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Minnesota's solar accessibility has skyrocketed since the passing of the Minnesota Solar Energy Jobs Act in 2013, creating clean energy opportunities for communities across the state. One such opportunity, community solar gardens, have exploded in the past ten years, adding up to 900 megawatts of solar arrays for community benefit. Learn more about community solar gardens in this episode of the Rise Up Podcast featuring Peter Lindstrom, CERTs manager of public sector & community engagement at the University of Minnesota's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Extension. Get Connected: Rise Up Podcast: https://www.riseupmidwest.org The Energy Fair: https://www.theenergyfair.org The MREA: https://www.midwestrenew.org Email: Info@midwestrenew.org 0:00 Peter Lindstrom Introduction 1:47 MREA Training endorsement 3:07 Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) 6:06 Metropolitan Mayors Caucus 10:13 Changes in Minnesota energy markets 13:55 Community solar subscribers 18:33 Solar garden enabling legislation 23:04 Energy storage and solar gardens 24:03 Solar on Schools program 30:03 What's still needed/magic wand solutions 34:26 Challenges and opportunities in new funding ABOUT OUR GUEST: PETER LINDSTROM Peter Lindstrom is the Manager of Public Sector & Community Engagement at the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) within the University of Minnesota's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Extension. With a focus on outreach and education, he leads efforts to engage local units of government, including cities, counties, townships, and school districts, in exploring approaches for financing energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. Peter brings a wealth of experience to his role, having previously served as the mayor of Falcon Heights, MN for 10 years and represented District 10 on the Metropolitan Council. Additionally, his career includes significant leadership positions such as Assistant Director of the Center for Science, Technology & Public Policy at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School, Executive Director of SciMathMN, and Vice President of Public Affairs at the Minnesota High Tech Association.
Tuesday marks one month since Hamas crossed into southern Israel killing more than 1,400 people and triggering a war. Hamas has also taken 240 hostages. Today Israelis observed a moment of silence. The 30th day is a milestone in Jewish mourning and memorial events are planned in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 10,300. According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run Gaza strip, two-thirds of the dead are women and children. Another 2,300 are missing and believed to buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. To bring context for this war, professor Eric Schwartz joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer. Schwartz is the chair of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School's global policy area and formerly worked with the state department.
Minnesota is a national leader for women's participation in the workplace. And yet, we also have a wider gender wage gap than most other states. That means that women in Minnesota are consistently paid less than men. And over the past decade, we've made little progress in closing the wage gap. That has huge financial implications for women. The average Minnesota woman loses close to $448,000 during her lifetime due to the wage gap alone. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the latest research about the wage gap in Minnesota, and what we can do to begin to close that gap. Guests: Christina Ewig is the faculty director of the Center on Women, Gender and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota and a public affairs professor. Youngmin Chu is a PhD student at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs focusing on gender discrimination, economic inequality and labor market policy. Cynthia Bauerly is the vice president of strategic initiatives at the Women's Foundation of Minnesota.
Emma Chinn, Special Projects Coordinator at Campaign for Southern Equality and a proud LGBTQ Tennessean talks with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™. Recently Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law 2 LGBTQ discriminatory bills that go into effect on July 1, 2023. First is HB/SB 9 that bans drag performances from taking place on any public property in the state as well as in any location where people under 18 could be present. This law unfairly places male or female impersonators in the same adult cabaret performance category as topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers and strippers. The second Bill signed into law was HB/SB 1 that bans lifesaving medical care for transgender youth under the age of 18. Although legal groups including the ACLU of Tennessee have announced intentions to challenge the law in court young people who have begun accessing gender-affirming hormone therapy or puberty blockers prior to July 1st will be able to access care until March 31st 2024 at which time this care will no longer be available in Tennessee. Prior to the passing of Tennessee's anti LGBTQ legislation Chinn co-authored a report entitled “Coming of Age as an LGBTQ Southerner: Family, Faith, Education & Health” detailing the life and health experiences of LGBTQ Tennesseans. The research found that approximately 84% of transgender respondents from Tennessee reported that when they were under the age of 18 having access to gender-affirming care was important to their overall well-being. Yet among respondents who reported currently using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) only 18% reported using HRT prior to the age of 18 and only 5% reported using hormone blockers prior to the age of 18. We talked to Emma about Tennessee's aggressive attack on our transgender community and her spin on our LGBTQ issues. Emma Chinn in addition to her work with the Campaign for Southern Equality is currently a Master of Public Policy student at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Her thesis is based on the effect state policies have on LGBTQ Tennesseans. Southern Equality based in Asheville, North Carolina promotes full LGBTQ equality across the South. Their work is rooted in commitments to equity in race, gender and where everyone is free to be who they truly are and love who they truly love. For More Info… LISTEN: 600+ LGBTQ Chats @OUTTAKE VOICES
