Networking is a MinnPost section that features Pollen, a networking newsletter for professionals written by Lars Leafblad of KeyStone Search, an executive search firm in Minneapolis.

February 1, 2012
Curated by Lars Leafblad
Principal, KeyStone Search

http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad
http://www.larsleafblad.com

Pollenites,

What is Pollen?
For those of you experiencing Pollen for the first time, here's a quick overview of who we are:

"Pollen is a community comprised of civic-minded connectors who share ideas, career and civic engagement opportunities and peer-to-peer recognition to create positive impact and personal and professional growth for its members."

Pollen Archives:
A full archive of all former issues of Pollen now available.

Pollen on Facebook
Tired of waiting for the next issue to share information with the Pollen community? Post your own updates whenever you'd like directly to our Facebook page.  1,300+ fellow Pollenites already spend time engaging with each other there, so come on over and join us!

Pollen on LinkedIn
Click here to connect with 3,600+ Pollen members and have access to sharing jobs, events, and articles directly with fellow members.

Become a full fledged Pollenite!
If someone has forwarded this to you and you'd like to become a full-fledged Pollenite, which provides you with the opportunity to contribute content for distribution to the entire Pollen network, become a member by emailing larsl-at-keystonesearch.com.

MorningTake
If you're not already subscribing to Blois Olson's free "Morning Take" e-newsletter, you should give it a look. It covers lots of great daily content on MN politics and public affairs. Learn more.

HAPPO (Help A PR Professional Out) Report
Another MSP-launched community connection resource for Pollenites who are PR professionals comes via the HAPPO Report, founded by Pollenite Arik Hanson. Learn more. Subscribe for free.

Volume 45 Contents:

1) Events
2) Ideas/Inspiration
3) Pollen Props
4) Jobs/Internships
5) Boards
6) Fun/Etc.

Events:
February 4 — Yinghua Academy Lantern Festival Gala & Silent Auction featuring the music of DJ Jake Rudh and The New Standards. (Via Lars and Maren Leafblad.) Tickets now available for purchase online.

February 8 — Minnesota 2012 Entrepreneur Kick-off to support entrepreneurship in MN.

February 9 — MN Facilitators Network event w/ Catherine Reid Day.

February 9 — 26 Youth Performance Company announces its latest mainstage production:

"And A Child Shall Lead" (day and evening shows)

And a Child Shall Lead is a heroic story of children coming of age in Terezin, the "Jewish City" established by the Nazis as a way station before the death camps. In the face of unspeakable horror, these children use their determination and creativity to build lives filled with hope and beauty — playing, studying, making art, and writing an underground newspaper — all at the risk of being killed. Their actual poems and stories are woven into a fast-paced drama, evoking the universality of children caught in the insanity of war. Recommended for Grades 4 and up

For more info, contact Ron Lattin at ron-at-youthperformanceco.org or 612-272-5312

February 11 — Telling Your Story — A communications workshop for non-profit organizations hosted by Weber Shandwick. Features panel with Pollenites Jeff Achen, Joel Kramer, and Jamie Millard.

February 14 — 5th Annual Best Practices Youth Summit

Connect with youth-serving movers and shakers to learn about ideas that are working in area nonprofits and see how your organization can collaborate to create a better service for all. February 14 from 7:30-9:00am at Base Camp. Hosted by Don Craighead, the C. Charles Jackson Foundation, and Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF). RSVP.

February 17 — Minnesota Zoo's AZUL 2^nd annual "Warm Up in the Wild" fundraiser.

February 18 — LEAD Project's "A Toast to LEAD" — 5 Year Anniversary Party. Le Meridien Chambers Hotel.

February 21 — HHH Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center hosts evening panel discussion on "The Non Nonprofit" with Steve Rothschild, Jay Kiedrowski, Sona Mehring, and Sandra Vargas.

February 25 — Wishes & More "2012 Winter Ball: A Night on the Red Carpet" (Via Christiaan Engstrom.)

February 28 — Women Entrepreneurs Conference hosted by Mansfield Tanick & Cohen (Via Jeff O'Brien.)

February 29 — MN Council of Nonprofits "Philanthropy Leaders Series" w/ Wokie Weah, president of Youthprise.

February 29 — ThreeSixty Journalism "Mid-winter Mixer".

March 1-3 — Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

March 3 — St. Olaf College Black & Gold Gala.

March 3 — Minnesota's World Savvy Challenge.

March 4 — Save the date for Fourth Generation's "Graze for Good" on Sunday, March 4th at 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Spill the Wine. Support Fourth Generation's grantmaking to local organizations addressing Food Justice in the Twin Cities and get a sampling of food by amazing local chefs from Piccolo, Tilia and Travail Kitchen and Amusements. Watch for more details coming soon on the website or Facebook page.

March 12 — "Recovery Day on the Hill" [PDF] — MN Recovery Connection (Via Julia Parnel.)

March 16 — Youth Frontiers 3rd Annual "Cultivating Ethics in Business" Luncheon, featuring Chuck Mooty and Chris Coborn. Sponsor a table or RSVP to Mindy Plewacki at mplewacki-at-youthfrontiers.org. 11:45 a.m., Graves 601 Hotel

March 24-25 — "The Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge"

March 24 — Early-career and mid-level women wanting to accelerate their transition into leadership roles are invited to a high-impact, high-intensity, one-day seminar, A Women in Leadership Event: "Poised for Leadership" at Concordia University, St. Paul from 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Presented by International Speaker & CEO of Women's Leadership Coaching Inc. Jo Miller. Sponsored by Concordia's Alumni Association and Thrivent Community Crossroads of Minnetonka, Minn. Registration opens Wednesday, Feb. 15.

April 19 — "Dish — Cuisine for Change" gala supporting Second Harvest Heartland.

April 20 — Save the date for an event with Margaret Wheatley at Loyola Spirituality Center. (Via Lisa Negstad.)

April 27 — The 2012 MinnRoast supporting MinnPost.com.

June 5-8 — Eyeo Festival. (Registration opens Feb 1^st and will sell-out quickly.)

Ideas/Inspiration:
"Pollinators: The New Breed of Innovators" — Forbes written by MN-based Patrick Hanlon

McKnight Foundation announces 4^th-quarter 2011 grants and announces election of new chair and two new board members

New president and CEO of Volunteers of America-MN, Paula Hart, profiled in The Line

Pollenite Jeff Heegaard interviewed by The Line's "The Big Picture 11: Jeff Heegaard on the Next Economy"

The Christian Science Monitor "30 under 30" list

"From City Pages to the 'billionaire beat'" — David Brauer's story on Erin Carlyle

Premack Award for Public Affairs Journalism seeks nominations and entries (deadline Feb 3)

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman of Carlson, "The marriage amendment, from all angles"

"Teach for America teachers moving into policy positions" — Beth Hawkins in MinnPost.com

Star Tribune's "10 business newsmakers to watch in 2012"

"Cargill Foundation builds legacy quickly, carefully" via Star Tribune

"Creative man of letters finds fascination in fonts" — Chank Diesel in Star Tribune

"The Four-Year Career" via Fast Company

Center of the American Experiment and Minnesota Free Market Institute merging

Hiring tips from The99Percent.com

"12 Things Successful People Do Differently"

