recognizing early on that incorporating a positive team experience into the core values of the company creates a positive impact on patients, the company focused on helping the technicians become more positive, helpful and caring. This approach was a catalyst for change within the organization and ultimately benefited both inside and outside stakeholders.

Thiry does not believe in, nor does he practice, top-down management. Rather, he believes in community. So the company created the DaVita Village, where employees are referred to as teammates or citizens of the village. The executive team carries nontraditional titles such as Chief Wisdom

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BUSINESS

DaVita Inc.

Officer or Chief People Officer, and Thiry serves as Mayor. Thiry also takes pride in the fact that DaVita is the only Fortune 1000 company where teammates democratically decided on the company name, which means “giving life,” and voted on the company core values and logo design.

When it comes to your people and culture, “You can’t take this stuff for granted, especially as the difficult forces of life, and budgets, and bosses that are jerks squeeze out those behaviors that we aspire to—to me it’s a big disconnect,” he said. “If you don’t invest in it, you’re going to lose.” That’s why the company has invested nearly one-third of every dollar of revenue into teammate development, compensation and benefits, leading to an overall turnover rate that is astounding. In 2010, 377 of their centers had a 0 percent turnover, and 551 centers had less than 10 percent turnover.

“There is no I in team,” said Thiry.

“Our core values must be articulated and demonstrated to all.” That’s why the executive team brought full intellectual rigor to the culture shift and engaged systematic continuous improvement processes. Every teammate is evaluated with a recruit, review, revere, reward, reinforce and reality check. He says, “Without it, we would’ve failed.” Every new teammate is evaluated against the core values—it is part of the recruitment, interview and screening process. In the review stage, teammates are scored in a 360 review, which is also aligned to the mission and the core values. “It’s about personal and professional growth. I needed help in breaking out so I tracked myself every day. It was helpful for me to take public accountability.”

The company reveres its teammates as well. One of KT’s favorite quotes is, “Affinity produces most what it honors most,” and he said the company honors those who model the core values and possess noble human behaviors. To reward its teammates, the company has profit-sharing, recognition ceremonies and special events to honor teammates who excel. To reach and reinforce 42,000 teammates is not an easy job; therefore KT (the Mayor) hosts a bi-monthly update with his citizens. This unique approach allows teammates to stay aligned with corporate efforts, and allows them to talk directly to the leadership. But Thiry also walks the talk—dressing as a musketeer at national team meetings and supporting an almost evangelical environment that is highlighted by singing, dancing, chanting and shouting.

In fact, at annual meetings Thiry shouts, “One for all” and his teammates shout back “All for One!” creating a sense of belonging ( 72 )

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DaVita Mission To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice—We are becoming the greatest kidney care company the world has ever seen through our commitment to upholding our mission and core values every day, in everything we do.

DaVita Core Values Service Excellence—Serving others—our reason for existing. We continually seek to understand the needs of those who depend on us (our patients, doctors and our fellow team members) and then to exceed their expectations.

Integrity—We say what we believe, and we do what we say. We are trusted because we are trustworthy. In our personal, team and organizational values, we strive for alignment in what we say and do.

Team—One for All, and All for One! We work together, sharing a common purpose, a common culture and common goals. We genuinely care for and support, not only those to whom we provide care, but those with whom we work shoulder-to-shoulder.

Photo provided by DaVita, Inc.

We work together to pursue achieving our mission.

Continuous Improvement— We never stand still; we are never satisfied. Individually, and as teams, we constantly look at what we do, and ask, “How can we do this better?” Then, we use a systematic approach to take action.

Accountability—We don’t say, “It’s not my fault,” or “It’s not my job.”

We take responsibility for meeting our commitments—our personal ones as well as those of the entire organization.

We take ownership of the results.

Fulfillment—We make a difference.

We feel rewarded—personally and as a team—because what we do in our jobs is consistent with our goals and dreams. We believe “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi). And, when you are the change, that’s fulfilling!

Fun—We enjoy what we do. We know kidney dialysis is hard work; but even hard work can be fun. We take our jobs seriously, but we feel a fun environment delivers better care to our patients while creating a better work environment for our teammates. We strive for excellence and we have fun. *From www.davita.com.

communities. They have a social contract with one another that details respect and loyalty first.

They have turned the value chain of profit versus people on its head, and the approach has proven extremely beneficial. And they have created a thriving, sustainable community for all that is inspired by helping others. Thiry recounted two of his high school teachers, Robert Orth and John Morita, “Who were inspirations in terms of believing in community and leadership, and me.

They planted the seeds which lay dormant for the early part of my career, but then finally blossomed as I moved thru my late 30s, ‘watered’ by my first dialysis company experience from 1991-97 (it was taken over) … and then nurtured by DaVita starting in 1999. They sparked the focus on people and culture.”

Claiming himself a student, Thiry argued that leadership is a journey and not a

» "Virtually nothing we do has anything to do with health care.

Nearly every human being wants to be a part of a special team that cares about one another." « - Kent Thiry

Photo provided by DaVita, Inc.

and camaraderie. He describes the culture as having characteristics of a sporting event shouting in the crowd a repetitious saying, or perhaps a military showing loyalty to country.

While it may sound weird that a company would create this atmosphere, “It creates positive energy and its fun. We’re not weird!” proclaimed Thiry.

KT also believes that the company “must be the safety net” that doesn’t exist for most of his people. That’s why they established the DaVita Village Network. Says one teammate whose four-year-old daughter experienced a grand mal seizure and was behind on the medical bills, “I came to work this morning with a lingering worry in my heart. Ever since my daughter has been in the hospital I have been afraid … afraid of how I will provide for her financially with the hospital bills calling my name—afraid that I will not make it.”

During a staff meeting, the woman was presented with $2,000 raised by her team and a $9,000 grant from the netwok. She said, "I have a feeling of family and love—a feeling of a village that will stop at nothing to help another

person in their time of need … The human soul is one of the most powerful sources in making good things happen.”

And finally, the company performs reality checks so that they do not fall into “believing their own rhetoric.” Uniquely, DaVita does not hide their core values in a strategic plan, but rather lives them, reminds others of them and speaks of them every day. These seven core values provide guidelines to help fulfill their mission. “Words matter,” KT declared.

In a recent talk at the University of Denver, Thiry likened talking about the corporate core values to telling your children that you love them and that caring about family is important. “How can it be that equally spiritually significant values can’t be talked about at work. Certainly it’s different from loving your children, but it is equally tied to things that are important in life. How can you live them in a robust way if you don’t talk about it? It’s like saying ‘I don’t have to tell the kids I love them—it’s implied.’”

DaVita gives life and hope to many people—their patients, their teammates and their

destination. “I need to keep living our value of continuous improvement if we are to make the dream come true. I need to continue to learn more about people, business and myself,” he remarked. “And to have been a part of creating the DaVita Village has been immensely fulfilling. But we have so much more that we can give each other and the world, and that is immensely exciting.”

So with the end in mind, Thiry stated, “We believe that companies can be a formidable impressive force for good in our communities and for their people without sacrificing an inch of their capitalistic ambitions—without sacrificing one iota of their responsibility to shareholders. It is not a zero sum game … Profit is essential, and we reward those people who help us generate it—we never lose sight that it’s the means.

The end is the value that we add to the lives of the people that we work with and to our communities. Doing good and living the core values is a pretty contagious thing.”

The legacy will live on.

“Damn straight!” One for all. And, all for one!

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BUSINESS

Adapting to Change While Generating Growth

3 Tips to Transform–Not Destroy–Your New Growth

By Dave Guevara and Manish Sharma

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he world is getting smaller— social networking, global media, interdependent economies—and change is happening faster each year. Every company that seeks to be attractive to investors and excel in its industry must also accelerate how fast it adapts to change and creates new growth. A serious threat to achieving sustainable high growth is when senior executives continue to manage with the same techniques that have historically worked, but expect compound annual growth rates to appear somehow. Has your team fallen into the insanity trap of doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results?

Creating durable competitive advantage with double-digit growth demands that the senior executive team use creative destruction as a transformational process to evolve their company. However, applied with a broadbrush, whitewash approach, this will fail. The result is often more destruction that creation.

An example is a consumer product company that decimated 8 percent of revenues by prematurely retasking product, service and channel management resources away from a mature market sector. Though the revenue trends from this sector were flat with declining margins, once the customers felt the lack of attention, they immediately found a supplier who wanted its business. The expected earnings from these lost revenues plus the unplanned costs to stem this customer exodus evaporated the current year operating cash flows that were expected to fund the new transformational initiatives.

Avoid insanity by applying three tips for making transformations creative while proactively managing controlled destruction of obsolete processes, systems and management techniques. These three tips are distilled from the wisdom of Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy, authors of Execution–The Discipline of Getting Things Done; Vijay Govindarajan and Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Solution– Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth; Warren Buffet’s letters to shareholders; Michael Porter On Competition; and the application of these tips by the authors over the past decade. ( 74 )

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Trusted Management Practices Become Obsolete– Keep Principles and Values Sustainable rapid growth to new performance levels is by its very nature disruptive and transformative. For example, compare two growth plans (see Figure 1) based on compound annual growth rates (CAGR) from a baseline year of $100,000,000 in annual revenues: 1) Double revenues (2X) in 5 years = 14.9 percent CAGR 2) Double revenues (2X) in 3 years = 26.0 percent CAGR

Figure 1:

11 percent CAGR Difference = 5 Years vs 1 Year to Create 26 percent New Revenues

Tracing the red line in Figure 1, the first plan (CAGR = 14.9 percent) calls for as much new revenue in year 5 as the more aggressive plan (CAGR = 26.0 percent) must achieve in the first 12 months. The challenges, practices and skills of the management team of each CAGR example must be fundamentally different to support the challenges summarized in Table 1.

Capability to produce new revenue • $15M new revenue booked by end of first year, and then improved annually to produce net new incremental growth at the pace of 3 percent/year.

• Year 5 NEW revenues must be 26 percent of the baseline year revenues.

• $26M new revenue capacity must be established in the baseline year or within the 1st quarter of year 1.

• Imagine a start-up creating NEW revenues equal to 1/3 of today’s revenues in year 2.

Table 1:

Management Challenges Change with Higher CAGR New Revenue/Year

CAGR = 14.9% CAGR = 26.0%

$70,000,000 $60,000,000 $50,000,000 $40,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $10,000,000 $00 1

2

3

4

5

the beginning of the performance year.

This blistering speed of change requires experimentation and adaptation that is characteristic of a new venture, not an established company.

Compounding these challenges are that these new markets, customers, products, services, suppliers, processes and technologies must be operationalized to become mainstream within weeks to months—not years. For most companies this is radically faster than how they achieved their current operational excellence.

Consequently, management practices must shift to focus on managing rapid change where operational processes become adaptive to continuously scale and improve operational performance. In the midst of this change, hold to the core values of the company and the principles, reminding everyone about care for customers, employees, partners and investors.

Transformation Should Be Creative Destruction Capability to sustain existing performance • By year 3 the company is 51 percent larger and must have been innovated just to retain its current customer base.

• Operational and sales effectiveness must scale to add 15 percent, 20 percent, then 26 percent of new capacity every year—while evolving the established operations to remain competitive and cost effective.

• By year 2 the company is 60 percent larger, must rapidly evolve its current operations to operationalize 33 percent new capacity growth by year 2 and over 60 percent new capacity by year 4.

• Retaining the revenue base while developing new scale and capabilities cannot wait for organizational changes. So the organization has groups who focus on disruptive change, others who specialize in operational effectiveness, and between them teams who can operationalize new capabilities very rapidly.

Innovation Speed • Disruptive: Market and sales effectiveness will be redefined. Operations, including customer service and management practices, must make a dramatic change by the end of year 4.

• Continuous: Top-down methods for identifying and executing innovation will give way to individual and community-based ideas that are elevated, evaluated, experimented and then executed.

• Disruptive: Becomes almost continuous in parts of the company. This becomes destructive if not insulated from core operations and the established revenue base. One reason for using a new venture approach.

• Continuous: A rapid pace of change becomes the culture of the company. The skill is in changing only where needed, and scaling/evolving most of the current capabilities.

The capability to produce new revenue requires that the new business capabilities, technologies, processes and management practices be established and operational before

Transformation is about learning to be competitively successful at something you have never done before, while preserving the current revenue base until: • New revenue sources are in place and productive; • Legacy capabilities can be retired without any or at least acceptable loss; • An end-of-life transition naturally expires some of the current revenue base; • It is time to relinquish low-value revenue to competitors.

However, don’t let a “can-do” attitude become a transformational naivety as cautioned by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble in The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge. They suggest being realistic about the current operational capabilities and their ability to scale and absorb change while preserving the current revenue base and incremental growth plans.

Govindarajan and Trimble describe these current operational capabilities as your “Performance Engine,” and a new team that is chartered with the new, disruptive capabilities as the “Dedicated Team.”

When the pace of change is very high, such as in the CAGR = 26 percent example, then innovation must occur within both the Performance Engine and with a Dedicated Team. As illustrated in Figure

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BUSINESS

Adapting to Change While Generating Growth

2, the Performance Engine must learn to evolve itself—not 100 percent but the part is needed for new growth—to create a new performance level that is continuously increasing in scale and effectiveness while managing cost optimization.

Figure 2:

Disruptive Transformation Must Include Continuous Innovation

2) Define the operating rhythms by perhaps defining two scenarios for different customer adoption rates of the next $20M in new revenue, and what this means operationally in terms of investment, people, processes, systems, supply chains and business partners.

3) Experiment before committing.

Formulate your hypothesis, define the success criteria, formulate the experiment, iterate within a time-boxed window, review, get smarter and do what comes next.

Continuous Innovation Must Become Engrained in Your Culture

For management teams that are very good at operational efficiencies and cost containment, this new approach will be frustrating. Change will happen too fast; the usual time from idea to reviewing performance reports will collapse from years to months, months to weeks or even days. Therefore, their focus must shift to systematizing and managing how they optimize and scale operations. This means working through others—usually with much less experience—making systems easy to configure and change, and moving many manual “setup” processes into semi- or fully automated processes.

The Dedicated Team may seem appealing to many because it’s cool and exciting to work on new things. However, these team members and executive sponsors really must possess four key characteristics: 1) Intrepreneurs are very good at finding and vetting new ideas, are comfortable with risk, but also understand how to commercialize these ideas or find sponsorship. They implement new ways of doing business.

2) Change Agents have a unique knack of being able to quickly understand business outcomes and the approaches or options, then identifying the changes that must occur—process, organizational, information, technical, ecosystem. They are masterful communicators in helping others overcome their fears of change, and in seeing themselves in the new reality.

3) Insightful leaders are active listeners and ravenous for information, input, suggestions and alternatives. They quickly formulate a 'story' that establishes vision, purpose and goals; are articulate in communicating that story within the context of any given listener; and can help people know how they contribute toward which outcomes.

4) Operational wizards are those who have already revamped/evolved the Performance Engine, integrated supply chains, or are the ones everyone turns to as advisers/leaders when the “hard stuff” has to get done.

Transformation is a collaborative new culture when done well. Both the Performance Engine(s) and Dedicated Team(s) are responsible to make the new transformational capabilities scalable and the “new” mainstream that will continue to rapidly evolve. Operationalizing new capabilities is critical to making transformations creative. Use three simple principles to mitigate the disruptive risks and destructive effects of these new transformational capabilities: 1) Plan the transitions to be iterative. For example, transitioning part of the Performance Engine to a new Performance Engine, or implementing new products, markets, processes that have never been done before. ( 76 )

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Transforming your company requires a commitment not just to the new, sexy opportunities, but also to transform your Performance Engine, or build a new one.

Transformative initiatives are not a “special project.” Check your readiness by answering, “If you were building a new company from scratch to pursue these transformational innovation initiatives, would you hire people away from your current company, or even acquire it?”

If the answer is “yes,” then your current Performance Engine is ready to scale and absorb the changes from the transformational initiatives. If the answer is “no,” then your initiatives must include transforming your Performance Engine so that it can support these initiatives. One of the common challenges where operational excellence has been high is moving to an iterative, adaptive and “fail fast, often, and fix” culture. This transition is perceived as sacrificing the principles and methods that were critical to achieving operational excellence.

The processes and approach that achieved operational excellence in the first place look much like the approach for commercializing the results from transformational initiatives, such as launching new capabilities, validating results, iterating, relaunching, validating again, iterating again, scaling and expanding, and repeating. The primary difference is a new management and operational skill to define, experiment with and operationalize new innovations must be faster than has ever been done before within the company.

