NCVA eREPORTER - April 26, 2006
The National Congress of Vietnamese Americans' NCVA eReporter is a regular email newsletter containing information on grant/funding opportunities, events/forums/conferences, available internships and news items pertinent to the Vietnamese American and Asian Pacific American communities.
In this NCVA eReporter:
EVENTS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
TIPS/RESOURCES
NEWS
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EVENTS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR: HOW TO APPLY FOR A FEDERAL JOB
Dear Friends,
To help Asian Pacific Americans interested in working for the Federal Government, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and the U.S. Department of Labor will host a free seminar on “How to Apply for a Federal Job” at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill on May 3, 2006 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Please feel free to share this information with others who are interested in a career in the federal government.
REGISTRATION:
To register for this event, please fill out the chart below and email it back to wong.alexandra@dol.gov or by calling (202) 693-6046 to leave your registration information. Registration closes on Friday, April 28, and seating is limited to the first 200 registrants for this free seminar.
First Name
Last Name
Street Address
City
State
Zip Code
E-mail
Current Occupation/Field/Level
We have an exciting presentation planned for attendees, including real-life experiences and practical tips to help make your quest for a federal position successful. The panelists will provide insight into what federal human resources professionals look for when reviewing applications and evaluate job candidates. In addition, we have over 30 federal agencies participating in the Exhibition Area with human resources staff to answer your questions and highlight opportunities available at their agencies.
PRELIMINARY AGENDA:
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill – May 3, 2006
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Registration / Visit Exhibitors
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm “How to Apply for a Federal Job” Seminar
TRANSPORTATION:
The Hyatt Regency Washington is located two blocks from the Red Line/Union Station stop at 400 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.
For questions, please call (202) 693-6000 and ask for Anna Hui or Alexandra Wong. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, May 3rd!
RSVP: wong.alexandra@dol.gov or call (202) 693-6046 to leave your registration information
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
FREE INTERNET ACCESS FOR RURAL JUSTICE AGENCIES
National Center for Rural Law Enforcement
The National Center for Rural Law Enforcement provides Internet access and email at no cost to rural law enforcement agencies and tribal criminal justice agencies by use of a toll-free dialup service. The project also provides free website hosting, an electronic information resource center, model policies and procedures, and promotes information sharing among law enforcement agencies by use of email. Internet access is primarily available to rural law enforcement agencies and must be used for agency business purposes only. Applications are accepted throughout the year.
(http://64.219.0.21/BJA%20Internet%20index.htm)
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THE BROOKDALE FOUNDATION: SEED GRANTS FOR RESPITE PROGRAMS
Brookdale Foundation focuses on the needs and challenges of America's elderly population. The Brookdale National Group Respite Program awards seed grants to service providers that plan to offer new, dementia-specific adult day programs to participants, along with respite and support to caregivers. In addition to providing respite care and enjoyable group activities, the funded programs should offer family caregivers access to services such as counseling, support groups, information and referral, and training and education. Up to 15 programs will receive grants for $7,500 in the first year. Grants are renewable at $3,000 in the second year, based upon evaluation of the first year¹s activities and potential for future continuity of the program. The application deadline is July 6, 2006.
(http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/respiteprogram.htm)
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NASD INVESTOR EDUCATION FOUNDATION OPENS NEW FUNDING CYCLE
The NASD Investor Education Foundation has just opened the funding cycle for Applying Financial Theory to Improve Life-Cycle Investing. Eligible organizations should submit proposals for projects that research, develop, test, and/or evaluate methods and applications of current financial theory, specifically life-cycle investing. Applications will be accepted until July 14.
(http://www.nasdfoundation.org/life_cycle06.asp)
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CAPCO SCIENCE CLASS CHALLENGE
The Consumer Aerosol Products Council is holding its fourth annual Science Class Challenge. The contest, open to teachers grades 4-9, will award $5,000 for the most creative approach to teaching material about the ozone layer, CFCs, and the environment. Additional awards ranging from $250 - $1,000 will also be given. Instructions and materials are available on the website listed above. Applications are due May 8.
(http://nocfcs.org/scc/home.htm)
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MID-SOUTH DELTA LEADERS PROGRAM NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Deadline: July 21, 2006
Established in 1997 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (http://www.wkkf.org), the Mid South Delta Initiative (http://www.msdi.org) is a long-term economic, community, and leadership development effort focused on fifty-five contiguous counties and parishes along the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
As part of this effort, the Mid South Delta Leadership program is building a network of diverse leaders willing to work across economic, social, and racial divides to shape policies and strategies for education and economic development in the Delta Region. MSDL is currently accepting applications for its third class.
The program helps participants gain a better understanding of national and global trends in terms of how these trends influence the quality of life and economic and community development in the Delta.
MSDL consists of three eighteen-month classes, which include a series of three-day learning retreats, study-travel tours to each of the three state capitals, a Delta Heritage Tour, and meetings of issue-based teams.
Forty-five class members, fifteen from each state, will participate in a curriculum that is designed to improve the leadership, management, and communication skills of its participants. MSDL class members represent a wide variety of fields and sectors, including K-12 education, higher education, the nonprofit sector, the public and private sectors, the self-employed, and community volunteers. This policy, in turn, ensures the inclusion of a broad range of stakeholders, particularly those traditionally under-represented in community and economic development efforts.
(http://www.msdi.org/leadership)
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DOLLAR GENERAL COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM OFFERS SUPPORT FOR YOUTH LITERACY PROGRAMS
Deadline: June 5, 2006; September 5, 2006; and December 5, 2006
The Dollar General Community Grants Program focuses on youth literacy initiatives in communities where the company does business.
Applicant organizations must be located in and providing service within Dollar General's twenty-seven-state operating territory. Applicants must be nonprofit organizations engaged in literacy or basic education programs.
The typical grant amount is $2,500 or less.
(http://www.dollargeneral.com/community/communityinvestments.aspx?Category=Community&SubCategory=Community%20Investments#CommunityGrants)
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ECMC FOUNDATION INVITES PROPOSALS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GUIDE
Deadline: May 15, 2006
The ECMC Foundation, an ECMC Group company, helps underserved and disadvantaged people further their educational goals.
The foundation invites proposals for the development of a guide for postsecondary student services and financial-aid professionals to use as a resource to retain students from first-generation, college-going, low-income backgrounds. This guide is envisioned as a toolkit containing both reference materials and strategies to encourage and support the success of students to complete their courses of study and receive higher education degrees. The design of the guide should be general enough to be used at all institutions of higher education while being able to be tailored to fit different types of campuses.
The foundation seeks a comprehensive guide that supports higher education retention and degree completion for targeted students by compiling and organizing information on academic, financial, and social issues in one place. The foundation also seeks innovative strategies to identify and recruit students who could benefit from this project as well as creative methods to impart this information and make it accessible to retention specialists and students.
The foundation requests proposals from institutions of higher education and organizations with experience in targeted students' college retention programs and issues. Grants are expected to fall in the $75,000 to $125,000 range.
(http://www.ecmcfoundation.org)
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JAPAN FOUNDATION CENTER FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP OFFERS FUNDING FOR EDUCATION PROJECTS IN THE SOUTH AND MIDWEST
Deadline: Rolling
The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership has announced funding opportunities for small-scale education initiatives in Southern and Midwestern states. CGP's Education Program seeks to increase awareness and understanding of Japan in these states through support of teacher training and related programs that address the needs of the K-12 student and teacher community.
Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded for projects conducted from June 1 to December 31, 2006.
Nonprofit organizations from the following states are eligible to apply: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
All projects must include an event component. For student programs, a minimum of one hundred students must attend in the company of their teachers. Teacher programs must have a minimum of eight participants. Performances, exhibitions, movie screenings, readings, and demonstrations of Japanese traditional arts are eligible but must include a discussion or lecture component.
