Deborah: Sadly, I’m watching yet another evacuation of a Jewish center on TV. I know what it’s like to oversee an evacuation during a bomb threat. I was in charge of security at a Jewish agency in Chicago, was trained by the FBI in security after the Oklahoma City bombing, and oversaw the design for a secure Jewish Community Center in Chattanooga.
All posts by Editor-in-Chief
Is Women’s History Still Relevant? – by Deborah Levine
Is women’s history and Women’s History Month still relevant today? Is the need for sisterhood activism over as some say? We look back at the first group to advocate for women’s right to vote nationally and see that it was ultimately successful. The Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention was held long ago in1848. But the words of its organizer Elizabeth Cady Stanton still hold true and yet are still controversial, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”
That right was opposed for decades by a well-funded anti-suffrage movement that argued most women really didn’t want the vote, and most were unqualified to exercise it. It took 70 years of women activists to convince the country on women’s right to vote.
Continue reading Is Women’s History Still Relevant? – by Deborah Levine
Mauricio Velasquez- Diversity Training Group
Mauricio Velasquez is the President & Founder of Diversity Training Group (DTG). In this interview he shares his observations of current trends in Diversity & Inclusion. With more than 25 years experience in diversity field, Mauricio is a mover & shaker in the business, government, and education sectors. Check out his analysis of the diversity issues in the workplace and hear his strategies for dealing with their increasing intensity.
CLICK for PODCAST
Volkswagen, E week, and Engineering the Future – by Deborah Levine
The Future of Electric Mobility:
Volkswagen’s North American Market
Engineers from regional corporations, agencies, universities, schools, and professional associations, came together to kick off Engineers Week 2017 at The Chattanoogan conference center. Planning for the future was the theme of the Kick-Off Lunch featuring Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, Senior Vice President of e-mobility at Volkswagen America, Inc. Chattanooga is home to Volkswagen’s USA manufacturing plant and it was fitting that Dr. Huhnke shared Volkswagen’s transformation into the era of digitalization. Dr. Huhnke initiated and implemented Europe’s largest test laboratory for automative battery packages and components, worked on Volkswagen’s e-traction projects, e-Golf and e-Up, and currently oversees the product line of Volkswagen’s electrical cars in North American.
Continue reading Volkswagen, E week, and Engineering the Future – by Deborah Levine
Technical Writing for Reports: 10-Step Plan
There are two essential themes in technical writing for reports. The first is having a step-by-step timeline that maps out the process. The second is choosing a topic that interests you enough to do the research and writing required. The ADR 10-Step plan combines both elements using a famous writer’s philosophy …
“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” ~ Mark Twain Continue reading Technical Writing for Reports: 10-Step Plan
Writing tips: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initials
Writing Tips for Readability
Writing Tips for ReadabilityFew writing errors are as annoying to readers as abbreviations, acronyms, and initials that are either not defined or send them hunting for an explanation. This common mistake is compounded when using your report as the basis for an oral presentation. What are obvious short cuts to you may make your readers and/or audience resentful rather than admiring.
Avoid the jargon trap!
Continue reading Writing tips: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initials
From Passion to Profit – by Mary D. Moore
Mary Moore’s personal story of entrepreneurship is an inspiration to all aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders who hope to make a difference for themselves and their communities. Her journey to success is admirable for its creativity and innovativeness. Her path has not been easy or simple. Yet, the difficulties and disappointments along the way have taught her how to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. And now, she is teaching us.
Mike Green Podcast: Co-founder of ScaleUp Partners
Mike Green, co-founder of ScaleUp Partners, is passionate about competitiveness and moving a 1% needle that has never been moved. All black-owned businesses today produce less than 1% of GDP and virtually no job growth. That 1% for the African-American sector has never been breached in the history of this nation. Combined with Hispanic businesses, the number is less than 4%. By mid-century that will mean 42% of the US population is producing 4% of its business productivity. That equation undermines America’s global competitiveness.
Click to hear podcast with Mike Green
For more information, go to ScaleUp Partners.
The Politics of Political Correctness – by Deborah Levine
I sat in the audience of a university theater and listened to elected officials and professors ruminate on inclusion in the upcoming political election. It was Chicago in the 1990s and as in-your-face then as it is now. The discussion over race was loud and raucous as the candidates, Caucasian and African American, went toe to toe. As the debate turned to women, the all-male stage veered into the surreal. It turned into a shouting match as to who was more popular with the ladies. They gestured wildly about the numbers of women who called them, trying to prove that who was the more politically correct and more popular among the ladies.
Continue reading The Politics of Political Correctness – by Deborah Levine
Managing Religious Differences When Demonizing Drowns Out Listening – by Deborah Levine
Anyone listening can hear the loud, raucous controversies surrounding religion and our religious differences. The conversation is rife with words such as terrorism, hate, threatening, ungodly, illegal, and inhumane. The effect of this volcanic environment is to make our adrenalin run so high and long that we are virtually unable to hear the human beings involved. As hyperbole and exaggeration are added, we are witnessing a vicious cycle of protests and counter-protests, threats and counter-threats. Can this cycle be broken, or at least interrupted long enough for us to stop yelling, listen effectively, and initiate some major problem solving?