New transformational capabilities should evolve and expand operational excellence continuously and more rapidly while still preserving performance. Consequently, the management skills, processes and principles that created the current operational excellence should evolve and mature, and not be discarded.

BUSINESS

Khan Academy

Salman Khan

Khan Academy Using Video to Reinvent Education By Kelly de la Torre and Jan Mazotti

C

an one simple idea transform the educational system worldwide? If you look at the results emerging from the Khan Academy, founded by Salman Khan, the answer is a resounding yes. Although Khan did not set out to change the world, he has provided the catalyst to unlock a new method of teaching. Khan’s method empowers students to take control of their education and empowers teachers to use technology to push learning to new levels. Fortunately for all of us, Khan provides unlimited access to these tools so that students of all ages and backgrounds can have access to top-notch educational content on any topic. ( 78 )

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People are starting to take notice. Sal Khan was named one of the Most Influential People in World by TIME in 2012. TIME summed up Khan’s accomplishments in two critical sentences “Sal Khan is a true education pioneer. He started by posting a math lesson, but his impact on education might truly be incalculable.”

Khan urges all of us to make a difference.

Khan delivered the commencement speech to Rice University graduates in April 2012.

During his speech, he encouraged them to: “Become lifelong learners, maintain perspective and increase the positivity in the world— the net happiness.” And, while these words can serve as powerful guiding principles,

it’s not always easy. Khan quit his job in order to devote his energy to building Khan Academy online. He struggled to get by on small donations from the website until Ann Doerr, an environmental activist, provided the financial backing necessary to get the Khan Academy off the ground. It is that act that Khan emphasized during his speech to graduates: “Support and validate others who do good things, even in small ways. Don’t just sit by and observe it. Recognize it. When you do that, all sorts of things are going to start percolating in the universe.”

Using Video to Reinvent Education The Academy was started when Khan, then a hedge fund analyst, designed a method to use to tutor his cousins remotely using 10-minute video clips produced in his closet during his off time. He posted the videos, targeted toward one mathematical concept, publicly on YouTube, where his cousins could only see a screen that was filled in while Khan narrated.

After building a small library of videos and receiving feedback from his cousins, Khan realized that his cousins preferred the automated version of him. It wasn’t that they objected to the one-on-one interaction with him, it was that the videos enabled two things. First, the cousins could watch the videos as many times as they wanted until they were comfortable with the concept, and it’s the narration along with the examples that is so engaging to the viewer. For example, in one video conclusion, Khan exclaims, “If this does not blow your mind, then you have no emotion.” Second, if the concept was something that they should have learned days, weeks or months ago, watching the videos removed any embarrassment or shame associated with an apparent failure to understand. Fundamentally, says Khan, the last thing a student needs when trying to understand a new concept is another human saying “Do you understand this?”

Lesson feedback was reinforced by comments on YouTube, where one student wrote, “First time I smiled doing a derivative.”

Clearly thrilled by positive comments, Khan relishes the good ones … “I got a natural high and was in a good mood for the next day.” But what really motivates Khan is when he can “break through.” He tells a story of a parent of a child with autism. The parents had tried everything, bought everything and viewed everything, but it was Khan’s videos that got through. The moment when the lightbulb goes on and the student—regardless of age or background—really gets it and can move ahead to the next concept on firm footing is pure satisfaction. It became apparent that the videos filled a void. Maybe, thought Khan, the videos

could help other people besides his cousins and random viewers. What was to follow is truly remarkable.

Khan argues that a typical math classroom is designed to provide a one-size-fits-all lecture to explain concepts and presumes that students understand the concepts quickly.

Then, students are given homework problems to test their understanding and practice its application. However, when students do not understand the conceptual frameworks, homework may seem insurmountable. What’s more, if the concept seems widely understood, students are less likely to admit that they do not understand the concept in its entirety.

Even more detrimental, when a student doesn’t understand a concept, the class moves on anyway. The result is a framework that is being built with gaps.

He compares the current process to learning to ride a bike. He says a student that has mastered pedaling, but is wobbly on the turns and braking, would receive an 80 percent on skill—but that’s not mastery—it’s just an average grasp.

Then the teacher hands the student a unicycle and expects mastery. “It is much harder to move to an advanced level when there are Swiss cheese gaps in the foundation. That is how our traditional system functions. Mastery does not have to be achieved in order to progress,” Khan proclaims.

That is why Khan does it differently. He believes the videos provide the key to “flip the classroom.” By removing the one-size-fits-all lecture, teachers can now take a fundamentally dehumanizing experience and use classroom time to provide for peer-topeer interaction and one-on-one interaction.

By assigning the online lectures as homework, classroom time can now be spent applying the concepts to hands-on exercises, such as simulations for games, mechanics and robotics.

More importantly, students are able to take control of their education by moving at a pace that allows them to self-progress. Obviously, higher level courses require more expansive thinking; therefore the fundamental paradigm at Khan Academy is that students continue moving forward to more advanced modules as they gain mastery, while the computer generates as many questions as a student needs to make it to the next level.

This model has been the basis for incredible worldwide growth. The first YouTube video was uploaded in 2006; the Khan Academy was founded in 2008; and to date there are 4.7 million unique users per month, more than 145 million videos have been watched, and nearly 480 million exercises have been completed.

Currently, the majority of traffic is from the United States; however, the videos have been viewed all over the world. Therefore, Khan Academy is translating core videos into 10 of the most widely spoken languages. Beyond the initial start-up funding from Google of $2 million, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of $1.5 million, Khan Academy has received funding from many supporters.

Significant donations have been provided by Reed Hastings, the O’Sullivan Foundation, the Valhalla Charitable Foundation, the McCall McBain Foundation and John and Ann Doerr.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided a sizable follow-on grant of $4 million after the initial funding.

The initial pilot project between Khan Academy and the Los Altos School District in the San Francisco Bay Area was received so positively by the students, parents, teachers and administrators, that the school district implemented Khan Academy district-wide in their fifth and sixth grade classes and is in the

before—they can now spend time getting up to speed with no embarrassment. It is an avenue to open new doors to happiness and success.

Many speculate that Khan’s methods provide a glimpse into the future of education.

“There is no reason that we can’t have peer-topeer tutoring in a global one-world classroom,” he says. This method could also revolutionize education and bring online teaching to remote Third World locations, where the rising billion are becoming more “connected” every day. He wants to bring the site to “whoever benefits.”

So what are Khan’s education predictions for 2060?

He predicts a change to the current passive model of the professor lecturing and the student taking notes. Going forward, the bulk of time will be spent applying concepts to build things, create and explore. The concepts could be used in painting a picture, composing a sonata or choreographing a dance, to name just a few. “It is,” according to Khan, “a social imperative that this happens.”

Using this method, students feel empowered to choose what to work on and ownership for their learning.

They feel like they are exploring math, not being drilled in it. Teachers have more time to deliver handson learning by applying different skills through projects. Students can challenge teachers on concepts or redo videos for the class to solidify their understanding. The opportunities are seemingly endless.

“We’re all about making the total educational experience as engaging and rich as possible,” says Khan. That is one of the foundations of the Khan Academy and one of the critical elements that we need to nurture in the next generation of students. We are facing daunting challenges ahead, and we need an educated and creative workforce to provide solutions. Khan Academy is focused on providing just that.

» To date there are 4.7 million unique users per month, more than 145 million videos have been watched, and nearly 480 million exercises have been completed. « process of introducing the concept to seventh and eighth grade classes. In addition, Khan Academy is directly partnering with 15-plus other public, charter and independent school systems. “The goal of these partnerships is to define and develop a blueprint for different types of schools and prove that Khan Academy enables students to fill gaps in their knowledge, which will help them propel beyond grade-level material.”

The goal of Khan Academy is to use technology to humanize what is happening in education and to shed light on the misconceptions surrounding the student-toteacher ratio versus the student-to-valuablehuman-time-with-the-teacher ratio. In the traditional model, emphasizes Khan, five percent of classroom time is spent working with students. This new paradigm focuses on the “Swiss cheese gaps” and humanizes the classroom by directing one-on-one targeted interaction with students. By the academy’s calculations, this new paradigm is effectively humanizing the classroom by a factor of 10.

Self-paced learning opens the door to new opportunities for the adult learner as well. Adult learners do not have to be embarrassed to go back and learn what should have learned years

Kelly de la Torre is an attorney who understands the solutions that advanced energy can bring to the military, the U.S. government and our nation. They are working to bring together partners from various industry sectors and government to identify barriers to implementation and encourage dialogue and consensus on industry solutions. To find out about ALG | Attorneys and how ALG can help bring your company’s energy solutions to these discussions contact or Kelly de la Torre at 720-536-4600 or please go to www.antonlaw.com.

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Ten Lessons from Digital Innovators

Ten Lessons from Digital Innovators Best Practices in Transformative IT Leadership By Anna Frazzetto

“I

nnovation” is a very difficult term to define, but it is absolutely everywhere. Few Chief Inforamtion Officers (CIOs) or IT leaders would say they are not innovative in their work. In fact, the Harvey Nash CIO Survey found that threequarters of CIOs believe their companies will lose market share if they fail to innovate. Innovation is a must. But, ask CIOs and business leaders to define exactly what innovation means, and you will get a surprisingly wide variety of responses.

Try to find a job description in IT leadership without the words “innovative” and “innovation,” and you might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack.

What is it that businesses and the marketplace are looking for when they seek out innovative companies, ideas and people?

Fifteen to 20 years ago the term may only have been about technology. Innovation referred to the work people and businesses did to develop and enhance technology tools, from computers and programming languages to software and servers. Innovation today means “business.”

Innovation is the way in which companies and people are creatively transforming technology to make their businesses unique and, as a result, more effective, more profitable, better known and better able to beat the competition.

Web 2.0, mobile technology and cloud computing have all presented genuinely new ways to operate businesses, engage customers, open new markets and create new revenue streams. Those businesses and business leaders who can transform those technologies into strategic opportunities that set their businesses apart are innovating. They are converting technology ingenuity into business value, and that is why innovation means so much. It moves the bottom line higher.

way to look at the requirement. CIOs today must have the vision, insight and creativity to transform today’s ever-advancing technologies into new and better business opportunities. A job requisition for a CIO ten years ago would have focused strongly on project management,

The Transformative CIO: Putting Business First

• Report to the CEO (25 percent more likely than the overall CIO population) • Have realistic aspirations to become a CEO (26 percent more likely) • Have had budget increases in the last year (18 percent more likely)

While “innovation” may be the keyword most people think of when seeking out the right IT executive to lead, “transformative” is another ( 80 )

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» Those who have been most successful in cultivating innovation and driving transformative change are able to balance both new-economy skills and old-school technology smarts. « technical understanding and the ability to relate to internal customers. She or he would have been a technologist first. Today, important new traits are being added to CIO job descriptions that reflect the more interconnected, multifarious, externally focused and fast-changing world we live and work in. He or she must be a business leader first.

To understand the profile of transformative technology leaders, the Harvey Nash CIO Survey examined the traits of CIO innovators. The results showed that innovative CIOs demonstrate ambition, influence, job fulfillment, boldness and progressive thinking. According to the survey results, innovative CIOs today:

•A re a member of the operational board or executive management team (22 percent more likely) •U se innovation as a source of competitive advantage rather than focus on cost savings (29 percent more likely) •F ind their job very fulfilling (24 percent more likely) • I nvest to a great extent in team training (36 percent more likely) Harvey Nash has spent years not only surveying the world’s IT leaders, but also placing them in key roles and helping them build their IT organizations. Those who have been most successful in cultivating innovation and driving transformative change are able to balance both new-economy skills and old-school technology smarts. They understand the business today, but are willing to embrace a radically different tomorrow. To shed light on how individuals can become transformative CIOs and businesses can identify them, here are ten lessons and best practices from IT leaders and business innovators from the CIO Survey.

10 Lessons in Transformative IT Leadership

1

Don’t Be Afraid of the Shadows Everyone likes the bright spotlight, but innovative CIOs are able to find transformation possibilities in both the likely places—social media, cloud or mobile—and the unexpected ones. Accounting or tax departments may not sound excessively glamorous, but the opportunities for increasing efficiency and business intelligence are as strong in these areas as they are in any other of an organization. An innovative CIO will gladly go off the traditional path of innovation to identify win-win transformation opportunities across all areas of the business.

Take, for example, the CIO of a major professional services company that Harvey Nash supports. He realized that a recent

change in tax laws of one country where the business operates would allow the firm— through technology alone—to relocate the processing of certain functions. The result was a substantial reduction in operating expenses.

Grand in scale? Perhaps not.

An innovation that delivered notable and sustainable bottom-line results? Absolutely.

2

Be Open-Minded and Agile It’s trite, but true and transformative.

Innovators are open to the possibilities— all possibilities—and they are quick to convert on the strong ones. As technologies and business models continue to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to come up with concrete long-term, or even medium-term, business strategies. Successful digital leaders embrace this uncertain world. They are able to work with changing strategies by adapting priorities. Openminded and agile, they can switch gears quickly when the business requires.

They are prepared to pursue multiple streams of projects, killing off the unsuccessful and evolving the most promising. For a CIO innovator, even the primary business objective of an initiative is not sacrosanct, as it can change over the course of a project or might not even exist formally at the start. In lieu of this lack of certainty, CIO innovators are guided by an instinct for what will work for the business.

3

Maintain Old-School Business Acumen Innovation is no longer synonymous with stargazing. More than ever, it is rooted in sound commercial principles and a focused return on investment.

While businesses do look for IT leaders who can create a vision, they are also looking for pragmatic people who are able to translate creative concepts into commercial value. They understand how to make a business case.

4

Mix Form and Function In a world increasingly defined by technology products that have a strong design ethos from companies such as Apple and Google, CIO innovators know that even the very best functioning product is likely to have limited success if its user interface is not up to snuff. For that reason, design interface is central and often the starting point of an IT project today, whereas it used to be a stage further down the project life cycle.

Interestingly, the look-and-feel of technology tools and products seems to be core to a digital innovator's DNA. They understand the requirement of functional excellence but also put extremely high value on form. This, without a doubt, is a radical change from CIOs of years past who focused almost exclusively on function.

A true modern CIO innovator must clearly understand the intense personal engagement today’s technology users expect from their tools and applications. They know that design and usability can have as strong an impact as functionality in the present landscape.

5

Make Failure an Option True innovators and transformative leaders are not afraid to take calculated risks. Rather like a venture capitalist, they see their projects as a portfolio that they nurture. They accept and embrace the idea that many of these projects will not result in a big return. They see failure as a learning experience, and are clever enough to have enough successes to stay in the game.

6

Embrace Your Inner Geek At the end of the day, technology is still the tie that binds, and CIO innovators have a surprisingly firm grasp of the technical details. They understand that while new technology can create new opportunities, it can also create new competitors and threats. Innovators are passionate about the technical landscape that they operate in. This is not only because they are genuinely interested, but also because without it, their innovations and ability to generate transformative business change is greatly limited.

7

Cultivate a Shepherding Instinct Digital innovators tend to foster innovation, rather than own or manage it. For instance, they will empower other people to devise social network strategies and then work back from the successes achieved to formulate company-wide policies or ground rules.

They are capable of guiding from a distance, without stamping out passion and innovation elsewhere. Giving others the opportunity to own “the glory” is one of the reasons people want to work for transformative CIOs.

8

Train and Grow Top Teams Transformative leaders understand that skills—both technical and business—must always evolve in the current market of change and globalization. Innovative CIOs want their teams to learn, grow and constantly develop new skills and knowledge that will propel the company’s technology capabilities and business opportunities forward. They want their staff to see technology as a means to achieving the business’s goals, which requires equal parts technology and business training.

9

Build a Lab for Experimentation Innovative CIOs cultivate curiosity and experimentation among their teams. Whether running a physical lab or not, many of today’s most successful CIOs encourage a laboratory-like environment, allowing staff members time to push, test and experiment with technology in order to see where it might take the business.

Understanding that resources and time are limited, transformative CIOs still find ways to give their brightest tech and business minds time to create and play with technologies that are reshaping the business landscape.

10

Be a Trusted Advisor For many CEOs, investing in a digital innovation is a leap of faith. That is exactly why it is so important that the person leading the innovation has the trust of the CEO and the company board. Innovative CIOs blueprint transformative, innovative IT projects and work nonstop to ensure the company’s senior leaders and stakeholders understand the aim of those projects. Their understanding and backing determine whether the entire company will embrace or resist the initiative.