EPISODE SUMMARY Join scientist and mindset & high-performance coach Claudia Garbutt and author & business advisor Ian Williams as they talk about saving ourselves as the only path to saving the world. In this episode we talk about: - Overcoming addiction & the importance of self-development - The mystical experience that changed the trajectory of Ian's life - Leadership strategy & company culture EPISODE NOTES Ian C. Williams is an author, speaker, and business advisor. His humanitarian and environmental values were shaped by the landscapes of Minnesota during his youth. Then, a single, mystical, experience transformed his life at the age of 24. A decade of spiritual immersion and self-discovery followed that revealed a fundamental truth: saving ourselves is the only path to saving the world. Now, he devotes himself to generating positive change for the common good through his personal and professional endeavors. Ian has a Master's in Public Affairs (MPA) with an emphasis in Leadership Strategy and Organizational Culture from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School. His background in education, mindfulness, and regenerative design informs his business advising. He works primarily with mission driven organizations on the front lines of social and environmental justice to help them grow healthy cultures and people, and environmental impact. Ian's book “Soil & Spirit: Seeds of Purpose, Nature's Insight, & the Deep Work of Transformational Change“ will be released on February 21st, 2023. Links: www.reviveuandi.com www.stillpointinsight.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-c-williams/ https://www.instagram.com/reviveuandi/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/reviveuandi ------------------ Music credit: Vittoro by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) ----------------- If you enjoyed this episode, learned something new, had an epiphany moment - or were reminded about a simple truth that you had forgotten, please let me know by rating & reviewing this show on https://linktr.ee/wiredforsuccess. Oh, and make sure you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss out on any of the amazing future episodes! If you don't listen on iTunes, you can find all the episodes here. HELPFUL RESOURCES To learn more about me and my work, visit: www.wiredforsuccess.solutions
Welcome to Episode 463 of the Yeukai Business Show. In this episode, Yeukai Kajidori and Ian Williams dive deep into what makes organisations Thrive. So, if you want to know more about sustaining a healthy organisation, tune in now! In this episode, you'll discover: Culture by designStrategy by choiceImpact by default About Ian C. Williams Ian is an author, speaker, and business advisor. Through mindfulness, systems thinking, and human-centered design theory, he supports the growth of individuals and organizations. As a business advisor, he fosters healthy cultures through process optimization, wellness integration, and environmental restoration. He has a Master's in Public Affairs (MPA) with an emphasis in Leadership Strategy and Organizational Culture from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School, and he works primarily with mission-driven organizations on the front lines of social and environmental justice to help them generate systemic change for the common good. More Information Learn more about Thriving organisations at https://www.reviveuandi.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-c-williams/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reviveuandi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reviveuandi/ Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on How to Expand your Business, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our "Yeukai Business Show !" And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now Thanks for listening!
On August 31, 2021, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war against the Taliban that began following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Recorded on September 7, 2021, this "Matrix on Point" panel discussion featured a panel of scholars discussing the geopolitical and humanitarian consequences of the withdrawal. The panel featured Omar Sharifi, Assistant Professor of Social Sciences and Humanities, American University of Afghanistan, and Country Director of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies; Robert Crews, Professor of History, Stanford University; Dipali Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor in the Global Policy Area of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs; and Georgi Derluguian, Professor of Social Research and Public Policy, NYU Abu Dhabi. Daniel Sargent, Associate Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of History and the Goldman School of Public Policy, moderated the panel. Co-sponsored by UC Berkeley's Social Science Matrix (https://matrix.berkeley.edu) and the Institute of International Studies (https://iis.berkeley.edu/), this panel was presented as part of the Matrix on Point Event Series, a discussion series promoting focused, cross-disciplinary conversations on today's most pressing issues. Offering opportunities for scholarly exchange and interaction, each Matrix On Point features the perspectives of leading scholars and specialists from different disciplines, followed by an open conversation. Learn more at https://matrix.berkeley.edu.