"Forget Networking. How to Be a Connector" via Entrepreneur

"Will Path be the breakout social app of 2012?" by Arik Hanson

Minnesota seeks delegates to join Governor Mark Dayton on China trade trip

"Peter Hutchinson steps down as leader of Bush Foundation" via Star Tribune

"Battling Entitlement, the Innovation-Killer" via Harvard Business Review

"St. Olaf students build contraption for Target" by Jenna Ross in Star Tribune

Three Equations That Can Change Your Life — via http://www.danpink.com

Desdamona on Unique Techniques

"The Rise of the New Groupthink" New York Times

"The Power of Networks" via www.brainpickings.org

"Sometimes, You Need to Blow the Fuses", Bill Kling, founder and president emeritus of American Public Media Group interviewed for New York Times "Corner Office"

Pollenite Jim Rettew's innovative job-search strategy in action

"When You Don't Have 90 Days to Listen" via Harvard Business Review

CoCo named as one of "16 Cool Coworking Spaces" in Inc. magazine

Office of Small Business Administration — whitepaper on Small Business Development Centers (via Jill J. Johnson)

Minnesota Idea Open launches 3^rd Challenge: "Working Together Across Cultures & Faiths"

Ashoka launches "Activating Empathy: Transforming Schools to Teach What Matters"

The Theater of Public Policy — An MSP org that uses live improv comedy to bring public policy issues and debates to life. Learn more about upcoming programs

Who is using social media in the US House of Representatives?

"The 1968 Exhibit" at Minnesota History Center runs through Feb 20 (via David Kelliher)

"High-Powered Plasma Turns Garbage Into Gas" via Wired

Pollen Props:
John Estrem on his new role as CEO of Hammer Residences, Inc. [PDF] (Search was conducted by Pollenites Mike Frommelt and Lars Leafblad of KeyStone Search).

Pollenites Kelly Groehler, Dave Ladd, Greg Swanholm and Bass Zanjani have published a new book, "LIKE: Seven Rules and 10 Simple Steps for Social Media in Your Campaign (in Politics, Business, or Otherwise)"

Nancy Lyons and Clockwork Active Media Systems on their 10 year anniversary

Lars Leafblad (bearded one) and Jim Rettew (clean-shaven one) mentioned in this "Withering Glance: Men and Beards" story in Star Tribune

Mark Johnson and Four51.com profiled in The Line

Lori Sturdevant on her nomination as a finalist in the MN Book Awards for "The Pillsburys of Minnesota"

Steve Ladin quoted in Wall Street Journal story on e-mail disclaimers

Pollenites Dana Nelson, Laura Zabel, Don Ball, and Kyle Coolbroth recognized in the Minnesota Monthly "Minnesota Revolutionaries" feature.

Nels Leafblad on a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund his 1^st EP!

Nate Garvis and Tom Wiese on their launching of new consultancy ear.n

Mary-Margaret Zindren profiled as new ED of Hennepin County Bar Association

Randy Ross on his role as new Chief HR Officer at G & K Systems

Allison Rojas on her new role with Aurora Consulting

Lan Freitag on the birth of her son Dakota

Brant Skogrand on being elected 2012 President of the MN Chapter of Public Relations Society of America

Becky Hennen on her new role in Events and Corporate Giving at Hazelden Foundation

Karen Louise Boothe on joining the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) MN State Council in the new full-time position of Communications Director.

Carley Stuber on her new role as VP, Major Gifts and Special Campaigns at MN Children's Museum

Kristin Pardue, Brad Von Bank, Taylor Larson & Rêve Consulting on their new website

Pollenites Hudie and Sarah Broughton on the birth of their son, Walter (Walt)!

Dan Moret on his new role with Thrivent as Sr. Communications Associate

Michelle "Mitch" Hedlund on her selection as an Ashoka Fellow

Jan Unstad on her new role as philanthropic associate at Lutheran World Relief, working on the Lutheran Malaria Initiative.  

Dan Grigsby on being appointed to the Advisory Commission of the MN Science and Technology Authority

Mike Doyle on being named "Rising Star of the Year" by MN Commercial Association of Realtors

Nicole Nicklin on her role as Senior Communications Specialist position in the Corporate Responsibility group at UnitedHealth Group

Danny Nicklin on his new role as Outreach Coordinator with MinnPost.com

Matt and Heather Clark on the birth of their son Henry

Jobs/Internships:
American Public Media/MPR — "The Daily Circuit" — Associate Producer

Baby's Space — Executive Director (via Terrie Rose)

CaringBridge.org — Development Specialist (via Lars Leafblad)

Charities Review Council — Nonprofit & Outreach Specialist (via Jamie Millard)

CoCo — FT Host/Concierge position at CoCo — Coworking and Collaborative's St Paul Lowertown location. Communications, innovation, marketing, tech, nerdiness, goodness, and coffee all wrapped into one amazing working environment. Contact hello-at-cocomsp.com for details/consideration. (via Kate O'Reilly)

College Possible (formerly Admission Possible) — Chief Advancement Officer (via Lars Leafblad and KeyStone Search)

General Mills — Real Estate Portfolio Coordinator (via Andrea Carruthers)

The Minneapolis Foundation — Vice President, Community Philanthropy (via Rebecca Driscoll and KeyStone Search)

Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation — Director of Communications

Minnesotans United for All Families — Press Secretary

NeuroScience — Vice President, Sales & Marketing — (via Marcia Ballinger)

Playworks — Elementary School Program Coordinator

Policy Innovators in Education Network — Sr. Director, Communications

Renodis — Client Engagement Manager

Social Enterprise Alliance — MN Chapter Services Leader (via Jim Delaney)

Social Venture Partners — MN — Partner Engagement Coordinator (via Brad Brown)

Students Today, Leaders Forever — seeks co-executive director (via Irene Fernando) More info:http://stlf.net/get-involved/co-executive-director

World Savvy — Program Director (via Dana Mortenson)

Boards:

AIGA Minnesota

Cura Earth:

"Cura Earth is a start-up nonprofit dedicated to public health, wildlife conservation, and research in the developing world. We have a board vacancy for treasurer to we need to fill as soon as possible. Please contact aubrey.tauer-at-gmail.com for more information. We are also looking for advisors in several other capacities. We will be shortly launching our full website at www.curaearth.org" (via Aubrey Tauer)

Emergency Foodshelf Network

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre

MN Center for Book Arts

The Salvation Army — Twin Cities:

Via Pollenite Amanda Brinkman, "If you are interested in helping launch a Young Professionals group to further the mission of the Salvation Army please join us for an initial meeting on February 28th at 4pm at Yum! in Minneapolis (http://www.yumkitchen.com/).

We'll share a brief background of the work the Army does, and discuss potential options for the focus of a Young Professionals group. If you're interested in learning more, please contact Amanda Brinkman at amanda.brinkman-at-allianzlife.com"

Youthprise:

Youthprise seeks interested board members (via Lars Leafblad and KeyStone Search)

Numerous MN non-profit board openings c/o MAP for Nonprofits

Fun/Etc:
"Way More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Yo Gabba Gabba" via Mental Floss

A very unique "Coffee Break"….

Bon Iver and the Chieftains "Down in the Willow Garden"

"The Joy of Books"….