Priority will be given to projects that reach out to underserved schools and communities with little exposure to Japan; involve participation by individuals and organizations new to the field of K-12 education about Japan; use local resources, such as museums, higher education institutions, Japan-America Societies, World Affairs Councils, Japanese businesses, and the resident Japanese community of families, students, and professionals; and/or demonstrate innovation and potential for replication in other regions.
(http://www.cgp.org/index.php?option=article&task=default&articleid=326)
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NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE AND STUDENTS IN TRANSITION INVITES RESEARCH PROPOSALS
Deadline: June 1, 2006
The National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition is now seeking proposals for the 2006-07 Paul P. Fidler Research Grant, an award designed to encourage the development and dissemination of knowledge that has potential to improve the experiences of college students in transition.
The grant includes a stipend of $5,000; travel to the 13th National Conference on Students in Transition (November 2006) in St. Louis, Missouri, at which the award will be presented; travel to the 14th National Conference on Students in Transition (November 2007) in Cincinnati, Ohio, at which the research findings will be reported; announcement on the National Resource Center Web page, listservs, and print publications; and priority consideration for publication by the National Resource Center.
The grant competition is open to faculty, staff, and graduate students who plan to conduct research on issues related to college student transitions. Cross-institutional research teams are encouraged to apply.
(http://www.sc.edu/fye/research/grant/proposal)
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NEW JOURNALISM PRIZE TO RECOGNIZE OPINION WRITING ON EVERYDAY VIRTUES
Deadline: May 1, 2006
In Character, the journal of everyday virtues published by the John Templeton Foundation (http://www.templeton.org), has announced the establishment of the In Character Prize for editorial and opinion writing.
In Character established the award to provide recognition for opinion writing about the human virtues and their impact on society and American life. Entries must have been published during 2005 in a United States newspaper as an editorial or op-ed piece and should touch on the role of any of the human virtues in political or community life. The prize recognizes writing about any of the commonly recognized human virtues, such as courage, generosity, humility, honesty, tenacity, modesty, etc. The judges will look for unique or unusual or profound insight into the role played by these human virtues.
The winner will receive a $10,000 prize. In Character judges will also award two honorable mention prizes of $5,000 each.
Any person, including the author, editor, or publisher, may submit material.
(http://www.incharacter.org/index.php)
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BEMPORAD BARANOWSKI MARKETING GROUP OFFERS IN-KIND SERVICES GRANT FOR CAUSE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Deadline: July 31, 2006
Bemporad Baranowski Marketing Group, a New York-based marketing agency dedicated to socially responsible brands and organizations, invites applications for the "It's How We Live" Grant, a package of in-kind services worth $100,000 to create and launch a cause marketing campaign for a nonprofit organization and its corporate partner.
Cause marketing (or cause-related marketing) is any initiative that joins a company with a nonprofit organization in marketing efforts designed to raise awareness for and inspire action around a chosen cause, while supporting the corporate product or service.
Each grant application must include one U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and one U.S. corporate partner. (Nonprofit organizations without an existing corporate partner are encouraged to review BBMG's online "Tips for Nonprofits" on finding and approaching potential partners.)
BBMG will craft the winning partnership's campaign strategy, message, and materials, and has assembled a team of partners to help ensure the campaign will find, inspire, and motivate its targeted audiences. The team's donated services include market research; strategic planning; campaign branding; collateral design; Web site design, programming, and hosting; public relations; video production; media training; newswire distribution services; and direct marketing.
Applications will be judged by BBMG and a panel of industry experts based on the following criteria: potential for impact on the targeted cause and business goals; commitment level of applicant team; availability of existing (no-cost) applicant resources and communications tactics; cultural relevance of cause; and overall alignment with BBMG values and experience.
Visit the "It's How We Live" Web site for complete program details and application, as well as information on cause marketing and BBMG's Tips for Nonprofits.
(http://www.itshowwelive.com)
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SOCIOLOGICAL INITIATIVES FOUNDATION INVITES GRANT APPLICATIONS
Deadline: August 15, 2006 (Concept Application)
The Sociological Initiatives Foundation supports research and social-action projects that focus on understanding and finding solutions to a broad array of social problems. The foundation's primary goal is to encourage research, including community-based research, that supports and promotes social change.
Preference will be given to projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change, and/or research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological and linguistic issues that may be useful to specific groups and/or communities. Areas of particular interest include social and political inequalities; poverty and employment issues; social welfare issues (e.g., education, housing, and health care); minority group and gender issues; second language learning and use; literacy (first and second language); and topics related to language in its social contexts (attitudes, dialects, gender, law and medicine, education, etc).
Preference is given to providing support in areas that tend to be under-funded and for projects of a size where a Sociological Initiatives Foundation grant can make a difference.
Grants are restricted to organizations in the United States that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and classified as "not a private foundation" under section 509(a). The foundation does not make grants directly to individuals for any purposes. It welcomes applications, however, from academic institutions and other qualified organizations wishing to sponsor research projects by individual scholars or practitioners.
Grant sizes normally range from $5,000 to $15,000.
(http://www.grantsmanagement.com/sifguidelines.html)
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BOYS HOPE GIRLS HOPE INVITE NOMINATIONS FOR OPPORTUNITY MAKER AWARD
Deadline: July 15, 2006
A program of the Boys Hope Girls Hope National Office, the Opportunity Maker award celebrates those who share the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to reach his/her full potential. Candidates act on this belief by providing opportunities that allow children and youth to be safe, develop skills, pursue an education, feel loved, and grow into healthy and productive adults.
The work of the nominee must be taking place in one of the following Boys Hope Girls Hope affiliate cities: Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Southern California (Los Angeles or Orange County). All nominators and nominees must be legal residents of the United States. Nominees must be over 21 years of age at the time of submission by the nominator.
Nominations will be evaluated according to the following criteria: the nominee's direct involvement in activities that create opportunities for children and/or youth; the impact of the opportunities that the nominee is creating for children and/or youth; the length of time the nominee has been involved in activities that provide opportunities for children and/or youth; and the number of children and/or youth given access to the opportunities provided by the nominee.
(http://www.opportunityknocking.org)
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LOUIS R. CAPPELLI FOUNDATION OFFERS SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS SERVING AT-RISK YOUTH
Deadline: June 30, 2006
The Louis R. Cappelli Foundation is a funding source designed to assist at-risk youth to reach their full potential.
Three specific targeted areas where the foundation focuses its attention are education, health and fitness, and arts education. Qualifying organizations are those who hold IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status. Applicant organizations must serve at-risk youth.
All fully certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are invited to submit an application for funding that meet the following criteria:
Education - The foundation will look for education programs that encourage collaboration among agencies, educational facilities, childcare centers, school districts, and parents to address innovative education programs that encourage and foster the learning process for at-risk children.
Health and Fitness - The foundation will support programs that provide innovative and worthwhile health programs or organized sports which encourage wellness and fitness, enabling at-risk children to reach their fullest potential in life.
Arts Education - The foundation will support arts education programs that provide access to the visual and performing arts for at-risk children through a wide array of arts and related organizations.
The foundation generally considers grants of $5,000 to organizations meeting the criteria. However, unusually significant and effective programs able to establish a need for greater support may be considered for a grant of up to $25,000.
(http://www.cappelli-inc.com/lrc.shtml)
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GRANTS FOR REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
Faith-based and community organizations serving refugees may consider encouraging their states to apply for “targeted assistance grants” from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Office has announced it has $4.8 million available for fifteen to twenty grants lasting five years. These targeted assistance grants will be used for employment services. The application deadline is May 22.
State governments and agencies running statewide refugee assistance programs are eligible to compete for funding. However, in the announcement, the Office of Refugee Resettlement states:
In order to provide culturally and linguistically compatible services in a manner as cost-efficient as possible, [the Office] strongly encourages states and counties to promote and give special consideration to the provision of services through coalitions of refugee service organizations, such as coalitions of faith-based and community organizations, mutual assistance associations, voluntary resettlement agencies, or a variety of service providers.
