"Being young in today's society makes me feel like I am not helping in any way. I need something to help me help society." - Andrea Salah, grade 10, Leland
"As a returning member, I hope to be an influence to any new members so that it can lead to individual and team growth." - Aaron Wilson, grade 12, Westwood A
"I want to make a difference and use this resource to fulfill my vision of helping children. I think that with Youth Re:Action Corps I could be mentored in how to achieve my dream." - Sarah Lalani, grade 10, Leland
"I feel that I work really hard when it comes to something I believe in and I believe in the effect that Youth Re:Action Corps has on the world." - Ryne O'Reilly, grade 12 Westwood B
"Since I was 16, I have always wanted to change my community. Youth Re:Action Corps appeals to me because I'll be around other teens who share the same feelings about change." - Janine Bratlee, grade 12, Westwood A
Youth Re:Action Corps Executive Director profiled as one of Arizona's most intriguing CEO's
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
Arizona's most intriguing Chief executives make their mark across the state
Arizona Republic
Nov. 22, 2006 Today I'm thankful for Arizona executives who aren't in the real-estate business. No offense to the others who represent the state's superdominant industry. But it's also instructive to check in on some of the most interesting executives in other fields, especially the quiet ones.
This is an unscientific look at 20 people to watch. I wasn't looking for civic-minded "business leaders," although a few would qualify. This is all business. So set aside the turkey and settle in.
Here's a look at some of the most intriguing chief executives, from the big players to the audacious entrepreneurs to the idealistic dreamers.
• Take LA Angels owner Arte Moreno, a prime example of the moguls who live here and work elsewhere.
I have a soft spot for Moreno for ignoring suburban silliness and renaming the Angels for the city by which their region is known worldwide. If only we had such owners here. Meanwhile, the former billboard mogul is opening his wallet to keep building a great team. As I say, if only . . . In any event, Moreno is one to watch for the future.
• Another sports owner has a different challenge. Phoenix Coyotes sugar daddy Jerry Moyes is fighting to acquire the trucking company that he founded and then tossed him out in a boardroom fight after insider-trading allegations.
Even if Moyes loses, he wins. If his bid for Swift Transportation brings in a sweeter competing offer, he profits as the largest shareholder. In pushing the takeover, though, Moyes shows he's not ready to ride off in the sunset.
• No quiet retirement for Apollo founder John Sperling, either. Sperling was called back to duty after a swooning stock price and now an options-timing scandal have taken their toll in the executive suites.
Dealing with either of these challenges would be a full-time job. Of most interest will be how the reclusive billionaire sees the threat to the University of Phoenix. He built it into a growth powerhouse. But with new competition and difficulty in meeting growth targets, the for-profit educational institution can't deliver what Wall Street has come to expect.
• Speaking of reclusive, there's Joe Shoen at U-Haul parent Amerco, who rarely has met a reporter he cared to talk to. Shoen expertly guided the company in and out of bankruptcy reorganization, with its shares rising from the single dollars to more than $100.
But there's no rest: Now the company is facing a price war in the truck rental business, which knocked down quarterly earnings. I'd bet on Shoen to come out the winner.
• I didn't forget Doug Parker . He will be the "it boy" of the business press if he pulls off the merger of US Airways and Delta Air Lines. He will be less loved in metro Phoenix if the headquarters of the "hometown airline" takes off.
Either way, Parker has made his bid to be the guy who is reinventing the business model for the "legacy carriers."
Sustainable technology
Arizona ought to be an international center of sustainable technologies. Although the state has a long way to go, some businesses are showing promise.
• In Tucson, Michael Gering is chief executive of Global Solar Energy, a major maker of photovoltaics. Established 10 years ago, the company is expanding again. Global Solar is also international, owned by a European venture capitalist and Germany's Solon AG.
Former Litton executive Gering has been on board for about five years, and is showing Arizona how solar technology is not only sustainable but also profitable. • Sustainable societies and leadership in social issues are hot new areas. ASU graduate student Courtney Klein is executive director of the Youth Re:Action Corps, a non-profit that grew out of the university’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative. With programs to develop student leaders in Arizona and California high schools, the organization hopes to go global. Youth Re:Action Corps recently received a major grant from the Pat Tillman Foundation. Medical / biomedical • One of the biggest challenges for Arizona's emerging biomedical sector is to connect research and physician training with patients at bedside. The two to watch in making this happen are rivals: Peter Fine, CEO of Good Samaritan parent Banner Health and Linda Hunt, president of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.
The two are in a tricky dance of how to maximize the investments they have made at their central Phoenix hospitals while cooperatively addressing the need for some clinical component on the downtown biomedical campus.
• Another "meds and eds" player is Kathleen Goeppinger, president of Midwestern University in Glendale, which operates a for-profit osteopathic medical school.
Goeppinger is overseeing an expansion of programs at Midwestern, and has also proven a crafty infighter in protecting the school's interests at the Legislature. She's more on the scene, too, as this year's chairman of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
As biomedical efforts to move ahead, Goeppinger will be a force to be reckoned with.
Small players, big promise
• While the big projects in downtown Phoenix get most of the attention, the small players show great promise. Cindy Gentry of Community Food Connections has led what seemed like an idealistic dream to bring a farmers market to the center city.
And yet the Downtown Phoenix Public Market has become a popular fixture at McKinley and Central, offering a selection of fresh produce and unique Arizona products. Gentry pulled together a coalition of businesses and donors to make it happen. Next month, the market is expected to discuss an expansion.
• Local small business is the focus of Kimber Lanning, the entrepreneur who has become the first executive director of Arizona Chain Reaction. The group is committed to raising the profile of local retailers, and working to give them a fair shot against the big chains.