In June 2021, Gabe Chan, Assistant Professor and lead of the Chan Lab at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs in the Twin Cities, sat down virtually for a conversation with CERTs sustainability storyteller Marie Donahue. During the interview, Chan speaks about his career path and early interests in climate change and clean energy, his approach to engaged scholarship on energy technology and policy, and current projects working to explore utility business models, community solar programs, and energy justice and equity. Learn more.
About the show: Welcome to Energetic Talk with Colby Abazs brought to you weekly by a partnership of Clean Energy Resource Teams and Two Harbors Community Radio. I am excited to bring you conversations about clean energy and get questions answered from guests near and far. You can listen on KTWH-LP 99.5 FM in Two Harbors, MN, stream online at ktwh.org, or search for "Energetic Talk" wherever you listen to podcasts. This week: Today we are talking about the changes virtual life has caused to transportation. Adeel Lari is the director of innovative financing for the state and local policy program at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He has been working on transportation issues for around 50 years and recently has been studying telecommuting. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/energetic-talk/message
We’re weeks away from the 2020 presidential election, and both President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are hoping to attract Black voters. Black voters make up about 12 percent of the overall electorate, but they play a bigger role in some key states. According to the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of Black Americans voted in 2016, a drop from 66 percent in 2012. Even with that decline, Black Americans still turned out in higher numbers than other groups: In 2016, 49 percent of Asian Americans and 47 percent of Latinos voted, the Pew study showed. Black Minnesotans rank highest in political engagement among Black voters in the country, according to research by WalletHub. Despite these numbers, Black votes aren’t guaranteed, and Black voters aren’t a monolith. With three expert guests, MPR News host Angela Davis discussed why the myth of the Black vote persists. Guests: Maya King is a politics reporter at Politico. Leslie Redmond is the president of the Minneapolis NAACP. Catherine Squires is associate dean of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Correction (Oct. 20, 2020): A previous version of this story listed Catherine Squires’ old title. The story has been updated with her new title. Use the audio player above to listen to the program. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net In this episode, you will: Meet Jay Kiedrowski and learn Jay's perspective on how innovation works in the public, private and nonprofit sector Understand why the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs' Local and State Government Innovation Awards were founded, how they highlight pioneering work being done in Minnesota schools, cities, counties, townships, and Native nations, and how a partnership allowed the awards to grow and have more impact Hear three ways government innovators can move their work forward In this episode, we reference: Humphrey School Local Government Innovation Awards Humphrey School State Government Innovation Awards The Bush Foundation Read here to learn more about Jay's background “Are we doing the work right? Or are we doing the right work. “
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net In this episode, you will: Meet Jay Kiedrowski and learn Jay’s perspective on how innovation works in the public, private and nonprofit sector Understand why the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ Local and State Government Innovation Awards were founded, how they highlight pioneering work being done in Minnesota schools, cities, counties, townships, and Native nations, and how a partnership allowed the awards to grow and have more impact Hear three ways government innovators can move their work forward In this episode, we reference: Humphrey School Local Government Innovation Awards Humphrey School State Government Innovation Awards The Bush Foundation Read here to learn more about Jay’s background “Are we doing the work right? Or are we doing the right work. “
It's 2018 and we're back with our first episode of the new year. In this episode of the Managing Uncertainty Podcast, Bryghtpath Principal & CEO Bryan Strawser and Senior Consultant Jennifer Otremba talk through Bryghtpath's view of the Top 12 Global Risks of 2018. Topics discussed include national security, the global economy, lessons learned from the 2017 hurricane season, cybersecurity, and risk to companies from the ongoing sexual harassment revelations. //static.leadpages.net/leadboxes/current/embed.js Episode Transcript Bryan Strawser: It's 2018. Jen Otremba: 2018, Happy New Year. Bryan Strawser: Happy New Year. Welcome back to the Managing Uncertainty Podcast. Jen Otremba: We're excited to be back in the New Year here. Bryan Strawser: We are. We actually didn't record any podcasts for the last three weeks of the year. I think we recorded four or five like that first of December and we used those throughout the months. So this is really our first time back in the studio here at our offices for a month or so. Jen Otremba: It's good. Much like many, it gave us chance to enjoy the holidays. Bryan Strawser: It did. So in this episode we're gonna talk about our view of the top risks of 2018. I think we're gonna kind of