(http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2006-ACF-ORR-RT-0117.html)
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JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION – POLICY DIRECTOR
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) seeks an experienced individual to serve full-time as its Policy Director in Washington, D.C., to coordinate legislative and policy initiatives of the organization. The Policy Director will work under the supervision of NAPABA’s Executive Director.
NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 47 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of minorities in the legal profession.
The Policy Director’s responsibilities will include:
* Working with the Executive Director and the NAPABA Board of Governors in setting and implementing policy and program initiatives;
* Monitoring legislation, appointments, and policy developments impacting Asian Pacific Americans and the legal community;
* Developing and maintaining relationships with policymakers and staff to address issues of interest to the Asian Pacific American community;
* Working with local and national Asian Pacific American organizations, bar associations, and other entities to promote initiatives and responses on issues of common concern;
* Coordinating press operations, including developing and implementing media strategy with the Executive Director and the NAPABA Board;
* Working with the Executive Director and Administrator in responding to affiliate and membership concerns and supporting committee activities; and
* Assisting the Executive Director and the NAPABA Board with fundraising and other management duties as needed.
Qualifications: Capitol Hill experience and/or law degree strongly preferred. Must possess self-initiative and an ability to work with a wide variety of different people and organizations. Leadership, communication and management skills essential. Understanding of the Asian Pacific American community necessary – experience working with national Asian Pacific American organizations and/or legal communities preferred. Some travel required.
Salary: Commensurate with experience.
Interested candidates should email administrator@napaba.org with a cover letter and resume addressed to:
Les Jin
Executive Director
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
910 17th Street, NW, Suite 315
Washington, DC 20006
The position is available starting June 1, 2006 and will remain open until filled.
(http://www.napaba.org)
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TIPS/RESOURCES
FREE FUNDRAISING GUIDE FOR NONPROFITS
Convio: Using the Internet to Raise Funds and Build Donor Relationships
Convio is an Internet software and services company that provides online constituent relationship management solutions for nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions. Convio is offering nonprofits a free guide, Using the Internet to Raise Funds and Build Donor Relationships, which covers basic concepts for taking advantage of the Internet for fundraising programs. From building a list of email addresses and developing donor relationships online to creating effective online fundraising campaigns and measuring online success, this guide will help organizations develop online fundraising programs that get results. Visit the website listed above to download a free copy of the guide.
(http://www.convio.com/site/PageServer?pagename=reg_fundraisingGuide2&s_src=wwwHome&s_subsrc=701000000000Rp2)
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FINANCE: TRACKING YOUR PROJECT COSTS
One essential part of an organization's financial management is keeping track of expenses. This is a daunting task, despite its necessity, but it is one that can be handled.
Despite the large scale of financial-management needs, there are certain areas that can be focused upon as indicators of an organization's financial situation. Thomas McLaughlin, a national nonprofit management consultant, suggests the following areas as important:
* Human resources. With so much of an organization's revenue locked in to certain areas, this one is often overlooked, but it is the one in which many organizations spend the largest amount of money. The accounting of fundraising efforts, such as special events, for instance, should include staff time.
* Any cost that is fixed. This is especially important at the program level, as opposed to the organization as a whole. McLaughlin suggests tracking a program's fixed costs during a period of at least three years. If the fixed cost number goes up by more than two points during that time, the program may be headed for trouble.
* Tangible assets. Any item such a building or large equipment that is used for providing services is an economic that will be used up eventually, so it is worth tracking its usage.
In addition, some indices can be derived from an organization's financial records, but some may need a separate system. Even if employee timekeeping, for example, can't be accomplished on a year-round basis, there are periods during the year when everyone's time can be recorded.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/finance.html)
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BOARDS: GETTING THE MEMBERS BEST ATTRIBUTES
The board is the backbone of every nonprofit and its makeup can go a long way in determining the success. Simone P. Joyaux of Joyaux Associates, speaking at an international conference on fundraising, offered a sample policy for developing the optimum board of directors.
Joyaux mentioned certain attributes or qualities that an organization looks for in each board member. Board members are expected to affirm and demonstrate the following:
* Dedication to the values, mission and vision of the organization.
* Courtesy, honesty and integrity.
* Candid dialogue.
* Behaving as a team player and participating in the group that is the board.
* Expressing individual opinions and perspective balanced with supporting group decisions.
* Asking difficult questions without being overzealous.
* Being comfortable with diversity and agreeing to disagree.
* Accepting that disagreement and conflict are part of doing the organization?s business well and working with colleagues to resolve differences.
* Bringing issues to the boardroom and discouraging behind-the-scenes conversation that creates divisiveness.
What are the typical skills needed within a board? The following are helpful:
* Financial expertise
* Investment experience
* Fundraising experience
* Legal expertise
* Property and facility management and construction
* Marketing
* Small business experience
* Personnel experience
* Not-for-profit management and governance
In addition, Joyaux urged avoidance of functional silos on the board that is, isolating an individual in one skill area serves neither the organization nor the board well.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/boards.html)
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TECHNOLOGY: HOW FAST IS YOUR BROADBAND?
All broadband suppliers like to brag about their speed. But if you look at what they are claiming, a lot of the time, you see the wiggle words “up to” or “as fast as” in the marketing materials.
If your service doesn’t seem as fast as it should be, there are reasons why. It simply might not be what you expect. DSL (digital subscriber line) service is very sensitive to the distance from you to the place where the telephone company’s switch is located, called the Central Office or CO. DSL has a maximum service range of between 15,000 and 18,000 feet. At that distance, you’ll be lucky to see a data transfer rate of 300-400Kbps.
Cable modems theoretically are not affected by the distance between the cable head (main office equipment) and your location. The data transfer rate, however, is often dependent on how many customers are sharing the same cable simultaneously.
If you think that you’re not getting the speed that was promised, it isn’t hard to double check. Most broadband services offer a speed check button somewhere on the site. But, you don’t have to take the vendor’s word for your connection and transfer speed.
A good broadband resource is http://ga0.org/ct/npLR_tE1izQt. On this site you can test your up and download speed, and for DSL, find out just how far you are from the CO your location. If you are at the edge of DSL availability, more than 12,000 feet, you might need to switch to cable to get better Internet speed.
An even more comprehensive set of tests is available using the download from http://ga0.org/ct/n7LR_tE1izQ5/. This utility, Dan Elwell’s Broadband Speed Test, conducts up to 38 separate down and upload tests and presents the results in tabular or graphic format. The base utility is free, but for an $18 payment, you get enhanced utility, including the ability to schedule tests at different times.
Don’t rely on the results of a single test. But if your testing shows slower than expected broadband, you might want to look to see if you have one or more heavy users on your staff, or put some hard questions to your broadband provider.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/technology.html)
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EXECUTIVE BURNOUT
Three quarters of executive directors of all ages do not plan on being in their current jobs five years from now, and nine percent of those are in the process of leaving, according to the results of an eight-city study for Daring to Lead 2006 (PDF). The good news is even if executives do leave their jobs, 85 percent plan on staying the nonprofit sector. Small organizations with fewer than ten paid staff are most likely to experience this transition.
The majority of executives do feel personally supported but not challenged by their boards. Focus groups said they were dissatisfied with institutional funders and discussed ways in which grant makers make their jobs challenging. Increased general operating support and multi-year support were cited as the two funder actions that would help executive directors most.
Executives who plan to leave within a year are nearly twice as likely to be dissatisfied as those who plan to stay longer. Most are dissatisfied with compensation, but only 25 percent have asked for a raise. Women make less than their male counterparts.
New sources of income, improved fundraising and financial management, and long-term sustainability are needed, executive directors say. Ninety percent are seeking professional development of some kind. The majority also says that fundraising and finance are their least favorite parts of their jobs.
Many small and mid-sized nonprofits lack the ability to produce leaders from within. Diversity and competitive compensation are critical in finding future leaders, they say.