• Pam Goronkin, the new president of the Downtown Tempe Community Inc. will become another important player in building the state's center cities. The former Tempe city councilwoman and former Motorola manager will be a key leader as Tempe rides an impressive wave of investment in its downtown, but also deals with the stresses of change.
• Starting small but having big growth plans is Dennis Shields, dean of the new Phoenix School of Law. The for-profit law school is settling in at its uptown offices and moving down the track for American Bar Association accreditation. It's another chance to lure talented folks to the center city.
Entrepreneurs
• On the entrepreneur beat, Dan Kasprzyk and Tom Motsenbocker of Machine Solutions stand out. This maker of medical devices could be doing business in San Diego or Raleigh, N.C. but is operating out of Flagstaff. It's just one example of the potential of the state's biomedical push.
• And there's Jeffrey Lunsford, the new CEO of Limelight Networks. Lunsford takes over from co-founder Bill Rinehart as the Tempe-based digital media company grows. Limelight won $130 million in venture capital, an unusually large amount for an Arizona firm, and Lunsford has experience in leading a company through an IPO. You do the math.
• Pioneering the business of "agri-tainment" are Mark and Carrie Schnepf of Queen Creek's Schnepf Farms. They're working to keep the family farm alive as a tourist destination.
• Out at the entrepreneurial hotspot of Scottsdale, pay attention to Forever Living Products, led by CEO Rex Maughan. The company, which claims to be the world's largest distributor of aloe vera products, leaped onto Forbes' list of largest private companies at No. 340.
Arizona Kickoff Conference
Friday, 20 October 2006
The Kickoff Conference was the inaugural event of Youth Re:Action Corps' 2006-07 program year in Arizona, bringing together approximately 100 students, mentors and advisors. The theme of the conference was Exploring Community; Creating Social Change. Team building exercises and breakout sessions provided students, mentors, and advisors the opportunity to explore community and social change within their local neighborhoods and the world. As students enter their year as a Corps member, the conference provided them with the initial skills and tools necessary to affect change within their communities and their world.
San Jose Corps Program Kickoff
Friday, 29 September 2006
The Pat Tillman Foundation and Youth Re:Action Corps will partner with San JoseUnifiedSchool District to bring Corps Teams to Leland (Pat Tillman's alma mater), Gunderson, Pioneer, Lincoln, San JoseAcademy, and WillowGlenHigh Schools. September 29th will mark the Corps Kickoff Conference and launch of the program in San Jose, California.
Partnership with Pat Tillman Foundation
Thursday, 21 September 2006
The Pat Tillman Foundation announced a partnership with Youth Re:Action Corps, a Tempe, Arizona based nonprofit organization, to engage high school students in efforts to improve themselves and the world around them.The partnership will strengthen the Foundation's efforts to carry forward Tillman's legacy by inspiring young people to create positive change. "The partnership with Youth Re:Action Corps will allow Pat Tillman's inspiration and actions to reach high school students in California and Arizona," said Alex Garwood, Executive Director of the Pat Tillman Foundation. "The Corps Teams will provide young people the guidance and tools to make positive changes in the world around them – something that is very much in line with the way Pat lived his life," he said. Launched in 2005, Youth Re:Action Corps provides a high school-based program to educate young people about local, national and international issues, empower them to create plans for social change, and invest financially in their visions of a better world.The program was initially created with support from the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative at Arizona State University - Tillman's alma mater. "The partnership with the Pat Tillman Foundation enables us to develop new methods to engage youth in effective social change," said Courtney Klein, Executive Director of Youth Re:Action Corps. "We hope to create a movement of young people working to create sustainable change in their world." Youth Re:Action Corps will launch the program in six high schools in San Jose on Sept. 29 and eight high schools in Arizona on Oct. 20.Each school will form a Corps Team of 15-25 students, representing academic, socio-economic and ethnic diversity, as well as mentors from the school and community. With support from community mentors, the Corps Teams will venture outside their schools to survey the social problems and assets found within their community, through interviews and photos.The Team will choose one problem or issue to address as their Corps project.Youth Re:Action Corps provides student action guides, resource materials, mentors, training conferences and additional tools to guide the Team through the process of planning social change. The students' social change plans are presented at a winter conference and are eligible for up to $1000 in financial support. The Pat Tillman Foundation and Youth Re:Action Corps will partner with San Jose Unified School District to bring Corps Teams to Leland (Pat Tillman's alma mater), Gunderson, Pioneer, Lincoln, San Jose Academy and Willow Glen High Schools. In Arizona, participating schools include seven teams from the Mesa Public School District; Dobson, Mesa, Mountain View, Red Mountain, Skyline, Westwood, and the International Baccalaureate Program at Westwood and Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale. The partnership marks the second major leadership initiative endorsed by the Tillman Foundation, following the development of the Foundation's flagship program at Arizona State University, "Leadership Through Action." The program, which was implemented in 2005, carefully selects Tillman Scholars and provides an educational class to inspire and support them as they tackle real-world social problems. The Pat Tillman Foundation was created by Tillman's family and friends following his tragic death in Afghanistan in April 2004.The former Arizona State University and Arizona Cardinals football star walked away from an NFL contract to serve the United States in the War on Terror. The Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is based in San Jose, near his hometown.For more information, visit www.pattillmanfoundation.org.
Mentor Training
Monday, 04 September 2006
Denise Sheldon, a leading mentor training consultant has been part of the Program Advisory Committee and recently announced that she would serve in a volunteer capacity to develop all mentor training materials, direct a mentor training video, and host monthly training session and conference calls for mentors in both Arizona and California.
