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New Member Talks
May 19, 2017
Join us on Friday for one of our favorite programs: New Member Talks. This time around we will hear from two wonderful additions, Lisa Liu & Nanci Kauffman. Lisa is Senior Partner at the Mittzel group, a company that advises and counsels businesses on their employment law needs in a myriad of areas. Lisa is an attorney who specializes in business law and immigration law. She works with her clients to build and protect their businesses as she guides her clients through their distinct legal issues. It is Lisa’s uniquely intersecting background of business and law, as well as her own experience with immigration, which allows her to approach her clients with such understanding and creative options to help them achieve their business goals. Lisa gained extensive first-hand experience in navigating the immigration process while living and working in several countries across the globe, such as Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Lisa earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Prior to becoming an attorney, Lisa studied at Tufts University where she double-majored in Japanese and International Relations with a concentration in International Finance. Lisa also holds a Master of Science in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. With her down time she enjoys cooking, movies, hiking, and tennis. Nanci Kauffman is Castilleja's sixth Head of School. Prior to becoming Head on July 1, 2010, she was Associate Head of School and Dean of Faculty. A veteran teacher and administrator, she has worked almost exclusively at all-girls schools. At Castilleja Nanci taught in the History department for seven years, and served as the interim Middle School Head for one semester. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Wagner College in New York City and the Hamlin School for Girls in San Francisco. She graduated from high school at age 16 before graduating from Vassar College and Teachers College at Columbia University. Originally from New York, Nanci and her husband Scott relocated to Palo Alto with their son and daughter in 1997. Together they enjoy traveling, concerts, theatre, and sports. As a native New Yorker, Nanci loves pizza -- especially New York pizza! She remembers walking into the "pizza place" and asking for "a slice" and no one asked "what kind?" She paid 25 cents for a "regular" slice and 30 cents for "Sicilian." (Back then, no one asked for "cheese" pizza because all pizza had cheese!) |
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May 22, 2017 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Jim Plunkett former professional quarterback and two time Super Bowl winner will be the keynote speaker at the May 22, 2017 Rotary Club of Menlo Park’s annual Scholastic Awards Ceremony. Approximately 120 high school students from four high schools (Menlo Atherton, Eastside College Prep, Sacred Heart and Menlo) will be acknowledged for excellence in a diversity of activities that include; math, music, art, science, athletics to name a few. Additionally the Rotary Club of Menlo Park will be awarding college scholarships to deserving high school seniors from the same four high schools. |
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May 24, 2017 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Memorial Day Holiday
May 26, 2017
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Club Off-Site
Jun. 02, 2017
On Friday, June 2, we will have the pleasure of having our meeting at Stevenson House (SH) in Palo Alto. The meeting will include a tour of the facility and one of the newly renovated housing units. SH’s mission is to provide affordable housing where independent, low-income seniors enjoy a safe and caring community. Construction of SH began in 1966 - well before current earthquake building standards were in effect. Since 1968, Stevenson House has offered a solution to the continuing housing crisis low-income seniors face. They believe that every human being, regardless of income, deserves to lead his/her life with dignity, fulfillment and companionship. These are the values that are ingrained in the SH culture. There is a richness at SH of experience, knowledge and wisdom, of culture and race and nationality. The site has 3 buildings and 120 units. Over the past several years PAUR members have served as board members on their active working board. SH has benefited from the strength and diversity of the intellectual capital that PAUR members have brought to their organization as SH navigated qualifying for tax credits in order to secure a much needed $30M HUD financing to renovate the entire facility for current seismic standards and to update the individual units. As an active working board, PAUR members attended to innumerable details for SH from navigating the HUD tax credit process to working with the architects to ensure that the units were optimally designed to meet the needs of the senior residents. PAUR member involvement includes: Sally Mahoney (current president), Patrick O'Regan (past president and current board member), Toni DeWaal (current board member), Florence Buatois (past board member), Ted Marston (past board member), Don MacKenzie (past board member), Paul Osesso (past board member, former PAUR member). It should also be noted that Helen MacKenzie (board member, honorary PAUR member and wife of Dave MacKenzie) is also involved. Join us as we learn about SH and learn about design considerations that go into designing safe affordable housing for our local elderly. You will be proud of the intellectual capital our members bring to this worthy organization. Hopefully everyone attending this special meeting has indicated that they are coming so we make sure there is enough breakfast for all. You may park at the Universal Unitarian Church (505 East Charleston Road) adjacent SH and walk across the adjoining bridge. |
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Jun. 02, 2017 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
On Friday, June 2, we will have our meeting at Stevenson House (SH) in Palo Alto. The meeting will include a tour of the facility and one of the newly renovated housing units.
SH provides local, affordable housing for seniors. Construction of SH began in 1966 - well before current earthquake building standards were in effect. The site has 3 buildings and 120 units.
Over the past several years PAUR members have served as board members on their active working board. SH has benefited from the strength and diversity of the intellectual capital that PAUR members have brought to their organization as SH navigated qualifying for tax credits in order to secure a much needed $30M HUD financing to renovate the entire facility for current seismic standards and to update the individual units. As an active working board, PAUR members attended to innumerable details for SH from navigating the HUD tax credit process to working with the architects to ensure that the units were optimally designed to meet the needs of the senior residents.
PAUR member involvement includes: Sally Mahoney (current president), Patrick O'Regan (past president and current board member), Toni DeWaal (current board member), Ted Marston (past board member), Don MacKenzie (past board member), Paul Osesso (past board member, former PAUR member). It should also be noted that Helen MacKenzie (board member, honorary PAUR member and wife of Dave MacKenzie) is also involved.
Join us as we learn about SH and learn about design considerations that go into designing safe affordable housing for our local elderly. You will be proud of the intellectual capital our members bring to this worthy organization.
Please indicate if you will be attending so we can order the right amount of food. For those of you who prefer the stone tablet and chisel technique, sign-up sheets will be available at the Friday meeting.
