Monday Mailing
Year 22 • Issue 23 February 29, 2016 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team Oregon Introduces New Scenic Bikeway Apply Now for the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship $3.3 Million and Counting: The Cost of the Malheur Occupation Historic Preservation Funding Sources A Look at the Wealth and Income Gap, By ZIP Code Disaster Learning Webinars Free Webinar: Co-writing an RFP Region 6 Forest Collaboratives Workshop Environmental Education (EE) Grants Now Available! Public Engagement Resource
1. What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team Like most 25-year-olds, Julia Rozovsky wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. She had worked at a consulting firm, but it wasn’t a good match. Then she became a researcher for two professors at Harvard, which was interesting but lonely. Maybe a big corporation would be a better fit. Or perhaps a fast-growing start-up. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to find a job that was more social. ‘‘I wanted to be part of a community, part of something people were building together,’’ she told me. She thought about various opportunities — Internet companies, a Ph.D. program — but nothing seemed exactly right. So in 2009, she chose the path that allowed her to put off making a decision: She applied to business schools and was accepted by the Yale School of Management.
Quote of the Week: "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." ~Laozi
Oregon Fast Fact: Up until the 1970s it was illegal to show movies or attend car races on Sundays in Eugene, Oregon.
When Rozovsky arrived on campus, she was assigned to a study group carefully engineered by the school to foster tight bonds. Study groups have become a rite of passage at M.B.A. programs, a way for students to practice working in teams and a reflection of the increasing demand for employees who can adroitly navigate group dynamics. A worker today might start the morning by collaborating with a team of engineers, then send emails to colleagues marketing a new brand, then jump on a conference call planning an entirely different product line, while also juggling team meetings with accounting and the party-planning committee. To prepare students for that complex world, business schools around the country have revised their curriculums to emphasize team-focused learning. To access the full story, click here. 2. Oregon Introduces New Scenic Bikeway PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 24, 2016 -/PRNewswire/ -- Oregon's newest Scenic Bikeway showcases the vivid color palette of the Painted Hills. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission formally approved designation of the Painted Hills Scenic Bikeway in its Feb. 24 meeting in Portland, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) and Travel Oregon announced.
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The Painted Hills Scenic Bikeway loops through the multi-colored John Day Fossil Beds on 130 miles, connecting the communities of Fossil, Service Creek, Spray, Kimberly and Mitchell. Viewed from a bicycle seat, riders can see millions of years of history revealed in the layers of earth, one color at a time. The hills get their name from the delicately colored stratifications in the soil—layers of yellows, golds, blacks and reds formed millions of years ago by shifting volcanic islands. A closer look reveals ancient plant and wood fossils. To access the full story, click here. 3. Apply Now for the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship Committee is now accepting applications. Recipients will receive financial support allowing them to attend the 2016 Natural Hazards Center Research and Applications Workshop in Broomfield, Colorado, July 10-13. Recipients may also stay through July 14 to attend either the International Research Committee on Disasters or the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association add-on events for researchers and practitioners, respectively. Scholarships can cover part or all of transportation, meals, and registration costs. The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship is awarded annually to at least one potential Workshop participant. Recipients are recognized at the Workshop and may be asked to serve as panelists, where they can highlight their research on or practical experiences with hazards and disasters. As the longtime co-director of the Natural Hazards Center, Myers recognized that many of the people that could benefit from and contribute to the Workshop—including local practitioners, students, and international professionals—were among those least likely to afford it. The scholarship was established in 2003 to fulfill Myers’ request that qualified and talented individuals receive support to attend. Hazards practitioners, students, and researchers with a strong commitment to disaster management and mitigation and who reside in North America or the Caribbean are eligible to enter. Eligibility is based on current place of residence, not citizenship. Applicants from outside North America and the Caribbean will be eligible for the scholarship in 2017. Previous attendees of the Natural Hazards Workshop are not eligible for the 2016 Mary Fran Myers Scholarship. Preference is given to those who can demonstrate financial need. For more information and how to apply, visit the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship page at the Natural Hazards Center Web site. Applications must be received by April 1. 