(http://www.meyerfoundation.org/usr_doc/DaringtoLead2006d.pdf)
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EMPLOYEE BURNOUT
As a chronic problem, burnout is much more than a tough day at work or feeling less than passionate about your job. Burnout reflects a troubled relationship between an employee and her job. Much like problems in personal relationships, the trouble in an employee-work relationship is not just a result of the employee’s weakness or a terrible work environment. Instead, the problem is a conflict between the individual and her work. Christina Maslach, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Michael Leiter, director of the Centre for Organizational Research and Development, identify six areas where conflicts occur to create burnout:
* workload—having too much to do and not enough resources;
* control—micromanagement or the lack of decision-making power;
* reward—low pay, unfulfilling, or unsatisfying work;
* community—conflicts, isolation, or feeling disrespected;
* fairness—discrimination, playing favorites; and
* values—ethical conflicts.
To reverse burnout, the individual and the organization need to identify where the mismatches occur and then create targeted interventions in these areas. According to Malasch and Lieter, workers in the nonprofit sector are susceptible to work overload because nonprofits often have fewer resources and higher expectations to solve “truly monumental problems.” One environmental activist who felt overburdened by his workload found several ways to lighten his workload. He took short breaks throughout the day and forced himself to engage in activities completely unrelated to his work. He now delegates and shares his work.
Organizations can also help their employees recover from burnout. Malasch and Lieter cite a large nonprofit institution whose administrative services division administered an organizational checkup survey to measure burnout across the six areas (workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values). They found that employees felt underappreciated and that merit-based bonuses and promotions were not actually based on the quality of work. To combat burnout, the company created committees to develop initiatives for change. A year later, a follow-up survey showed improvements in all six areas of burnout.
Malasch and Lieter provide a quick burnout assessment tool in their article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
(http://www.ssireview.com/pdf/2005WI_Feature_Maslach_Leiter.pdf)
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NEWS
April 23, 2006
GOOD NEWS IN THESE UC NUMBERS
By Daniel Weintraub -- Bee Columnist
The University of California is in the midst of a historic transformation. Its student body is growing more ethnically and economically diverse as it admits more students than ever. For next year, the university has offered a slot to every California high school graduate who applied and met the system's minimum requirements for admission.
You'd never know that, though, from walking the halls of California's Capitol or listening to the state's political campaigns. There, you'd think the state's crown jewel was crumbling, shutting out the next generation at a crucial moment in our development as the most dynamic place in the nation, if not the world.
This is not to say that UC has no problems. Its leaders are struggling to explain an executive pay scandal while complaining that they can't afford to pay their most talented professors enough to keep them from jumping ship to other states.
Middle-income families, meanwhile, feel pinched by recent increases in student fees.
But on the admissions front, last week's report on the makeup of the group of students offered a chance to attend the university next fall sure looks like good news.
The ten UC campuses accepted a record 55,000 prospective freshmen from California high schools. That was 10 percent more than last year, which was itself a record. And that 10 percent growth was nearly three times the growth rate in the number of high school graduates California produced.
Those accepted formed a more diverse group than ever, a testament to the state's status as America's melting pot and a window into some of the cultural distinctions that help define our population.
For the first time, Asian-Americans were the largest ethnic group represented among those admitted, making up just more than 36 percent of the students offered spots for next fall. They represent just 11 percent of California's high school graduates.
The percentage of prospective UC freshmen who are white declined from about 37 percent to just under 36 percent. Whites make up about 38 percent of the state's high school graduates, so they are still being admitted in numbers close to their proportion of the population. But if their presence in UC keeps falling, they might soon have to be included among the university's groups of "underrepresented" ethnic groups.
Among the officially underrepresented groups, the news continues to get better, albeit slowly. Together, Latinos, blacks and American Indians made up about 22 percent of admissions, up from 21 percent a year ago. Latinos are making the most progress, increasing their share of admissions from 14 percent in 1997 to 18 percent today. Blacks have fluctuated between 3.2 percent and 3.8 percent over the past decade and this year accounted for 3.4 percent of admissions, still disappointingly low.
The dramatic success of Asian-Americans speaks to a culture in which families place a high value on academic achievement and higher education. Nearly half of Asian-American high school graduates apply to UC, compared with 23 percent of Filipinos, 14 percent of whites, 12.5 percent of American Indians, 10 percent of blacks and 8 percent of Latinos.
UC is also increasingly open to low-income families, despite its reputation as a haven for the children of the elite. About one-third of the students offered admission for the fall come from families with low incomes, defined as $40,000 or less. And 35 percent of admissions have parents who never graduated from college, evidence that the system is working to help open the doors of opportunity to all.
Ricardo Vazquez, a UC spokesman, said that, despite recent fee increases, anybody who has been accepted to a UC campus should be able to attend. He said two-thirds of the university's students qualify for aid, and the average award is more than $11,000. Much of the revenue from the higher fees, in fact, is plowed back into aid for low-income students.
"Financial aid should not be an obstacle for students," he said.
There was even a glimmer of good news on the gender front. The number of males admitted this year from California high schools crept up from a little below 43 percent of the total to just over 43 percent. They're still vastly outnumbered by women, but maybe this is a sign that boys have stopped their recent slide and are ready to make a recovery.
UC remains an institution of which Californians can be proud. And now, more than ever, we can take pride not only in its academic achievement but also in its standing as a place whose student body increasingly reflects the population of the state that supports it.
About the writer:
Reach Daniel Weintraub at (916) 321-1914 or dweintraub@sacbee.com. Readers can see his daily Weblog at www.sacbee.com/insider. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/weintraub.
(http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/14246878p-15064651c.html)
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April 24, 2006
CANDIDATES ASK THAT RACE BE KEPT OUT OF RUNOFF
New Orleans Mayoral Balloting Shows Split Between Black, White Voters
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS -- Incumbent C. Ray Nagin and rival Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu kicked off their mayoral runoff campaigns by urging voters and the news media to leave race out of the historic election here, calling in campaign stops for unity in the face of daunting rebuilding tasks after Hurricane Katrina.
But results in the first round of balloting suggest it may be difficult to do so.
The electorate in Saturday's election split along stark racial lines over Nagin, who dominated in the city's black neighborhoods of New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward but struggled virtually everywhere else, according to an analysis by GCR & Associates, a consulting firm working on the election for the secretary of state's office.
Landrieu, in contrast to Nagin and most of the other candidates in Saturday's contest, scored relatively well among black and white voters, as expected, and he has used his broad appeal as a campaign message.
Nagin won 66 percent of African American votes, according to preliminary figures from GCR & Associates, winning by large margins in majority-black precincts.
"Where he dominated, he really dominated," said Greg Rigamer of GCR & Associates.
Landrieu won 23 percent of African American votes and about the same percentage of white votes, the GCR figures showed.
"I am most proud of the strong coalition that we built -- with balanced support in the African American, white, Hispanic and Vietnamese community," Landrieu said Sunday. "I am the only candidate with this kind of coalition that will be needed to govern and move this city forward."
The runoff is scheduled for May 20. In a field of 22 candidates, Nagin won 38 percent (41,489 votes), and Landrieu 29 percent (31,499).
If elected, Landrieu would be the city's first white mayor since 1978, when his father, Moon, left office.
Saturday's vote also revealed the degree to which Katrina's diaspora has shrunk New Orleans's populace and shifted the racial balance.
In the 2002 election, African Americans cast 62 percent of about 135,000 votes. On Saturday, African Americans cast 52 percent of about 108,000 votes, Rigamer's figures showed. The fact that the number of voters this time was 80 percent of the voters from the last mayoral election -- even though the city is half-empty -- was greeted as good news by some.
The electorate in Saturday's election split along stark racial lines over Nagin, who dominated in the city's black neighborhoods of New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward but struggled virtually everywhere else, according to an analysis by GCR & Associates, a consulting firm working on the election for the secretary of state's office.
