Executive Education Today

In the last blog - Change Makers, Camp to Belong was highlighted along with some other organizations.  The Founder and President Emeritus of CTB, Lynn Price, participated in our 50 for Colorado leadership program in 2008.  This weekend, Camp to Belong was featured nationally in Parade's Sunday (July 31, 2010) magazine.  Even though they have received a lot of national exposure, Camp to Belong and many other non-profit organizations still need donations and volunteers.  Please do whatever you can to help out organizations that you feel strongly about.  Thank you. 

Here's an excerpt from Sunday's article written by Christine Wicker:

"...Among the over 600,000 kids in foster care in the U.S., 70% are separated from at least one sibling. Camp To Belong's aim is to create the kind of memories for foster siblings that those in intact families take for granted. Around 3500 children have attended the camps--currently in eight locations from Maine to Washington--and Price believes their week-long experiences start ripples that keep spreading.

Take former campers Jessica C., 19, and her brother, Allen, 23, who are now both counselors. As children, the two were placed in the same home, but one day when Jessica was at school, Allen was moved out. "My brother was ripped from me," she says. "First my parents were gone, and then my brother." Camp To Belong was their lifeline to each other.

The camps are staffed almost entirely by volunteers. Fifteen years ago, counselor Patrick Harden, a youth pastor from Long Beach, Calif., was a social worker when his boss sent him to the camp to help. With a caseload of 85 children, Harden viewed himself as an administrator of the law--h e never really thought about his clients' relationships with their siblings. But at camp, he saw how the kids perceived social workers. In a rush. Rarely listening. Cold.

After he got home, he and his wife adopted a brother-sister pair of foster kids. Since then, Harden has volunteered at over 20 sessions of Camp To Belong..."

For the full article, please click here. 

On July 9, 2010, the 50 for Colorado leadership program met for the Entrepreneurship session held at CU Boulder. One of the great trends in entrepreneurship is being a change maker and therefore making a positive impact in this world. Two of our speakers focused on this subject. 

Heidi Ganahl, (photo above) CEO and Founder aka "Top Dog" of Camp Bow Wow, created The Bow Wow Buddies Foundation in 2003 (three years after starting the CBW franchise). The mission of the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation is to promote the health and welfare of dogs worldwide by focusing on finding foster and lifetime homes for unwanted dogs, promoting humane education and treatment, and investing in research and treatment for dogs devastated by illness and disease.

Lynn Price, Founder and President Emeritus of Camp To Belong, has also gone through many challenges. At the age of 8, Lynn learned that she had a biological sister, Andi, living on the other side of town! From her experiences, Lynn founded Camp To Belong and is an active volunteer for CTB in an effort to give brothers and sisters an opportunity to create childhood memories. Staffed by volunteer counselors across the country, Camp To Belong never charges a foster child to attend camp. 

In addition to our two speakers, we have three participants in 50 who work for non-profits. Karen Snow works for CBR YouthConnect, Jules Kelty works for the Colorado AIDS Project, and Allison Carey works for Project C.U.R.E. 

CBR YouthConnect (CBRYC) is a national residential treatment facility that provides accredited mental health services and education to at-risk boys, ages 10 to 21, from across the United States. CBRYC's mission is to achieve excellence in providing troubled youth with the means to become hopeful and productive citizens. CBRYC has a 97% success rate in helping troubled boys return to their home communities and become productive citizens. Over 550 boys have been to the ranch.

Colorado AIDS Project's (CAP) mission is to prevent HIV infection and improve lives affected by HIV and AIDS. CAP is a 27 year-old community based organization that helps those living with HIV/AIDS, and those at risk, to make healthy choices for a self sufficient, enhanced quality of life. CAP provides innovative, individualized services to those most in need, educates high risk populations, and advocates for social and health care equity. Over the last quarter century, Colorado AIDS Project has served 75 percent of the men, women, and children who have lived with HIV/AIDS in Colorado.

PROJECT C.U.R.E. (Commission on Urgent Relief & Equipment) was founded in 1987 to help meet the need for medical supplies, equipment, and services around the world. PROJECT C.U.R.E. builds sustainable healthcare infrastructure by providing the medical supplies and equipment that medical personnel need to deliver healthcare to their communities. Since its inception, PROJECT C.U.R.E. has delivered medical relief to needy people in more than 120 countries. 

For more details on any of these organizations and how you can help, please click on the organizations' name to be taken to their website.  To learn about the 50 for Colorado  program or to nominate someone for the 2011 class, please click here.  

Boulder is known for its entrepreneurial spirit (see links below) and we noticed this spirit with our 60 CUBIC students this year. CUBIC runs during Maymester for three weeks (8:30-5:00) and is open to non-business majors with at least 60 credits or recent graduates. The participants learn about accounting, marketing, finance, personal finance, business & government along with leadership & management. There are also two career days that covers résumé writing, networking and interviewing skills.

During the three weeks, each participant is placed into a group of 3-4 other students and they work on a business plan project and present it to a panel of judges on the last day. Over the past few years, only about 20% of the students indicated an interest in starting their own company; but this year over 60% were interested!!! To add to the competition, Ronda Phillips of S3 Talent Management awarded the top three teams with gift cards. Members of the first place (Gold) team each received a $150 gift card, 2^nd place (Silver) received a $100 gift card and 3^rd place (Bronze) received a $50 gift card. There were 14 teams total.

