NEW YORK, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.
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EXPERT ALERTS
EXPERT ROUNDUP: Earth Day
MEDIA JOBS
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
EXPERT ALERTS:
The Gender Pay Gap
Christopher Cabrera
CEO
Xactly
"The gender pay gap is an ongoing battle, with little sign of improvement. Company leaders everywhere have an obligation to look under the surface when it comes to their pay practices, and ensure that equality is a top priority. Right now, a lack of engagement is costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars every year. From a business perspective, it makes no sense to alienate some of the highest performing employees by not paying them fairly. From a personal perspective, ensuring equality for everyone, male and female, is simply the right thing to do. I challenge all company leaders to look themselves in the mirror and consider how they would feel if these were their daughters, sisters, or partners being treated unfairly. Merit alone, not manhood, should be the determining factor in pay."
Cabrera is a seasoned executive with more than two decades of successful senior management experience at both early-stage and public companies. He is a noted industry expert in issues relating to sales performance management, sales compensation, commission, employee engagement, incentive compensation, benchmarking, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery models. He was named the 2011 "Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the USC Marshall School of Business. He is also the author of "Game the Plan" (River Grove Books, 2014) and co-author of "Xactly Sales Compensation for Dummies" (Wiley Publishing, 2006), as well as a contributing writer to such industry publications as Inc.com, Selling Power Magazine, and destinationCRM.
Website: www.xactlycorp.com
Contact: Chris Navalta, XactlyPRteam@blancandotus.com
The Brand Power of Hello Kitty
Keith Nishida
Assistant Professor of Fashion Marketing
Woodbury University School of Business
"Hello Kitty is brand power -- it's part of a media landscape rather than simply a commodity. Among the questions worth exploring: Why is Hello Kitty so loved? Why does it resonate? What is Hello Kitty's appeal to multiple generations? How does it transform the complexity of the real world into something else? How have manga and anime paved the way for Japanese cultural vectors into the West? Hello Kitty's versatility enables her to be the perfect vessel for storytelling through infinite product categories -- something we teach at Woodbury's Fashion Marketing program."
Nishida, who reports he has been branded "that Hello Kitty scholar" following presentation of a paper at the Popular Culture Association's 2014 National Conference, is a go-to expert source for all things Hello Kitty. His paper, "Hello Kitty Male Consumers: The Lost (Fan) Boys," addresses the male fan subculture within the mainstream Hello Kitty fandom, their traits, their experience within the mainstream fan culture, and their backstory on how and why they became the fans they are now.
Nishida was born and reared in Los Angeles, the son of Japanese immigrants. He attended the University of Hawaii-Manoa, focusing initially on pre-medical studies but later shifting his academic focus to psychology. During that time, he discovered a love of fashion, partly catalyzed y his experiences in Italy, where he was participating in a study-abroad program. He soon completed his bachelor's degree in psychology, and moved directly into a master's program in family and consumer sciences at the California State University, Long Beach. He spent the next few years working in the fashion industry while attending graduate school, including six months assisting the director of marketing and public relations at Tadashi Shoji. He was accepted into the doctoral program at Oregon State University's School of Design and Human Environment, where he has concentrated on fashion communication, new media and merchandising. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, he led a number of courses at OSU, including a special topics class on fashion styling taught during a summer term. He asked this class to create a fashion magazine for its final project, the outcome of which inspired the formation of DAMchic magazine, which has garnered a Readers Choice nomination among industry professionals in Oregon at the annual Portland Fashion and Style Awards. As its founder, publisher and former faculty advisor, Nishida has overseen the rapid growth of the online magazine from class assignment to university-sanctioned student-run organization. DAMchic is now published three times per year and has attracted international audiences as large as 500,000 views per issue.
Bio: http://business.woodbury.edu/member/keith-nishida/
Website: http://business.woodbury.edu
Contact: Ken Greenberg, ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com
Managing a Farm: How to Achieve Work/Life Balance
Julia Shewchuk
Owner
Serenity Acres Farm & Goat Dairy
"Farming is rough, and you have to be tough to keep a balanced work/life flow. Animals aren't aware of holidays, you being extra tired, or sick days. Learn tips on how to schedule your own work/life balance around a living, breathing farm."
Shewchuk founded Serenity Acres Farm & Goat Dairy in a quest to live a more natural lifestyle and healthier foods without antibiotics and hormones. She and her husband moved to a rural farm in North Florida. Serenity Acres Farm morphed into a thriving wOman-owned farm run by Shewchuk with the loving support of her husband Wayne. The hobby farm that started with just a few animals for fun is now home to hundreds of happy animals able to live their lives in serenity, working together with the farm team to provide close to 1,000 clients with happy and healthy products, including a rapidly growing fresh goat-milk soap and body-care business. The farm is Animal Welfare Approved Certified and still stays true to its mission of "Happy Goats Make Happy Soaps and Happy People."