Landrieu, in contrast to Nagin and most of the other candidates in Saturday's contest, scored relatively well among black and white voters, as expected, and he has used his broad appeal as a campaign message.
Nagin won 66 percent of African American votes, according to preliminary figures from GCR & Associates, winning by large margins in majority-black precincts.
"Where he dominated, he really dominated," said Greg Rigamer of GCR & Associates.
Landrieu won 23 percent of African American votes and about the same percentage of white votes, the GCR figures showed.
"I am most proud of the strong coalition that we built -- with balanced support in the African American, white, Hispanic and Vietnamese community," Landrieu said Sunday. "I am the only candidate with this kind of coalition that will be needed to govern and move this city forward."
The runoff is scheduled for May 20. In a field of 22 candidates, Nagin won 38 percent (41,489 votes), and Landrieu 29 percent (31,499).
If elected, Landrieu would be the city's first white mayor since 1978, when his father, Moon, left office.
Saturday's vote also revealed the degree to which Katrina's diaspora has shrunk New Orleans's populace and shifted the racial balance.
In the 2002 election, African Americans cast 62 percent of about 135,000 votes. On Saturday, African Americans cast 52 percent of about 108,000 votes, Rigamer's figures showed. The fact that the number of voters this time was 80 percent of the voters from the last mayoral election -- even though the city is half-empty -- was greeted as good news by some.
Now that Nagin is facing off against a white candidate, his white support appears to have evaporated even as black voters have embraced him. Now, City Council President Oliver M. Thomas Jr. has joked, "He's too black."
"Neither one of these candidates wants to play a race card. They're just not that type," said Susan E. Howell, a pollster and political scientist at the University of New Orleans.
To win, Nagin must make inroads with white voters or expand the black voter turnout. More black voters might be motivated to turn out if the election were perceived as an African American cause, Howell said.
"Nagin himself would rather not make overt racial appeals and make this about black control of the city," Howell said. "But there will be others who will do that for him -- maybe against his will."
With the city's future at stake, many have lamented the racial antagonisms that emerged in the election, overshadowing such questions as, What neighborhoods will receive city services? Is the city going broke? What should happen to homes that are left abandoned more than a year after the storm? Which candidate can best draw the federal and state money needed to repair the levees and rebuild?
Now that the field has been winnowed to two, it may be easier for Nagin and Landrieu to confront and differentiate one another on these practical issues.
But in conversations with dozens of voters, it was clear that race would play a role, particularly as voters view Nagin's tenure. Several black voters defended him against charges that he failed in the storm or that his remarks that God wanted the city to remain "chocolate" revealed his divisive side.
"I think he did pretty good considering what happened -- it was like a Category 5 storm surge," said Todd McNeil, 37, an emergency medical worker from New Orleans East.
As for the "chocolate city" remarks, McNeil said: "Nagin kind of felt that people were trying to take our property and keep us from rebuilding. He was trying to make a statement to those people."
McNeil's wife, Vonder, 40, said she thought his remarks were "very wrong."
"If I were of another race, I would feel discriminated against," she said.
Still, she said, she voted for Nagin because she believes it would be inefficient to change city administrations in the midst of the rebuilding.
On the other side of the Nagin divide were people such as Betty Caraway, a housewife from Uptown. She and her husband, a retired lawyer, supported Nagin in his first election. They voted for Ron Forman, chief executive of the Audubon Nature Institute, on Saturday, but seem unlikely to cross over to Nagin again.
She credited Nagin with doing a good job until the storm. "He keeps saying he wants everyone to come back, but I just was never sure if he meant white people," she said.
As the bogged-down recovery enters its ninth month, she and others want to see more neighborhoods restored, more businesses return and more life in the city.
"We're getting into the draggy part" of the recovery, she said. "We want someone to inspire us."
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/AR2006042300792.html)
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April 24, 2006
PEOPLE OF ANOTHER RACE FIND IT HARDER TO READ YOUR FACE
By Iris Kuo
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - In a recent episode of "The Sopranos," Tony Soprano dreamed that he'd been slapped by a Buddhist monk who mistook him for another white man who'd swindled him.
"All Caucasians look alike," explained the unapologetic monk.
They often do, it turns out, at least to people who aren't Caucasian. For that matter, blacks often look alike to whites and Hispanics to Asians. It's not that people of any one race are harder to distinguish; researchers say that individual features vary equally among races. Rather, it's that people have problems telling people from another group apart.
This so-called "cross-race effect" - something of a misnomer because the phenomenon includes ethnic, cultural and regional groups as well as racial ones - can cause trouble in an increasingly globalized world. For example:
-U.S. forces in Iraq sometimes have mistakenly admitted foreign insurgents because they couldn't tell Saudis or Egyptians from Iraqis, according to Steve Casteel, a U.S. security consultant who until recently advised Iraq's interior ministry, which handles domestic security. Iraqi police who later picked up foreign fighters would discover that the foreign insurgents had convinced U.S. screeners that they were Iraqis.
-U.S. drug agents sometimes can't tell Colombian leaders of smuggling groups from the Peruvian and Bolivian peasants who work for them, said Casteel, a vice president at Vance International, a worldwide security firm based in Oakton, Va. An agent's ignorance can be dangerous, he continued, because Colombian smugglers are more likely to be armed and violent.
-The Innocence Project, a New York nonprofit legal clinic that tracks life imprisonment convictions that are overturned by DNA evidence, found that white eyewitnesses misidentified innocent blacks 44 percent of the time. That's nearly twice as often as they misidentified innocent whites.
Misidentifications aren't due to racism, however, said Roy Malpass, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at El Paso who's published widely on the cross-race effect. "People make about 50 percent more errors," he said, whenever they're asked to remember other-race faces.
Malpass bases his estimate on experiments in which researchers asked subjects to study equal numbers of faces from their race and from a different race. After some time passed, the subjects looked at double the number of faces they'd seen before - half of them seen in the earlier trial and half introduced for the first time - and identified those they thought they'd seen before. They all did much better with their own race.
Casteel, who also worked with U.S. Iraq envoys L. Paul Bremer and John Negroponte, saw that problem in real life among U.S. screeners on the Syrian border. They'd ask admission-seekers who turned out to be foreign fighters, "`Where are you from?'" Casteel recalled, "and they'd say `Mosul,' and they'd let them in.
"An Iraqi would know they weren't from Iraq immediately," Casteel said, from their faces and from other cultural cues. "Americans, you have to give them a six-month course and even then they wouldn't get that right."
He said he encountered the same problem during a U.S. drug war stint in the Andes.
Practice and motivation - such as courting foreign business or someone of another race - can overcome the cross-race effect to a degree. "But you are much less rapid and accurate," said Scania de Schonen, a neuroscientist at the University Rene Descartes in Paris who's studied the cross-race effect in babies, adoptees and immigrants.
Humans develop their recognition skills in infancy, honing them on the faces they see most often, Schonen said, and those are mostly of their own race. Much of that skill building is done by the time they're 3, she believes; nearly all by the time they're 9.
Among her findings is that young Koreans adopted by European Caucasians, if they're adopted before age 9, identify people of their adoptive parents' race more easily than their own. Koreans who moved to France in their 20s did the opposite.
"After some years it seems that you cannot adapt anymore," Schonen said.
Malpass theorizes that the brain becomes less malleable in the area responsible for recognition and that people try to remember faces by focusing on the physical traits that vary in their own race - hair and eye color and noses among Caucasians, for example.
When those traits don't vary much in another race, such as Asians, they're stymied. Or they fix on traits that differ in other races, such as eye folds among Asians, which don't help them tell Asians apart.
"We're looking for things that distinguish them for us," said Malpass, "but not the things that distinguish them from each other."
To offset the cross-race effect, the Department of Homeland Security trains border agents to assess passport photos against the physical features of their holders in almost mechanical ways. This entails "specific identifiers that are highly accurate," such as the width of a nose's bridge, said immigration inspector Charles Showalter.