You may park at the Universal Unitarian Church adjacent SH (505 East Charleston Road)
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Jun. 07, 2017 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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New Voices for Youth
Jun. 09, 2017
Our speaker on Friday will be Jose ‘Lalo’ Saavedra Lara, the Project Director and instructor for the New Voices for Youth program at the Boys and Girls Club in East Palo Alto and the Siena Youth Center in Redwood City. He will describe various aspects of the program whose mission is to provide students with media production training in order to create their own original documentaries on issues of importance to them. The underlying belief is that when youth experience the power of making a difference through media arts, they are more likely to get politically involved. If this sounds familiar to some, it should. We have heard from New Voices before. They have been so compelling that our PAUR Community Service committee funded NV4Y with a well-deserved $1000 DDF grant. It will be gratifying for NV4Y to showcase the funded program. New Voices for Youth is a course for Middle School students designed to encourage civic engagement through the media arts. With the assistance of the League of Women Voters and community mentors, students learn how to write, direct, edit and screen digital movies about an issue in their community. Students work in teams and mentors help them learn how to identify an issue, research its roots, identify reliable sources for facts and figures, create a digital film to tell a story, and exhibit a film online and promote it utilizing social media. Through their participation in the New Voices For Youth Program, students develop many lifelong skills, such as, public speaking, interviewing, grassroots activism, team building, research, non-linear editing and writing, movie development and production. Jose Saavedra Lara (“Lalo”) is a recent graduate from Cogswell College, with a BA in Digital Media Management, who spent his youth at the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula and later as their music program director. Growing up in a low-income home, his number one goal was to break the ongoing poverty cycle in his predominantly Latino community. At a very young age, Lalo's experiences ignited his passion for music. As the years passed, his endeavors led him to use music as a means of spreading community awareness about local and global issues. Lalo also developed skills in film production within Adobe's non-profit media program, Adobe Youth Voices. Through his involvement with the organization, he learned the importance of guiding youth, teaching them to voice themselves as individuals, and as a community through media. At 23, Lalo plans to produce high-quality media for the best in the entertainment industry. He will continue to support his community, especially youth development through media and mentorship. "My ultimate goal is to properly equip the youth in local communities with enhanced skills so they hold a competitive advantage within their desired career field; thus, showing them how to break the 'glass ceiling' that constrains young, talented media makers." |
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Understanding A.I. and Machine Learning
Jun. 16, 2017
Our speaker on Friday will be our very own Okke Schrijvers. In recent years, the field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has been experiencing a revolution thanks to breakthroughs in Machine Learning. These technologies have made their way into popular culture in recent movies and TV shows, and you’ve probably read articles about it in the media. But what are A.I. and machine learning, and why is this suddenly such a popular topic? In this talk, Okke will shed light on what people mean when they’re talking about A.I. and he will address two of the most often heard questions: “will A.I. take my (child’s) job?” and “will A.I. turn evil?” The presentation will be kept to about 20 minutes to leave plenty of time for questions. There are many ways in which A.I. could impact society in the near and distant future, and Rotarians are driven to improve their community. So Okke wants to address questions or concerns that you may have, so that we can all improve our understanding of the technology, and the implications it may have for us in the years to come. Okke Schrijvers will receive his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University on June 18, for his thesis “Learning and Incentives in Computer Science.” At Stanford he has served as a student member on the Ph.D. admissions committee for two years, has received the departmental “extraordinary service” award three times, and he has served as president, vice president and board member of the Dutch at Stanford student association. After graduating, he will join Facebook as a Core Data Scientist on July 10. Since January 2016 he is serving as the co-editor in chief of XRDS (pronounced: crossroads), the student magazine of the world’s premier academic computer science association ACM. He is a John Ernest fellow, and a Rotarian since 2014. Okke is originally from the Netherlands, currently lives in San Francisco and enjoys cooking, hiking and traveling with his girlfriend Brooke.
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Children Now
Jun. 23, 2017
Our speaker on Friday should be familiar to many of us. Ted Lempert was the California State Assembly member representing San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties from 1988 to 1992 and 1996 to 2000. He will be speaking to us in his capacity as the President of Children Now, a national research and advocacy organization based in Oakland. Children Now is a nonpartisan umbrella research, policy development and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting children's health, education, and well-being in California. Children Now also leads The Children’s Movement of California, a grassroots network of more than 1,850 business, education, parent, civil rights, faith, and community-based organizations, as well as thousands of individuals, working together to make children a top priority in public policy. Their mission is to give kids power by serving as the hub for all of the key children’s issues, supporting and connecting thousands of groups in California to create an unprecedented power base for kids. To accomplish this, Children Now employs the top three strategies that all of the country’s strongest interest groups have in common: Umbrella Coverage, Children Now covers the full range of key children’s issues, representing the support for all of its concerns as “Pro-Kid”. No one wants to be “Anti-Kid”; Deep Inside Expertise, utilizing groups that employ the top experts in their fields to work the inside halls of power. Outside Pressure, together, with the more than 1,650 organizations that have already joined their network, the sheer number and diversity of these voices creates the most powerful interest group. As well as being the President of Children Now, Ted is also a Lecturer in the Political Science Department at UC Berkeley. Previously, Ted was the founding CEO and co-founder of EdVoice, a California education reform organization. During his turns as Assemblymember, Ted served as chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Select Committees on Education Technology and Coastal Protection, and co-chair of the Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education. He had more than 75 bills signed by Governors Deukmejian, Wilson and Davis, including major laws in the areas of education, health care, children and families, tax policy and the environment. Ted also served on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, where he was President of the Board in 1995. He was the founder of the County’s Youth Commission and chaired the Task Force on Violence Against Women. Prior to holding public office, Ted was special counsel and an associate for the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton in San Francisco. Ted is a lifelong resident of the Peninsula, attending local public schools. He graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned his law degree from Stanford University. He, his wife Nicole, and their three daughters live in San Carlos. |