"Everything Counts" (via Megan Leafblad)

Reminder to connect with Pollen on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Facebook: Join 1,300 + fellow Pollenites who are engaging with one another on Facebook.

LinkedIn: Click here to connect with 3,600+ Pollen members and have access to sharing jobs, events, and articles directly with fellow members.

Twitter: Follow Pollen on Twitter by using the hashtag #BePollen

Thanks for growing and spreading Pollen together!

Lars
Lars Leafblad
Curator, Pollen, Principal, KeyStone Search

larsl-at-keystonesearch.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad
http://www.larsleafblad.com

Networking is a MinnPost section that features Pollen, a networking newsletter for professionals written by Lars Leafblad of KeyStone Search, an executive search firm in Minneapolis.

Curated by Lars Leafblad
Principal, KeyStone Sscearch

http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad
http://www.larsleafblad.com

Pollenites,

What is Pollen?
For those of you experiencing Pollen for the first time, here's a quick overview of who we are:

"Pollen is a community comprised of civic-minded connectors who share ideas, career and civic engagement opportunities and peer-to-peer recognition to create positive impact and personal and professional growth for its members."

Pollen Archives
A full archive of all former issues of Pollen is now available.

Pollen on Facebook
Tired of waiting for the next issue to share information with the Pollen community? Post your own updates whenever you'd like directly to our Facebook page — 1,280+ fellow Pollenites already spend time engaging with each other there, so come on over and join us!

Pollen on LinkedIn
Connect with 3,500+ Pollen members and have access to sharing jobs, events, and articles directly with fellow members.

Become a full fledged Pollenite!
If someone has forwarded this to you and you'd like to become a full-fledged Pollenite, which provides you with the opportunity to contribute content for distribution to the entire Pollen network, become a member by emailing larsl-at-keystonesearch.com.

Volume 44 Contents:

1)     Events
2)     Ideas/Inspiration
3)     Pollen Props
4)     Jobs/Internships
5)     Boards
6)     Fun/Etc.

Events
January 12 — Please join Breakthrough Saint Paul and other community members committed to closing the achievement gap for a discussion with Teach For America President, Matt Kramer. Matt will share a brief historical perspective on the nation's movement toward educational equity and provide an overview of the work that is being done today toward that end. All individuals and groups from all professional sectors are invited to ask questions and share their perspectives. Registration and additional information.

January 12 — EDIT youth present "Of Sadness and Hope: Images from the Northside Tornado" Photography Exhibit at U of M UROC Gallery at open house from 5 to 7 p.m.

January 12 — 4^th Annual Long-Term Care Financing Solutions (PDF) — experts from Minnesota and across the nation will gather to tackle one of the most complicated and important challenges we face: how to pay for long-term care. All are welcome to join the discussion, which will focus on new data, trends in public attitudes and a look at the most promising public policy solutions out there today. The event is co-sponsored by Aging Services of MN, the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the HHH School, and AARP Minnesota.

January 18 — GenYWCA Happy Hour — Uptown Cafeteria

January 19 — GreenBiz Forum 2012

January 22 — Prof. Mark Seeley: Climate Trends and Climate Change in Minnesota: A Review

Community Speaker Forum — Linden Hills United Church of Christ 11:30-12:30 pm (via Keiko Veasey)

January 25 — Citizens League Emerging Leaders "Civic Trivia Happy Hour". 5:30–7:30 p.m., Sweeney's Saloon. Join the Citizens League for some MN Civic Trivia on January 25 at Sweeney’s Saloon in St. Paul. Show off your knowledge of all things Minnesota while meeting and networking with other Citizens League members. This Happy Hour is hosted by the Emerging Leaders Committee and is open to all current and potential Citizens League members. New members are encouraged to attend!
No registration is required. For more information contact Cat Beltmann at cbeltmann[at]citizensleague.org or 651-293-0575.

January 26 — Minnesotans United for All Families fundraiser at Orchestra Hall (via Matt Lewis)

January 27 — Social Media Breakfast — #43 "Public Media". 8–10 a.m at Twin Cities Public Television. Moderated by Phil Wilson. Panelists: David Brauer (MinnPost), John Daenzer (tpt), Jonathan Kealing (PRI), Mary Lahammer (tpt), John Moe (APM/MPR), Julia Schrenkler (APM/MPR).

January 27 — Young Nonprofit Professionals Network — Twin Cities and Theater of Public Policy present "Sunshine and Showers: A Nonprofit Forecast for 2012". 8–10 p.m. at Lowry Lab Theatre — 350 St. Peter Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102. Guests include Marcia Avner of MN Council of Nonprofits and Sheila Smith of MN Center for the Arts.

January 28 — PACER Rocks 4 Kids gala event. More info on Facebook page.

February 4 — Yinghua Academy Lantern Festival Gala & Silent Auction featuring the music of DJ Jake Rudh and The New Standards. (via Lars and Maren Leafblad) Tickets now available for purchase online.

February 18 — LEAD Project's "A Toast to LEAD" — 5 Year Anniversary Party — Le Meridien Chambers Hotel

March 3 — St. Olaf College Black & Gold Gala

March 3 — Minnesota's World Savvy Challenge

April 20 — Save the date for an event with Margaret Wheatley at Loyola Spirituality Center (via Lisa Negstad)

Ideas/Inspiration
Pollen included in Daniel Pink's "More newsletters worth reading" blog post.

Pollenite Nate Garvis TEDxTC talk "Change our culture, change our world" was selected by editors of TED.com to be featured on the TED.com homepage.

"22 Game-Changing Job-Search Tips from a Recruiter" by Lars Leafblad on BrazenCareerist.com

Jim Toscano writes on "The Ten 'Must' Agreements Between Boards and Executive Directors"

Joe Nathan commentary in Star Tribune on education as "letter of the day"

Nominations for "40 under Forty 2012" due January 16^th for Mpls. St Paul Business Journal

"Minnesota: The Land of 10,000 Ideas" by Doug Spong in Star Tribune

Vikas Narula of Keyhubs "Networks eat strategy for breakfast….everyday"

Nominate a MN company for the "MN Business Ethics Award". Nominations due 1/27!

Bush Foundation now seeking applicants for Bush Fellowship program

Laura Zabel of Springboard for the Arts, "Love Something. Do Something."