The Gold team's business plan was around a restaurant that was also involved with community giving. The team included: Mark Arnoldy, Todd McPherson, Funmi Ogunremi and Julia Schroeder. The Silver team promoted a product to enhance study habits of students. The team was comprised of James Caine, Justin D'Atri, Laura Hoch and John Kelly. The Bronze team focused their efforts on an outdoor recreational service. Team members included Zack Feirer, Sean Hanley, Samantha Kirberg and Spencer Sinclair. All of the teams had great concepts. We can't wait to see what kind of business plans next year's class will develop and present to the panel of judges. CUBIC 2011 will be held from May 9-27.

Boulder, Colo., a Magnet for High-Tech Start-Ups 

Claire Cain Miller, New York Times.  Published May 13, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/business/14boulder.html?src=me&ref=general

Why Boulder is America's Best Town for Start-Ups

Vivek Wadhwa, Business Week.  Published April 22, 2010

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2010/sb20100421_531161.htm

Right now there are a number of CU students who are wondering "What's next?" as they approach graduation. One good step may be to complete the CUBIC program at the Leeds School and turn a passion into a job.

The CU Business Intensive Certificate (CUBIC) program is an opportunity for juniors, seniors, and recent graduates who are or were not business students to pick up basic business skills and techniques. Coupled with a college degree, CUBIC will help students discover viable careers that await them. A business intensive certificate from a top-ranked program like the Leeds School demonstrates to employers and companies that you are serious about making the transition from college to career.

Participants are exposed to business fundamentals such as accounting, finance, economics, marketing, leadership, management, and personal finance. A business certificate complements any degree, allowing our graduates to walk across the stage and into a job. The CUBIC program allows participants to also live what they've learned through an entrepreneurial, integrated team project (you know, just like how it is in the real world, working with others who come from different backgrounds, work experiences, skill sets, and talents).

CUBIC is designed for those who have studied an emphasis they love, say in art history or environmental science, and then translate that knowledge and skill set into a career, like at a museum or at a renewable energy company.  The intensive three-week program goes beyond the academic and theoretical: it's an application of how these business fundamentals apply to the individual student. It's an investment in themselves, drilling down from the "we" mentality in a classroom to making the "me" stand out in the marketplace: How can I best market myself? How do I manage my personal and professional finances? What can a business plan do for me?

I, like my CUBIC faculty colleagues, look forward to the rich and diverse environment provided through this program, both with the students and the instructors. People in the seats come from a variety of disciplines, from linguistics to mathematics to engineering, causing us to stretch our skills as educators as we condense critical business principles into a three-week course that will enhance their skill set.

If you or a student you know is struggling with "What's next?" then help them sharpened their focus on their future with CUBIC. For more information, visit leeds.colorado.edu/cubic.

Cathleen Burns
Accounting Professor and CUBIC Instructor

One of the teams that won the business plan challenge in 2009.

On Friday, April 2nd, the 50 for Colorado leadership participants learned about Sports & Recreation in Colorado.  They started out in the morning at Invesco Field and the participants heard from CU Athletics, Kroenke Sports, Denver Broncos and Além International (Olympic Torch Race) and then they toured Invesco Field.

In the afternoon the group headed over to Coors Field and heard from more speakers, including representatives from Colorado Rockies and USA Rugby.  Afterwards they toured the stadium and had a chance to check out the Rockies' locker room, which isn't open to the public.

Even if the participants weren't major sports fans, it gave them a great overview of the economic impact sports has in Colorado and why so many people in this state love the variety of sports and recreation opportunities here. 

As an employee at CU, we hear from a lot of students that part of the reason they attend school here is the proximity to recreational activities.  With that in mind, the Leeds School of Business created the Business of Sports program for college juniors and seniors-which you may have read about in earlier posts.  Application and registration forms are due on April 9, so if you know of any students who would be interested in this program, let them know soon (it will also be held in the Summer 2011).  We are looking forward to meeting those students who really have a love of the game. 

Undergrads,

We have added more info sessions for CUBIC and the Business of Sports certificate programs. Business of Sports application and registration forms are due by April 9.  CUBIC registration is due by May 3. 

Koelbel Building (S233)-inside the Executive Education & MBA Suite (S230):

April 7, 12, and 14 | 5:00pm

April 8 and 19 | 10:30am

We will also have an info table at the UMC from 11:00am-2:00pm on these dates:

April 5, April 12, April 13, April 20, April 21.

Registration and application forms will be available on February 1, 2010. If you would like to receive more information on BOS, please e-mail me at Robin.Miglarese@colorado.edu.  We are very excited about this program and are looking forward to having a great group of students in it.

Our colleagues in the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship recently posted this blog on social entrepreneurship that I thought you might enjoy. 

http://www.cuboulderblogs.com/deming/

I wish more of the media would cover the amazing things that people are doing to help others on this planet. So I would like to ask our readers...which social entrepreneurship organizations do you like to support? 

Have a Happy and Safe New Year.

Heather