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Jun. 23, 2017 8:40 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
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Jun. 24, 2017 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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Independence Day Holiday
Jun. 30, 2017
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Jun. 30, 2017 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location is Mitchell Park picnic area near parking lot. (Mitchell Park is at corner of Middlefield and East Meadow in Palo Alto). Tasks are managing the grills, cooking hotdogs and burgers, chopping salad and fruit, serving youth. We are grateful for the PAUR club volunteers who did this in the past two years! PAUR volunteer support makes it possible for YCS staff to stay focused on leading youth activities while the picnic lunch is being prepared. This is a great opportunity to see a PAUR-supported YCS program in action, and meet some great young people who are learning the value of "service above self." |
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Jul. 04, 2017 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
SET-UP: 8:00 am – set up the American flags along University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. We will meet at a local establishment after setting up the flags or a beverage and morning pastry after the flags are flying! TAKE-DOWN: 6:00 pm – take down the American flags along University Avenue. Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. We will meet at a local establishment for a beverage and light snack once we're done. Be sure to wear your Rotary at Work T-shirts and to bring your children, grandchildren and friends! If you want to volunteer, but don't have the "T-shirt" yet? Not a problem, please let us know! |
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New Member Talks
Jul. 14, 2017
Join us Friday for the first New Member Talks of our new Rotary year. This week we will have an opportunity to learn more about Sasha Madison and James Skelley. Sasha was born in Toronto, Canada and then moved to California at 1 ½ years of age. As a result, she thinks of herself as a Californian with her roots being in the San Fernando Valley (Valley Girl). Her parents were refugees from Czechoslovakia thus Sasha’s first language was Czech. After graduating from high school Sasha attended UC Irvine and double majored in Biological Sciences and Social Ecology. She entered the Masters of Public Health program in epidemiology at UCLA immediately upon graduating from UC Irvine, being a member of the first class of students admitted to the epidemiology program without a professional degree. Despite being discouraged from going into hospital epidemiology/infection control, she started her career in LA at a small community hospital in 1978. She stayed in LA for an additional two years before moving up to the Bay area to follow her husband who was a student at UCSF at the time. Except for a short period of time in the early 90s, Sasha has been employed in the field of Infection Control/Prevention since 1978. Sasha Madison is currently the Director of the Infection Prevention & Control Dept. at Stanford Health Care (SHC) where she has held the position since 2001. Sasha has the day-to-day responsibility of planning, organizing, managing and evaluating the hospital and clinic -wide Infection Control and Prevention Program. Sasha has been certified in Infection Control (CIC) continuously since 1984 and in 2011 received the Stanford Hospital & Clinics Thomas A Gonda, MD Award (employee of the Year) for Management. She has served as a Member, National Foundation for infectious Diseases (NFID) Continuing Medical Education Committee and is currently serving on the Board of her local APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention) chapter. Sasha has two children. Jessica who is currently in a PhD program at UCSC in cultural anthropology living in Mongolia, and Eric, an EMT currently working at Stanford hospital. After living on the Stanford campus for fourteen years, she moved to Sunnyvale and enjoys taking the CALTRAIN to work every day. To relax Sasha attends as many music venues as possible, listening to music ranging from rock n roll to opera. She enjoys English Country dance, which she does at least three times per month, as well as walking/hiking. Her love of travel, which was clearly instilled at the age of 1 ½, continues and will likely flourish when she retires (although she still has a few years to go!) James Skelley is a technology attorney at JS Tech Law operating primarily out of Silicon Valley, but with connections in Southern California and the Greater Boston region. James has provided patent prosecution (design and utility), licensing, copyright, trademark, open source, and strategic technology counseling to clients ranging from biotech firms to space systems and nuclear reactors (though his first patent application was for a pogo stick). James has a B.S. and a Masters in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT. He got his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. When he’s not busy working with clients, James researches legal and technical issues of public concern and (with the assistance of Leopold the LawMux) provides the preliminary results in the LawMux KnowledgeBase. When he’s not working, James is either climbing, biking, at the gym, or illustrating children’s books. |
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Jul. 14, 2017 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location is Mitchell Park picnic area near parking lot. (Mitchell Park is at corner of Middlefield and East Meadow in Palo Alto). Tasks are managing the grills, cooking hotdogs and burgers, chopping salad and fruit, serving youth. We are grateful for the PAUR club volunteers who did this in the past two years! PAUR volunteer support makes it possible for YCS staff to stay focused on leading youth activities while the picnic lunch is being prepared. This is a great opportunity to see a PAUR-supported YCS program in action, and meet some great young people who are learning the value of "service above self." |
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Jul. 20, 2017 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
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Cypriot Teens Work to Build Peace
Jul. 21, 2017
On Friday we will be joined by 8 dynamic Cypriot teens along with one of their local coordinators, Brad Stirn. They are associated with the Cypress Friendship Program. The Program’s mission is to promote peace and understanding in Cyprus by bringing together teenagers with leadership potential from both sides of the divided island, encouraging lifelong friendships among them, and extending these friendships to their friends and families. While the Cyprus Friendship Program is based upon the Children’s Friendship Project for Northern Ireland, it was founded in 2009 by HasNa, Inc., a Washington-DC-based non-profit organization. HasNa promotes understanding and economic empowerment in culturally-divided areas of the world and encourages individuals and communities in such areas to work together toward advancement and peaceful coexistence. Brad Stirn is a thirty year entrepreneur, executive and consultant to the technology industry with such firms as Coherent Inc, Arthur D. Little, Spencer Stuart Associates and TMP Worldwide. Brad earned his BA in Physics Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College and an MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He lives in Woodside, and he and his wife Becky are instrumental in assisting the teens while they are here. Cyprus, located in the eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, north of Egypt and west of Syria, has been divided by a patrolled UN buffer zone since 1974, with Turkish-speaking Muslims on the north and Greek-speaking Christians on the south. The Cyprus Friendship Program (CFP) brings together teenagers from both Cypriot communities to promote peaceful interaction and understanding between the two groups. CFP is a year-long peace-building and leadership training program in Cyprus, with a four week cultural exchange component in the United States in the summer. It is this summer sojourn that we will be able to glimpse. By developing cross-cultural friendships, the teens build mutual respect for each other, breaking down the historical stereotypes and mistrust that exist. Upon return to Cyprus, the teens are in a position to share the message with family and friends of their own communities that Greek-speaking and Turkish-speaking Cypriots can live together peacefully. Indeed, many of the students who have participated in the program are doing just that – working together for peace. |