Joanne Henry's "365 Days of Thanks" blog

The Line "2011: The Year of Coopetition" featuring CoCoMSP, GreaterMSP, Project Skyway et al

Volunteers needed for World Savvy Challenge on March 3^rd

"Help Wanted", Tom Friedman in New York Times on collaborative leadership

Gov. Arne Carlson "Bedford Falls or Pottersville" in MinnPost.com

Adaobi Okolue "Innovate or Die: The Fight to Establish A Culture of New Thinking" in Young Nonprofit Professionals of Twin Cities blog

Mike Frommelt visits with David Gee in StaffingTalk.com on "Five Question Friday"

Peter Hutchinson stepping away from the Bush Foundation

David Gee "Great Talent Isn't Hard to Find"

"What Young Leaders Want" via Harvard Business Review

"Planning For Your Recruitment" by Lars Leafblad

"Meet the 2011 Innovation Agents" — Fast Company

Beth Kanter "Thank You To the Max: Minnesota Give to Max Day" blog post

Pollenite & American Idol contestant Nels Leafblad seeks investors via Kickstarter to produce his 1st EP

"Minnesota's nonprofits are in survival mode" — Patrick Kennedy & Neil St. Anthony, Star Tribune

Forbes publishes numerous "30 under 30" lists in various industries

Brene Brown TED.com talk "The Power of Vulnerability"

"11 Best Business Books of 2011" by Todd Sattersten

"5 Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012" via Harvard Business Review

"The Joy of Quiet" by Pico Iyer in New York Times

"5 Stories from 2011 That Will Keep Giving Us Headaches in 2012" — Tom Horner

Colle + McVoy Pres/CEO Christine Fruechte visits with "The Corner Office" in New York Times

"Minnesota's political parties are facing big changes, big challenges" by Cyndy Brucato
 
"Moving on" by Peter C. Hutchinson of Bush Foundation on his recent decision to step away from the foundation

Pollen Props
Tim Huebsch on his profile in Maple Grove magazine for his leadership contributions in the community

Jen Hanlon Ash on her promotion to Director, Talent Acquisition for American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio

Irene Fernando of STLF for her profile in MinnPostYPN

Sue Berg on her new role as Executive Director of Yinghua Academy

Rep. John Kriesel on being named Lavender's "Person of the Year". Rep. Kriesel's speech on MN House floor regarding the gay marriage amendment

MayKao Hang on her appointment to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

JoAnn Sturmer on her new role as president of the Rochester Area Foundation

Bridget Ulrich on her recognition in Plymouth magazine for her "Volun-tweeting"

Kate O'Reilly on her new column for Metro magazine — "On Living Modern Life Well". Connect with her on her FB page as well

Paper Darts — Jamie Millard, Regan Smith, and Meghan Suszynski — on being named "Smartest Website" by Mpls. St. Paul magazine

Rep. John Kriesel named one of the Politics in Minnesota "Politicos of the Year"

Jim Meffert on his new role as Executive Director of the Jefferson Center (PDF)

Jen Westpfahl is the new social media editor at Pioneer Press

Tom Basquill and Cat Beltmann on their leadership contributions to the YNPN-TC board!

To Don Ball, Kyle Coolbroth, Jeff Heegaard, Kate O'Reilly and entire CoCo community on this recognition in Star Tribune

Kara McGuire on her seven years as personal finance columnist for Star Tribune and on her new role with Iconoculture as consumer strategist. Connect with Kara on Twitter

Jim Accurso on his new role as Media and External Relations Manager for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Ann H. Barkelew, founding general manager of Fleishman-hillard Mpls/St. Paul office honored by University of Alabama Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations for her contributions as a mentor in the public relations field

Jobs/Internships
Angel Foundation — Director of Development

APEX — Area Partnership for Economic Development (Duluth, MN) — Pres/CEO (via Rebecca Driscoll)

Ashoka Twin Cities — entrepreneurial leader (via Kila Englebrook)

Blandin Foundation — Director of Grants

Enterprise Minnesota — PR Manager (via Nate Duoss)

Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches — President & CEO (via Marcia Ballinger)

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation — Senior Program Officer

Meals on Wheels — Fundraising Internship

MinnPost.com — Ad Salesperson

Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) — Operations Manager

Teach for America — Director, Growth Strategy & Development

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness — Regional Homeless Coordinator

Baby's Space — Executive Director (via Terrie Rose): Baby's Space is seeking an Executive Director with high energy and passion for early education and family services, proven management skills as an Executive Director, a fundraising track record, and the ability to work with a diversity of organizations and people. Please email Dr. Terrie Rose at terrie.rose-at-comcast.net for a complete job description.
 
Social Enterprise Alliance — Chapter Services Leader (via Jim Delaney)

Boards:
Numerous MN non-profit board openings c/o MAP for Nonprofits

Fun/Etc:

Google "Zeitgeist 2011: Year in Review" video

Cantus Live from Westminster Presbyterian Church

Humpback Whale Shows Appreciation After Being Freed From Nets

Winners of the National Geographic 2011 Photo Contest

Breakin' on the Great Wall of China

AdWeek's 10 Best Commercials of 2011

"Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla" video

"2011 Told Through Twitter — Year in Review" — video

Reminder to connect with Pollen on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Facebook: Join 1,800 + fellow Pollenites who are engaging with one another on Facebook.

LinkedIn: Connect with 3,500+ Pollen members and have access to sharing jobs, events, and articles directly with fellow members.

Twitter: Follow Pollen on Twitter by using the hashtag #BePollen

Thanks for being part of Pollen!

Lars

Lars Leafblad
Curator, Pollen, Principal, KeyStone Search

larsl-at-keystonesearch.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad 
http://www.larsleafblad.com

“We’ve got a great list of public companies in Minnesota. Anything we can do as a state to publicize that, we should,” said Robert Buss, managing director at Disciplined Growth Investors, an independent investment adviser in Minneapolis with $2 billion under management.

Minnesota is home to more than 490 public companies and boasts more Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other state, according to the CFA Society of Minnesota, an organization representing 1,200 investment professionals across the Upper Midwest.

The Twin Cities metro is also home to 56 institutional asset managers, hedge funds and private equity firms managing an estimated $415 billion. In addition, more than 90 corporate, nonprofit and government pension plans and endowments around the state manage another $210 billion in assets.

So it seemed natural when as president of the Society, Buss and colleagues launched an effort to revive something the financial community hasn’t seen here in some time — a regional conference bringing local public companies together with local investors.

“We felt uniquely positioned to do this,” Buss said.

 “If I look back, we used to have annual investor conferences sponsored by Dain Raucher and Piper Jaffray. They were big events locally,” he recalled.

Next May, the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Society is sponsoring InvestMNt, a day-long conference that aims to bring together 250 to 300 local institutional investors and 40 public companies at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The society has never mounted an investor conference before, but Buss and former CFA Society President Tony Carideo said they hope that InvestMNt will help re-energize metro area financial professionals’ sense of community while showcasing the state’s diverse economy.

They also hope to set a model for how investors and companies can come together, free of perceived conflicts that have tainted traditional brokerage-sponsored conferences. Under the old model, firms that had investment banking or a trading relationship with the sponsoring broker would make up the majority of presenting companies.

While that approach worked for the brokerage industry, Buss says, it has failed to meet the needs of most institutional investors who want to meet a cross section of companies and managements,   regardless of which firm does the most banking business or generates the most trading commissions.

Institutional investors, who put six- and seven-figure bets down on a stock, talk about how they invest in management teams, as much as in the companies. Therefore, investors like to look a CEO and CFO in the eye before they put their clients’ money into a stock. As a result, access to senior management is a highly valued part of the investment process.

 “This is a conference developed by investors, not a brokerage firm. Invitations will not be limited to companies with investment banking relationships or potential but instead to the broader Minnesota Investment Community,” the society proclaimed in promoting the conference.

A decade ago, the Twin Cities enjoyed a reputation as a major U.S. money center — not as big as New York, Boston, Chicago, or San Francisco perhaps — but certainly in the top 10. Since 2000, consolidation within the industry has diminished the region’s heft and ranking, though not its reputation as a home for savvy investment management.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Twin Cities employment in the securities and investment sector has dropped by 25 percent over the past decade, from 20,000 to 15,000. The financial market meltdown and Great Recession further eroded employment ranks. In the past year alone, employment in the sector has dropped by more than 5 percent.