run the gamut here from things that many of you are probably thinking about. Some things that we've talked about before and then some things that maybe you're not thinking about that are gonna have an impact on you in some way, in terms of the global economy. Because that does impact you locally or foreign affairs and national security issues, which will also impact you in ways that you're probably not thinking about today. Bryan Strawser: So the first risk on our list of 12 risks that we're gonna talk about today is the rise of China and I think we hear a lot about this. I don't think people really understand the impact of what's going on but under the current leadership, China's really taken a different approach to geopolitical affairs and international relations than they have before. And what we're seeing now with China is really they appear to have started to cooperate with a number of international institutions where and before they really kind of set themselves aside and didn't do any sort of cooperation like this. Jen Otremba: Yeah, they really isolated themselves as far as international trade, discussions, things like that. Bryan Strawser: And what's interesting about that is, that was really a role the United States has played historically. We are beginning to do less of that. China is beginning to fill somewhat of the vacuum or void left behind by our leadership. It's not really a Republican or Democrat thing, it's just that the direction that our country has gone over the last decade or so has been a different role Internationally. So China is starting to fill that gap and it's an interesting comparison I think to think about the rise of China and what many perceive to be the decline of the United States as a geopolitical power for the last 20 - 30 years. Is very similar to the situation that the United Kingdom found themselves in, in the late 1800's where they made the strategic choice to hitch themselves through a surging United States as a global power and it has allowed the United Kingdom to bat above their weight in foreign affairs for well over a century. And perhaps we have similar opportunity to coach and guide the Chinese in the same way, but I'm not sure that our current administration or even previous administration is interested in doing that. They seem to be more interested in confrontation. Jen Otremba: Well, I don't even know that the mass population of the US is ready to do that. Bryan Strawser: No. Jen Otremba: Or ready to welcome that as being an option. Bryan Strawser: But China will continue to be for the foreseeable future the world's largest economy, one of the largest geopolitical powers, and I think we'll see them continue to flex their muscle on the international stage for decades to come. Our second risk is ... and these are in no particular order by the way. Our second risk is North Korea. Obviously the threat here is North Korea is a nuclear power. They have achieved at least some intercontinental ballistic missile capability that seems to be advancing and the Olympics are in South Korea in just a short period of time here. And we have a significant amount of military forces in South Korea. They're under treaty to defend South Korea who is a close ally of the United States. Nobody knows what's going to happen. Jen Otremba: No, but really interesting, right? To follow that and watch what will happen as we lead up to the Olympics there. Bryan Strawser: We had a client call us, what ... about four months ago and asked the question ... first they kind of danced around the point and then they just got to it and said, "What we're really concerned about is we have a billion dollars in product being manufactured in South Korea right now and I don't know if we should think about where to manufacture that elsewhere or if we're even going to get the product." Jen Otremba: And they're not an isolated case, right. So there's many of these types of organizations that have products coming out of South Korea, and trying to figure out what is the answer going forward. Bryan Strawser: So North Korea will continue to be ... I think they are the very definition of uncertainly really no idea of what they're going to do. They don't follow any international rule set that countries like United States are expected to follow. We don't know what their decision making is going to be. There's an awful lot of sabre-rattling that's gone on and any type of military conflict would just be enormously damaging. Not just in terms of life but on the global economy as a whole. Jen Otremba: Yes, very much so. Bryan Strawser: Our third risk is really a risk to business, and it is about the impact of technology on how we operate. And this is really about the rise of three specific technologies and that's automation, robotics and artificial intelligence. That we are seeing these as kind of the next huddle that businesses are going to be faced with that what you do today manually is going to be done in the near future and in some cases is already is, being done by systems that are robotic or automated or that utilizing artificial intelligence. Jen Otremba: Yeah, and we're seeing that already come out with cars, with helicopters, with obviously [inaudible 00:06:16] but things like that where there's a lot of experimentation going on right now and I think it's just gonna continue. Bryan Strawser: We see that with Amazons Alexa, with Apple's Siri, with Google Home and with these other products that are beginning to use ... you know we think of it as voice recognition but what's really happening here is artificial intelligence processing going on behind