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For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
Jul. 28, 2017
This Friday we will be hearing from Theresa Bateman, the Northern California Regional Director of FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting Mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. FIRST was founded in 1989. Based in Manchester, NH, the not-for-profit public charity designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. It was founded by Dean Kamen, a prolific inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology. His passion and determination to help young people discover the excitement and rewards of science and technology are the cornerstones of FIRST. For over 25 years, Dean has resolutely led the growth of FIRST to where it is now universally recognized as the leading, not-for-profit STEM engagement program for kids worldwide. FIRST began with 28 teams in a New Hampshire high-school gym. Today, the four FIRST programs reach over 400,000 young people in 80 countries annually. The fun they have, the knowledge they gain, and the friendships they make along the way help build self-confidence, nurture creativity, and inspire them to solve the world’s greatest challenges, be strong citizens, and build a brighter future. 43% of Alumni are still involved as FIRST Mentors, Coaches, Volunteers, and Donors. 33% of Alumni are currently in leadership positions in their community. Theresa Bateman is an inventive leader with an infectious enthusiasm to impact and empower individuals and serve in her community. She has extensive experience from start-up to Fortune 50 companies in the areas of medical devices, electronic health records, mobile apps, and health informatics. She started her career at LifeScan, the diabetes monitor company, eventually ending up as the IT Business Solutions Manager for their parent company Johnson & Johnson. Theresa has a BS in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics, has been through the Harvard Business School Leadership Program, and has a MS in Medical Informatics from Northwestern’s Fienberg School of Medicine. |
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Jul. 28, 2017 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location is Mitchell Park picnic area near parking lot. (Mitchell Park is at corner of Middlefield and East Meadow in Palo Alto). Tasks are managing the grills, cooking hotdogs and burgers, chopping salad and fruit, serving youth. We are grateful for the PAUR club volunteers who did this in the past two years! PAUR volunteer support makes it possible for YCS staff to stay focused on leading youth activities while the picnic lunch is being prepared. This is a great opportunity to see a PAUR-supported YCS program in action, and meet some great young people who are learning the value of "service above self." |
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China: One Belt, One Road
Aug. 04, 2017
For this week's talk, our own member and "international correspondent" Vincent Yip has chosen to lower his camera lenses and tackle an important emerging global project recently launched by China called the One Belt One Road, or Belt & Road Initiative. It promises to eventually involve as many as 60 countries in Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa in infrastructural projects that will be valued at more than $ 5 trillion. However, the US and Japan are the only staunch outsiders in the "Project of the Century" that may disrupt not only economic, but cultural, geo-political, and even military balance in the world for the next 30-50 years. Speaker Vincent Yip left the ex-colony of Singapore just as it gained independence in 1965, and have since studied, lived and worked in the US, China, and Europe. Originally trained as a physicist/engineer but now a China Consultant and Lecturer at Stanford Continuing Studies, he once served as a high-level Singapore Government official and diplomat. He will introduce and explain this OBOR concept to the audience, and rely on his rich international experience to elaborate on the various implications and project on the future of OBOR, especially how it may affect the current global power-the United States, and its Allies. |
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Aug. 12, 2017 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Please come join us the hike along the coast starting at Tide pool parking lot in Princeton (north of Half Moon Bay). We will hike along the coast towards the Moss beach distillery and then back and have a brunch in Princeton or Half Moon Bay. See the attached map for the parking lot and the approximate hiking trail. The hike is not strenuous, mainly along the ocean bluff. I suggest we meet at 8 am at the Sharon Height Safeway parking lot for carpooling. For those who drive separately we meet at 9 am at the Tide Parking lot..
For those who want to carpool: we'll meet at the Sharon Heights Safeway parking lot at 8:00 am
For those who want to drive there, meet at the Tide Parking lot. |
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Aug. 20, 2017 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
The PAUR Arts Committee has come up with a new opportunity for fun and fellowship. This time we will be visiting an exhibit at the Legion of Honor to view Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade. Best known for his depictions of Parisian dancers and laundresses, Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917) was enthralled with another aspect of modern life in the French capital: high-fashion hats and the women who created them. This landmark exhibition features more than 40 Impressionist paintings and pastels, including key works by Degas, as well as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Approximately 40 spectacular examples of period hats—including nine from the Fine Arts Museums’ collections—also will be displayed.
We won’t be having a special tour this time, so no advanced collection for group tickets. Simply show up and look for art-loving Rotarians. They will start to congregate in the forecourt by Rodin’s The Thinker around 9:15. If you would like to get your tickets ahead of time (recommended), please go to the Legion of Honor website Degas ticket page at: http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/degas-impressionism-and-paris-millinery-trade There you can buy your tickets and get driving directions to the museum in Lincoln Park, which is between the Presidio and the Cliff House. Spend the morning with fellow Rotarians and friends immersed in Impressionism. Stay for a casual lunch, and remember your ticket gets you into the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park that day too if you want to make a day of it. As always, carpooling is a good idea, so get a group together and come join the merriment.