"As in all good families, there will be looniness and stupidity and flatulence on both sides of the border."

The speaker, Mexico's Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhan, shared that colorful observation with an appreciative luncheon audience of the Economic Club of Minnesota last week as he warned about political rhetoric during both nations' 2012 presidential elections.

Sarukhan said both countries "will have to Teflon-coat our bilateral relationship so some of the stupidity that gets said on the campaign trail on either side of the border does not stick."

Both countries also will need to "lock in the fundamental sea change that has occurred" in the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Since the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) was passed nearly two decades ago, trade among the U.S., Mexico and Canada has been "a fundamental driver" re-making the relationship a more equal and strategic one for all the partners, he said.

(You can listen to Ambassador Sarukhan's full comments here.)

Despite popular notions, Mexico has become a middle-income nation with population growth equal to or lower than the U.S. He also reminded the audience that 1.5 million Americans live in Mexico, further tying the two countries' mutual interests.

This past quarter, Mexico surpassed China as the United States' No. 2 trading partner, behind Canada.

Trade with Mexico directly supports 10 million American jobs, Sarukhan said, and Mexico is the No. 1 or 2 trading partner with 28 states. (Mexico is the fourth-largest export market for Minnesota, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.)

Those facts "don't fit on a bumper sticker. It's much easier to say ‘No to free trade,' or ‘No to NAFTA'," he added.

But the complex relationship between neighbors includes some problems that will have to wait until after the elections in each country, the ambassador said. The illegal flows of guns and cash into Mexico and movement of drugs and people into the U.S. present the thorniest set of issues the two countries face, and will require joint action to solve. 

Sarukhan said the flow of illegal immigrants to the U.S. has fallen dramatically in recent years, in part because of the collapse of the U.S. construction industry, as well as the strength of the Mexican economy, which grew 5.5 percent in 2010.

He also cited increased border security and the involvement of organized crime in human-smuggling rings. Both have increased the cost and risk for migrant workers who previously easily made annual, albeit illegal, round trips to the U.S. and back to Mexico.

The immigration issues will not be solved, Sarukhan said, unless two issues are addressed simultaneously: the flow of about 300,000 to 350,000 undocumented workers each year, and the existing 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

Sarukhan proposed a documented guest worker program to address U.S. demand for seasonal workers and what he termed a "path to documentation" for those currently living in the U.S. illegally. That would include payment of a fine and "going to the back of the line" for U.S. citizenship.

Since 9/11, the perception of a safety threat from across the U.S.-Mexican border could derail the bilateral relationship, he said, so "it behooves Mexico to enhance security across the border."

Sarukhan pointed to his country's involvement in uncovering an alleged assassination plan against the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and the recent foiling of plot to smuggle Muammar Qaddafi 's son into the country as evidence that Mexico is serious about border security.

Sarukhan also described Mexico's emergence as a middle class society.

He cited conservative government economic policies that prevented the financial sector from getting into the risky investments that have hobbled most other economies.

The ambassador also credits an aggressive decades-long effort to lift 40 million Mexicans out of extreme poverty by linking government financial benefits to women and children's participation in health care programs and children's enrollment in school.

The recovery is slowly picking up momentum across the upper Midwest as moderate economic and employment growth outpaces 2011 and stays ahead of the national economy. 

That optimistic outlook comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis's annual forecast, which was released Tuesday.

The forecast is based on the Fed's regional economic model as well as surveys of business leaders and manufacturing executives conducted in November across the six-state Ninth District, which stretches from Montana and the Dakotas, to Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northwestern Wisconsin.

State-by-state forecasts show employment and personal income growth picking up across the region, and unemployment continuing to decline as it stays below the national rate everywhere except in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to associate regional economist Rob Grunewald.

North Dakota is projected to see unemployment dip slightly to 3.4 percent, the lowest in the region and likely nationally, as it posts the strongest employment growth in 2012, 4.8 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Michigan's U.P. is projected to see unemployment of 9.4 percent, above a projected 8 percent nationally. Northwest Wisconsin is forecast to have the lowest rate of employment growth in the region, at 1.9 percent. Minnesota's employment is expected to grow 2.8 percent and record a 6.5 percent unemployment rate.

As upbeat as the employment outlook is for the Ninth District, there is a possibility it could actually beat the current Fed forecast, which is based on actual quarterly data through September.

The projections have not included the large drops in the unemployment rate seen both nationally and in the region in October and November. So, for example, the Fed's 2012 forecast for Minnesota's unemployment rate is 0.6 of a percentage point above last month's 5.9 percent reported rate.

Rob Grunewald, associate regional economist, acknowledged the likelihood of a positive revision once fourth-quarter data is incorporated into the Fed model. "Nothing says [unemployment rates] are going up, so they'll be where they are now or a little bit lower. It looks like employment will increase a little bit faster" than the forecast, he added.

North Dakota's economy continues to shine, driven by the oil boom in the western part of the state. Only Texas and Oklahoma have more active oil rigs, according to the Fed, and North Dakota has maintained the lowest unemployment rate through the recession and recovery.

The oil boom comes with some challenges as well. In stark contrast to the rest of the region, 94 percent of business executives surveyed in North Dakota report that securing workers is a challenge.

Manufacturers across the district enjoyed increased orders, production, exports and profits in 2011 and expect the trend to continue in 2012 at slightly higher levels, according to a survey of 474 manufacturing executives across the region.

Fed regional economist Toby Madden said manufacturers also anticipate increasing investments in plant and equipment and hiring more workers.

Even with the upbeat outlook, two yellow flags were thrown up for the manufacturing sector. European economic turmoil continues to add uncertainty to the outlook for exports, Madden cautioned. In addition, 19 percent of manufacturing executives reported that credit conditions tightened in the third quarter, compared with only 8 percent who reported an improving credit climate.

A separate survey of 409 business executives across all sectors was also upbeat. Sixty-two percent reported optimism about their own local economies, with manufacturing and retail executives the most positive.

Nearly one-third of respondents in those two sectors expect to increase the number of full-time employees, more than twice the number who expect employment declines. Hiring expectations in all other industry sectors, except agriculture, showed a similar pattern of growth expectations exceeding declines, although not with as wide a spread between the two.

While the agriculture sector is facing increasing drought conditions, particularly in Minnesota in 2012, Madden said, "As long as the drought doesn't intensify, 2012 should be a pretty good year," based on U.S. Department of Agriculture crop price forecasts.

The struggling construction sector provided the one sour note in the Fed forecast. Despite a slight pickup in homebuilding in 2011, Madden expects housing starts to decrease across the district next year.

The University of Minnesota's Northrop Memorial Auditorium has been described as "the Carnegie Hall of the Midwest," "a major icon," an "architectural treasure" and "the second-most-recognized building in Minnesota."

It also has been termed "ponderous" and "embalmed," branded with a reputation for poor acoustics and known as a place most Minnesotans step into maybe once or twice in their lives, for a graduation or concert, never to return.

But an ambitious $100 million renovation launched in 2006 — and about to hit high gear — has promised to transform Northrop into a modern, technology-rich performance space and academic center that would turn the landmark into a hub of daily campus life. 