Transformation Starts with Innovators True innovations set a business apart in a fundamental, not a transitory, way. Rather than copying competitors and following trends, innovative businesses and their leaders are paving their own way forward. Never before has the role of the CIO held so much opportunity to shape business strategy, create new business opportunities and lead transformations that change the business in essential and lasting ways.

It’s true that the CIO role looks very different than it did 10-15 years ago. It’s a role that has transformed, putting IT at the forefront of business innovation and its senior leaders (CIOs) in the thick of shaping and delivering business value. And isn’t that also one of the most important traits of a transformative, innovative leader? A leader who can adapt and grow with the business is one who will continue to make important, lasting contributions despite shifting markets, changing economies and constant technology evolution.

Anna Frazzetto is the senior vice president of International Technology Solutions at Harvey Nash, a global professional recruitment consultancy and IT outsourcing service provider.To learn more about the CIO Survey 2012 visit www.harveynash.com/ciosurvey.

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BUSINESS

PCL Constructors

PCL Constructors Structure as Transformational Metaphor By Michael Connors

T

ake a close look at the world around you. Every human-made object has a literal and figurative impact on our life. Buildings, bridges, infrastructure are all transformational edifices that help shape our physical existence— they are at once real brick, stone, concrete and glass constructs yet also serve as monumental structures that define civilization and modern human reality. Perhaps no one better understands and relates to the foundational nature of construction than those in the industry. PCL Constructors (PCL), the largest construction company in Canada and the sixth largest in the United States, was established in 1907 and has quietly become a powerhouse in the industry today. This collection of professionals are passionate about the industry and communities where they live and work. They have immutable bonds to the communities they transform and are deeply proud of PCL. A Fortune 100 top employer to work for, PCL is leading the industry in green technology and innovation, encouraging their people to have compassion for those in their world who need help. President and COO Peter Beaupre was kind enough to sit down and enlighten me about the giving spirit of his company and what, exactly, it is that makes PCL an extraordinary place to be. In just one short visit with Beaupre, I learned much more about the heart and soul that goes into every project.

The strength of PCL’s philanthropy is in direct correlation to the robust success of their businesses. PCL has strategically positioned them in a mid-market construction niche that serves a plethora of needs-based projects.

Beaupre elaborated on the recent business strategy. He said, “Although these last few years have been disappointing, they’re not surprising.

So it was pretty obvious that we need to be geographically diverse, but we also need to be sectorally diverse. You want to be in the public sector, and in civil construction, as well as industrial. So when the private marketplace dropped off in 2008, we were able to shift our focus to a lot of military work; we are strong in transportation projects, and we have a strong ( 82 )

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Peter Beaupre

» "So when they work with a client they know they are not just an employee putting in time—they are an owner, ownership inspires us to invest ourselves." « - Peter Beaupre

resume in the industrial sector. Our industrial company in the western United States is as busy as it has ever been.”

Beaupre emphasized that not only do they have business fundamentals in the areas of strategic growth and financing, permitting, materials, and the like, but they excel at bringing together talented people who are customer-service oriented and passionate about fulfilling the expectations of the client.

Much of the service-oriented enthusiasm is due to the fact that PCL is an employee-owned business. And that value of inclusion is a conviction that the second-generation Poole family instilled in 1977 when the first investment option was offered to employees—which was led by Bob Stollery. Beaupre elaborated, “He left behind a legacy of generosity and a legacy of caring for each other and caring for the client. He believed that this company should be a broadly held employee-owned company—and not a closely held organization. He saw his vision fulfilled when the company became 100 percent employee-owned—all of these people that you have come in contact with work for the company and own a piece of it too. So when they work with a client they know they are not just an employee putting in time—they are an owner!” He went on, “Essentially, ownership inspires us to invest ourselves in what we do and at the end of the day it is the talents of our people that we sell to our customers, no matter what industry. And this success then generates the resources that enable us to then give of ourselves in our communities.”

Therefore, a commitment to excellence breeds success, and that success opens doors to even larger projects. PCL has been involved in many noteworthy large-scale projects from hospitals and bridges to military facilities and industrial instillations. But it is the small,

city of San Diego, PCL built an affordable housing development that included shops and a grocery store. In many ways it serves as a foundational blueprint for sustainable neighborhoods and development. A press release by the City of San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency noted the far-reaching impact an affordable housing project such as this can inspire.” It goes to say, “It is anticipated that the Mercado del Barrio Project will create 201 short-term jobs, 223 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs while bringing approximately $200,000 in annual sales tax revenue to the City. The project will also generate approximately $3 million in tax increment over the lifetime of the project area. When the residential, supermarket and commercial phases are completed and occupied, the Mercado del Barrio will represent an $80 million investment in the community.”

This is not just about bricks and mortar; it is about transforming a neighborhood, and by extension, a city. Each contribution has a ripple effect that strengthens the pride of the neighborhood and draws other resources. Investing one’s craftsmanship and resources into the world where we live also benefits those doing the work. Beaupre observed, “We’re building communities, and that is such a great joy because of what it means to our employees.”

Beaupre also said something very interesting—it’s simple yet deeply profound and is an example of what we should all strive for. He asked “What good is building and working in a community if we don't have the support of that community?” PCL supports myriad of nonprofit organizations from United Way to Habitat for Humanity, and nearly all of the support is organic, meaning that their community service is inspired by their employees and comes from the heart—the places where they live.

This spirit of giving is nurtured by PCL in that the corporation encourages and helps match the philanthropy initiated by their employee-owners. The bottom line, according to Beaupre, is this: “There are a lot of organizations that are trying to do the right thing to help the community. I am very proud to work with a company that feels as strongly about working for the community as we do.”

» This is not just about bricks and mortar; it is about transforming a neighborhood, and by extension, a city. Each contribution has a ripple effect that strengthens the pride of the neighborhood and draws other resources. « community-focused projects that often bring the most satisfaction to the team. While some of the projects are iconic and recognizable— such as the Denver International Airport or the Staples Center—it is the smaller projects that Beaupre fondly recalls. He said, “A lot of them are way under the radar screen, but are really important to the people who are developing them. We've built some special needs schools some health clinics and some community centers that were fundamentally needed. And these places became the center point of their communities. So it is on a smaller scale that our worlds are often most affected, and these are the structures that we come in contact with most and are often of the greatest need.”

A prime example of PCL’s commitment to developing communities one project at a time can be seen in the Mercado del Barrio development in San Diego. Working with the

Michael Connors has an M.A. in literature and an extensive background in teaching. He is a Colorado native and spends his free time in the Rockies skiing and hiking.

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COMMUNITY

Women on Boards

Women on Boards = Peak Performance for Organizations

By Donna Evans

H

ow does a company or nonprofit organization maintain an edge to perform at its peak in this economy? Can the lessons learned today provide new best practices to emulate in the future? Is diversity in the boardroom a factor in improved performance?

that women donate twice as much to charity as men, and increasingly are the target of philanthropic organizations.

At a time when organizational performance is highly scrutinized due to economic cycles and globalization, the presence of more women in the boardroom could have a significant, positive impact on both corporations and nonprofits. According to the National Association of Corporate Directors, companies having women on their boards bring increased value to their corporations by broadening market vision, enhancing board dynamics, inspiring female stockholders and improving corporate reputation.

With the growing economic impact of women comes more attention to the positive results they generate for corporations and nonprofit organizations. Gender Imbalance in the Boardroom: Opportunities to Change Course, published by the InterOrganizationNetwork, cites several positive results achieved for organizations when female directors serve, including:

The Economic Impact of Women Economically, in the United States of America, women now control more than 80 percent of all household purchases, according to the February 2010 article by Joanne Cleaver titled “What Women Want.” Data also show that as of 2010, women controlled 27 percent of the world’s wealth— or about $20.2 trillion—growing an astounding 16 percent since 2009. And, women in the United States now control 60 percent of the spending and investments worldwide, making them the largest economic force in the world, according to the Federal Reserve Board. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, women own 10 million businesses in the United States and employ 27 million people—more than the Fortune 500—and those numbers grow every year. Further, the Economic Journal reports

» Diversity in

the boardroom is not an egalitarian issue; it is a performance issue for all corporations and nonprofit organizations. «

Women Board Members Impact Organizations

• Improved financial performance • Improved governance • Higher level of board independence from management • Stronger commitment to social responsibility • Increased number of women role models in society And, experts consistently cite research that demonstrates corporate and nonprofit organizations experience these benefits when three or more women serve on the board.

Diversity in the boardroom is not an egalitarian issue; it is a performance issue for all corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Who Are the Women?

Unfortunately, women’s economic impact is not well recognized in leadership roles, particularly in the boardrooms of major organizations in the United States. Catalyst, a research organization that focuses on women’s roles in business, reports that in 2011 women held an average of 16 percent of directorship positions in the Fortune 500 companies, with a breakdown showing the following across different board positions.

In addition, in the 2011 Report of Women on Fortune 500 Boards, published

by Catalyst, it shows that women comprised at least 25 percent of the directorships in 16.3 percent of the Fortune 500 and that 11.3 percent of Fortune 500 companies included no women on their boards.

Return on equity

Return on sales

Return on investment capital

All-male boards

9.1%

9.7%

4.7%

1 or 2 female directors

11.9%

13.7%

7.7%

3 or more female directors

16.1%

16.9%

10%

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While performance of the Fortune 500 provides an important benchmark, the statistics are not as good for the pool of potential corporate directorships in all publicly traded and closely held companies. The InterOrganizational Network (ION), which advocates for the advancement of women on boards and in executive roles, says, “Although the Fortune 500 companies in some regions exceed the national benchmark in terms of their percentage of women directors, the comparable percentages on the boards of small companies in most regions drag down the overall performance.”

» As of 2010, women controlled 27

percent of the world’s wealth—or about $20.2 trillion. «

Donna Evans

Norway, Sweden and Finland all boast percentages at 25 or higher for female representation in the boardroom. By comparison, the United States lags most European countries, with African and Asian countries quickly picking up the pace. The Catalyst study Increasing Gender Diversity on Boards: Current Index of Formal Approaches, 2010, shows that legislation and regulation providing for minimum standards for directorships held by women in publicly traded companies has been instituted in 28 countries.

Women on Boards = Improved Financial Performance Peak financial performance for organizations is significantly impacted by women. In a speech by SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar to the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, he reports that “there appears to be a meaningful relationship between diverse boards and improved financial performance.” Catalyst research reports that companies with more female directors outperform those with the least women by 53 percent. Their research documents interesting return on equity, sales and investment figures.

A Pepperdine University Corporate Board Investor Survey of corporate investors says that 51 percent of investors consider female board composition when picking stocks for investments.

Board Diversification Strategy: Realizing Competitive Advantage and Shareowner Value, published by CALPERS, shows that “companies without ethnic minorities and women on their boards eventually may be at a competitive disadvantage and have an underperforming share value.”

Women on Boards = Improved Governance Peak governance performance is significantly impacted by women.

The presence of female directors, especially when three or more women serve on the same board, provides positive governance benefits to a company. In fact, the Conference Board of Canada found that boards with more women surpassed all-male boards in their attention to audit and risk oversight and control, as well as identified two significant factors for improved governance, as shown on the next page.

Women on Boards = Increased Independence Peak performance requires board independence and female directors significantly impact the level of independence exhibited by a board. Directors guide three functions for organizations— strategy, risk management and performance of the chief executive officer. Research shows that women directors naturally demonstrate skill in acting independently and influencing other

» Each woman added to a board

represented a $2.3 million increase in contributions, and each woman added to the executive team represented $5.7 million more in contributions. « 04.12 - 06.12

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COMMUNITY

Women on Boards

directors to do the same. A Wellesley report notes that “increasing the number of women to three or more enhances the likelihood that women’s voices and ideas are heard and that boardroom dynamics change substantially.”

Women on Boards = Greater Social Responsibility Peak performance incorporates social responsibility as part of the daily fiber of an organization. Organizations with more women on their boards are credited with raising awareness and activity for social responsibility. Catalyst found that companies with female directors and executives contributed more philanthropically and environmentally. They tracked companies from 1997-2007 and found that each woman added to a board represented a $2.3 million increase in contributions, and each woman added to the executive team represented $5.7 million more in contributions.

Women on Boards = More Role Models Peak performance includes the development of role models within the organizations and for society. When women serve on boards of directors, their impact as role models pervades all levels of business and society.

The Conference Board of Canada reports that as more women are selected to boards, more women are appointed to senior management. Increasing the number of women in board and executive roles, therefore, increases the number of role models for women and girls, and encourages all organizations - Luis A. Aguilar to emulate them. Two factors impact the growth of women in leadership, according to the Conference Board: 1) the openness and commitment of the CEO, and 2) the commitment of board nominating committees to develop proactive programs to recruit women.

» "There

appears to be a meaningful relationship between diverse boards and improved financial performance. «

How Does Colorado Stack Up? The Women’s Leadership Foundation, Inc., a division of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, is committed to increasing the success of Colorado organizations by providing a pipeline of women available to serve on their boards. The number of women on boards in Colorado private companies is currently less than half the national average, and

the total number of boards having any woman members at all is only 44 percent, most of these having only one woman member. According to Women on Boards: Not Just the Right Thing ... But the ‘Bright’ Thing, published by The Conference Board of Canada, there is only one publicly traded board in Colorado having more than three women members.

The Women’s Leadership Foundation’s program Board Bound™ provides mentoring, networking and training to better position more women to serve on boards in the best interest of their organizations and the community. The foundation’s vision is for every Colorado board to include at least three women directors and for each woman to be subsequently replaced with another woman in her board role in the future.

Conclusion Peak performance in organizations is significantly impacted by the presence of female directors. The supporting research is overwhelmingly positive and consistent with other research about women in leadership, demonstrating women’s unique personalities reflect successfully in any organization. Women in the boardroom provide a performance opportunity, not an egalitarian issue, for both corporations and nonprofit organizations that aim to solidify their competitive advantage and future. Women significantly impact an organization’s performance, particularly when three or more women serve on the same board. Organizations benefit from women serving in the boardroom, including through improved financial performance, improved governance, a higher level of board independence from management; a stronger commitment to social responsibility; and an increased number of women role models in society.

For more information about the Women’s Leadership Foundation and the Board Bound™ program, visit www.womensleadershipfoundation.org.

Explicit criteria to measure strategy

Monitor implementation of corporate strategy

All-male boards

45%

66%

Boards with 3 or more female directors

74%

94%

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COMMUNITY

Girls Educational & Mentoring Service

they were living at home. Gang members told the girls they were pretty and could earn money by sleeping with men. Once a girl was lured in, leaving became problematic. If she tried to quit, then torture or rape would ensue. This particular sex trafficking ring had been successfully operating for the last five years just outside the Capitol of the United States.

In the powerful memoir Girls Like Us, author Rachel Lloyd speaks frankly and candidly about her experience as a teen in the sex industry.

As a young teen, Lloyd leaves her home in England to live on her own in Germany. Her world gets darker when she encounters a former U.S. soldier who leads her deeper into the world of sexual exploitation.

Death threats; drugs; alcohol; and emotional, physical and sexual abuse are commonplace in this dubious and dangerous lifestyle.

Lloyd walks us through a very personal, suspenseful narrative reading much like a Hollywood thriller. The book educates the reader on the lingo and players within the life of sex trafficking and commercial exploitation. Three categories of people stand out—the girls, the pimps, and the johns.

The Girls

In America, Really?

Human Trafficking in the United States

By Margaret Hardy Youssef

A

ren’t all preteen and teenage girls in America swooning over Justin Bieber, texting their bestie, watching MTV and dreaming of their prom? No!

It is astounding to know that thousands of children in the United States, mostly girls, are caught up in the devastating and demoralizing business of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC)—a term that most accurately describes those being sold for sex. No longer can we think that it is exclusively “over there” in places such as Thailand, India, Russia, Cambodia or elsewhere; girls are being exploited, abused and trafficked daily here in the United States.

On April 12, 2012, The Washington Post reported that teenage school girls in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia had been solicited by gang members of a prostitution ring. These girls were approached at school, on street corners, at the subway and on Facebook. A shocking aspect of this story is that the girls were not runaways or homeless— ( 88 )

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The girls range in age from 11 to 21 years old, although the average age for entering the world of sexual exploitation is 12 to 14 years old.