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Aug. 24, 2017 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
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Bee Keeping Update
Aug. 25, 2017
Our speakers Friday will be our own intrepid apiarists Kendal Sager and Brian Orth. In this talk, you'll hear the latest buzz about bees. Kendal Sager will be giving an overview of the current state of honeybees and the issues they are struggling with. Beekeepers are currently experiencing record highs of colony deaths, which impacts their ability to provide effective pollination for agricultural crops. Kendal will share highlights from the latest research and discuss some of the potential solutions being implemented in government, agriculture, and even backyards. Brian Orth will finish the presentation by giving a brief update on the Bee A Gift To The World project sponsored by our own Palo Alto University Rotary club. Kendal Sager runs a children's nature education business dedicated to bringing learning to life. Kendal works with local schools to bring "critters into classrooms" to teach the importance of pollinators, food systems, and animal life cycles. She has been keeping bees for 7 years and is currently the Vice President of the Beekeepers' Guild of San Mateo County where she heads up education and outreach programs and has also worked with city government to create more bee-friendly legislation. Brian Orth runs an IT company in the bay area providing computer support to homes and small businesses, but in his spare time he is a backyard beekeeper! Brian has been keeping bees for 4 years and started getting involved after hearing about the many issues facing Bees. For the past 2 years Kendal and Brian have been running the Bee, a Gift to the World project for Rotary. |
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Aug. 26, 2017 10:00 a.m. - Aug. 27, 2017 6:00 p.m.
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Sep. 04, 2017 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
SET-UP: 8:00 am – set up the American flags along University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. We will meet at a local establishment after setting up the flags or a beverage and morning pastry after the flags are flying! TAKE-DOWN: 6:00 pm – take down the American flags along University Avenue. Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. We will meet at a local establishment for a beverage and light snack once we're done. Be sure to wear your Rotary at Work T-shirts and to bring your children, grandchildren and friends! If you want to volunteer, but don't have the "T-shirt" yet? Not a problem, please let us know! |
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Member Talks
Sep. 08, 2017
On Friday we will again have the pleasure of hearing from two of our own members. Jo Maloney will give her new member talk, and Darren Hau will let us in on what he has been up to recently. Jo Maloney is the Executive Director of NurseRegistry here in Palo Alto, where they match professional, licensed, and compassionate nurses with private clients at home and facilities in need of staffing solutions. Since 2009, NurseRegistry has been raising the bar in skilled nursing care, with the goal of promoting the health, independence, and quality of life for their patients, while maintaining patient safety and privacy. Jo joined NurseRegistry with more than 15 years of business development experience in the healthcare industry. She focuses on raising the level of productivity and quality to enhance the patient experience and improve referral source satisfaction. Jo prides herself on advocating for patient-centered care across the healthcare continuum, and is currently on the Planning Committee for the Pacific Stroke Association. Since Nanci Kaufman sent a picture of herself eating pizza for her new member talk, Jo didn't want to compete with a picture eating pizza from her favorite joint in Chicago, so instead she sent a picture from this year’s Rotary Gala. She says that she and her pictured friends could not stop themselves from bidding, and they all walked away winners. From a fabulous French gourmet dinner for 10, to a trip to Bali, 5 framed photos, and finally almost the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen. She would like to know who did have the winning bid on the ring, and she would like to visit it. In her spare time Jo enjoys hiking, yoga, and anything to do with health and wellness Our second part of the program will be a report from Darren Hau on his experiences at Stanford in a totally unique course: Hacking for Defense: Stanford Management Science and Engineering 297. Through this course, Stanford University students learn the “Lean Launchpad” approach to entrepreneurship while working on technological solutions for highly complex challenges facing the national defense and intelligence sectors. The course, is taught by Steve Blank and other faculty affiliated with the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, the entrepreneurship center in the School of Engineering’s Department of Management Science & Engineering. In its initial offering, Darren was one of the students selected to participate; in its 2nd edition, he was a facilitator. Darren is currently an applications engineer working on global charging infrastructure at Tesla. The reason that Darren will discuss Hacking for Defense™ is that next week (9/15) our speaker will be Darren Halford, a founder of this program, which has run at other universities besides Stanford. He will discuss initiatives to help the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community adopt processes designed to increase the speed at which their organization solves specific, mission-critical problems. (Be sure to read next week’s announcement for more information…)
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Hacking for Defense
Sep. 15, 2017
Last Friday Darren Hau told us about his experiences as a student and then a facilitator for a course at Stanford called Hacking for Defense. This Friday our speaker will be Darren Halford, a founder of this program, which has since run at other universities besides Stanford. He will discuss initiatives to help the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community adopt processes designed to increase the speed at which their organization solves specific, mission-critical problems. Darren builds and scales innovative organizations, and operationalizes new technology. His 26 years of leadership experience ranges from Silicon Valley startups to 1,100-person military organizations conducting worldwide operations. During the past year, he improved defense innovation projects using Silicon Valley best practices and built highly-skilled teams with diverse expertise to solve tough problems. He also built and led Hacking for Defense Inc., which expanded the Hacking for Defense™ course started at Stanford to universities nationwide. Currently Darren is also a Board member of the Phoenix Spark Program at Travis Air Force Base. Phoenix Spark is a program modeled to bridge the challenges of rapid innovation at the unit-level while navigating the administrative hurdles of compliance that often impede the velocity of change. It takes the same collaborative and fast track approach that we heard about last week. To pass an idea through the typical Air Force approval process, an Airman would submit his or her proposal first through the wing chain of command, then through the major command. The proposal would then be ‘racked and stacked’ against other ideas, where an assigned team decides which to prioritize and which to postpone. The prioritized ideas would finally be sent to a systems programs office team who would take the ideas received, brainstorm solutions and eventually approve or deny the request. From start to finish, the process takes an average of two to four years for approval. Once approved, another two to three years is estimated