the scenes and making that happen. And I think this is gonna have huge impact on jobs in a way that people don't expect today. If your job is something that you can replaced by software, that's probably gonna happen in the next decade. Jen Otremba: Yeah, and we've seen it happen in the past before. Bryan Strawser: We have. Jen Otremba: So it will be interesting to see how this evolves and how it continues to affect us. Bryan Strawser: Fourth on our risk and this is really for US centric companies but is Mexico. The risk here is not about illegal immigration or people crossing the border. The risk here is strategic and it is about the desire of the United States to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA, will undoubtedly have an impact on trade and on the price of goods and on the free flow of goods between the US and Canada and Mexico. This is all complicated by the fact that Mexico will have a presidential election in July and that could alter the United States' relationship and the tenor and tone of these negotiations. Jen Otremba: Which has already- Bryan Strawser: It's already happened. Jen Otremba: ... happened, yes. Bryan Strawser: Number five on our risk is Iran. I'm sure most of you are not dealing with Iran in terms of working with vendors or sourcing product from there or visiting Iran for tourism purposes. But Iran, particularly over the last few weeks has been the site of kind of democracy driven protests against the ruling regime that's in place and their form of government, which is very non-democratic and highly theocratic in nature. The risk here is not so much about the impact on companies that might be doing business Iran 'cause that's not happening. It's really about Iran's place in the Middle East and how this impact neighboring countries and the kind of general state of conflict going on throughout the Arab World. Iran is in the middle of a lot of that. In fact Iran has instigated or been in driving a lot of that particularly with Iraq and others there. We talked before the podcast, I think were both fairly pessimistic about the protest situation there. Jen Otremba: Yeah. I mean in the course of history and what we've seen with protest is generally the outcome is not necessarily favorable of the protesters or to the cause. They don't usually get what it is that they are hoping to get out of it. Bryan Strawser: We're both fans of Steven A. Cook who is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in DC. Jen Otremba: Yes, recently we got to see him talk. Bryan Strawser: Got to see him talk at University of Minnesota Humphrey School and Dr. Cook has a great book called False Dawn about this rise of protest and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. I can remember the money quote that you gave me this morning that there was no pot of gold at the end of the protester rainbow. Jen Otremba: Yeah something along those lines. That was quoted from Steven Cook but maybe not exactly the way he said it but something like that. And it really rang true to what we've seen in protests really throughout history but specifically in the Middle East. Bryan Strawser: Right. There's a theory, and I believe in this theory to some extent and I don't think this means that it's ... if you pair this with Cook, I don't think this is optimistic at all. But Thomas P. M. Barnett who wrote the book The Pentagon's New Map, really talked about the change in the Middle East and elsewhere, where you have isolated economies and countries, Myanmar and Haiti were examples of this. That connectedness with the outside world drives the kind of protests and pro-democracy behavior because people start to understand that there is a life beyond the form of government and the regime in which they live under. I've seen that sighted, this connectedness to the outside world through satellite television, through mobile phones, through the internet as being kind of a catalyst for some of these protests. But it still doesn't make me optimistic that they're gonna be successful in the long run. It will require other change to happen. Jen Otremba: Right. Bryan Strawser: Number six on our list is protectionism I trade. Again, this is more of a US centric issue but it will have global economic impact. The current administration, President Trump's administration has said in numerous ways that they wish to pursue essentially a trade war, but they're interested in pursuing tariffs on certain products coming into the United States. And I don't think there's any way to talk about that without realizing that those tariffs are gonna be reciprocated in some way shape or form. We were talking about tariffs on foreign steel particularly Chinese steel, which is much more ... it's much cheaper than steel manufactured in the United States. But if you put big tariffs on that, the Chinese will find a way to reciprocate, it might not be on steel but they'll find another issue, televisions, Apple products that are manufactured there and they will make them more expensive in retaliation. Jen Otremba: So it's a risk, so we'll see where that goes, what happens there. Bryan Strawser: Number seven on our risk is Brexit in the United Kingdom. This has been a multi-year battle now across two prime ministers following the referendum about the UK leaving the European Union. Their negotiations are ongoing. But this has been a really difficult thing to work through for the British Government, it brought down the previous prime minster who was of course opposed to Brexit lost, I think did the smart and honorable thing and resigned. And now Theresa May who is his successor is