The cross-race effect also often trips up teachers, who must learn to recognize scores of new students every semester. It befuddled Dyske Suematsu when he moved from Japan to California as a teen. Once, he said, he mistook a blond teacher for one of his own and followed him to class, where Suematsu sat for a half-hour before the teacher asked, "Who are you?"
Suematsu has created a Web site on Asians, www.alllooksame.com, that explores the "they all look alike to me" stereotype and makes fun of it. Among other things, the site displays 18 faces of Asians - Chinese, Japanese and Koreans - and asks visitors to identify their nationalities.
High scorers, he's found, hail mainly from areas with many Asians, such as Korea, Taiwan, Hawaii and New York City.
For underage drinkers hoping to get past nightclub bouncers, however, the cross-race effect can be helpful, according to Monica Lee, a Chinese student at George Washington University in Washington. Any ID with an Asian face, no matter how unlike the ID holder's, works, said Lee, now 22.
"They see you with dark hair and the stereotypical Asian features and say, `Oh, that's you,'" said Lee.
To take the cross-race test and get more information, go to www.alllooksame.com
For more on eyewitness misidentifications, go to www.eyewitness.utep.edu
(http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/14418445.htm)
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April 24, 2006
ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION TO PRESENT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AND OTHER AWARDS AT 2006 NATIONAL CONVENTION
SAN FRANCISCO, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian American Journalists Association today announced the winners of four of its top national awards for 2006: Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy of Radio Saigon Houston, Phil Currie of the Gannett Company, Inc., Ti-Hua Chang of WCBS-TV and Larry Olmstead of Knight Ridder, Inc.
AAJA will present the awards on June 23 during its gala scholarship and awards banquet, which is part of the organization's 18th annual convention, held this year at the Sheraton Waikiki. Lori Matsukawa of Seattle's KING 5 News and Lloyd LaCuesta of San Jose's KTVU-2, both Hawai'i natives, will emcee the banquet.
AAJA is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the nation's largest professional organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) journalists. Representing more than 2,000 members, AAJA promotes fair and accurate news coverage, develops managers in the media industry and encourages young people to consider journalism as a career.
"We're proud to honor the outstanding achievements of those who are of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent as well those who support the work of AAPIs in the industry," said Esther Wu, AAJA National president and columnist with The Dallas Morning News. "These awards show the remarkable impact these individuals have made in the AAPI community as well as in the media."
Lifetime Achievement Award: Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy, Radio Saigon Houston
Duong Phuc and Vu Thanh Thuy, Radio Saigon Houston's President and Vice President/CEO, respectively, are the 2006 recipients of AAJA's Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes Asian Americans who have demonstrated courage and commitment to the principles of journalism over the course of a life's work.
Award-winning journalists of South Vietnam, Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland after the country fell under Communist control. Phuc and Thuy fled their homeland aboard a raft. Their subsequent open letter to the international press, which was read at a United Nations News Conference in Thailand in 1980, broke the story of the "boat people" to the world. They became internationally known for their lead role in the Boat People SOS Committee whose missions rescued more than 3,000 refugees in the '80s and '90s.
Phuc and Thuy founded Radio Saigon Houston in 1999 to engage and unite the local Vietnamese community. Broadcast in English and Vietnamese, the station has become a significant resource in times of crisis.
After Hurricane Katrina last year, Phuc and Thuy helped coordinate shelter, food and medical care to support thousands of Vietnamese who were displaced from their homes when disaster struck. At the time, Thuy told an Associated Press reporter, "Having been a refugee myself years ago, I know exactly what it's like to be a refugee and I know what needs to be done."
The lives of Phuc and Thuy "tell the compelling story of courage and perseverance from wartime Saigon to the Katrina-ravaged shores of America," said the award judges. "What started in 1999 as a radio station with a staff of three has become an invaluable framework for the Vietnamese community."
Special Recognition Award: Phil Currie, Gannett Company
Phil Currie, senior vice president of the news department in the newspaper division of Gannett, Inc., is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Special Recognition Award. The award honors an individual -- Asian or non-Asian, journalist or non-journalist -- who has helped to advance AAJA's goals.
Currie, who oversees the operations of Gannett News Service, is a board member of the American Press Institute and on the University of Iowa's School of Journalism Professional Advisory Committee. He has also been awarded the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Minority Media Executives.
From 1964 to 1977, Currie worked at the Times-Union in Rochester, N.Y., as a general-assignment reporter, editorial writer, political reporter and executive city editor. On the city desk, he directed coverage of the Attica Prison riots that led to a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper. He became Director of Gannett's News Staff Development in 1977 and held several executive positions before assuming his current position in 1995.
The award judges named Currie for this year's 2006 honor to recognize his commitment in the support and development of the partnership AAJA/Gannett Management Development Mentor Program, assigning many of the company's top trainers and editors as mentors. The judges also recognized his involvement in securing the largest contribution to the AAJA endowment fund, which will support the future of training programs offered to Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists.
Leadership in Diversity Award: Larry Olmstead, Knight Ridder
Larry Olmstead, vice president of staff development and diversity for Knight Ridder, is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Leadership in Diversity Award, which honors an individual or corporation that has made strides in promoting and demonstrating diversity in the news media industry.
Prior to his current position, Olmstead was assistant vice president for news responsible for corporate oversight of eight Knight Ridder newspapers. He was managing editor of The Miami Herald for four years and held writing and editing positions at the Baltimore Evening Sun, Detroit Free Press and The New York Times.
During his tenure at The Herald, the newspaper had at least one Pulitzer finalist each year and won the 1998 prize for uncovering voter fraud in Miami's mayoral election. Olmstead was part of The Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning team covering the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. He was a Pulitzer finalist for his coverage of South Africa as a foreign correspondent for the Free Press in 1987.
The award judges selected Olmstead for his consistent leadership and support of AAJA's programs over the past several years. Though his leadership, AAJA received Knight Ridder support for the AAJA Executive Leadership Program to help AAPIs examine the role of culture in newsroom leadership; J Camp, the multicultural high school journalism training program; a newspaper mentorship program at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for AAPIs interested in management; and the AAJA national convention.
Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award: Ti-Hua Chang, WCBS-TV
Ti-Hua Chang, investigative reporter for WCBS-TV in New York City, is the 2006 recipient of AAJA's Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans.
The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Ahn, a Korean American who was raised in Arkansas and Texas. She became a successful physician, neurologist and inventor. Although she achieved a position of wealth and privilege, Dr. Ahn devoted her life to promoting civil rights and social justice for all Americans, especially women and Asian Americans.
Throughout his career, Chang has pursued justice for Asian Americans through his investigative journalism. His story last year about an elderly woman's sexual assault pushed New York City police to find the rapist. On the anniversary of 9/11, he reminded the city about the terrorist attack's impact on Chinatown. And his report about the delayed development of a senior center spurred its opening.
Chang was previously a reporter with WNBC, where he won the Peabody Award for a series of reports he filed on alleged drug-dealing murderers who escaped to the Dominican Republic. Chang also investigated the death of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, discovering four new witnesses to the murder, which eventually led to the re-opening of the case.
Chang recently received the Radio-Television News Directors Association Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of New York City police misuse of helicopters for voyeurism. He has also won four Emmys; the Philadelphia, Denver and Detroit Press Association awards; and the Associated Press and United Press International awards.
About AAJA
The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with more than 2,000 members today. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the Native American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Association of Black Journalists. For more information, visit http://www.aaja.org/.
(http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20060424/SFM07324042006-1.html)
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April 25, 2006
EX-REFUGEE GIVES TO COMMUNITY
Investor helps sell tax district
By Brian Feagans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When organizers of a self-taxing district near Norcross needed heavy hitters to sell the idea, they turned to a soft-spoken mother of five who stands barely 5 feet tall.
Nga "Tina" Dang didn't disappoint.