Website: www.SerenityGoats.com
Contact: Adrienne Mazzone, amazzone@transmediagroup.com
Home Automation/Smart Homes and the Latest Technology Available for the Home
Carlos De León
Vice President
The León Group
"Home automation is not simply people turning on their TV from their iPhone. There is technology out there today that, for example, allows your kids to use their fingerprint to open the door once they arrive home from school. This action will trigger a series of commands, like sending an alert to the parents notifying them of their child arriving home, turning up the heat, and turning the TV to the child's favorite station, among other things."
Based in Bridgehampton, N.Y., De León is a Gold Member of Genesis 3 Design Group with more than 25 years of technology experience. He is fluent in Spanish.
Website: http://www.theleongroup.com
Contact: Brian Kearney, bkearney@bluefountainmedia.com
EXPERT ROUNDUP: Earth Day
Following are experts from the ProfNet network who can discuss business topics related to Earth Day. You can view the full roundup here: http://prn.to/earthday
Energy Awareness and Sustainability
Mitch Moore
Marketing and Outreach Manager
Energy Upgrade California
Moore is marketing and outreach manager for Energy Upgrade California, a state initiative to help Californians take action to save energy and conserve natural resources, help reduce demand on the electricity grid, and make informed energy management choices at home and at work. He promotes energy awareness and sustainable practices to California residents and small-business owners through retail programs, mobile events, and partnerships.
Contact: Casey Brogan, casey.brogan@allisonpr.com
Energy Efficiency
David Cohen
Manager Programs & Partnerships, Statewide Marketing, Education and Outreach
Energy Upgrade California
Cohen leads the planning, coordination and implementation of integrated statewide marketing, education and outreach (ME&O) for seven Financing Pilot Programs designed under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California ALTErnative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) to facilitate the uptake of energy efficiency and demand response upgrades. These pilot programs are marketed in coordination with the Energy Upgrade California statewide marketing, education and outreach program and in coordination with local and regional programs and program partners, including the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and contractors and other affiliated partners. Cohen leads the implementation of this plan to include such tasks as oversight of training of contractors and affiliated professionals, development of educational information and tools for contractors and consumers, and ongoing support to contractors and financial institutions through a variety of channels such as cooperative marketing campaigns.
Contact: Casey Brogan, casey.brogan@allisonpr.com
Energy Use in Buildings
David Underwood
President
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
ASHRAE is a non-profit organization with over 50,000 members worldwide who volunteer their time to develop standards of energy efficiency and indoor air quality for the built environment. Underwood, a practicing engineer from Canada, can speak about energy use in buildings. ASHRAE's energy standard serves as the basis for the U.S. energy code, and its focus is saving energy in commercial and institutional buildings. Buildings use 40 percent of the energy in the United States -- more than transportation or any other sector. Finding ways to reduce that energy use should be part of any conversation on Earth Day.
Contact: Jodi Scott, jscott@ashrae.org
Organizational Sustainability
Jennifer deHart
Chief Sustainability Officer
Unity College
deHart can weigh in on a host of issues pertaining to organizational sustainability. Prior to coming to America's Environmental College in 2015, deHart led sustainability efforts on college campuses throughout the country, including Harvard University and her most recent post as sustainability coordinator for Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., where she engaged diverse audiences in sustainability initiatives. She also has served as an industrial program associate for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency in Boston. She is certified in the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program; accredited by the Green Building Council; an energy manager in the association of Energy Engineers; and a member of other recognized environmental and sustainability organizations. She holds a Master of Science in Facilities Management from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy; a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education at Johns Hopkins University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Swarthmore College.
Contact: Bob Mentzinger, bmentzinger@unity.edu
Organizational Sustainability
Alan France, CS-P, CSR-P
Director of Sustainability, Environmental Services
ABM Industries
France can share advice for businesses on how they can be more environmentally conscious. He has helped design, plan, and manage sustainability efforts for many ABM clients, including AEG, Staples Center, Levi Stadium, Kings Stadium, and Hudson Yards. He can speak to sustainability, green cleaning programs, and LEED-certified commercial Space programs.
Contact: Donna St. Jean Conti, dconti@stconticommunications.com
Organizational Sustainability
Ann Calamai
Director of Sustainability
Optoro
"Businesses can make a more concerted effort to be environmentally conscious by measuring their impact on the environment. From there, they can begin to strategize ways for reducing that impact through various methods like increasing recycling or adjusting the energy supply. Since environmentally conscious changes often require an investment -- both with time and money -- it's important to present decision-makers with something measurable to help them understand what that investment is worth in the long run, including potential cost savings down the line."
Calamai is available to discuss retail supply chain sustainability, circular economy, challenges and opportunities around recycling e-waste, engaging employees around sustainability, and more. She leads Optoro's efforts to build out environmental impact models for clients, to help quantify sustainability benefits that retailers can achieve with the Optoro solution. Prior to joining Optoro, Calamai worked at the EPA's Office of Research and Development on the hydraulic fracturing task force. Her earlier research focused on natural resource taxation, renewable energy subsidies, and regulatory frameworks for nanotechnology. She graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and earned an M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard College.
Contact: Shamiram Barooshian, optoro@launchsquad.com
Supply Chain Sustainability
Toby Brzoznowskik
Co-Founder and Executive Vice President
LLamasoft, Inc.