4. $3.3 Million and Counting: The Cost of the Malheur Occupation The 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge cost taxpayers at least $3.3 million to cover the massive police response, a week of shuttered schools and a long list of supplies ranging from food to flashlight batteries, according to an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis of public and tribal budgets. The total will certainly grow. The amount doesn't include any figures from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which operates the 187,700-acre bird sanctuary seized Jan. 2 by armed militants. The FBI, still in the midst of a criminal investigation, announced that it turned over control of the refuge to the Fish & Wildlife Service late Tuesday afternoon. The agency can only now begin Page 2 of 4
to assess the damage that dozens of interlopers caused after they moved into the refuge headquarters compound. They used backhoes, government trucks and computers and left piles of garbage and feces in their wake, federal investigators said. To access the full story, click here. 5. Historic Preservation Funding Sources The Preservation Directory has been working to expand the Grants and Funding Sources section of their website. The directory originally intended to create a pdf for distribution, but this method would be too bulky and wouldn't be user-friendly. Currently, users are able to search the new funding database by keyword and location (State, region). To view the current "Grants & Funding Sources" directory, click here. 6. A Look at the Wealth and Income Gap, By ZIP Code The most prosperous parts of the U.S. have recovered nicely from the 2008 financial crisis, but many other places remain mired in high unemployment and poverty, according to a report measuring wealth levels by ZIP code. "The United States is still a land of opportunity for many. But when it comes to life outcomes, geography is too often destiny," says a report from the Economic Innovation Group, a research organization. Despite the economic recovery, the report says, life for those in the most distressed ZIP codes looks "much more like an ongoing downturn. Large swaths of the country are indeed being left behind by economic growth and change." To access the full story, click here. 7. Disaster Learning Webinars This free webinar series features public health and disaster medicine professionals sharing their expertise on a variety of topics. Past events have included school disasters, disaster health competencies, and socioeconomic determinants of post-disaster health outcomes. Visit the series Web site for upcoming offering or to view past webinars in video or presentation formats. For more information, click here. 8. Free Webinar: Co-writing an RFP What's the most effective way to write a Request for Proposals (RFP) using a charrette? How can you assure that your RFP has the right scope and budget to achieve your objectives? The answer is the same for any project- do it collaboratively. This webinar will highlight the new version of the NCI Charrette RFP Template, to be released March 2nd, 2016. It describes how to conduct a Project Start-up Intensive for your project team to co-create the RFP scope and budget. This is an effective method for building cross-agency and partner buy-in and cooperation throughout a project. It also assures that your RFP is informed by the essential viewpoints and, very importantly, that the budget is aligned with the scope. To register for this webinar, click here.
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9. Region 6 Forest Collaboratives Workshop On March 30-31, Sustainable Northwest will host the Region 6 Forest Collaboratives Workshop in Hood River, Oregon. The event will be the first time all thirty-three forest collaboratives across Oregon and Washington come together to share knowledge and lessons learned, and advance solutions to common challenges. The workshop includes a series of plenary sessions and tracks that aim to engage participants in a dialogue about relevant forest management issues. There are three tracks - Policy, Science, and Collaborative Operations. The format of these sessions will be interactive and participatory. Each session will include a brief presentation from experts on the topic, followed by a facilitated discussion. To access the full story, click here. 10. Environmental Education (EE) Grants Under the Environmental Education Grants Program, EPA seeks grant proposals from eligible applicants to support environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment. This grant program provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. Since 1992, EPA has distributed between $2 and $3.5 million in grant funding per year, supporting more than 3,600 grants. Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 EE Grants Program. Applications are due by April 8, 2016, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information, click here. 11. Now Available! Public Engagement Resource This new, free guide outlines practical ways to design an effective engagement program with proven methods. Whether your town is in Phase 1 or Phase 4 of Community Heart & Soul, this guide will identify ways to help you better communicate with and engage everyone in your community. To access the resource, click here.
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