Many of these girls have suffered abuse, abandonment, neglect and homelessness, including a high incidence of early sexual abuse. Each of these situations makes them susceptible to commercial sexual exploitation. In other words, these girls are prime victims for a pimp’s sales pitch. It is not uncommon for these girls to experience the Stockholm syndrome, which is the psychological condition when a victim bonds with his or her abuser. This type of bonding explains in part why girls do not run away and remain loyal to their pimp.

They are not able to see their environment as hostile and deadly. For example, in Girls Like Us, Rachel recounts a list she made of the good things and the bad things experienced by her pimp/boyfriend. She writes he put “cocoa butter on my welts from the belt” as proof of his love for her. This is typical thinking even in instances of torture, death threats and kidnapping.

“Daddy” is what the girls call their pimp. This manipulative terminology reinforces the false notion that they are loved and valued. Within this “family” exists a hierarchy among the pimp’s girls. There is a “head girl” who may have children with the pimp; who makes the most money; who may get more privileges; and who, when she misbehaves, receives less abusive punishment. This hierarchy inhibits the girls of any ideas to collectively rebel or escape. “Wives-in-law” are the girls within the group who work for the same pimp. One big happy family? Hardly. This leads us to the next group of participants in the commercial sexual exploitation of children, which is the pimp.

The Pimps Pimps vary in who they are and how they run their business. Pimps are male, female, different races, cultures and backgrounds. Pimps can be the stereotypical black man with the heavy gold chain and jacked-up car who struts about with a bevy of beauties. But they also are the white American man running child sex tourism agencies, or the Korean “massage parlor” owner, or the eastern European man trafficking Ukraine girls. All pimps are modern-day slave owners of lives, souls and

bodies. Pimps are renting out their prized possessions—the girls—in this billion dollar business. Their business survives by “owning” these young girls. Chillingly, pimps are masters of child psychology, and they use this insight to prey on vulnerable children. Lloyd describes how girls are treated to a McDonald’s meal followed by a lesson on seduction. Aptly described in the book, “Pimps have the charisma of a cult leader and mind control of a dictator.” It is difficult to make sense of the mind-set.

Pimps sexually exploit children to make money—a lot of money.

According to testimony in January 2012 by Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a husband and wife in Dallas were arrested for selling online child pornography. The couple had 70,000 customers paying $29.95 per month to access graphic images of young children being raped and sexually assaulted. It is inconceivable that 70,000 people paid to see children being victimized.

The Johns The pimps are not the only perpetrators. The next group of people is the johns—the paying customers. Johns include all ethnicities, socioeconomic levels and age groups and represent all career fields from judges, dentists, doctors, cops, truck drivers, and electricians.

These customers are not just “in that part of town.” Johns may be your neighbor, boss, or the beloved high school coach.

The Internet has enabled the pimps to market children virtually anywhere and at any time to anyone and perpetuates the feeding frenzy.

In fact, Allen says that the unlimited access to child pornography made possible by the Internet “inflames the interest in children.” In another

cyber case cited by Allen, a child pornography website in Belarus was processing credit card payments in Florida and depositing the money in Latvia. Once tracked down, it was learned that the majority of the 300,000 credit card transactions were from Americans.

The Internet supplies and increases the demand for commercial sexual exploitation through pornography. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children observed one million child pornography images during just one week in February 2012—a record for one week. A horrifying statistic quoted by Allen is that 10 percent of child pornography online contains images of infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Why? Because this age group is preverbal and cannot talk about what happened to them. This is happening in America.

In April 2012, MSNBC also reported cases of young teenage girls being sexually exploited in Detroit, Nashville, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Chicago where 12 to 15 years old were being bussed between cities to meet johns whose appointments were set up through the Internet.

Girls Educational & Mentoring Services.

In her work, Lloyd encounters sexually exploited girls on a daily basis. She came to America at 22 years old to work with women exiting prostitution in New York City. That was 15 years ago. A short time after arriving in the United States, Rachel started the New York—based nonprofit organization Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS). In fact, GEMS has become one of the largest providers of basic services to sexually exploited girls from ages 12 to 21. During 2011, GEMS helped 348 survivors of commercial sexual exploitation in New York alone, while 1200 at-risk girls were affected by the GEMS outreach program for education. Lloyd reports that GEMS has an impressive 72 percent recovery rate. Allen says, “Programs like Rachel’s are rare.”

» Her world gets

darker when she encounters a former U.S. soldier who leads her deeper into the world of sexual exploitation.

Death threats; drugs; alcohol; and emotional, physical and sexual abuse are commonplace in this dubious and dangerous lifestyle. «

Rachel Lloyd

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COMMUNITY

Girls Educational & Mentoring Service

Girls find the GEMS program through a variety of community outreach vehicles—social workers, emergency rooms, the justice system or public awareness campaigns. What’s more, four million people have viewed the powerful Showtime documentary “Very Young Girls” which centers around Lloyd’s advocacy. GEMS’s unique approach takes girls from survivor to leader—empowering her for life. Lloyd herself has followed this path. She dropped out of school at age 13. After coming to New York, she went on to obtain a college degree and a graduate degree on a scholarship. Today she passionately leads the GEMS organization.

» America is not

a land so free for the girls who are “owned” by pimps and leased out like rental cars. «

Rehabilitation, however, does not come cheaply. According to Pam Harvey, National Director of Advocacy and Education for Transitions Global, “Few people have been able to raise enough money to sustain a program. We are desperate for effective aftercare worldwide.” Harvey’s organization works with girls in Cambodia and finds the average length of time for their successful, holistic treatment lasts between 18 months to two and a half years.

The Transitions Global program includes medical and dental care, psychological treatment, and career training. Many of the girls enter commercial sexual exploitation, “Desperate for love so much they will get it any way they can.”

We are America, the land of the free. However, America is not a land so free for the girls who are “owned” by pimps and leased out like rental cars. Historically, the girls have been arrested and treated as criminals.

However, a paradigm shift has begun. Through Lloyd’s passion, persistence and determination, the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act was passed in New York in 2008—the first state out nine that has such a law. The law varies slightly from state to state; however, its intent is to treat sexually exploited children under 18 years old as a victim, not a criminal.

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 made human trafficking a federal crime, which also shifts the child from criminal to victim. This federal law provides a three-pronged approach of prevention, protection and prosecution. The TVPA is reauthorized every few years to stay current and relevant. The definition of sex human trafficking is “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.” And, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline has received calls from all 50 states and every U.S. territory reporting that sex trafficking of children is occurring across the nation. In fact, The Polaris Project, who runs the NHTRC hotline, has 3,000-plus service providers to support the victims of these crimes. And, since its inception in 2007, the hotline has received some 5,648 calls for cases of potential human trafficking.

What does this mean for the average U.S. citizen?

We can no longer hide our heads in the sand about the commercial sexual exploitation of children and women. It is disturbing to realize the number of johns and pimps in America who think it is acceptable to own another human being for their own use. Modern America embraces the God-given right of personal freedom. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1863, and these heinous acts need strict and swift punishment. How far down can we go? We are moving toward a hedonistic society.

That is not what America is about. We believe in justice, freedom and human rights.

Rachel Lloyd feels that a solution to the commercial sexual exploitation of children needs to be examined from a “systemic issues perspective” including poverty, homelessness and sexual abuse. Commercial sexual exploitation is a moral and social issue.

We must collaboratively and collectively “move this needle forward” by being aware of the realities of CSEC, reporting any signs of sexual exploitation or abuse, and enacting tougher federal and state laws that punish perpetrators whether it is the pimp or john.

In June 2003, the FBI in conjunction with the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children started the Innocence Lost National Initiative. Their aim was to address the problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States. Since it began, the initiative has resulted in the development of 44 dedicated task forces and working groups throughout the U.S. involving federal, state and local law enforcement agencies working alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Investigations have led to the conviction of more than 800 pimps, madams and their associates who exploit children through prostitution.

Human trafficking has infiltrated the United States and is continuing to spread. Through a united effort the trend can be reversed. The youngest citizens and leaders of tomorrow need to be protected here in the land of the free.

Another way for the public to help is through financial contributions to any number of organizations around the country that assist these children. To donate, visit www.polarisproject.org/give, www.gemsgirls.org or www.transitionsglobal.org.

To report a tip or connect with the anti-human trafficking services, call The National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888. Additionally, to report a tip or for further information, contact The Center for Missing and Exploited Children hotline number at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Sources: (2012, April). Retrieved from MSNBC.

The total number of sex trafficking victims is a difficult number to determine. Some 100,000-plus children are at risk, meaning they are susceptible to being enticed and victimized. Additionally, the figure is difficult to ascertain given the fear, threats and victim’s inability to ask for help due to emotional and physical abuse. Commercial sexual exploitation is an underground, secretive business that is often on the move. ( 90 )

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www.polarisproject.org/resources/state-and-federal-laws. (2012, April). Retrieved from Polaris Project: www.polarisproject.org Allen, E. (2012, April 17). President and CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (M. H. Youssef, Interviewer) Allen, E. (2012, January 4). Testimony. Retrieved from Center for Missing and Exploited Children: www.missingchildren.com Harvey, P. (April, 11 2012). National Director of Advocacy and Education, Transitions Global. (M. H. Youssef, Interviewer) Jouvenal, J. (2012, April 12). The Crime Scene. Retrieved from Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com Lloyd, R. (2011). Girls like us, fighting for a world where girls are not for sale. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Lloyd, R. (2012, April 17). Founder and Executive Director, GEMS. (M. H. Youssef, Interviewer)

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COMMUNITY

Tracks of Giants

Tracks of Giants Taking Steps to Reconnect Humans and Nature By Jennifer Cook

Tracking is a gift of the wild, of retracing steps, looking back from time to time at our first spoor and other signatures – Ian McCallum

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F

or most of us, the word “connectivity” conjures images of various electronic devices dangling from ear to ear, keeping us plugged into the vast info-scape of the wired world. For a smaller but growing few, connectivity refers to the interconnection of the wild world—large ecosystems such as the sea, landscapes, tropical rainforests, the arctic poles, wetlands and migration routes—which, if protected, will continue to sustain our planet’s biodiversity, environment, climate and us.

“It’s a conundrum,” says Vance Martin, president of The WILD Foundation, an international wilderness conservation organization based in Boulder, Colorado. “On one hand, it’s well accepted that our planet’s large ecosystems are capable of producing all the natural life-supporting services we need. On the other hand, if these systems are reduced to less than half their original size, the human race will be dangerously close to needing the type of life support one would receive at a hospital if critically ill or injured.”

Referring to the works of renowned ecologists and conservation biologists such as Reed Noss, Michael Soulé, Sylvia Earle and E.O. Wilson, Martin further explains that while exact percentages vary according to the specific natural area, there is sound science to support that large ecosystems—both land and water—need to maintain an average minimum threshold of 50 percent of their mass. Otherwise a tipping point, one with global impacts, could be reached.

» "Our planet’s large ecosystems are capable of producing all the natural life-supporting

services we need. On the other hand, if these systems are reduced to less than half their original size, the human race will be dangerously close to needing the type of life support one would receive at a hospital if critically ill or injured. « - Vance Martin

Martin is well versed on this issue and advocates the point frequently through WILD’s Nature Needs Half initiative—a movement urging for the protection and interconnection of at least half the planet’s land and water to sustain the health, function and diversity of all life.

“It seems like many don’t care, but I think it’s a lack of understanding and motivation. While science is important, it’s secondary to the more important relationship-based motivators,” Martin asserts. “I believe the two most important relationships are our connection to the world of nature and to our own human nature.”

Martin correlates his thoughts on the significance of relationships to human behavior with society’s current progress—or lack thereof— legislating whole systems-thinking environmental practices. He argues that one reason the environmental movement hasn’t been as successful as it could be is because it’s been a science-based and often fear-based movement, rather than a positive social one.

Seeking to reinvigorate people’s connection to nature and the value of protecting large wilderness corridors, Martin recently joined a group of conservationists in Namibia to kick off a five-month, sixcountry journey following an ancient migratory route of elephants across Southern Africa. The Tracks of Giants expedition departed on May 1, 2012, from Rocky Point on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast and will continue traveling east across the continent toward South Africa, where it’s expected to conclude by the end of September.

The main purpose of Tracks, a collaborative initiative spearheaded by WILD and Wilderness Foundation South Africa is to gain further insight into the successes and failures of human-animal interaction across Southern Africa, and to draw global attention to the importance of keeping wilderness areas intact—even across national boundaries.

McCallum’s idea for Tracks was conceived as the result of three things: an interest in keeping alive the tradition of tracking, his dedication to figuring out ways to heal the divide between nature and people, and his commitment to WILD’s Nature Needs Half initiative.

While Martin and others linked up with the expedition at the start, Tracks’s core team includes expedition leaders Ian McCallum, director of the Wilderness Foundation, a medical doctor, Jungian analyst, author, wilderness guide and former rugby player; and

Ian Michler, an “African Geographic” photojournalist and a highly experienced wilderness guide and naturalist. The two “Ians” will travel for most of the journey with two other wilderness rangers from the Wilderness Leadership School in South Africa—Lihle Mbokazi and Mandla Mbekezeli Buthelezi. By the end of September, this small, multigenerational, multiracial and gender-diverse group of trackers, conservationists and media will have covered a total of 5,000 kilometers, mostly on foot.

“We will be traveling on foot, using mountain bikes (outside of conservation areas and wildlife parks), mekoros—traditional dugout canoes—and kayaks in the Okavango Delta and Zambezi,” said McCallum, as he prepared for the journey. “This will emphasize the connection and interdependency that man has with nature. The route that we are taking follows ancient elephant clusters and migration routes through six countries including Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.”

“The ancient migration routes of elephants were chosen as the general route indicators since elephants are a keystone species and play a vital ecological, social and economic role in many Southern African countries,” describes Brit Hosmer Peterson, who is Tracks U.S. outreach manager and works with Rock Environmental, an associate of WILD. “Elephants anchor conservation initiatives and attract tourists to protected areas. They also address the question: If we can’t effectively coexist with and protect something this important, how can we effectively protect and promote the sustainability of other wildlife and wild places?”

Along the way, the team will stop at dozens of communities and will be joined by many local conservation “giants” who do this work at the ground level. Together the group will engage local people involved in conversation to come to a better understanding of human-animal interface issues and to identify key conflict areas and possible solutions. Activities will also include youth leadership programs on environmental issues, highlighting the importance of preserving endangered indigenous knowledge and skills such as wildlife tracking, natural resource use and oral histories.

In addition, the team will work with partners to survey and document animal movements and conservation issues focused on

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COMMUNITY

Tracks of Giants

climate change and its potential impact on biodiversity and natural habitats; the vital role of wild natural areas in supplying water to human communities; habitat fragmentation and the resulting loss of traditional animal migration routes; and binational collaboration preserving designated wilderness regions and conservation sites across official boundaries.

Halfway along the route, on the border of Victoria Falls between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the team will facilitate a larger gathering where

business and political leaders will weigh in on the conversation. During the rendezvous, Tracks leaders, organizers and supporters hope to influence future policy decisions and community engagement.

» I think we need to look

behind us from time to time, to read the tracks of our evolutionary history, and to remember where we have come from. « - Ian McCallum

Follow Tracks of Giants on:

In November 2009, McCallum announced his intention for Tracks at WILD’s Ninth World Wilderness Congress, which took place in Merída, the capital city of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. As he stood before an audience of international conservationists, McCallum committed that he would complete this epic journey—regardless if he raised the estimated bare-bones budget of $300,000—and would report back his findings and observations at the Tenth World Wilderness Congress (WILD 10) to take place from October 4–10, 2013, in Salamanca, Spain.

Perhaps reading the following excerpt from McCallum’s awardwinning book Ecological Intelligence: Rediscovering Ourselves in Nature, one can see the early germination of the seeds planted for Tracks: “I think we need to look behind us from time to time, to

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“There’s a metaphoric aspect to tracking,” explains Martin. “This journey follows the tracks of an ancient migratory route across the cradle of humankind. It’s just as much an internal journey as well as an external one—it’s a track across the inner landscape.

One of WILD’s core values is to take people into the wilderness because there’s a power of transformation that occurs out of experiencing the landscape.”

Why focus on Africa?

“Southern Africa is an emerging success story,” Martin explains. “Most national conservation targets for protecting wilderness areas are between 12 and 15 percent. In Namibia the total landmass under protection is 42 percent.