before implementation – costing the Air Force millions of dollars along the way. Professionals from across industry, academia and government have met with representatives from Travis Air Force Base’s Phoenix Spark program as part of an effort to connect external experts with problem sets faced by today’s warfighter. The event, known as Phoenix Collider, brought together experts within the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, 3-D printing technology, virtual reality, software development, business and mechanical engineering to meet face-to-face with Travis Airmen to garner firsthand accounts of “pain points.” Topics and ideas presented to the group ranged in complexity, which aligns with the intent of Phoenix Spark. Innovation is not confined to large-scale projects and advanced technology; instead many encompass modest solutions to overcome day-to-day challenges. Darren got his Bachelor’s degree at Cornell in Mechanical Engineering while also a member of the Ivy League Champion Football Team. He has gone on to achieve multiple Masters Degrees. During his Air Force career, he had unique opportunities to innovate and develop new capabilities while ensuring compliance with complex aviation regulations. He also flew over a dozen different aircraft ranging from Special Operations C-130s to the U-2 before retiring as a Colonel, and completing three Pentagon assignments. Most notably, he operationalized the “Project Liberty” MC-12 program to achieve the Secretary of Defense’s #1 priority by integrating cutting-edge surveillance and communications equipment into low-cost commercial aircraft. Project Liberty earned the 2010 Aviation Week Laureate Award, and Air Force nomination for the prestigious Collier Trophy in 2009, 2010, and 2012. |
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Avenidas Village
Sep. 22, 2017
Join us Friday to hear from Vickie Epstein, the Avenidas Village Program Director. Avenidas Village is a membership program offered through the non-profit agency Avenidas that is designed to help people remain in their homes as they age by providing personalized assistance, a variety of services and social and cultural gatherings. The program is available to adults 50+ who live in the mid-Peninsula. An annual Avenidas Village membership allows people to live in their own homes and still have access to all the activities and services they want now, as well as those they may need later. Their participation buys them access to services that are often discounted for members: someone to cook, clean, do the laundry, fix the air conditioner, pick up groceries, make doctor's appointments, help them dress or get in and out of bed when they're laid up. Members pay the providers, often from the community, but the village staff and volunteers select and screen them, and can help coordinate these appointments. Avenidas Village also provides a social outlet, linking people with similar interests. Avenidas Village helps simplify people’s lives, reduces their stress, and keeps them mobile, active, and connected with others in their community. Helping seniors stay independent is the number one goal of Avenidas Village. Vickie Epstein joined Avenidas Village as the new program director in August of 2007 and brought with her an impressive array of experience. Vickie earned an MSW from Saint Louis University in Missouri and did most of her early work in medical settings, including a five year stint at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose. Vickie served as Recruitment Director for Child Advocates and Director of Program Services for APJCC (Addison Penzak Jewish Community Center) in Los Gatos. In addition, Vickie worked with NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice) designing diversity programming for elementary and secondary schools in San Jose, and trained volunteers to deliver these programs. Vickie’s role as Director of Avenidas Village has been a multi-faceted one as she is responsible for not only program evolution and the directions the Village takes but she is also operational, providing health related member services as needed. Avenidas Village is one of the largest villages with 400 members and is the first Village on the west coast. This native Wisconsinite is married, has two children and three grandchildren. |
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Applied, Artificial Intelligence
Sep. 29, 2017
Our speaker on Friday will be Data Scientist and Machine Learning Consultant Dr. Charles Martin talking about Artificial Intelligence. Charles is the founder and chief scientist for Calculation Consulting, a consultancy and software development company specializing in machine learning and data science. Calculation Consulting helps companies apply mathematical modeling and software engineering to complex big data, analytics, and AI problems. Previously, he has worked with companies such as BlackRock, eBay, Aardvark (acquired by Google), GoDaddy, and more and was instrumental in making Demand Media the first billion dollar IPO since Google. Charles started college classes in organic and physical chemistry at 15. He enrolled at the Ohio State University and immediately started working in a theoretical chemistry group because they had a Cray Supercomputer. Still a teenager, he took first place in the SIAM National Applied Math Contest. His research involved non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Charles received his undergraduate Bachelor’s degrees in math and chemistry from The Ohio State University and his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Chicago. He was a National Science Foundation fellow. A former post-doctoral researcher in the Theoretical Chemistry and Physics department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the National Center for Supercomputing and its Applications (NCSA). Charles' work helped studying the foundations of perception and learning, ranging from the initial quantum mechanical events in vision to building a hybrid biological-silicon neuromorphic device. It was during this time that he first started working with neural networks and early forms of deep learning. A veteran in the field, he has devoted 30 years of his life to the academic study and business practice of numerical scientific computation, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence. An expert in the physics of neural networks, Charles is currently collaborating with researchers at UC Berkeley to develop a modern theoretical approach to why Deep Learning works. |
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Oct. 04, 2017 7:00 p.m.
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Art Education & Display in EPA
Oct. 06, 2017
Join us Friday to hear from Tefferi Mogus Brook, the Executive Director of the Mural Music & Arts Project (MMAP). The MMAP educates, empowers, and inspires youth through the arts. Since 2001, MMAP has created a public art legacy while serving 12,264 youth, who have installed 206 murals, produced 162 original songs, and reached over 33,300 individuals through exhibits and performances. MMAP is made up of 4 specific programs.
Teff Brook is a lyricist, producer, and educator working in underserved communities since his teenage years. While at Stanford studying Electrical Engineering, Teff expanded his range, integrating music technology and building out MMAP's new History through Hip Hop program. During his undergrad and following graduation Teff taught performing arts to MMAP youth for over three years. After building out three different HHH studios and producing dozens of tracks with young East Palo Alto artists, Teff returned to his home in Los Angeles and began to explore the business aspect of the music industry, working in artist management and content production. Bridging both worlds and boasting experience in branding, production, and business development, Teff plans to increase visibility and range for young hip hop artists upon his return to MMAP.