"The supply chain landscape is constantly changing, and while the U.S. is beginning to expand into areas such as Cuba or even in dealing with moving goods through areas that have experienced natural disasters or political unrest, there are pretty intense effects on the environment to consider. One of the most important, almost instant ways businesses can both save money and cut down on environmental impact is by modeling their supply chain for CO2 emissions."
Brzoznowskik can share some real-world examples of what this type of modeling looks like, as well provide real-world examples of how organizations have done so to decrease emissions and increase savings. LLamasoft is a Provider of supply chain design, analytics and optimization solutions for major brands worldwide.
Website: http://www.llamasoft.com
Contact: Liz Erk, liz@jaxsongroup.com
Sustainability and Resource Effectiveness
Betsy del Monte, FAIA, LEED BD+C
Founding Principal, Transform Global
Adjunct Professor, SMU Lyle School of Engineering
As a registered architect, del Monte's experience and expertise includes high-performance building design, sustainable and resilient community design, and fully integrated project delivery. She was formerly a principal architect and director of sustainability for The Beck Group. She helped create and teaches a Master of Sustainability and Development course at the Lyle School of Engineering of SMU. She has been a visiting lecturer at University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Arlington, Rice University, University of Virginia, and Boston Architectural College. She is past president of AIA Dallas and North Texas Green Building Council. She sits on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, bcWorkshop and The Trinity Commons Foundation. She is involved at national, state and local levels with the ULI, AIA and other groups focused on sustainable environments. She has been named a Fellow by the AIA and a Senior Fellow in the Design Futures Council. She is a national instructor of volunteers for ULI's Urban Plan exercise. Del Monte received her Bachelor of Science degree in architecture from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Architecture degree from Rice University. Her experience includes work at architecture firms in Atlanta and Houston, as well as nine years with Philip Johnson and John Burgee in New York. She founded Transform Global to engage communities through collaboration, advocacy and education, while protecting the environment and natural resources. She is available to discuss efficiency, sustainability, resource effectiveness and resilience.
Expert Contact: b2delmonte@gmail.com
Sustainable/Impact Investing, CSR
Lisa Woll
CEO
US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment
Woll can discuss topics related to sustainable, responsible and impact investing, such as the growth of SRI (up 76% to $6.57 trillion, according to US SIF data, or one out of every $6 under professional management in the U.S.), how to get started and types of investments. She can also discuss environmental, social and governance issues, such as corporate social responsibility and corporate diversity, and their impact on investors. US SIF is a Washington, D.C.-based professional organization that advances sustainable, responsible and impact investing through research and policy initiatives. US SIF members include investment management and advisory firms, mutual fund companies, research firms, financial planners and advisors, broker-dealers, community investing organizations, nonprofit associations, and pension funds, foundations and other asset owners.
Contact: Michelle Manoff, mmanoff@rubensteinpr.com
Sustainable Packaging, Recycling
Elisabeth Comere
Director, Environment and Government Affairs, U.S./Canada
Tetra Pak Inc.
Comere is available to discuss sustainable packaging, recycling (with a strong focus on carton recycling), renewable resources, responsible sourcing of paperboard and sugar-cane, bio-based plastics, climate change (post-COP21, etc.), life-cycle assessments, circular economy, bio-economy, low carbon economy, and disruptive/environmental innovation. She serves as director, environment at Tetra Pak US and Canada. Tetra Pak is the world leader in packaging and food processing solutions. She joined the company in 2006 as environment manager for Europe where she helped define and drive Tetra Pak's environment strategy and contributed shaping recycling for cartons in Europe. Since 2010, she is based in the U.S., focusing on advancing Tetra Pak's commitment to sustainability and recycling in the U.S. and Canada. She is a founding member and board member of AMERIPEN and a member of The Sustainability Consortium, U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) and PAC. She is also contributing in the rollout of the recycling strategy developed by the Carton Council in the U.S. and Canada serving as vice president, government affairs. Prior to this, she served as a political adviser to a member of the European Parliament in Brussels, and headed the environment department of Food & Drink Europe, a European trade industry organization in Brussels. She was educated in France, the UK and Belgium. She graduated from Law School of Bordeaux University in France and Cardiff Law School in the UK (LLM) and earned an Environmental Sciences Master from Brussels University.
Website: www.tetrapak.com/us
Contact: Kendall Huber, khuber@golin.com
Textile Waste/Recycling
Tony Shumpert
Vice President of Sustainability
Savers
Behind big oil, the fashion and textile industries are quickly becoming some of the largest polluters in the world. This Earth Day, consider the environmental impact of textile waste. Shumpert leads supply chain operations for Savers, an international thrift store chain with 330+ stores. Among other related topics, he can speak to: what consumers can do to reduce textile waste; why choosing to shop and donate thrift is one of the easiest ways to be green this Earth Day, and every day; how Savers keeps 650 million pounds of reusable goods out of landfills each year.
Shumpert has 15+ years of experience managing supply chain operations with a focus on textile reuse, and is an active member of national associations and councils that promote high standards and best practices for reducing solid waste through the reuse and recycling of textiles.
Contact: Nick Stubberfield, coresavers@edelman.com
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