In Botswana it’s approximately 40 percent.

Through Tracks we want to show that the concept of Nature Needs Half is not only necessary, it’s possible.”

• Website: www.tracksofgiants.org • Twitter: www.twitter.com/tracksofgiants • Facebook: www.facebook.com/tracksofgiants

Based in South Africa, McCallum has forever championed facilitating connectivity between humans and nature. Longtime colleagues and friends, Martin and McCallum share the same mentor, Ian Player, who was the original founder of WILD and the Wilderness Foundation. The two organizations were both founded during apartheid and are steeped in more than 50 years of fostering racial, cultural and gender-diverse relationships between people and nature.

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read the tracks of our evolutionary history, and to remember where we have come from,” he writes in the 2005 publication.

According to Martin, Nature Needs Half is not about separating half from half, it’s about creating a successful relationship between oneself and nature, humankind and nature, starting at the individual level.

“Think about a human relationship model,” Martin illustrates. “It’s about meeting your partner halfway, about helping your partner realize their full potential, in a mutually respectful relationship. Our approach is unique. It’s focused on the human connection to nature as well as the science, culture, management and policy needed to keep wild areas healthy and functioning. We believe that intact wilderness areas are an essential element of healthy human societies.”

Additional Tracks partners include other nongovernmental organizations; wildlife management authorities; parks and reserves management; and government, community and corporate partners. For more information about Tracks, visit www. tracksofgiants.org. For more information about WILD and Nature Needs Half, as well as other conservation initiatives around the world, visit www.wild.org. The group will frequently blog and tweet about their findings and experiences along the route, and welcomes people to join in on the conversation from afar.

COMMUNITY

Paul Felix

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early one billion people have no access to clean water.

They walk miles each day for water, but the water they find is dirty. They suffer because of the lack of clean water resources and are not able to break away from a cycle of sickness and poverty. According to The Water Project, nearly 80 percent of illness in developing countries is linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. But eight-year-old Paul Felix is on a mission to provide fresh clean water to thousands of people on the other side of the world in South Sudan.

But how? How can a third grader fix this global issue?

Felix is certainly a bighearted young entrepreneur. While he loves Cub Scouts, baseball and reading the Lord of the Rings series, he has always had that special care for helping others. He has studied other cultures with his family and is quite aware about the world around him. He understands that as global citizens, his family is very “rich.” Since kindergarten, Felix’s teacher, Terri Greer, explains, “He has had the leadership and intellect to change the world and the compassion to have people come alongside him and help.” Needless to say, this has stayed with Felix and his family and has been an asset toward who he is today.

» Nearly 80 percent of illness in

developing countries is linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. « Felix’s mother, Laura, tells of how late one night after tucking him in, he could not go to sleep. And after rolling around for a while, he realized there was just no use. As he lay awake in his bed, it struck him that there was something bothering him—there was an ache in his heart. “Paul cried and cried,” she says. Obviously there was nothing wrong with him physically—as he lay there perfectly healthy—but there was the ache that stemmed from his concern about the world’s lack of clean water for developing countries. The thought that thousands of people did not have access to clean water saddened him. “I was surprised he had tears for that reason,” says Laura and she asked him, “What should we do about this?”

It soon became clear that he must do something to help.

After doing some research with his mom, Felix decided to raise money to build a water well in South Sudan. “The people who live there and their beautiful faces inspired me,” he says.

Young Entrepreneur,

Paul Felix

Brings Water to South Sudan By Daisy Rocha ( 96 )

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At a young age, and after watching an emotional video, he realized the brutality and struggle that the people of South Sudan have endured after years of war. That’s what prompted him to locate the well there.

He knows that many children from the local villages have died from diseases such as malaria, typhoid and skin diseases because the only available water is dirty. “It’s important to have water. It’s an essential thing to survive. These people have to walk five miles to get it and then five miles back—that’s ten miles and the water is not even clean.

It’s ridiculous! We have to fix it!” exclaims Felix. Although he does not know what village his well will help, he says, “What I know is that there is going to be a well in Sudan!”

It is certainly a big project for an eight-year-old, but it is his dedication and motivation that keeps him going. Recently he was asked why he wants to help others half a world away, when most kids his age are playing video games, hanging out with their friends and doing other fun activities. His response: “We should be helping others. Plus it’s cool to see what you can do to the world.” He goes on to explain that if he had the opportunity to talk to anyone from history, he would want to meet Abraham Lincoln and ask him where he found the courage to write the Emancipation Proclamation.

From the moment Felix was born he had big bright eyes—the eyes of an innovator with a bright future ahead of him. He grew up with world maps in his bedroom, and it was meant to be that he would do amazing things, like build a well in South Sudan, which will be just one project of many. He is young entrepreneur with innovative ideas and a big heart—traits that motivate his desire to finish the well.

» We should be helping others. Plus it’s cool to see what you can do to the world. « - Paul Felix

“He makes informed decisions as if his heart is leading him to do it.

I am just his ‘assistant,’” explains his mother. It’s not easy for Paul to get up in front of a huge crowd and talk, but he says in order to be a successful young entrepreneur, “You have to be thinking, following your dreams, and most importantly, you have to believe in it.”

With the help of his mother and his church Paul has been able to raise more than $2,600 in donations and is just over halfway to funding the entire village well, which will bring fresh, clean water to approximately four hundred people.

His young entrepreneurial heart is truly making a difference in the lives of others. “The most satisfying moment in this project is the encouragement. Someone gave $100 and we also got a $500 donation for the well,” Felix says. He is undoubtedly an entrepreneur who knows the value of giving back to the community and will likely achieve great things in life. His mission is crystal clear: “I want the well to be done now.

People need it NOW. We’re not only helping people now, but we’re helping future generations.”

“Paul is visionary, humble, compassionate, dynamic … the list could go on and on. We are very proud that he inspires other kids. There was a student from a middle school that heard what Paul was doing and gave him all the money he saved from his allowance. It was incredible,” says Laura. Recognizing the dire need in the village, Felix is currently on a mission to get his entire school involved so that he can fundraise faster. When asked why it is important for youth to start becoming aware of global issues at a young age Laura says, “They can make a difference. They are our future and need to understand the importance of taking local, national and global action.”

As for Felix, he continues to inspire others to help anyway they can and take that global entrepreneurship vision and mind-set to another level.

He knows that clean water doesn’t just save lives, it changes them forever!

To help Paul reach his goal of $5,000 to build the water well in South Sudan, please visit his fundraising page at http://thewaterproject.org/community/profile/laura-felix.

Daisy Rocha is the youth marketing intern and aspiring journalist at YouthBiz, Inc.

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COMMUNITY

World Trade Center Utah

Jumping the Dragon's Gate World Trade Center Utah Ignites Fire to State's Economic Growth By Linda T. Kennedy

C

hinese mythology tells a story about the Dragon's Gate located at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain. Every spring, carp swim upstream against the river's strong current and gather in the pool at the foot of the falls to climb the mountain and leap over the waterfall. Few are capable or brave enough for the final leap, but if a carp successfully makes the jump, it is transformed into a powerful dragon. The image of the carp leaping through the Dragon's Gate is a Chinese cultural symbol for courage, perseverance and accomplishment, success through diligence and hard work. In the Year of the Dragon, and in the midst of the fourth U.S. China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing in May, it could also be a symbol for the United States and its economic potential.

The myriad hurdles that the United States has to overcome with China on key economic issues constantly recirculate in the media.

But on a grassroots level, successful trade relationships between state officials and various Chinese provinces are helping the United States gain economic momentum. World Trade Center (WTC) nonprofit organizations, operating under the World Trade Center Association (WTCA), are likely some of the most vital, yet bestkept-secrets, for U.S. businesses seeking lucrative relationships with China and other countries. WTCs symbolize best practices in international trade, operating in conjunction with local trade partners such as Governors Offices of Economic Development and local International Trade and Diplomacy offices. Catching the current of these trade partner's efforts, CEOs navigate the dicey waters of international business regulations and practices.

And WTC professionals provide a powerful boost of speed and agility to help them jump the dragon's gate and transform the U.S. economy from carp swimming upstream to the economic dragon it used to be.

Additionally, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert extended his own call to action in his 2011 State of the State address, challenging World Trade Center Utah (WTCU) President and CEO Lew Cramer, and other Utah international business leaders, to double Utah exports in the next five years. Cramer was already on it. Utah's annual average increase in exports since 2010 was 28.5 percent per year, according to the WTCU, illustrating Cramer was well aware of what stands beyond the proverbial international trade threshold.

Cramer was instrumental in bringing the United States into the international trade arena during the Reagan administration when he served as a White House fellow, deputy assistant commerce secretary, and as the assistant secretary of commerce for international trade. Also, during the first Bush administration, Cramer served as director general of the U.S. Commercial Service, directing the activities of 1,400 commercial officers at more than 150 embassies worldwide, as well as in 65 offices throughout the United States. And if you consider that during his many years in Washington, D.C., he also worked with US WEST International in developing major telecommunications projects in more than 30 countries, Cramer knows what an economic dragon looks like. So does former U.S. Ambassador to China and former Utah Governor

Masterful Gate Keepers If there's a secret formula to achieving President Barack Obama's 2010 National Export Initiative challenge for the United States to double its international exports in five years, Utah has it. Utah exports reached $18.9 billion in commodities last year, a 37 percent increase over 2010's $13.8 billion, according to the International Trade Administration. According to the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED), it's the only state in the country to hit at least a 15 percent average annual growth rate to reach Obama's target by the end of 2014. It has also grown its exports faster than any state in the country. In fact, in 2009 Utah was the only state with an export increase, according to GOED. ( 98 )

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Seated L-R: former Standing Vice Chairman of the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress Chairman Yan Feng, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert, John Valentine, Utah Senator from Utah District 14, John Valentine. Standing: Members of the Utah State Legislature and Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Jon Huntsman Jr., who brought Cramer from the Hill in 2006 to run WTCU.

among the three provinces of Northeast China, the largest in terms of GDP.

“The last three feet between a foreign representative and a local business leader is where international trade agreements happen,” explains Cramer. “You can have all the emails, letters and phone conversations you want, but at the end of the day, you cannot have drive-by shooting relationships in diplomatic relationships. You need the one-on-one visits.

It [trade relationships] happens in that face-toface moment, the exchange of the business card and the welcome hand-shake.”

Dr. Taowen Le, professor of information systems technologies at Weber State University and representative of the Liaoning province, saw that with Utah's resources, Liaoning and Utah could be an international trade match made in heaven. Although he has lived in Utah for 28 years, he served as deputy director for IT in the Liaoning state government. That experience led Le to become the perfect warm pass off between Liaoning and Utah at the cusp of business transformation between the two states.

The WTCU hosts more than a dozen foreign ambassadors and hundreds of visiting dignitaries each year from around the globe. In luncheons and other events, top political figures from other countries meet directly with Utah business and government leaders to discuss opportunities and the next steps toward achieving them. Utah's entire international commerce efforts are conducted in more than 130 languages daily.

Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert presents a basketball to Zhao Fuxi, mayor of the Jinshan District of Shanghai, during an April 2011 trade mission to China.

» On a grassroots

level, successful trade relationships between state officials and various Chinese provinces are helping the United States gain economic momentum. «

“Utah has worked on its international trade and diplomacy efforts for more than 30 years, so we've had some time to fine tune our commerce secret sauce,” explains Spencer Eccles Jr., executive director, GOED. “It's efficiency and effectiveness combined with collaboration and cooperation. Those four items create an equation of e square + c square=global business success. It is the ultimate goal of everything we do at GOED and the WTCU.”

At the Cusp of Transformation Huntsman's energy for trade with China during his service as Utah governor, something Governor Herbert inherited, goes without saying. Now Greater China is Utah’s second largest export partner, with 2011 exports of more than $5 billion. Since Huntsman's 2006 Utah trade mission to Beijing and Shanghai, total exports from Utah to Greater China have grown by 1,103 percent, according to Brett Heimburger, GOED Asia-Pacific director, International Trade and Diplomacy Department. Top exports include precious metals, electronics and industrial machinery.

But as the United States forges trade with China, not much is said about China's efforts to actually help the United States do it. “As a matter of fact, today's visiting Chinese ambassadors and dignitaries to Utah,” Cramer says, “do not portray the image of a country under tight lock and key, but rather an eager people wanting win-win trade ties that far more resemble neighborly hospitality.”

One of Utah's most successful Chinese relationships is with the Liaoning province, the largest economy of Northeast China. Its nominal GDP for 2011 was 2.20 trillion yuan ($348 billion), 41,782 yuan ($6,172) per capita GDP, making it the seventh largest in China, and

“I was attending an IT-related meeting in Utah; Utah legislators were speakers and that's when the thought came to me… 'Liaoning is pretty strong when it comes to economy—it is surely one of the important provinces in China economy-wise. Likewise, Utah has sustained strong economic growth compared to the rest of the country. So, Utah and Liaoning are doing certain things right, and if they partner with each other, it could only help the economies grow on both sides. Wouldn't it be nice if somehow Utah and Liaoning connected?'”

Numerous conversations and meetings followed between Le and members of the Utah State Legislature, resulting in a Liaoning delegation visit to Utah in 2006 and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for friendly exchange and cooperation between the Utah State Legislature and the Liaoning People's Congress. “The MOU is to promote mutual understanding and business, trade, cultural and education exchanges,” explains Le. “I give credit to both sides—they both had to keep the general benefit of both the state of Utah and the province in mind when seasoning it.”

Le says the win-win agreement will have to be continually nurtured for sustained success. “A framework—a road has been paved for businesses, for people in Utah and Liaoning. Now it's up to us—our business organizations—to take advantage of the road,” he says. “I see great potential, but I still think some people think China is what it was 30 years ago, and literally, that's not true now.”

“Li Yu Tiao Long Men” From Liaoning's first meeting with Utah six years ago, Cramer says several Utah-grown businesses in apparel, energy, mining and education have export agreements with Liaoning. “Li Yu Tiao Long Men” or "the carp has leaped through the dragon's gate," a popular phrase used in China to observe success, could be an apt nod for both Liaoning and Utah, and it might come from former Standing Vice Chairman of the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress Chairman Yan Feng.

During his service to Liaoning, Yan’s position was almost equal to the Utah house speaker and the Utah senate president combined.

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World Trade Center Utah

In his last visit to Utah in 2010, with a Liaoning delegation composed of dignitaries from the Provincial Department of Foreign Affairs and the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, he spoke with conviction and assurance about what is going to make the United States the powerful dragon it wants to be, further validating Cramer and Le's visions. “Success comes with understanding and knowledge. We have a saying in China, 'a sincere smile melts away problems.'”

It sounds almost too simple, too easy, to be true—like window dressings fronting a much more complicated shop inside. But Chairman Yan says developing friendships are very critical in China and, “We always receive warmth and sincerity from this legislature here,” he says. “With the friendships we have in Utah, our people have a relaxed environment to conduct business here. It's comfortable to do business here. It's an example of how the more increased your interactions are, the more misunderstandings are cleared, and the better ideas flow.”

Chairman Yan observes that China has 5,000 years of history, and business today in China is still influenced by religions, values, moral implications and cultural traditions. But regardless, Chairman Yan says CEOs in Utah, and the United States, can have success with China by creating five things: “Peace, development, democracy, freedom and happiness.” A willingness to set aside historical philosophical stereotypes about the country and its people and see each other as friends will also create success, he says. “We must trust, understand and tolerate each other to develop harmonious existences, which is accomplished by deepening our mutual understandings of one another.”

Now, a solid relationship with the Liaoning province is part of Utah's successful international trade heritage, and a model to forge successful ties with the entire country. In May, the WTCU hosted Donald Tong, Hong Kong commissioner at Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco. Also, the WTCU's recent “Doing Business with China” conference at Utah Valley University gave business leaders opportunities to talk to leaders from both the United States and China. The conference also provided business managers from Utah networking opportunities with officials from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the largest institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China.

Finally, this summer, Utah cuts the ribbon on its Chinese Heritage Friendship Gate at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City. Besides being a symbol of the friendship between West Valley City and the local Chinese Community, Cramer says it could also be a metaphorical invitation for Utah to continue “jumping the gate” to economic, cultural and social prosperity.

“In Utah, we are an interconnected economy,” explains Cramer.