leading the Conservative Party as Prime Minister and is really struggling from a leadership standpoint to get through the Brexit negotiations are bringing this to a close. You know she called a snap election, didn't pick up the seats that they thought they were going to get. She thought they were in a good position, turned out they had read the electorate wrong. Probably isn't gonna make it as Prime Minister given what we're seeing over there in terms of politics, you can get toppled by your own party and in sometime this year if things don't improve. Number eight on our list is the sexual harassment scandals of 2017 and how they will continue to play into 2018, definitely not a risk that's going away. Jen Otremba: No, we did a whole podcast geared on this topic alone where we talked a lot through what that risk looks like for organizations, corporations, things like that. Bryan Strawser: So we don't go in a lot of detail there except to say that the tolerance for this kind of behavior is at I think at an all time low. I think accountability for this behavior is high and getting higher. And I don't really think there's been the impact in the business community yet that we're gonna see down the road. Still seen this ripple through entertainment and news. But I think they'll be more about company scandals that we'll learn over time. Number nine is on our risk of top threats is the failure to deal with the lessons of the 2017 hurricane season. Jen Otremba: This is huge. Bryan Strawser: So there was a number of lessons that came out of the hurricane season last year, three major hurricanes. The most difficult hurricane season, biggest hurricane in a very long time in the US. And we're still dealing with the aftermath of this and the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico where we still don't have 100% power restoration and water restoration. But there's a number of lessons that came out of this, we're gonna talk about these on an upcoming webinar later this month. But the real risk out all of this is not that I don't think of the risk is that, 'Hey we're gonna have another really bad hurricane season," statistically- Jen Otremba: We will, we know at point. Bryan Strawser: At some point we're going to. But to us the real risk is that in the month or so following the hurricane season wrapping up, lots of companies wanted to do a lot to address the issues like not having a good crisis management process, not having good communication, not having the logistics in supply contracts and place to deal with things, not knowing how to account for your team. Jen Otremba: Not having good plans. Bryan Strawser: Not having good plans. These are all things that need to be addressed and if they're not addressed, well that's the real risk. The real risk is, "I've decided not to deal with these things," thinking that, "Hey, this isn't gonna happen again." But it is going to happen again and it might not be a hurricane, it could be another issue. We're seeing smart companies deal with the lessons learned of the hurricane season. We're seeing a lot of companies that are like, "Well, it's okay." Jen Otremba: "It's a risk we're willing to take." Bryan Strawser: Yeah or, "Well, we don't have money this year so we're gonna wait." And that's not a good strategy. Jen Otremba: It's really not. Bryan Strawser: Number 10 on our list is just the uncertainty of the world today. And we were speaking prior to the podcast but a lot of the recaps of 2017 going into 2018 particularly here in the United States were around this, "God, 2018 is just gonna be a mess and a disaster. It's gonna be so difficult." I don't think we feel that way. Jen Otremba: No. Bryan Strawser: But there is more ... It feels like there's more uncertainty and more potential for disruption than before. I think part of this is the ... we think part of this is just the political turmoil that we kind of feel here in the United States where if you watch the news and they're talking about politics, state, local, federal, it's exhausting. Jen Otremba: It is. I walked in the office this morning and I even said that to Brian. I was like, "Gosh, I'm just so exhausted with everything and then the media right now." Bryan Strawser: I can't watch it. Yeah, I can't watch the news. Jen Otremba: Everything is a significant emotional event so it is exhausting. So how do organizations become more resilient to be able to manage through that? Bryan Strawser: And how do they make sure that their team is resilient, that we can deal with this kind of up and down situation that they have to be faced with. I was talking to a reporter this morning about that very issue is, I think their question when they called was, "What do you tell small businesses about how to help their employees be more resilient with all of this." I mean she describes just all of this chaos that's going on in the world. And I'm like, "Well, one is, I wouldn't frame it that way. I don't think the world is that chaotic but the world's uncertain. You really have to be able to help your employees understand how to deal with the ups and downs of the business cycle." Jen Otremba: Like roll with the punches? Bryan Strawser: You gotta roll with the punches and there's gonna be down cycles of things that happening. You have to manage through that as an individual and as an employee and you have to drive those behaviors in your business. Number 11 on our list is Terrorism that this an issue we don't think goes away. We certainly saw, I think over the last two or three years there's been a clear trend towards some shifting of strategy when it comes to terrorism