Dang, a refugee-turned-real estate investor, persuaded shopping center owners from her native Vietnam to tax themselves and fund a face-lift of the aging commercial corridors between Norcross and Lilburn. Then she brought businessmen from Korea and China on board, too, often in the same quiet way she's built up a hefty real estate portfolio in Norcross.
In one case, Dang, 47, didn't say a word. Unable to communicate with a China-born businessman who spoke limited English, she brandished glossy renderings of lantern-lined sidewalks and a fancy new bridge over I-85 — improvements that the tax proceeds could finance.
By the time recruitment ended last month, Dang had gotten about 30 commercial property owners to join the Southwest Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District, more than anyone else on the district's organizational board. The district was approved last month.
"She really came through big time," said Emory Morsberger, a developer who helped launch the Southwest Gwinnett Village CID.
Of course, few people have a greater stake in the district that straddles I-85 from the DeKalb County line to Beaver Ruin Road.
Dang owns four shopping centers in the area. For more than two decades she has lived in the same neighborhood off Jimmy Carter Boulevard, which runs through the heart of Gwinnett Village. All five of her children, ages 8 to 25, either have graduated or plan to graduate from Meadowcreek High. And Dang's Vietnamese Catholic church sits in the district, too.
"I love it here," said Dang, wearing a neatly pressed suit and cross around her neck.
Rather than join the exodus of longtime residents from the area between Norcross and Lilburn, Dang keeps adding to her house. She's up to 7 bedrooms and 7 1/2 baths. "I'm not going to leave," she said. "I want to bring people back."
Dang knows all too well what it's like to be uprooted from home. Her family fled Vietnam on April 30, 1975, the day Saigon fell to Communist forces. An uncle with connections in the U.S. military loaded Dang and 30 other family members onto a tiny skiff and ferried them to a Navy ship waiting offshore.
Dang arrived in Atlanta two months later, penniless and searching for a new life. "We were crying, crying a lot," she said, fighting back tears. "We couldn't speak English. We lost a lot."
Then 17, she attended South Cobb High and sewed pillows to help support her family. Eventually she dropped out of school and took a job as a convenience store cashier.
Within three years, Dang had started a jewelry store in the Lindbergh section of Atlanta with her husband-to-be. Dang, now divorced, later sold the jewelry store and opened up a Vietnamese grocery and restaurant.
But Dang, who was starting a family, hated the long hours. And she began to appreciate one truism of retail: "Whether business is good or not," Dang said, "I have to pay the landlord."
So in 1985, Dang became a landlord herself. She bought a shopping center in Clarkston.
Dang eventually joined a group of investors who would scoop up plazas on the cheap, wait for the value to jump and then sell.
They bought the Burlington Coat Factory center on Buford Highway for $8 million and, after one year, sold it for $11 million.
Dang has renovated and held on to some of the properties, including the Kim Long Plaza in Forest Park. She purchased it for about $1.5 million in the early 1990s. It's now worth about $10 million, Dang said.
Today Dang's company, NDI Management & Development, has 11 employees and owns all or part of 26 commercial centers. Four of them sit along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, including the Merchant Square shopping center at Britt Road and the plaza fronted by a Hooter's restaurant at North Norcross Tucker Road.
Dang's success has allowed her to give back to the Vietnamese community in new ways. In the old days, she helped interpret for hospitals and police stations. She sometimes had to shut down her restaurant to help police interview a witness or aid Vietnamese-speaking patients in the emergency room.
These days, Dang contributes through donations and financial expertise, said Kim Chi Ngo, an activist and friend of Dang's. Dang helped Kim Chi raise $100,000 in the Vietnamese community for victims of Hurricane Katrina. And when Kim Chi recently decided to organize a parade for Vietnamese Buddhists in metro Atlanta, Dang was a top donor. "She's a Catholic, but so generous that she wanted to give money to the temples, too," Kim Chi said.
Dang isn't just a stalwart among Vietnamese-Americans. She's now an anchor in Gwinnett Village, an area roiling with change.
She envisions the new tax district funding lushly landscaped sidewalks, new turning lanes and other improvements.
Dang also hopes to embark on a new kind of project later this year. She plans to build a shopping center from scratch on Jimmy Carter Boulevard, one that will house her growing business. It'll be another investment in the place Dang calls home.
(http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/0425metdang.html)
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April 25, 2006
GUAM RESIDENTS AID FOUNDATION
VAHF receives documents, photos of refugee operations
By Valerie Lynn M. Maigue
Pacific Daily News
vmmaigue@guampdn.com
Mangilao resident Raymond T. Baza will be forever connected to Vietnam -- through his wife, to his time served in the Vietnam War, and for his role in the movement of more than 100,000 South Vietnamese who sought haven.
Raymond Baza, 56, and his wife, Lee T. Thi Baza, are among hundreds who are more than happy to have the history of Operation New Life and Operation Baby Lift given to the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation.
About a dozen delegates from the Texas-based VAHF are on Guam for the start of Operation New Beginnings. The operation is to collect photos and documents from that time to be added to the VAHF archives at Texas Tech University for researchers, teachers, students, business communities and future generations of Vietnamese.
Local organizer for the operation, Sonny Ada, gave dozens of documents and photographs from 31 years ago of the massive operations effort. As all signs showed that Saigon would fall in April 1975, the United States began a massive mission to evacuate tens of thousands of South Vietnamese to Guam -- a military operation that was called Operation New Life.
Raymond Baza said he and his family feel that Guam was the beginning of a new chapter for the refugees who would eventually become Vietnamese Americans.
"I am so happy to see they have a foundation to keep their heritage and to be proud of where they come from," Raymond Baza said. "I'm glad to see we're finally putting our chapter into Vietnamese history."
Raymond Baza was serving in the Army as an interpreter with a psychological operations group in 1969. He said he had spent much of his time in very sensitive missions trying to identify communists.
He was eventually sent to a U.S. Army camp in Da Nang, South Vietnam.
On one of his missions in Da Nang, a helicopter he was riding in was shot down, he said.
"Our chopper was shot down, but I was rescued by a beautiful Vietnamese lady," said Raymond Baza.
Raymond Baza said he was taken to a camp by the South Vietnamese Army where his wife, Lee T. Thi Baza, was doing a nursing internship at the medical camp.
"I met her and I started flirting with her," Raymond Baza said.
He said it was around that time he knew he was forever a part of the country and its people.
"They took care of me and aided me and I became attached," he said.
The couple eventually married and moved to Guam.
In April 1975 Raymond Baza and several other Vietnam Veterans were asked by local Navy officials to spearhead Operation New Life and Operation Baby Lift.
"We assisted in the influx of refugees, and several of us veterans and our wives were assigned to different camps," he said. "It gave me a wonderful feeling to help."
The fall of Saigon in 1975 was the beginning of what would be the movement of 111,919 refugees, Pacific Daily News files state.
Refugees were brought in by hundreds of aircraft and dozens of ships, who were then housed in camps at 12 different parts across the island, the three largest camps being Tent City at Orote Point, a camp at Asan, and Tin City at Andersen Air Force Base.
Ada has been collecting the documentation for more than a year and a half now. He said much of the documentation came from the Micronesian Area Research Center, Pacific Daily News archives and the Andersen historian.
"My wife (Jennifer Hua Ada) is Vietnamese and when we traveled off island, I would run into so many Vietnamese who either passed through Guam, or stayed on Guam at one point in time as part of Operation New Life," Ada said. "Guam was a stepping stone, and I feel like this 'New Beginning' will continue cultural, education and economic exchanges."
President and Founding Member of VAHF Nancy Bui said the delegation is very appreciative of Guam's role in the 1970s operations.
"We are so thankful for the people here and the government here, and we are also very happy about the preservation of this history," Bui said. "The connection will exist as they were around for when we needed them most."
OPERATION NEW LIFE
Thirty years ago, Guam's population swelled by more than 100,000 as the U.S. military evacuated refugees fleeing war-torn Vietnam.