“Governor Herbert's motto is 'unprecedented partnerships create success.' WTCU is joined at the hip with GOED, and our other partners. But my mission is to motivate Utahans to put their product out into the global marketplace, and we have a real bias toward action. So, we think we do a good job of making business leaders aware of the opportunities they have and connecting them to the right person to help them make those happen. That's the catalyst we use to get them where they need to go.” ( 100 )

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In April 2011, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert led a trade mission to China with members of World Trade Center Utah, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, Utah Valley University representatives and members of the Utah House of Representatives and Utah Senate.

From the Grassroots Level Up: Washington State Leader Offers Chinese Trade Tip-Sheet When it comes to being an international trade dragon, Washington state is the largest, most powerful force in the United States. It conducts more international trade on a per capita basis than any other state in the country, with $64.6 billion in exports last year. China is Washington's top export market with, $11.2 billion in 2011, and that's partially facilitated by Washington's marine ports being closer to Asia than any other major U.S. port on the West Coast, and more than 2,500 foreign-owned companies in Washington employing more than 90,000 workers throughout the state.

As part of its mission to educate and connect business leaders with foreign trade experts, the World Trade Center Utah asked Joseph Borich, president of the Washington State China Relations Council, to share Washington's check list for successful trade relationships with China.

• Create and sustain a network of public and private organizations with the state.

• Build effective ties with national organizations such as the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the U.S.-China Business council.

• Establish and sustain open communications with relevant U.S. government departments, especially the Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

• Establish and sustain points of contact with the U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in China.

• Establish and sustain points of contact with key Chinese government ministries and with the government provinces and municipalities deemed important to your state.

• Keep sister city and sister province relationships active.

COMMUNITY

Walk Strong Foundation

Walk Strong Foundation A Joint Effort Transforms Lives in Veracruz, Mexico By Bridget Boyd With the help of PROJECT C.U.R.E., the Colorado-based nonprofit organization that collects and redistributes donated medical supplies to ill-equipped hospitals and clinics in more than 120 developing countries, the Veracruz Regional Hospital de Alta Especialidad in Veracruz, Mexico, was selected. Here, medical services are rudimentary

by U.S. standards, and many citizens are unable to receive orthopedic surgery because they lack funding. Even if they could afford it, the hospital is not equipped with the proper medical supplies and equipment to address the majority of orthopedic cases they receive.

“Knee replacements are rare in Mexico, particularly outside of Mexico City. Last year our practice did 2,000 joint replacements. We were told that less than 10 were done in Veracruz,” said Dr. Christie.

» By committing to one medical facility, the health

care infrastructure of a place could be transformed and the dependency on humanitarian aid lessened, if not altogether omitted. «

Because of the need in Veracruz, twice a year for the next 10 years PROJECT C.U.R.E. and Dr. Christie along with his team of SJRI surgeons will return to Veracruz Hospital and deliver health and hope every time. For PROJECT C.U.R.E.’s part, they will put a 40-foot semitruck container of medical supplies and equipment in place—nearly $3 million worth of donations— for the SJRI team to use. On each two-week mission, orthopedic surgeries will be performed and new techniques will be taught to the Mexican physicians, residents, nurses, scrub techs and staff so they can continue this work and take over the work in the intermediate term.

Y

ou’ve probably heard of short-term medical mission trips where teams of doctors visit a developing nation, provide medical care, return home and then typically select a new location the following year. While these missions are a well-established and popular means of providing health care to poor countries, Dr. Michael Christie, orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of the Nashville-based Southern Joint Replacement Institute (SJRI), wanted to take this approach a step further.

Annually, more than $250 million and countless volunteer hours are dedicated to these types of trips, but Dr. Christie decided that by committing to one medical facility, the health care infrastructure of a place could be transformed and the dependency on humanitarian aid lessened, if not altogether omitted. “It’s more than just going down and doing mission trips; we’re trying to create a workable model that could be replicated in other countries and in other clinics,” explained Dr. Christie. ( 102 )

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Dr. Christie’s team provided some of the most complicated knee replacement surgeries imaginable during their first trip in November 2011. After just 10 days on the ground, the team conducted more surgeries than the hospital performed in an entire year, and patients could walk, some without pain, for the first time in their lives.

“At the end of the 20 joint replacement missions, the health care landscape in this part of the world will forever be changed,” said Dr. Douglas Jackson, president and CEO of PROJECT C.U.R.E. “Leftovers from our hospitals here in the United States—the things we don’t use—will become a foundation for the future for hundreds of people who would likely have no other hope.” he continued.

Going forward, the medical teams in Nashville and Veracruz will continue to collaborate to transform the lives of patients and build a strong health infrastructure in a place of need.

To learn more about Dr. Christie’s work or the Walk Strong Foundation, visit http://www.walkstrongfoundation.org/.

COMMUNITY

Can Do Multiple Sclerosis

His response was that he had married her “for better or worse, in sickness and in health.” He was in it for the long haul and declined her offer for an annulment. After the initial shock of the diagnosis, she took a step back and realized that once again, she was going to need to adapt.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. It is as unique to the individual as is the individual who has MS. Doctors don’t know what causes it, and there is no known cure. The disease typically attacks multiple places, causing plaques or scarring (scleroses), hence the name multiple sclerosis. Thought to be an autoimmune disorder, a person’s immune system attacks healthy tissue. Symptoms appear when an attack affects myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Myelin is often compared to the insulating material around an electrical wire—and its loss interferes with the transmission of nerve signals.

Jimmie Heuga with Tara Lane

My MS Stands for

“Motivational Spirit”

By Heidi A. Heltzel

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any people encounter a time when life as they know it falls to pieces. That happened to Tara Lane when she was just a teenager. An awardwinning figure skater, competing at both regional and sectional levels was her greatest passion. At 16 that was all taken away from her by one 30-minute doctor’s appointment. Her intense training schedule had taken a toll on her body and resulted in several fractures in her legs and severe muscle damage. A two-year recovery period began, and competitive skating became a closed chapter in her life. “Everything I knew, identified with and that defined me as a person was instantly gone. Little did I know it was just a test for what my future was to bring,” said Lane.

After realizing she would never return to the career she once had, Tara rediscovered purpose and passion as a figure skating and power skating coach for hockey players and teams. Then another doctor’s appointment changed her life, yet again. On March 2, 2000, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis—three weeks after her wedding. Scared and uncertain, two things went through her mind: “My skating was going to be taken away from me for the second time, and my husband would leave me,” she said. Upon receiving this diagnosis she said to her husband Matt, “You don’t have to live with this, but I do, and I love you enough to let you go.” ( 104 )

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Symptoms include blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, blindness and more. These problems may be permanent, or they may come and go. It is not considered a fatal disease as the vast majority of people with it live a normal life span. But they may struggle to live as productively as they desire, often facing increasing limitations.

Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although individuals as young as two and as old as 75 have developed MS. More than twice as many women as men have MS. It occurs in most ethnic groups, but is more common in Caucasians of northern European ancestry. While there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited, studies suggest that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible than others.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, an estimated 400,000 Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. Worldwide, MS affects about 2.5 million people.

But because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not require U.S. physicians to report new cases, and because symptoms can be completely invisible, more precise numbers are not available.

Following Lane’s diagnosis, she did a lot of research and tried to manage her health, career and first year of marriage amidst a demanding schedule. Ultimately she personally felt unsuccessful at all three. So in April 2001, she knew she was going to have to make some changes and decided to focus on what she was most passionate about—her health, skating and life with her husband. But as these things sometimes do, the focus faded and she slipped back into her hectic lifestyle, and the pace put her in a 10-week relapse. “I was numb for the waist down as were both my hands,” she said.

This was the perfect lesson for Lane to realize that she had to slow down, but it didn’t come easy. However, with tremendous support from family and friends, her life took on new meaning.

Four years later Lane and her husband decided to relocate to the Vail Valley to live a dream—instead of just talking about it. In an effort to meet people and connect with the MS community, she started volunteering at Can Do Multiple Sclerosis. Founded in 1984

by Olympic ski racer and medalist Jimmie Heuga, Can Do Multiple Sclerosis (formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis) has been at the forefront of promoting the culture and belief that everyone living with MS has the power to live full lives. Can Do MS is driven by one simple belief: that you are more than your MS. With a vision, a mission and core values rooted in the legacy and belief of its founder, Can Do MS promotes a whole new way of thinking about, and living with, multiple sclerosis.

Through its lifestyle empowerment programs, Can Do MS is about learning the individualized skills and mind-set to take active charge of one’s health and life with multiple sclerosis. It’s about helping people regain a sense of control, dignity and freedom by teaching them and their support partner how to overcome the unique challenges of MS, while creating personalized lifestyle strategies that help them live their best lives with the disease.

Diagnosed in 1970 at the age of 26, Huega became a pioneer in the MS care management field. At the time of his diagnosis, and in line with conventional medical wisdom of the time, he was advised to avoid physical activity to manage his condition and preserve his health.

Being a high-caliber athlete and rebelling against his prescribed sedentary lifestyle, Huega began developing his own program of exercise, nutrition and mental motivation to improve his physical condition and outlook on life with MS. As his condition improved, he not only realized the power of exercise, nutrition, positive thinking and movement to enhance his life with MS, but more importantly, he realized that by focusing on what he could do rather than what he could not, he was able to go beyond perceived limitations to live his best life with MS. Huega’s mind, body and wellness-based approach to managing and enhancing life with MS changed the way the MS field viewed and treated MS.

» An estimated 400,000

Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. «

Today, as researchers continue to seek a cure for MS, Can Do MS’s interdisciplinary approach continues to fill a unique gap in the continuum of MS care management. With an interdisciplinary team of MS experts, their lifestyle empowerment programs teach participants how to take control of as many aspects of their lives and their health as possible by focusing on what they can do.

The unpredictable nature of MS combined with the complexity of its various stages, its individual nature and ability to affect any part of one’s body creates multifaceted challenges for people living with MS and their loved ones. Can Do MS is the only resource of its kind in the world. They begin where other health and wellness programs leave off, complementing the traditional models of MS care by providing a more personalized, engaging and experiential approach to enhanced well-being with multiple sclerosis. They provide one of the industry’s most comprehensive support partner programs, leveraging a range of engaging, experiential and activelearning interaction. By gaining a more in-depth understanding of their unique condition, their body and themselves, and blending that knowledge with realistic and personalized goal setting, individuals learn what is possible with MS and how to live fuller, richer lives within the constraints of MS. The more Lane learned about Huega’s story and Can Do MS’s philosophy, the more she wanted to attend Can Do MS’s flagship fourday CAN DO Program with her husband as her support partner. “After learning about the four-day CAN DO Program and what it offered, I realized that I had not addressed the WHOLE me, and there was more that I could do for myself and husband,” Lane said.

Having just moved to Colorado, the couple could not afford to pay to attend the program, so she applied for a scholarship and in May 2007, they attended the CAN DO Program in Vail. “The CAN DO Program is an amazing and unique experience that everyone with MS can and must experience. Meeting with the specialists and attending the lectures just confirmed that the positive living strategies that I live by are working while giving me suggestions to further improve my life, overall health and live my best life possible. Most important, it helped me realize my true potential,” declared Lane.

Today, Lane is a valuable member of the Can Do Multiple Sclerosis staff. And if you ask her, she would tell you that her MS stands for her “Motivational Spirit.” Each year she pays the scholarship she received forward by hosting an MS Skate-a-Thon fundraiser in Vail so that others will be able to benefit from a scholarship, and all that the program has to offer.

Can Do MS recently earned a four-star rating, the highest rating possible, for the fifth consecutive year for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances from nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator. More than 80 percent of the dollars they receive are committed to programs and services, which are provided free of charge to more than 98 percent of their participants.

SkateAThon

A national nonprofit organization based in Edwards, Colorado, Can Do Multiple Sclerosis is an innovative provider of lifestyle empowerment programs that empower people with MS and their support partners to transform and improve their quality of life. For more information or to support the program so that they can expand their services, visit the organization’s website at www. mscando.org, or call 800-367-3101.

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COMMUNITY

YouthBiz

Transforming Organizational Culture The Story of a Twenty-Year-Old Start-Up By Cate Anderson

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wenty years ago, eight young people and a community leader came together and decided they needed to create a sustainable solution to address the gang violence that was rampant in Denver’s 1992 “Summer of Violence.” With a loan of $75, borrowed hangers and jerry-rigged equipment, the young people started a screen-printing business run out of a boarded up storefront. Soon, they were inviting their friends to come work in the business. It was urban guerrilla entrepreneurship that would evolve into an organization that has today worked with more than 4,500 young people and invested over $1.4 million in youth wages.

Today, YouthBiz has retired the screen-printing business to focus on programs that develop entrepreneurial, educational and community leadership skills and attitudes among middle- and high schoolaged youth. While programs focus on developing diverse skills and character traits, the foundation rests on creating young, enterprising leaders who have great vision for their futures, commitment to their community and the creativity and capacity to make it a reality.

Whereas the role and drive of entrepreneurial thinking in the organization has ebbed and flowed through programs over the past 20 years, it is clear that as they approach the 20-year anniversary, that to move forward as an organization, entrepreneurial vision and approach must be infused through every level of the organization—through programming, staffing, financing and operations. And considering the future, YouthBiz must think and act like a start-up to remain relevant.

peers, instead of allowing themselves to be defined by stereotypes and statistics. They don’t want just to be accepted into a college, they want to lead their class in scholarships acquired. That is why in 2012, YouthBiz will undergo a dramatic programmatic overhaul that will take its programming beyond basic skills development into intensive leadership study and youth-led venture launch. By seizing this strategic opportunity, YouthBiz will benefit youth by increasing the scope, scale and sustainability of its services and open the organization up to new revenue streams.

Creating Value as an Entrepreneurial Organization

Making an Entrepreneurial Leap in Programming and Culture

To succeed in the shifting 21st-century economy, adolescents will need skills and attitudes beyond those taught in traditional academic settings.

Entrepreneurs have a unique ability to recognize opportunities, assess risk and approach problems with creativity and innovation.

Perhaps most central to its organizational success is a shared set of beliefs and values that motivate and inform its actions. Every YouthBiz stakeholder shares a belief that young people are capable of manifesting, and actively pursuing, success for themselves and their community. YouthBiz believes in the power and potential of the youth as social and economic leaders, and it envisions a future where they are the driving force behind the educational, business and community initiatives shaping and improving our neighborhoods.

As communities—locally, nationally and globally—face great economic upheaval, it is now, more than ever, vital to develop a new narrative for job creation and innovation with entrepreneurship at the center. As a nonprofit organization, YouthBiz has struggled to define the programs and funding approach because of an economically challenged market.

Seizing a Strategic Opportunity The youth that come to YouthBiz, as mentioned, are remarkable.

They are smart, tenacious, resilient and determined. They strive to own businesses, not just be employed by them. They want to create the solutions to the social challenges facing them and their ( 106 )

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As such, YouthBiz is committed to its role in creating programs and fostering environments that are efficient and conducive to the exploration and experience of leadership, and that challenge the participants to think and act entrepreneurially. They understand that this spirit cannot live alone in programs, but must live and breathe in every stakeholder—participants, donors, staff and partners.

To learn more about YouthBiz, visit www.youthbiz.org.

HERE始S THE SCOOP

In our communities and economy, there is a lot that is not working. At YouthBiz, everyday, we get to be a part of something that is.

We equip young people to become dynamic entrepreneurs, leaders in change, advocates for the transformation of their schools and visionary community members. We believe it will be our young people who will build a positive future for themselves and vibrant community.

We始ve got our sights set high and we are not looking back.

The Challenge Youth come to YouthBiz from Denver neighborhoods struggling with low graduation rates, high rates of poverty, unemployment, and gang violence. Not what you would hope for a young person.

The Change While the challenges our youth face are great, at YouthBiz we work to expand the possibilities for education, employment and entrepreneurship. Among our youth, we see GPAs go up, risky behavior go down, and entrepreneurial plans for the future made.

As youth connect with entrepreneurial leadership opportunities, they develop the skills and courage to rewrite the existing narrative for their lives, their schools, and their community.

INVEST IN OUR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS TODAY.