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Global Philanthropy & Children
Oct. 13, 2017
On Friday morning we will hear from Stephanie Heckman, the West Coast Director of the Epic Foundation, where moto is Give Better, Give Smarter, Give More. The Epic Foundation bridges the gap between a new generation of individual and corporate donors and organizations while supporting children and youth globally. They are developing new tools focused on enhancing how donors select, monitor and experience their impact. Their vision is to disrupt the philanthropic industry by combining passion and expertise with game-changing technology and partnerships. Supporting youth and understanding their challenges, they select exceptional NGOs and social enterprises by carefully reviewing their performance. Their areas of focus include education, economic empowerment, and health, along with rights & protection. Epic then provides ongoing monitoring using cutting-edge technology, field evaluations and research, to track and measure impact. They believe experience is a core component of philanthropy. To connect donors with their impact, Epic has developed innovative travel, technology and video experiences.
Stephanie Heckman obtained a Master of Arts in Philosophy and Psychology and a Master of Sciences in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh. She is currently a post-graduate research student in Philosophy (Wellbeing and Philanthropy) at the University of Edinburgh. For the last fifteen years, Stephanie has been building effective partnerships to create a better world. Except for a year working at SFJazz, her career is with a series of non-profits, including almost 6 years at One World Children's Fund. She has been inspired by the use of virtual reality by the Epic Foundation. Through immersive experiences of their grantees work, founder Alexandre Mars manages to foster empathy and nurture global partnerships that ‘do good, better’ (to borrow a phrase from philosopher Will MacAskill). They have also applied technology to create a platform that builds trust between philanthropists and community leaders, by making results and impact data accessible and meaningful. Another goal is to leverage technology to make philanthropic giving easier for corporation teams and individuals. Over the last five years Stephanie has facilitated discussions with people from all corners of the world, aligned values, and identified common goals. She feels it has been wonderfully rewarding to witness the very best of humanity working together to solve some of today’s biggest challenges. She has fostered international partnerships with grassroots leaders and philanthropists from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, that have helped fight sex trafficking, child labor, lack of access to life-saving medicine, education, and more. She says the greatest achievement is the friendships she has made along the way. She loves being a global citizen. |
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Stanford Equestrian
Oct. 20, 2017
Join us on Friday morning when we welcome Jana Cain as our speaker. Jana is the Western Coach for Stanford’s Equestrian Team. The team, based at Stanford University’s historic Red Barn Equestrian Center, has between 35 and 45 active members riding Hunt Seat Equitation, Dressage, and Western Horsemanship. The team looks for both accomplished riders with strong show experience as well as beginners dedicated to learning more about the sport while actively involved in all aspects of horsemanship and care. For more than 30 years, Stanford has competed in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. The other schools in their region include Cal Poly – S.L.O., College of the Sequoias, Santa Clara University, Sonoma State University, U.C. Davis, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and Reedley College. In order to create a fair playing field, IHSA competitions are based on “catch riding,” with riders drawing a horse provided by the host school. Riders accumulate points in their respective classes for their individual standing and for the team. The Stanford Equestrian Team has had many riders advance and compete with success at Regionals, Zones, and National Championships. When not on, around, or talking horses, Jana is the Associate Director and Recruiting Relationship Manager at the Career Management Center in the Graduate School of Business. Jana is involved in on-campus recruiting and activities. She cultivates and manages 150+ strategic relationships as the point of contact across nine industries. She develops tailored, scalable solutions for student and employer recruiting challenges while conducting deep dive industry research to identify potential recruiting partners and sources of high level career opportunities. Her Industry partners include Media and Entertainment, Healthcare, Sports, Retail, Consumer Products, Nonprofit, Education, Design, and Food and Agriculture. Jana is a former Stanford Equestrian Team Horse Manager and competitor for the Stanford Equestrian Team. She has had a life-long love of horses and spent many years in the barn working with her own horse (Slowly But Shirley, a feisty Quarter Horse mare who is a competitive eventer). Jana came to Stanford and quickly became a fierce competitor for the Western Team, with a show career that culminated with a 3rd place finish at Nationals in ’98. After earning her MBA Jana returned to Stanford to work at the Graduate School of Business and resume her role coaching the Western Team. Jana is an avid Stanford Football fan and can be found at every game when not traveling with the Equestrian Team. |
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Oct. 21, 2017 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Meet at DLA Piper in the Community Room 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM - Light breakfast and keynote speaker; meet in service site groups, grab back lunch and HEAD OUT! 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM - Service at Sites with Lunch break Sign up at the YCS website: www.youthcommunityservice.org Service Sites include: EPA Senior Center
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Member Talks
Oct. 27, 2017
On Friday we will hear from two of our dynamic members. Mary Chigos will give us her new member talk, and Sookja Han will inspire us with the retelling of her epic pilgrimage hike across the Pyrenees Mountains to Santiago de Compostella. Mary will no doubt expand on these thumbnail particulars: Born and raised in Kansas City, MO. She attended Loretto Heights College in Denver, graduated with BS in Nursing. She worked in Public Health in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles and joining a pilot project at Harbor General, now UCLA Medical Center, training “Women’s Health Care” providers. She was a Clinical Educator for two years, and worked in a private practice as a OB-GYN nurse practitioner. Mary has a Master’s Degree in Gerontology and has worked with a number of facilities in elder care. She has been working with Mission Hospice and Health Care since 2011. She also found time to be on the Hillsborough School Board, Hillsborough Schools Foundation, and Community Gatepath. Mary also enjoys golf, travel, and skiing. Sookja will be recounting the triumphs and tribulations she encountered as a pilgrim hiking 500 miles to Santiago de Compostella in Northwestern Spain. These trips have been made by thousands over the centuries. Few have had a twitter handle like vcqueen. Few were about to give up their previous VC existence and enter the Fuller Theological Seminary. She has described herself as a Christian, mother of two wonderful daughters, sister, Gemini, Korean-American, classical music and opera lover, hiker, critical thinker, and listener. As for adjectives to describe her character, God-fearing, honest, genuine, perseverant, patient, caring, assertive, passionate, compassionate, fearless, indefatigable, indomitable, strong-willed, and optimistic. As she has written, “While making myself a pilgrim on foot on the Road to Santiago, I will wrestle with God to clearly see his vision for me.” |