REFUGEE ARRIVALS
* Andersen Air Force Base: 39,141
* Naval Air Station Agana: 31,610
* By ship: 40,999
TOTAL: 111,919
REFUGEE DEPARTURES
* Andersen Air Force Base: 109,553
* Naval Air Station Agana: 1,756
* Guam community: 455
* Deaths: 25
TOTAL: 111,789
QUICK GLANCE
* 4 miles of chain-linked fence erected
* 180 street and floodlights installed at Asan
Annex and Orote Point Tent City
* 280 power poles installed
* 1,300 acres of land cleared and graded
* 2,500 feet of coral-based roads constructed
* 2,500 tons of rice from Chieh Chuan
* 3,442 ounces of disinfectant
* 3,664 tents erected
* 5,241 tons of material and food were issued within the first 10 days
* 14,109 U.S. military and Department of Defense civilians participated
Pacific Daily News files
ON THE NET
* To find out more about the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, visit www.vahf04.org.
* For more photos from Operation New Life in the 1970s, visit the Photo Galleries at www.guampdn.com.
(http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060425/NEWS01/604250305/1002)
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April 25, 2006
OFFICIAL BLUNT ON PUBLIC HOUSING
He wants 'only the best residents' back
By Bill Walsh
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson shed little light Monday on the future of public housing in hurricane-battered New Orleans, but said that "only the best residents" of the former St. Thomas housing complex should be allowed into the new mixed-income development that replaced it.
In a wide-ranging interview with reporters, Jackson was asked about the relatively small number of apartments in the 60-acre River Gardens development in Uptown that have been set aside for former residents of St. Thomas. Jackson estimated it was 18 percent to 20 percent, although housing advocates said it is less.
"Some of the people shouldn't return," Jackson said. "The (public housing) developments were gang-ridden by some of the most notorious gangs in this country. People hid and took care of those persons because they took care of them. Only the best residents should return. Those who paid rent on time, those who held a job and those who worked."
The blunt-spoken Jackson, who is black, acknowledged his comments might be seen as racially offensive because virtually all of the former St. Thomas residents were African-American. He told a white reporter, "If you said this, they would say you were racist."
He went on to say, "I don't care what color they are, if they are devastating a community, they shouldn't be allowed to return."
'Very disappointing'
His comments drew a sharp response from housing advocates in New Orleans who have accused Jackson's agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, of giving public housing residents short shrift as it replaces traditional public developments such as St. Thomas with planned, mixed-income communities.
"I find that very disappointing," said Lucia Blacksher, general counsel for the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Center. "When people say things like we only want the best people who don't do drugs or commit crimes, there is an implication that many of the people in public housing are in fact criminals who don't work. That simply is not true. It is an unnecessary stereotype and an alarming stereotype to be voiced by the secretary of HUD."
Jackson also had some tough words for black leaders he said are stoking racial fires in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"I'm a little disturbed that even today they want to bring a racial component into the hurricane. This isn't about racism; this is about people suffering," said Jackson, pointing to the large number of Vietnamese fishers along the Gulf Coast whose livelihoods were ruined by the storm. "It's important (to remember) that everybody suffered in this disaster, not just black people. It bothers me tremendously when I see the so-called leadership in the black community, the liberal community, zeroing in (on) how much more difficult it was for African-Americans than it was for white Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans."
Tougher policy possible
Jackson's comments may presage a renewed, get-tough policy when it comes to public housing in post-hurricane New Orleans.
Jackson recently oversaw a shakeup of the Housing Authority of New Orleans, which is in receivership and controlled by his agency. He replaced the receiver and the board chairman with two officials from the HUD headquarters in Washington.
HANO spokesman Adonis Expose also confirmed Monday that the agency is considering a long-rumored policy change that would require all public housing residents in New Orleans to have a job or be in a job-training program.
Eight months after Hurricane Katrina, the future of the 10 public housing complexes in New Orleans remains an open question. Times have never been tougher for low-income people, as a shortage of rental housing after Hurricane Katrina has seen rents rise to historic levels.
While HUD has reopened some complexes, such as Iberville, most remain closed and surrounded by fencing. Eager to return, former residents have marched in protest to force the government to open more, but HUD has refused.
Asked about it Monday, Jackson said that complexes that suffered severe damage will likely be torn down and redeveloped. Although, he said, it will be up to the mayor -- either incumbent Ray Nagin or Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, depending on who wins the May 20 runoff -- to make the key decisions on rebuilding.
"We will rebuild, if that's what the mayor wants," Jackson said. "Do we rebuild the same way? Probably not."
Infrastructure lacking
Echoing Bush administration statements in recent months, Jackson said that despite the need for affordable housing, New Orleans' infrastructure remains too fragile to reopen the public housing complexes.
"Most of the public housing developments are in areas where electricity has not been turned on, schools are not open, there are no grocery stores, and we have a serious mold and lead problem in some of those buildings," Jackson said. "If tomorrow, all those factors came together, we would open them up. We're willing to do that." But he said the former residents "already lived in pretty much substandard conditions; I'm not going to condone further substandard conditions. I think that is inhumane and wrong."
Housing advocates say HUD could help drive the repopulation of New Orleans by opening apartments, some of which received only minor damage in the hurricane. If complexes were open, the subsequent boost in population, they say, would prompt businesses and schools to reopen as well.
But those critics say HUD has no interest in reopening the complexes, only redeveloping much as was done with St. Thomas. Their fear, they say, is that redevelopment does not always work to the benefit of public housing residents, who can end up getting squeezed out by higher rents of the new housing.
"I think they are getting ready to demolish public housing," said Laura Tuggle, a lawyer with New Orleans Legal Assistance. "One of the hardest parts of redevelopment is having to relocate residents of public housing. That job was done for them."
Employee use?
Before Katrina, many former St. Thomas residents were on the waiting list for low-rent apartments at River Gardens. They had been screened to make sure they had jobs and didn't have criminal records.
After the storm, HANO installed its own employees in some of the vacant apartments. Expose, the HANO spokesman, said it was done so they would have a place to stay while they worked to make other public housing available around the city.
Fair housing groups have filed administrative complaints to force HANO to open more spaces in River Gardens to former St. Thomas residents or other low-income public housing residents. They took issue with Jackson's estimate that a fifth of River Garden's apartments has gone to the former residents and estimated that it could be as low as 10 percent.
They say they have grave concerns if the development ends up being the face of public housing in New Orleans.
"If the model is River Gardens, it has failed miserably," said James Perry, executive director of the New Orleans Fair Housing Council.
Bill Walsh can be reached at bill.walsh@newhouse.com or (202) 383-7817.
(http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1145947501313590.xml)
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April 25, 2006
NONPROFITS FACE BARRIERS TO INVESTMENT CAPITAL, STUDY FINDS
Although nonprofits face a growing need for investment capital, most report widespread obstacles to accessing it, a new survey from Johns Hopkins University's Listening Post Project (http://www.jhu.edu/listeningpost) finds.
The report, Investment Capital: New Challenges for American Nonprofits, surveyed nonprofit organizations in five broadfields -- children and family services, community and economic development, elderly housing and services, museums, and theaters -- and found that technology topped the list of investment-capital needs for more than 90 percent of the responding organizations. However, only 37 percent of those organizations reported success in raising needed capital. Similarly, 80 percent of organizations reported needs in the program development area, while only 25 percent reported success in raising needed capital.
When asked about accessing large pools of investment capital, such as insurance companies and pension funds, an overwhelming number of respondents -- 94 percent to 99 percent -- reported either a complete lack of knowledge about those sources or a significant degree of difficulty in securing capital from them. And though other sources of capital, such as banks, foundations, state or local government, and individual donors, were more familiar to nonprofits, many respondents reported difficulty in accessing them as well.
Report:
(http://www.jhu.edu/listeningpost/news/pdf/comm05.pdf)
(http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=141100007)
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