YOUTHBIZ.ORG

COMMUNITY

Caring for the Third World

Destinations are Everywhere A Transformation for Continuing to Care for the Third World By Michael Ditchfield

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can never fill his shoes because the footprints have now recipe for life was his daily special. Whether it was through watching vanished, and I am left with the somewhat unenviable task him dice an onion without any tears, or watching him embrace an of trying to pick up where those steps of unconditional AIDS-infected child in Ethiopia with many real and painful tears—you compassion left off. His legacy will be etched in our lives began to understand that what life sets out for you on your table is for years to come, and unfortunately he will never hear our all there is—diced onions alone on a chopping block will be just that applause or unspoken word of gratitude again because he has moved unless you combine them with some other ingredients. The embrace on. Noel Cunningham was my best friend, mentor and taskmaster at of a child will be just that, unless you offer that child more than a every stage of our brief yet meaningful time together. fleeting moment of physical presence. Cunningham was there to

serve food and others. He had a firm grasp in the kitchen and a gentle He was one of the most flawless humans that ever walked in the face hand in the world. of adversity and was the most humble of men. When he left this Earth last December, he took with him the thanks and blessings of countless We have a tendency to gravitate toward callings that have some individuals who had been graced by his passion to do the right thing. tangibility in our lives. If we have lost someone to cancer, we have the I once asked him why he gravitated in his later years toward Africa and tendency to work for that cause, and if we have come across someone in particular Ethiopia. He answered without even hesitating: “Because with Alzheimer’s, we move closer to being a part of that agenda. We they say thank you.” And therein lies what separated him from others. have very little connection with Africa, unless of course moral obligations He asked for very little, and was happy with the little that he did receive. count, and those alone should stand as the foundation of human dignity.

What I learned from Cunningham was that regardless of what others Whether it is an act of God through nature such as we have seen thought, pursuing your beliefs and passions is with the tsunamis, Katrina or Haiti, or whether what eventually leads to change in the world. it is man’s inhumanity to man as seen in the I watched him harness the hope of people genocide in Rwanda or Sudan, at the end of the in Ethiopia with the intent of offering a hand day we are left managing a moment of truth. up and not a handout. He was relentless in How we manage that moment is where the his quest, and those who took too much time future begins. Take politics out of the equation, to ponder his intentions were left behind. and all we are left with is common sense.

Not too far, though, just enough for them to

eventually come around to realize what is No matter what tragedy we have in our lives here good in this world. He never held a grudge and in America, we have the financial resources to everyone was an equal, and those who did join take care of it. It is times like these that we feel the Cunningham crusade got to experience a we are on the bottom rung of the ladder. We just journey that will never reach a destination. don’t realize that there are two ladders below us.

We cannot be transformative unless we put aside He was stubborn and stayed with Ethiopia as our differences. We just don’t realize how much his chosen vision, and he passed on Rwanda we actually have—and there began my shift and Sudan, deciding that I should continue from Ethiopia to different parts of the continent. on my own course with the people there. He

was inundated by requests to work with other I was limited in my experience and naïve in causes, and as much as it pained him to say my conviction. I was merely a bystander on Michael Ditchfield & Noel Cunningham no, at times he had to. There were not enough different soil for much of my time in Africa, hours in the day, but his singleness of purpose but I did learn that these people did not ask resonated within every minute of that day. to be born poor. If we were not fortunate and

blessed in the humanitarian lottery, we could When people gathered around his kitchen for have very easily fallen out of a womb on the any length of time, not only did they discover other side of the world. that he was one of the finest chefs ever to hold

a ladle, but there was a tendency to take away Rwanda was my first stop with Cunningham. much more than just ingredients for a meal. A Here, I worked with the children of the genocide

» He had a firm grasp in

the kitchen and a gentle hand in the world. «

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Programs of the Born To Be Free organization

and used sports, dance and music as a vehicle for peace between the children who now could comprehend what others did to their own families. These atrocities led to 900,000 deaths in 100 days. So instead of picking up machetes, we had them pick up soccer balls and musical instruments and helped them learn dance routines so that now they were competing with themselves and others in a civilized manner.

Sudan moved me closer to realizing what Cunningham was thinking in his never-ending vision of people getting along and helping to save lives. After agreeing to a request from one of the Lost Boys of Sudan to take him home to see his mother for the first time since he fled the Civil War, I was on a plane again. The trip with Daniel, who was confined to a wheelchair because of contracting TB from contaminated milk in Sudan, covered more than 25,000 miles in 13 flights. Accompanied by armed guards, we left Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where Daniel once lived, and headed into Sudan where remnants of the devil’s agenda are all around—and not just in Darfur, but in other areas that experienced the treacheries of religion, oil and greed.

Ghana was my latest destination; it was here that we were confronted by children eager to learn and hopeful to live. In Accra, the Born To Be Free Foundation was established by a successful businessman, Mohamed Issa—a man with a lot of heart—who wants to help those less fortunate in a country that has been good to him ever since he moved there from Lebanon at an early age. And, I saw some of Cunningham in him!

With the help of Wendy and Kuuku, Issa’s worthy assistants, we took 40 children off the streets, put them into a school, paid for their medical

needs, fed them one hot meal a day and placed them in the Mandela Soccer Academy four days a week. Each child was now afforded the opportunity to excel in school and life and continue this success throughout the years to come. They were to abide by a strict code of conduct that instilled discipline from the very first day, and from here we believe that they will become productive members of society. It is not just a collection of boys in the same uniform that brings about victory, but the weaving together of their own individual fabric that will result in the collective calling of triumph over adversity.

When he was alive, Cunningham brought me to the crossroads in my life time and time again. Even in death, I remain a student of his teachings, and the apron of his profession remains the hope for many.

The kitchen where he schooled me was the same kitchen where he scolded and embraced me with the same degree of conviction, and how ironic it is that it boiled over to the Third World, where every child deserves the right to live and be fed and respected as a human being.

I will never graduate because there is no graduation ceremony. I will never receive a diploma because there is no diploma. What I have gained is a degree of hope that a difference can be made in the lives of others.

Walking a mile in his shoes has not been easy, but he did point me in the right direction—albeit to that ever-present different drummer that with every step quietly whispers to keep going and never look back. Thank you “my friend” for being the only true North I have ever known.

For more information about Michael Ditchfield, visit www.BornToBeFree.org, or email him at mditchfield@earthlink.net.

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COMMUNITY

Wagner Equipment, JDRF & the Barbara Davis Research Center

» "There is a large cost to diabetes.

For a company of 100 employees it’s about $60,000 a year—which doesn’t sound like a lot—but to a company of 2,000 employees it’s about $1.1-$1.2 million dollars" « - Bruce Wagner

Wagner Equipment, JDRF, and the Barbara Davis Research Center Treat, Prevent and Cure By Michael Connors

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s a parent, I know there is nothing I would not do for my child. We gravitate to what we have experienced and understand, and as humans, we grasp for solutions when one of our own is afflicted with any type of disease or disorder. We simply want to fix it.

So it is, as well, with parents of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes or T-1 (formerly juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune disease where the body’s antibodies attack beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin—a protein that normally breaks down in the stomach. It is a disease on the rise.

According to Dr. Robert Slovner, director of Pediatric Services at the Barbara Davis Research Center in Aurora, Colorado, a premier diabetes research hospital: “Type 1 diabetes probably affects about 1.5 million, perhaps as many as 2 million people in this country. We’ve seen an increase in this type of diabetes over the past decade—in fact we’ve seen it grow at about 4 percent a year. And we’ve also seen it affect younger and younger children, so it is quite common now to see children under the age of two who develop Type 1 diabetes. That was not so common ten years ago.” To be certain, the need is urgent, as is the need for funds for research. This is where companies such as Wagner Equipment Co. step in and work with organizations like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), whose role is to fund research to find a cure.

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For Bruce Wagner, owner and CEO of Wagner Equipment, a large Caterpillar dealer covering Colorado, New Mexico and western Texas, there is a deep and personal connection to T-1 diabetes. His son, Taylor, has T-1 diabetes, and while he is no longer a child, he is still afflicted with the disease. In fact, 81 percent of those with T-1 diabetes are adults with lifelong symptoms and consequences. Wagner shared some of the history of their involvement with the JDRF: “About 25 months after our youngest child Taylor was born, he was diagnosed with diabetes. We decided pretty early on that we wanted to hitch our wagon to an organization that was trying to cure diabetes, and that’s what JDRF was doing.” His wife, Barbara, actually self-diagnosed her own diabetes, recognizing her own symptoms after her exposure to Taylor. Thus it is that Wagner, like so many other individuals and business owners has galvanized his resources and is intensely focused on a cure, hence the partnership with the JDRF. From such passion come truly innovative and collaborative models.

Wagner Equipment is one of hundreds of businesses that have come to recognize the financial, social and personal benefits that arise from working with an organization like the JDRF. And leaders like Wagner bring passion, concern and a voice to the cause. The business helps fund the research and firmly believes that it is good business to advance medical solutions for the benefit of the society at large—as you are then promoting a healthier and happier workforce, and one with better morale because they are committed to a cause.

“There is a large cost to diabetes. For a company of 100 employees it’s about $60,000 a year—which doesn’t sound like a lot—but to a company of 2,000 employees it’s about $1.1-$1.2 million dollars,” Wagner says. In fact, the company sponsors and encourages events throughout the year in order to raise funds for JDRF, which has a threefold benefit to businesses. The collaboration helps reduce longterm health costs by helping to fund cures for common illnesses; working with charities gives employees a sense that they are part of something larger than themselves and helps build teamwork and morale; and finally, it is simply the right thing to do.

One of Wagner’s employees serves as the current president of the local chapter of the JDRF. Jeff Gartz is the lab manager for the company and he notes that “Because of the new initiatives and the progress JDRF has made with research, the push is now Treat, Prevent and Cure—it is a three legged stool and the cornerstone of what we are doing. If you can keep people from getting T-1, the cure is that much more self-evident.” Gartz argues that JDRF is a linchpin that helps connect donors to worthwhile research facilities and is passionate about finding a cure. In fact, according to JDRF, more than 80 percent of its expenditures directly support research and

education. They elaborate on the progress being made in several areas, including a better understanding of the causes of the disease, the importance of glucose control, new drug developments and the improvement of pump technology. So in many ways, the JDRF is a catalyst to a cure.

Emerging from the collaborative relationship between Wagner and JDRF are the financial benefits that can then be allocated to the researchers actually doing the work, such as the Barbara Davis Research Center. It is this unique trifecta that helps push forward some of the remarkable successes that have been made over the last decade. The funding and leadership provided by the JDRF is absolutely critical to finding a cure, says Slovner. “The Barbara Davis Center has a foundation called the Children’s Diabetes Foundation that has provided some financial support for us to do research and see patients. In our climate, though, that wouldn’t even begin to cover the needs, especially for research. So in the beginning the JDRF was a major partner with us in providing the funding and support for ongoing research in autoimmune diseases, in finding a cure, and in the development of the artificial pancreas. They have been partners in many areas. A great deal of our

research is funded by the JDRF.” Thus, private companies and individuals sacrifice, time, talent and resources to fund and support organizations like the JDRF, which then, in turn, direct and fund critical research which leads to advancements in medicine that transform the quality of our lives.

Dr. Slovner also heads the artificial pancreas program at the Barbara Davis Research

Center. Essentially, the artificial pancreas is the convergence of advancements in both pump technologies and more accurate monitoring systems. He describes some of the advancements in the technology, saying, “The closed-loop pancreas or bionic pancreas is a functioning glucose meter which sends needed glucoses minute-by-minute to a computer with a mathematic algorithm. This computer then learns as it goes and directs the pump to deliver or not deliver insulin thereby controlling the blood sugar levels. It’s a closed-loop method.” He notes that in 1997 the JDRF felt that this technology could help lead to a cure, so they developed the Artificial Pancreas Consortium. It is now an international effort where groups from all over the world meet to chart a road forward and minimize the effects on everyday life.

“The wonderful news is that we can be open and honest with children afflicted with the disease. Today, we tell patients that this could be a lifetime disease, but it is imminently treatable,” said Slovner.

But, by following treatment, patients now see a better quality of life where the complications of the disease may be completely avoided, transforming their outlook and their life.

» "Type 1 diabetes probably affects about 1.5 million, perhaps as many as 2 million people in this country." « - Dr. Robert Slovner

Such assurances were not possible only a few years ago, but with the collaborative nature of Wagner, JDRF and The Barbara Davis Center, companies can learn a thing or two about community engagement focused on a relevant issue and the changemaking skills of those who are driven to make a difference. The future looks bright!

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COMMUNITY

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame

Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Announces 2012 Inductees The Wonder of Ten Great Colorado Women By Gail Frances and Judy Taylor

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efining moments in our lives unfold in various ways to create the multidimensional thread that weaves women’s history together. Thanks to the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (CWHF), 132 women who exemplify the best qualities of the people who have built and sustained Colorado are now part of Colorado history.

courage, leadership, intelligence, compassion and creativity.

Women of diverse backgrounds, from pioneers to politicians, educators to entrepreneurs, are inducted every even-numbered year. The women inducted into the Hall of Fame have made a major impact on the lives of others and helped elevate the status of women in our state, our nation and around the world.

The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame—one of the oldest in the country—celebrated held its annual induction in March 2012. The gala event honored ten Colorado women for their outstanding achievements.

“The event is always about the inductees. They are the stars of the show,” Hanson said. “It is so inspiring. Many women who attend stand taller, walk with greater confidence and are very optimistic.”

Founded in 1985, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (CWHF) is dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history and accomplishments of past and present Colorado women. Both historical and contemporary women have shared foresight, vision, and the power of accomplishment but lacked a forum for recognition. “I still think there is a great need to discover women’s history,” said M.L. Hanson, a founder of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. “We continue to surface heroines from our past.”

The Hall strives to educate the people of Colorado about the stories of the women who shaped our state and the nation’s history with

The esteemed and talented Mistress of Ceremony, Marilyn Van Derbur Atler, a prior CWHF inductee herself, introduced each recipient and shared their stories and accomplishments with her distinctive style and grace. It was a thrill to listen to the inspiring speeches of these noteworthy women whose incredible lives give particular meaning and poignancy in our current political environment.

The courage, leadership, intelligence and creativity that guided these remarkable women to accomplish that for which they are revered is told in moving and complex narratives illuminated by many challenges and sacrifices along the way.

A brief snapshot of each of THE 2012 CONTEMPORARY inductees appears below.

Kristi S. Anseth - Ph.D, Biomedical Engineer - Anseth was the first engineer to be named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers named her one of the “100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era,” and Popular Science named her one of its “Brilliant 10” in 2008. And, her great-grandmother homesteaded as a single woman.

Loretta C. Ford - Ed.D, R.N., Nurse Practitioner Movement Founder and Women’s Health Advocate - After receiving her doctorate in education from the University of Colorado in 1961, she began her work with Dr. Henry Silver to develop the nurse practitioner curriculum. She pioneered a pediatric model in Colorado that has been replicated and expanded into the fields of family health, gerontology, adult health, mental health, school health and more. She is saddened by the recent return to the fight for reproductive rights in the United States.

Temple Grandin - Ph.D, Animal Sciences and Autism Expert and Advocate - A truly remarkable woman who “thinks in pictures” and “embraces all types of thinkers,” Grandin received a standing ovation after her acceptance speech. Grandin has identified special abilities and helped decode the thinking processes of both humans and animals. Her life’s journey is filled with trailblazing on so many soulwrenching levels.

Ding-Wen Hsu - Businesswoman and Asian Community Leader - Hsu, the granddaughter of a prominent Chinese revolutionist, is best known as the founder of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the largest Asian festival in the Rocky Mountain region. ( 112 )

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Mary Ann Kerwin - Women and Children’s Health Advocate - Kerwin and her co-founders of Le Leche League International were commonly referred to as the “Revolutionaries Who Wore Pearls.” She was guided early in life by her father’s encouragement. He told her, “it doesn’t matter what others are doing, you do whatever is right for you.” Kerwin’s recommendation: “Right the wrongs you find.”

Mary J. Mullarkey - Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice - Nominated in 1998 and serving for 12 years as Colorado's first female Supreme Court chief justice, Mullarkey encourages people to “take a chance.” She ominously warned that “progress for women is not a straight line,” and that “it can be rolled back.”

A brief snapshot of each of the historical inductees appears below.

Janet Petra Bonnema - Civil Transportation Engineer - In 1970, Bonnema was barred from working on the Eisenhower Tunnel by supervisors because she was female. Undaunted, she won her fight in the courts and opened up vast new job opportunities for women in highway construction, mining and other previously all-male professions in Colorado and the nation. Her family accepted on her behalf, describing the late pioneer as their Auntie Mame.