University officials gave the news media a look inside the massive shell, now totally gutted, to build awareness of the renovation as the final phase of construction is set to begin.

The seven-year renovation retains the familiar classical exterior of the massive 1929 building that anchors the north side of the U's main campus mall.

The project is totally rebuilding the interior with improved acoustics and unobstructed sight lines in the performance space. The number of auditorium seats will drop from 4,800 to 2,600, bringing the audience much closer to the stage.

"We are not going to be a competing venue with the Ordway and places like that," explained Michael Denny, director of development services for the university. Instead, Northrop will continue to focus on performances and lectures that would not otherwise find a venue here.  "We're after the lecture [with] international esteem where we can be simulcasting with somebody in Russia," Denny explained.

Communications technology will be a key feature of the revamped building, he said.

"We've actually set up infrastructure in the building — because you can only do this once — to adapt to future technology.  We've got it hooked up for satellite links. You can just come in and hook up to the building and start broadcasting from a trailer if you want."

He contrasts the U's renovation program with a similar restoration effort at the University of Michigan that ran into funding problems. They had a 5-pound budget with 10 pounds of expectations. We were very careful about keeping both those in line," Denny added.

The space gained by shrinking the auditorium will increase the amount of public study and meeting space on the East Bank by 50 percent. The new Northrop will house the University Honors Program, the Institute for Advanced Study and the Institute for Innovation by Design as well as a small theater, seminar and meeting rooms, a café and study space.

Denny said the project won broad support within the university community because of Northrop's expanded role beyond just a performance space.

One well-known Northrop feature, the massive 40-foot-high pipe organ, is not part of the current renovation. The organ's 6,975 pipes have been dismantled and are in safe storage as the U attempts to raise the $3 million needed to restore the organ and re-install it in a space that will be built for its eventual reinstallation.

The first phase, beginning 2006 and costing $15 million, stabilized and restored the building's exterior, replaced windows and repaired the roof. The second phase, demolition work, began in February, when the regents approved more than $80 million for the renovation plan.

Funding for the program comes from a combination of state Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) funds, private donations and university funds. Private donations totaling about $10 million have been raised so far, according to Denny.

The facility is scheduled to open in fall 2013, with the performance space ready in spring 2014.

By one measure, Minnesota’s jobs market is fully recovered from the depths of the recession and is at an all-time high. But by another measure, the state showed its biggest one-month drop in jobs since June 2009.

Those conflicting statements are factually accurate — as far as the reported statistics go — highlighting a dilemma facing state labor-force number-crunchers and a growing disagreement with changes made by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last January in how state employment numbers are gathered.

First, to the numbers.

The Minnesota unemployment rate, based on survey data from 1,700 households, fell by half a point in November to a seasonally adjusted 5.9 percent, the lowest since October 2008. That’s well below the U.S. rate of 8.6 percent, according to figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

The separate survey of 3,500 employers showed job losses of 13,700 across virtually every sector except education and health services, which gained 1,300 jobs, and mining and logging, which remained flat. October figures were revised to reflect an additional 1,200 jobs lost during that month.

The drop in the unemployment rate may signal good news for the economy, but because the three-month average unemployment rate fell below 6.5 percent, about 14,000 long-term unemployed Minnesotans will not be eligible for extended unemployment benefits currently being debated in Congress. Even if Congress passes the extension, those Minnesotans currently receiving extended benefits will see them ending in January.

The two separate surveys show the state has lost 22,900 jobs over the past three months, even while the unemployment rate was falling from 7.2 percent to 5.9 percent during that period.

“There’s been a serious degradation in the quality of estimates [coming from the BLS], said Steve Hine, DEED’s director of Labor Market Information. “Looking at Minnesota data, I very clearly see it. But Minnesota is only one state.”

The beef that Hine and fellow state labor officers have is that the BLS started conducting employer surveys on its own last January. Saying it could save $5 million by not contracting with each state labor office to gather the survey data, the BLS in Washington felt it could do the same job at lower cost. For Minnesota, that meant a savings of about $100,000 and the elimination of 1.5 positions, which Hine said his department absorbed through early retirements.

As a result of the change, Hine said the BLS often misses what’s happening in the states and has to come back later to revise numbers, usually upward.

He cites an example where construction employment was up, according to an employer survey, but the BLS felt it was too optimistic so it “smoothed” the data, applying a trailing 12-month average employment. Such an approach, coming out of a recession, risks understating what is actually happening on the ground, Hine said.

In another instance, the University of Minnesota did not respond to the employer survey in time to be included so its impact on education employment was understated for that month. Once the survey data came in, the previous month’s figures were revised. When the state was conducting the survey, they would have recognized the significance of the gap in U of M data and followed up before releasing numbers, he said.

Hine, who sits with other state labor officials  on a policy-making body for the national employment statistics system, said the group plans to study the quality of the year’s data by looking at the magnitude of monthly revisions.

They plan to complete the study next spring.

Even if the household survey data do more accurately reflect what’s going on in the economy, it still shows the state faces some significant challenges for what the BLS calls “workforce underutilization.”

The “official” unemployment rate (known as U3 in BLS-speak) is the number most often cited in news reports and comes from the household survey conducted by the Census bureau on behalf of BLS. That survey counts as “unemployed” individuals 16 and older who have actively sought work in the previous four weeks but are not working. There are other measures of what the BLS calls “labor underutilization” as well.

The largest category is the "underemployed," meaning workers who currently work fewer hours than they would like. This number swelled during the recent recession and remains high, accounting for 5.5 percent of the total U.S. workforce and 5.2 percent in Minnesota for the 12- month period ending in September – the latest available statistics.

“Discouraged workers” are those who have given up looking for work “because they believe no jobs are available for them,” according to the BLS. In November, 1.1 million people in the U.S. fit that category, a decrease of 186,000 from a year earlier. Discouraged workers accounted for 0.6 percent of the workforce nationally and 0.3 percent in Minnesota.

Another category is the “marginally attached,” those who have not looked for work in the past four weeks for such reasons as school attendance or family responsibilities. This category accounted for 0.9 percent of the U.S. workforce and 0.7 percent in Minnesota.

Adding together the various measures produces a Minnesota labor underutilization of 13.1 percent, about 340,000 people. That ranks 40^th among the states. The U.S. rate of labor underutilization stood at 16.2 percent for the same period, about 25 million people.

Networking is a MinnPost section that features Pollen, a networking newsletter for professionals written by Lars Leafblad of KeyStone Search, an executive search firm in Minneapolis.

Pollen vol 43
December 15, 2011
Curated by Lars Leafblad
Principal, KeyStone Search

http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad
http://www.larsleafblad.com

Pollenites,

What is Pollen?
For those of you experiencing Pollen for the first time, here's a quick overview of who we are:

"Pollen is a community comprised of civic-minded connectors who share ideas, career and civic engagement opportunities and peer-to-peer recognition to create positive impact and personal and professional growth for its members."

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Become a full fledged Pollenite!
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Volume 43 Contents:

1) Events
2) Ideas/Inspiration
3) Pollen Props
4) Jobs/Internships
5) Boards
6) Fun/Etc.

