The Embark team is very proud of our friend and collaborator in Panama, new Daddy Jose Garcia.  Congrats to Isa and Jose!

We want to congratulate Andy Shaw on his new appointment as executive director of the Better Government Association.  Andy replaces Jay Stewart, who went to work for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn earlier this year.

The BGA is a nonpartisan government watchdog organization established 86 years ago by citizens concerned about the growing influence of Al Capone’s mob in Chicago.  Its mission is to expose and combat waste, corruption and inefficiency in government through investigations, litigation and public policy studies.

We think Andy is a perfect fit for this association and we wish him the best of luck in his new position!

As part of Dominican University’s Center for Global Peace through Commerce: Social Enterprise Series, Jim Slama, founder and president of FamilyFarmed.org will speak on “Social Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry: Lessons from America and Brazil” with special guests Marcos Croce and Silvia Barretto.  The 50 minute presentation and following Q&A session will discuss how jobs and commerce can transform lives, how the speakers came to the decision to make the world a better place and how students can follow in their footsteps.

Kathleen Houlihan, Director of the Center for Global Peace through Commerce hopes this forum encourages important discussions regarding business and the opportunity to better the world.   She hopes that members of the Oak Park and Dominican University community, students from the Corporate Social responsibility graduate level and notable “green” persons of interest will learn more about global social issues and how businesses can provide solutions.

For more information please contact Kathleen Houlihan directly at (708) 524-5982 or khoulihan@dom.edu.

We have just developed a very unique event featuring Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas Vilsack, and the political newspaper of record in DC and political information powerhouse, Politico!  We will release more details soon – stay tuned!