attacks in the Western world, in Europe, in the United States, Canada and elsewhere. We are seeing more vehicle-borne attacks where fire arms or knives are not necessarily involved. We've seen knife attacks even here in Minnesota in [inaudible 00:17:59]. And then we continue to see the ... I hate to use the phrase lone wolf 'cause it's so overused. But we see this individual who might be motivated and radicalized for some purpose who then plans and executes and attack on their own without any kind of command or control structure and that's incredible difficult to detect and even more difficult to stop because you really don't know it's coming, you don't know who to watch in that case. Jen Otremba: Not unless you know some of the risk factors anyway. Bryan Strawser: Right, there's obviously risk factors in some of those cases. Well, there's things that people should have seen that we don't wanna react to. Jen Otremba: Right, ultimately I think we don't want to, is a good way of putting, yeah. Bryan Strawser: Yeah, if you see something, say something. Jen Otremba: Exactly. Bryan Strawser: Last on our risk and certainly not least is the whole issue of cyber security. I think there is a good article I was reading last night about, "The cyber security piece has really come to a standoff between the ever increasingly high barrier to breach into an organization and the incredibly more sophisticated tools that hackers and those that seek to do harm like state actors, intelligence agencies and others, their tools are getting more and more sophisticated over time." I mean we saw an attack here in the last 18 month where someone basically used an exploit that the US National Security Agency had discovered and used that exploit to breach into organizations, steal information and PII and PCI data. So it continues to be more difficult. And one of the gaps that we see pretty commonly here is, you know, we don't do technical infosec work. That's not the field that we're in. There are many reputable places that do that kind of work. We are more interested in when the thing happens, how do you react and what is your process and how do you manage the incident? What happens if you really have a breach and how do you handle the crisis communications from that? Jen Otremba: And what are your plans? Bryan Strawser: And what are your plans and do you practice those plans? And wow, people are not good at this. Jen Otremba: And do you exercise them and people are not good at this. Bryan Strawser: They're not good at all. So there's a great opportunity that I think goes back to the hurricane lessons, which is what is your crisis strategy, your incident strategy leading to a crisis that allows you to react and deal with these things. Bryan Strawser: Those are our top twelve risks for 2018 as Jen just outlined. And we'll be talking in some depth about a couple of these risks moving forward in some more in-depth additions to the podcast and on our blog in the future. Jen Otremba: And certainly how they evolve throughout the year. Bryan Strawser: Thanks for listening.
Guest: University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs Senior Fellow Art Rolnick Fifty years ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota created a partnership that continues to have a profound impact on economic theory and policy. Several young economics professors were instrumental in forging this partnership and became known as the Four Horsemen of the Economic Revolution. U of M Humphrey School of Public Affairs Senior Fellow Art Rolnick discusses The Four Horsemen, their enduring impact on economics, and an upcoming event he's moderating on the U of M campus where all four will discuss contemporary economic issues.
During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the U.S. Department of State have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. Listen to Tom Hanson, former U.S. Foreign Service Officer, on how these changes are impacting ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries. The program will also include a Q&A session with Tom, moderated by Mary Curtin, Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Maren Henderson is an Evaluation Specialist for Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), where she coordinates the Youth Participatory Evaluation program for the district. Maren uses evaluation to empower underrepresented communities and inform equity-driven decision making. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs with a concentration in youth and education policy and program evaluation. Maren is joined by Mayra Rendon, a Minneapolis Public Schools student who has participated in the Youth Participatory Evaluation program for three years. She is passionate about ensuring students have a voice in school policies that affect them.
In this podcast, Joe Soss of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs discusses how criminal justice system practices including fines, fees, civil asset forfeiture, and the bail and prison industries led to the creation of what he calls a predatory system of governance.
In this episode professor Greg Lindsey from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs discusses why and how bike/ped count projects are done, and how to use this information in your local planning process.
Paul Stone Professor of History, University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs discusses regionalist impulses of the early 20th century. Dr. Stone's research focuses on American political and institutional history, behavior in American public life, and Minnesota political history.