Events:
December 16^th — Social Media Breakfast #42 "Entrepreneurship"
Featuring Kareem Ahmed, Sarah Burt, Davis, Meghan McAndrews, and Kate O'Reilly. Moderated by Don Ball. Learn more and buy your ticket(s).

February 4, 2012 — Save the date for the Second Annual Yinghua Academy Lantern Festival Gala & Silent Auction featuring the music of DJ Jake Rudh and The New Standards. (Via Lars and Maren Leafblad) Tickets now available for purchase online.

Ideas/Inspiration:
David Gee "Great Talent Isn't Hard to Find" in StaffingTalk.com

Help eliminate the achievement gap in Saint Paul by supporting Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation where your gifts will be doubled through December 31 thanks to the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.

Minnesota Business magazine seeks nominations for:

• "Top 50 Marketers of the Year"
• "100 Best Companies to Work for in 2012"

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal seeks nominations for 2012 "40 Under Forty"

A different kind of holiday gift idea -> giving cards from GiveMN.org 

Forbes "Impact 30: 30 Top Social Entrepreneurs"

Futurist and Pollenite Jack Uldrich's Predictions for 2012

"Your Use of Pronouns Reveals Your Personality" from Harvard Business Review (via Ruth Sylte)

 "Creativity is a force multiplier" retiring president of BBDO, Denny Haley, visits with Star Tribune

Greater Twin Cities United Way launched Give5Now to help end poverty for Twin Cities' children

Playworks seeks your nominations for "Most Playful CEO 2012"

"Why I Hire People Who Fail" in Harvard Business Review

Grassroots Solutions seeks nominations for "Organizer of the Year"

 "Lessons learned while pushing for pre-school" by Duane Benson in Star Tribune

"20 Insights from the Retained Executive Search Business" by David Gee w/ Lars Leafblad in StaffingTalk.com

The best of TED 2011

"A Roadmap to a Life That Matters" via Umair Haque in Harvard Business Review blog

Foreign Policy's "The Wisdom of the Smart Crowd"

The Economist obituary of master watchmaker George Daniels

Pollenites Stacy Becker, Beth McMullen, & Eric Schubert part of conversation w/ Lori Sturdevant in Star Tribune for "Older Minnesotans need a new way to afford care"

New York Times three part series on the life and death of former MN Wild player Derek Boogaard

The Economist on reinvention of MBA curriculum

"The 45 most powerful photos of 2011"

The Chronicle of Philanthropy "Helping Nonprofits Benefit From Fresh Ideas"

Brian Lucas shares "Holiday Wish List" for Minnesota public policymakers

McKinsey & Co. "How social technologies are extending the organization"

Nilofer Merchant "What Ideas Are You Fighting For?"

"How Dungeons & Dragons Shaped Me Professionally — part 1" by Driss Zouak

Pollenite Sen. Geoff Michel shares what he believes will grow Minnesota's economy in the Star Tribune

"Can the People's House become a social platform for the people?" (via Andrew Foxwell)

Donate your time by volunteering with one of many options profiled by HandsOn Twin Cities

The most read piece on Harvard Business Review blog in the last 30 days "I Don't Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore" by Dan Pallotta

Looking for an informative and fun activity over the holidays? Check out Minnesota History Center in St. Paul and experience The 1968 Exhibit. (via Dave Kelliher)

Pollen Props:
Mary-Margaret Zindren on her role as new Executive Director of the Hennepin County Bar Association

Devin Driscoll on announcement he will be leading President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign in Rhode Island

Emy Johnson on her appointment to the board of the Shoreview Economic Development Authority

Cyndi Lesher on her new role as Executive VP & CAO of SheerWind, Inc.

Chris Ganzlin on her new role as Vice President for Girls and Youth at YWCA of Minneapolis.

Michelle Edgerton, new Director of Development for Twin Cities RISE!

Marcia Ballinger singled out for her approach and philosophy to connecting and helping others

Nils (& Alyssa) Snyder on the birth of their daughter Mette

Terra Cole on announcing her candidacy for State Rep in MN House District 58B

To the five finalists announced for the Minnesota Court of Appeals

Ben Tregoe on his new job as SVP, Business Development with Nanigans

Mike Linnemann on his new role as Associate Art Coordinator for Fantasy Flight Games

To the many Pollenites featured in Twin Cities Business "200 Minnesotans You Should Know"

To the 2011 "Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans" honored by Minnesota Jaycees

Robyn Schein mentioned in Metro magazine piece on family philanthropy

 Nate Garvis on role as "Social Innovator in Residence" at Babson College's The Lewis Institute

CoCo on being recognized in Inc. magazine "6 Reasons to Build Your Start-up in a Coworking Space"

Jason Rohloff on his new role as Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations at the University of Minnesota

Kim McGuire and other new reporters at the Star Tribune (via David Brauer)

Andrew Foxwell on being mentioned in Roll Call for "Political Campaigning Enters Age of Technology"

Jobs/Internships:
American Public Media/MPR has numerous internships and full-time openings in Saint Paul

Bentz Whaley Flessner — Senior Analyst

Graphic Measures International, LTD — Vendor Service Specialist (via Lisa Curtin)

Hazelden seeks Social Media/Community Manager (via Lars Leafblad)

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation — Senior Program Officer

Modern Survey seeks Software Support Specialist and .NET Developer (via Marcia Ballinger)

Minnesota Business magazine — part-time Assistant Editor (via Sheri O'Meara)

Qualified editorial candidates should email resume, letter & three samples to sheri.omeara-at-tigeroak.com

The Minneapolis Club — Development Director (via Margaret Leto)

Minnesota Recovery Connection seeks Director of Development (via Nell Hurley)

Opportunity Partners — Vice President, Human Resources (via Marcia Ballinger)

Padilla Speer Beardsley seeks Director of Research and Insights

University of Minnesota — College of Liberal Arts — Development Officer

Boards:
EDIT (Equity. Diversity. Inclusion. Together.) seeks board members

Interested prospects should contact Molly Seaver, chair, board of directors — molly@edittheworld.org

Emergency Foodshelf Network seeks 2 board members with operations and marketing backgrounds

Minnesota Center for Book Arts seeks board members

Numerous MN non-profit board openings c/o MAP for Nonprofits:

Fun/Etc:
Pollenite Nels Leafblad and friends "The Sota Boys" release new holiday tune "Christmas Forever"

500,000+ views of Carlson School of Management's flash mob rendition of "Deck the Halls"

DJ Steve Porter "Tim Tebow — All He Does Is Win" mash-up

Will Ferrell's free ads for Old Milwaukee in Davenport, IA

Reminder to connect with Pollen on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Facebook: Join 1,200 + fellow Pollenites who are engaging with one another on Facebook.

LinkedIn: Connect with nearly 3,400+ Pollen members and have access to sharing jobs, events, and articles directly with fellow members.

Twitter: Follow Pollen on Twitter by using the hashtag #BePollen

Happy Holidays
Pollen will be taking a break for the holidays and will return to our regular publishing schedule beginning January 15, 2012. Have a great end to 2011 and wonderful holiday season! Thanks again for being part of Pollenation!!