Fannie Mae Duncan - Colorado Springs Businesswoman and Community Leader - Duncan, the granddaughter of Alabama slaves, was the first African-American woman to succeed as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and community activist in Colorado Springs. She founded the Cotton Club, a jazz mecca where she booked luminaries such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Mahalia Jackson and Etta James, all of whom attracted a racially diverse following. A sign reading “Everybody Welcome” was proudly displayed in the Cotton Club window and is now the name of an annual multicultural Colorado Springs festival.

Erinea Garcia Gallegos - Educator and San Luis Valley Postmaster - Gallegos was one of Colorado’s first Hispanic women to attend college. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her postmistress in San Luis in 1935. Ancestors of both of her parents were among the earliest Spanish-speaking settlers, establishing farms and towns on Mexican land grants in southern Colorado and New Mexico.

Her grandfather and father served among Colorado’s earliest territorial and state legislators. She lived by her motto, “The more you learn, the more you want to learn.”

Laura Gilpin - Landscape Photographer - A native Coloradan, Gilpin attained international recognition as a landscape photographer, specializing in artistic techniques and honoring Southwest native cultures. She was known for her “highly individualist eye,” and influenced many fine artists such as Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe. Many still regard her as the only significant woman landscape artist of her time.

In addition to the well-regarded inductions, the Hall of Fame works to share the contributions of these outstanding women through its outreach programs, including: • Permanent and traveling portrait exhibits—The Hall of Fame maintains a collection of individual inductee portraits and displays the portraits at the induction event and receptions at schools and galleries around the state.

• The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Speakers Bureau develops, coordinates and implements speakers’ presentations across the state.

• The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project, a more recent initiative, records and preserves the oral histories of the contemporary inductees, sharing those histories through community outreach programs.

Women of Consequence celebrates the lives and stories of the first 59 inductees of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Published in 1999 with a foreword by M.L. Hanson, a CWHF founder, this insightful and thought-provoking book is an excellent reference as generations explore and celebrate these extraordinary lives.

Gail Frances, MPA, is a writer with a background in finance, marketing and public affairs.

Judy Taylor is an award-winning journalist and speaker. She is the former president of the Women’s Regional Publications of America.

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collaboration close up

An Evening with

Phil McKinney

By Keenan Brugh

I

nnovation, put simply, is the process of creating and implementing new ideas. Organizations face ever-changing environments, and innovation helps secure an institution’s future. ICOSA Magazine itself is the result of implementing new ideas.

Recently, the belief in innovation and the mantra “Connection and Collaboration” led to the idea of bringing in a worldclass expert on the subject to speak at our studios here in Colorado. The process of transforming a warehouse into the ICOSA Studio & Event Center had begun.

Springboarding from the relationship with publisher Simon & Schuster, director of social outreach, Eli Regalado, arranged to get the highly-prized speaker, Phil

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McKinney. Recently retired from Hewlett Packard, McKinney just released his first book Beyond the Obvious, an instant hit with those responsible for consistently generating innovation.

Phil McKinney recently retired as CTO of Hewlett Packard’s $40 billion personal systems group. In this position, he was responsible for strategy and managing R&D for one of the world’s largest personal computer companies, producing mobile devices, tablets, notebooks, desktops, workstations and printers. His experience leading innovation within such a large organization has given him unique insights. Currently, he is an “innovation consultant” and frequently gives speeches at top institutions. His podcast, “Killer

Innovations”, has been hailed as a “must listen” by CIOInsight and his own website, www.PhilMcKinney.com, has go-to posts on a wide variety of innovation topics.

Beyond the Obvious offers a well thought out, yet extremely practical, approach to innovation. McKinney poses that too many business aren’t asking enough questions (or at least enough of the right questions). He offers “Killer Questions” to inspire thinking a little differently and to find answers that are “beyond the obvious.” While the best source of these questions is the book itself, you can check out some daily samples on Twitter using the handle @killerquestion.

Another of the book’s assets is the FIRE method, which is an acronym for Focus, Ideation, Rank and Execution. This strategy acts as a framework for focusing on the right problems, coming up with plenty of original ideas, cutting them down to a few great ideas, and executing on them for success.

Concepts like ‘innovation’ are abstract and difficult to learn. Google or Wikipedia cannot provide the right answer for every organization. People need to connect with other people in order to learn best practices and develop their own innovative strategies. The ICOSA Innovation Event welcomed 200 guests to listen to thought leaders and share their perspectives with others through networking over drinks and heavy appetizers. Sharif Youssef, founder of iGivefirst, spoke on innovation from his perspective as a CEO of a startup company that is revolutionizing online philanthropy. Kelly Quan, the executive director of the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN), spoke about her thoughts on the Colorado community and how working with other organizations can lead to new results. Mr. McKinney talked about his book and the lessons learned from his experiences at HP and since his retirement. Excited about the attendance and enthusiasm of the crowd, he gave plenty of time for Q&A as well as networking afterwards. And we thought the ICOSA studio was a fitting location for an event on innovation since less than two months earlier, the “event center” was still just a warehouse full of boxes.

Innovation moves things forward.

Want to share your thoughts? Email KeenanB@icosamag.com.

collaboration close up

read to the troops by President Dwight D. Eisenhower before the invasion on D-Day, by President John Kennedy the day before his inauguration speech to a special session of the Massachusetts Legislature, and by President Ronald Reagan in his final address to the American people.

Unfortunately over the past 30 years the model of collaboration and working together has turned into a focus on “me— how can I do better? How can I pay lower

» "If you don’t have a system that allows you to use your talents, it’s hard to be happy." « - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at the Denver Forum

By Annette Perez

T

he Denver Forum hosted Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at the Oxford Hotel on May 9, 2012. She was in Denver because of the 50-year anniversary celebration of the Migrant Health Act. Typically, Townsend gives a speech based on a story from her past; however, her presentation was based this time on theory. She questioned the audience, “What’s going on in this country?” She is worried that as a country we are tearing each other apart, and not building a nation. “I believe that a nation works best when all people feel they can

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participate. I think it is part of human nature to be part of a mission.”

She continued, “America was founded as a mission into the wilderness, and every American felt they were part of that mission.”

Townsend explained that during World War II, every American did his/her part somehow— whether fighting in the battles, working in the factories or obeying the wage and price controls. Everyone participated and was proud to be an American because the effort connected them to each other. She shared with the forum a passage about John Winthrop’s metaphorical ‘shining city’—that described the America he imagined. This passage was

taxes—rather than considering the whole, we only think of ourselves.” Townsend went on to explain that when her uncle was president, he was asked to define happiness.

President Kennedy said that “happiness was the full use of powers along the lines of excellence.” Townsend asked the forum audience to imagine what happiness was as defined by us. She said, “If you don’t have a system that allows you to use your talents, it’s hard to be happy. The metaphor in the ‘shining city’ reflects the abiding truth that we use a political community for happiness to work. Today, unfortunately, the rhetoric of happiness focuses on private acts, assuming it’s an individual’s personal responsibility to find satisfaction.”

Townsend explains that over the past 30 years America’s notion of community has been shrinking. She questioned if the American Dream is all about “me.” She continued with stories of her grandfather and how her family used to pay more taxes so that everyone benefited. “Back in the day there was no question of people with a higher income paying higher taxes,” she said.

In the end, “Happiness has nothing to do with money, courage, self-sacrifice, honor, duty or stoicism—these are the essential virtues of democracy, and none of them can be bought. These values are lost when we enter a world where greed is good. A nation needs to instill virtues and values of selflessness important to survive,” argued Townsend.

collaboration close up

ICOSA Ignites Starto.tv

By Kim DeCoste

A

t ICOSA, we pride ourselves on leading by example. We reach out to collaborative partners, leverage our resources to support them and believe we are building an ecosystem of connected leaders who are putting their noses to the grindstone and pushing for change on important topics all over the globe. So when an idea evolves into something actionable, we challenge ourselves to give it a shot.

ICOSA itself was born out of the need to spark a fresh start. Her parent, the CAP family of companies, faced enormous— almost insurmountable threats—about 10 years ago when CEO/founder Gayle Dendinger began conceiving the notion of pulling together a network for connection and collaboration. We believe in fresh ideas, new energy and hard work. Few sectors of industry reflect that better than the American start-up community. Great ideas are being turned into exciting new companies, and every day we see glimmers of hope in the recovering economy.

Such was the case a couple of months ago.

So what are we doing? We have a new project focus in a start-up of our own called Starto.tv. Starto.tv is the brainchild of Gayle Dendinger and Eli Regalado, who recognized that if we applied our resources to this space, we could drive visibility to some of these young companies, partner with important organizations such as Startup America (www.s.co) and spark exciting changes all the way around.

We have built a state-of-the-art television studio here at ICOSA. We have the technology to compete with the best in TV, and we have a scrappy, fast-learning, smart group of willing people who are excited about the prospects. Our new show, which is being prepared weekly for an IP/TV broadcast on our YouTube channel, is THE show for American entrepreneurs. Made by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, it is focused on what young companies need to know.

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Starto.tv has news segments, a bit of comedy, “man on the street” interviews and more. Regular features with Startup America regional partners highlight successes around the country. We have an informative “whiteboard” session in each episode where we bring industry leaders from different disciplines to offer quick lessons for young companies.

And we anchor the show with solid interviews with the best minds in business

to give back and as part of the “circle of life” of business. Both Jigar Shah and Wing Lam, as well as the dozens of others Starto has talked to in the past weeks, inspire us.

By coincidence, both Shah and Lam were born into immigrant families and talked about the great influence of parents who, in Shah’s case, literally bought him a book about energy that sparked his interest in solar power as a child. And Lam, who is of mixed ethnicity, talked about seeing his mother and father open

» Leaders such as this remind us that if you can imagine it, you can do it. « from all over the country. Just in the past week we have spoken to Jigar Shah, formerly of the Carbon War Room and founder of Sun Edison, and Wing Lam, the founder and owner of the iconic Wahoo’s Fish Tacos.

Leaders such as Shah and Lam remind us of important lessons that apply to all businesses as well as to start-ups. Shah, for example, spoke of the challenges he faced when he realized that his bold new ideas in solar were going to require lightningfast deployment. Customers snapped up his ideas so fast that he struggled to keep up at times. But he knew he was on to something, and he never gave up or assumed he would not succeed.

Lam inspired us with his down-to-earth approach, both with his phenomenal success and his humility. He talks about supporting other entrepreneurs as part of his obligation

a Chinese restaurant in South America.

Both gentlemen looked at their prospects at one critical moment and rather than asking, “Why?” they asked, “Why not?” and they pursued their visions relentlessly until they recognized success.

Undaunted determination is one of the great pillars of ICOSA and now of Starto.tv. Everyone can apply lessons from start-ups to reignite their own passions and to reinvigorate their work. Leaders such as this remind us that if you can imagine it, you can do it. All of us should look to these bold innovators for inspiration and, if nothing else, to see what lessons we can glean as we work together on our model of multifaceted success.

To watch Starto.tv, visit http://www. icosa.tv/shows/starto-tv/.

Sustainable Adventures in Morocco

I

n Morocco, you will find rows of stucco townhouses, accented with mosaic entryways. This architecture is a common thread from Casablanca to Meknes and farther east to Sefrou, which is a city adjacent to the Middle Atlas Mountains.

The townhomes are intertwined with neighborhood boutique shops. In all these cities you will notice entrepreneurship at the root of the Moroccan commerce system, as the majority of businesses are owned and operated by families. Of course this type of system comes with both negative and positive aspects, but that subject is for another article.

Located beyond the bordering mountain cities, into the Middle Atlas Mountain range, is the village I visited. It consists of seven homes built from stones and mortar. The village is named Tafert, now whether or not that is the official name I can’t say, but it’s what I was told by the Berber family that hosted my two-week stay in Morocco. To better pinpoint the location of Tafert, the nearest town is Imouzzer Marmoucha.

After leaving Imouzzer Marmoucha, a 30-minute drive will take you to an area

starting out with rolling hills of slate rock.

At that point is a path created by de-foresting machinery leading into the mountain range.

One tent camp was set up for those who worked cutting down the trees. Most of the harvested trees were about four feet wide.

About an hour’s walk into the mountain area you will find Tafert.

The eight-hour journey to Tafert was part of my vision—an opportunity to promote environmental and economic growth. I provided 30 Nokero solar light bulbs to the Berber village. Nokero solar light bulbs provide efficiency in that they

PeaceJam Foundation

T

he PeaceJam Foundation had a large turnout for the UN premiere of their film, Mayan Renaissance, which was held at the United Nations on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. The film was presented during the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The film received a standing ovation, which was followed by a lively question-and-answer period with the film’s director, Dawn Engle, and executive producer, Ivan Suvanjieff. “We were thrilled with the audience’s response. Everyone really seemed to love this film,” Engle said.

“Mayan Renaissance” is a feature-length film that documents the glory of the ancient Maya civilization, the Spanish conquest in 1519, five hundred years of oppression, and the courageous fight of the Maya to reclaim their voice and determine their own future, in Guatemala and throughout Central America.

By Maria E. Luna

promote clean and safe light compared to kerosene or propane lamps and will allow for re-allocation of the money spent on oil and propane. Plus they are just cool!

The Tafert village was established three generations ago, and little has changed since that time. Tafert is an off-grid community not only without electricity but without running water. I’d like to think providing Nokero solar light bulbs are the start of this community’s awareness that there are sustainable alternatives available. The impacts of this country’s growth are being made now. Committing to sustainability needs to happen at this time. Being ecologically minded is the proper way to engage with the Berber community as a whole. If you are interested in the rights of native populations, read the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Within time, the story of this community could be marked by ICOSA partners such as the Peace Corps, Goal Zero and the Paradigm Project. ICOSA and I are open to partnering in providing sustainability not only to Tafert—but globally.

UN Premiere of Mayan Renaissance a Huge Success By Dawn Engle

This elegant, beautiful and thought-provoking film shares their vision for the future their call for a long-foretold renaissance of Maya culture and wisdom, and their 100-year plan to lead humanity forward, from the year 2012 on.

The film stars 1992 Nobel Peace laureate and Maya leader Rigoberta Menchú Tum. All of the images, voices, expert commentary and music in the film come directly from Central America, from the heart of the Mayan world.

Dawn Engle is an activist and filmmaker,

and she has been nominated seven times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Previously, she has directed and written award-winning documentaries and films such as PeaceJam and 2012: The True Mayan Prophecy. She also co-authored the book PEACEJAM: A Billion Simple Acts of Peace, published by Penguin in 2008.

In 1994, Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff began working together to create PeaceJam, which was launched in March 1996.

Currently, Suvanjieff serves as the president of PeaceJam and Engle as the foundation’s executive director. PeaceJam has been recognized nationally as an award-winning service learning program and internationally for excellence in peace education.

For more information on Mayan Renaissance, visit www.mayanrenaissance.org.

For more information on the PeaceJam Foundation, visit www.peacejam.org.

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Would Like To Thank The Following Friends For Their Inspiration

Cate Anderson April Anderson Lamoureux Lou Aronson Barbara Davis Research Center Peter Beaupre Justin Berry Ben Bryan Bridget Boyd Gerard “Jerry” Burke Can Do Multiple Sclerosis Dr. Michael Christie Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Andrea Constantine Jennifer Cook

Steve Crabtree Dan Curran Kelly de la Torre Michael Ditchfield Kirk Dorius DaVita Dawn Engle ePower Engine Systems Donna Evans Laura Felix Paul Felix Flibe Energy Gail Frances Gallup Girls Educational and Mentoring Services Anna Frazzetto Elizabeth Goryunova Dave Guevara Arthur W. Hamlin Margaret Hardy Youssef Heidi Heltzel Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. Polina Hryn Larry Johnson Todd Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Linda T. Kennedy Rebecca Kersting Scott Kesterson Khan Academy Salman Khan Russell Knudsen Vladimir Kush

Tara Lane Rachel Lloyd Sheila Mason Massachusetts Business Roundtable Tatianna Massaro Richard Martin Vance Martin National Grid Michael O’Malley Nebraska Department of Economic Development Anthony Pafford PCL Constructors Project C.U.R.E. Regis University Regional Transportation District Daisy Rocha Manish Sharma Kirk Sorensen Steve Sorensen Cristin Tarr Judy Taylor Kent Thiry University of Utah Donnie Veasey Nancy Vorderstrasse Votifi Bruce Wagner Wagner Equipment The WILD Foundation Women’s Leadership Foundation Patty Wood World Trade Center Utah YouthBiz

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