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Nordic Innovation and Table Talks
Nov. 03, 2017
Join us on Friday morning when we hear from Swedish researcher Anders Wikström about innovation and design, and then have a table talk planned by Hal Louchheim. The first part of our program will introduce us to Anders and his work regarding conditions for innovation and what he has found in his research, and how it has led him to Silicon Valley with the Nordic Innovation House. He has a PhD in Innovation and Design, and is a Senior Researcher at the Research Institutes of Sweden RISE ICT/SICS Västerås. He is also a member of the Rotary club in Eskilstuna, Sweden. In his research he has developed a tool to identify, analyze and take action on important success factors for productivity and innovation. This tool is now part of a start-up that he runs together with a colleague. In this journey, building a start-up, they have been accepted into an accelerator program here in Palo Alto, arranged by the Nordic countries, Sweden and Norway. In the other half, Hal will take the members on a quick conscious raising tour of “Gifts & Gratitude”. He will provide a brief context about recognizing all the gifts we receive and the benefits arising as a result of actually thanking people. Then, we can address profound questions like: When was the last time you thanked your boss, your parent or your spouse? At each table, members will be asked to share their experiences or suggestions in response to specific questions. We will likely have a high level of engaging conversation and run out of time before we can share the most amazing “findings”. The motivating ideas come from two sources: · Maxim #9 of Improv Wisdom, a little book by Patricia Ryan Madsen, a retired drama professor at Stanford. The thought is simple: Wake up to the Gifts. · OpenIdeo is running one of its Challenges on the topic: “How might we inspire expressions of gratitude in the workplace?”
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Nov. 04, 2017 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
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Nov. 05, 2017 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
East of the Sun and West of the Moon This event is suitable for parents, grandparents, kids, grandkids and kids at heart. Buy your tickets here: https://sa1.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/EventSearch?presenter=PALOALTO&venue=PACHILDREN&tck=true
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Finless Foods
Nov. 10, 2017
Join us on Friday morning to hear from Mike Selden, the Co-Founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a startup he hopes will become the world leader of seafood produced for mass consumption using cellular agriculture techniques rather than fishing in order to create a more sustainable world. This seafood isn’t vegan or vegetarian, it’s made from real fish cells. It will allow people to have the same fish that they love but without all of the mercury and plastic in fish from the ocean or the high levels of antibiotics and growth hormones in fish from aquaculture. It also enables people to continue eating fish without destroying ocean ecosystems through overfishing and has the added benefit of making animal cruelty entirely unneeded. Mike’s background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has played a big role in him dedicating his life to climate justice and science advocacy. He has always been very politically active and considers his work now to be an extension of that. Before co-founding Finless Foods, he was working at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in high-throughput cancer screening. His university research projects were twofold, one focusing on fungal epigenetics to solve food crises and the other on the evolutionary biomechanics of the mantis shrimp. He was a high school chemistry teacher at Wagor International School in Taichung Taiwan, where he ended up learning enough Chinese to become co-editor in chief of ChinaSMACK, a website that translates Chinese news for the English speaking world. Mike grew up on the coast, and feels very connected with the ocean. Many coastal communities rely entirely on the ocean for sustenance, and if the ocean ecosystem is ruined through overfishing, they will starve. An injury to these communities and to any suffering from food injustice is an injury to us all. He is from the North shore of Boston, and misses the attitude as well as the cold.
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Nov. 11, 2017 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
SET-UP: 8:00 am – set up the American flags along University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. ONE VOLUNTEER NEEDED TO RETRIEVE FLAGS FROM STORAGE AND BUY COFFEE FOR VOLUNTEERS (reimbursed by club). @ TUTS BAKERY, 535 Bryant Street Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. Flags are positioned on both sides of the street from Webster to High Street. Beverage and morning pastry will be served after the completion of the flag installation! Be sure to wear your Rotary at Work T-shirts and to bring your children, grandchildren and friends! If you want to volunteer, but don't have the "T-shirt" yet? Not a problem, please let us know! TAKE-DOWN: 5:00 pm – take down the American flags along University Avenue. RETURN FLAGS TO STORAGE AT THE LOCKER IN THE WEBSTER/COWPER PARKING GARAGE. ONE VOLUNTEER (LEAD) NEEDED TO COORDINATE RETURNING FLAGS TO STORAGE AND BUY DRINKS (reimbursed by club). Meet at the corner of Cowper and University Avenue. Beverage and light snack will be served after the completion @ Dan Gordon's 640 Emerson Street |
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District Governor's Talk
Nov. 17, 2017
It will be our pleasure give a warm PAUR welcome to our speaker on Friday: District Governor Orrin Mahoney. Orrin is a long time resident of Cupertino, California. After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1967, he came to California to work at Hewlett-Packard and received a Master’s degree from Stanford while working there. After a 35 year management career at HP, he retired and devoted his time to community activities. He is a former member of the Cupertino City Council, and has served twice as Mayor. In addition to many other community groups, he is an active member and past president of the Rotary Club of Cupertino. As part of the Club’s International Service activities, he has participated in 12 project trips to Mexico, China, India, and Central and South America. He was the recipient of the Polio Plus Award in 2010, Area 8 Assistant Governor in 2014-2015, the District’s Membership Committee Chair in 2015-2016 and the District Conference Chair in 2016-2017. His theme for his year as District Governor is Rotary: Building Lifelong Friendships while Making a Difference. |
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Nov. 18, 2017 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
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