Lars
Curator, Pollen, Principal, KeyStone Search
larsl-at-keystonesearch.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad
http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad
http://www.larsleafblad.com

Industry will have an easier path to tapping the brain power, laboratories and infrastructure at one of the premier research institutions in the country as a result of changes the University of Minnesota is making to simplify ground rules for privately sponsored research.

Last week’s announcement followed approval by the Board of Regents of Minnesota Innovation Partnerships, dubbed MN-IP.

The new effort was previewed at the Carlson School of Management a few days earlier by University President Eric Kaler, who described it as a “unique approach” to handling intellectual property (IP) that results from private, industry-funded research.

Kaler predicted that the changes “will make the University of Minnesota a research destination of choice” for corporations.

As groundbreaking as it is, MN-IP also is a response by the U to new fiscal realities that all public research universities face as state and federal budgets continue to get squeezed.

MN-IP abandons the often-antagonistic and always-drawn-out wrangling over who owns the patents and licenses, or IP, that result from industry-funded research.

While industry may have desired the intellectual firepower within the U, wrangling over patent rights led to negotiations that “usually took months and sometimes years to resolve,” according to Tim Mulcahy, the U’s vice president of research, who championed the new guidelines.

As a result, industry sponsors now will pay an upfront fee of 10 percent of the contract, or a minimum of $15,000, in exchange for exclusive license to the IP. The U would only begin collecting royalties if sales from the IP exceed $20 million.

This arrangement means that private research partners will know what to expect up front and won’t have to spend time negotiating patent rights, Mulcahy said.

The change is a “very reasonable tradeoff,” he added, noting that the royalty stream attributable to privately sponsored research “was real but not very large. We’re not forgoing large sums. In fact, other elements [of industry relationships] are even more valuable.”

The single-largest royalty stream in the University’s history dried up this year when several patents expired. Over the last decade, they delivered more than $420 million, which was divided among the university, the College of Pharmacy and the faculty members who developed the patents at the heart of the licenses.

That bonanza resulted from federally funded research that led to the AIDS drug Ziagen, marketed by the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline plc.

Because that research was federally funded, it would not have fallen under the new guidelines anyway. License revenue for privately funded research totaled about $10.1 million this year, according to Mulcahy’s office.

Mulcahy expects medical/life science research and engineering, as well as agriculture and food science, to be the largest initial beneficiaries of the changed policy. He hopes to see corporate-sponsored research increase over the next two years from its current 6 percent of total research funding.

Shaye Mandle — vice president of Government and Affiliate Relations at Life Science Alley, a med tech industry trade association — described the move as “incredibly innovative and far outside the norm” of what other universities are doing.

Mandle, who was responsible for industry engagement when he worked at the University of Memphis, noted that most university research is federally funded,with the requirement that  the university retain patent rights. As a result, he said,  researchers tend to approach industry-sponsored research with the same mindset.

He also said that the large publicly funded research institutions, such as the U of M, will increasingly look to the private sector as “an untapped pool of capital,” in the face of shrinking public funding.

Most universities haven’t figured out how to talk to industry, but he predicted that if the new model is successful, others will be fast to follow in the U of M’s footsteps.

Mandel credits the U for taking the first steps, noting “a lot of excitement” among the med tech and life science companies in his membership. He also observed that the U of M’s historic role of close collaboration with industry was instrumental in the creation of the medical device industry here.

The amount of research funding awarded to the U (but not necessarily spent in 2011) totaled $769 million, down $57 million from last year because of declines in federal stimulus funding. Only about 22 percent of total research funding came from private sources that in the future potentially would fall under the new MN-IP guidelines. 

In 2011, $46.4 million of research awards came from business and industry sources and $119.1 million from other private sources. The remaining funding sources are primarily federal programs, such as the National Institutes of Health, ($305.3 million), the National Science Foundation ($82.5 million) and the Department of Agriculture ($38.9 million).

Robert Noyce was the co-inventor of the microchip and co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductors and Intel Corp.

For these contributions alone, Monday's 84th anniversary of his birth is worthy of a Google doodle homage. But Noyce was also a father figure, a mentor to many key Silicon Valley startups — including Apple computer co-founder Steve Jobs.

Here's what Steve Jobs told Leslie Berlin, author of "The Man Behind the Microchip" about Noyce:

"Bob Noyce took me under his wing," Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs explains. "I was young, in my twenties. He was in his early fifties. He tried to give me the lay of the land, give me a perspective that I could only partially understand." Jobs continues, "You can't really understand what is going on now unless you understand what came before."

Berlin writes that Jobs was one of many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs mentored by Noyce after he left daily management at Intel in 1975. He served on the boards of half a dozen startup companies, and invested in many more.

In a 1990 WGBH "NOVA" mini-series, "The Machine That Changed the World," the interviewer notes that Robert Noyce took up hang gliding at age 40. He was an inventor and risk taker. To which Jobs replies:

"My observation is that the doers are the major thinkers. The people that really create the things that change this industry are both the thinker and doer in one person. And if we really go back and we examine, you know did Leonardo have a guy off to the side that was thinking five years out in the future what he would paint or the technology he would use to paint it, of course not. Leonardo was the artist but he also mixed all his own paints. He also was a fairly good chemist. He knew about pigments. [And] knew about human anatomy. And [combining] all of those skills together, the art and the science, the thinking and the doing, was what resulted in the exceptional result."

In a recent blog about Steve Jobs, Nancy Linde says that it was Noyce that got Jobs to participate in the "NOVA" mini-series. Jobs initially declined to be interviewed, but Linde says, "Steve Jobs revered Bob Noyce, and a one-paragraph letter from Noyce changed Jobs' "no" into a "yes,"

Noyce and Jobs also shared some management similarities. Noyce, for example, is described by Leslie Berlin this way:

"Noyce was forever pushing people to take their own ideas beyond where they believed they could go. "That's all you've got?" he'd ask. "Have you thought about . . . " An exchange of this sort left Noyce's colleagues and employees feeling as though his blue eyes had bored right through their skulls to discover some potential buried inside themselves or their ideas that they had not known existed. It was exhilarating and a bit frightening. "If you weren't intimidated by Bob Noyce, you'd never be intimidated by anybody," recalls Jim Lafferty, Noyce's friend and fellow pilot."

Similarly, Walter Isaacson's new biography of Jobs, makes much of Jobs' "reality distortion" management style. Jobs would regularly and, often disparagingly, challenge Apple employees and push them beyond what they thought was possible.

Intel Corp. was founded by Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andrew Grove. Steve Jobs idolized Andrew Grove, too, according to Isaacson's biography about Jobs. When he was considering whether to return to be CEO of Apple or not, Jobs called Grove for advice —which was seven years after Noyce had died in 1990.

Thenextweb.com put it this way:

 "According to the account that Jobs gave Isaacson, the call to Grove was 8am on a Saturday morning, but the content of the call was very much the same. Grove stopped Jobs’ long-winded list of pros and cons of returning to Apple and told him “Steve, I don’t give a [bleep] about Apple.”

Jobs said he was stunned and realized that he “did give a [bleep] about Apple. I started it and it is a good thing to have in the world.”

And that is how Jobs finally made the decision in 1997 to come back as CEO on a ‘temporary’ basis that would last until a month before his death in October, 2011. In 2005, Apple made the transition to Intel processors, which it still uses today."

David Clark Scott writes for the Christian Science Monitor.