Entrepreneurs Invited to Conference in Pittsburgh March 12-13 to Learn About Services Available From U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration will host a free two-day conference on March 12-13 at the University of Pittsburgh on ways that entrepreneurs and small businesses can make the most of government programs with the SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Winslow Sargeant, and representatives of local business development organizations.

Winslow Sargeant

Titled Small Business and Government: Maximizing Entrepreneurship, Driving Innovation, the conference will include sessions on a wide variety of topics, including:
· Engaging entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, government officials, angel investors, funding innovators and academics in a public-private forum.
· Generating bold ideas to advance the innovative entrepreneurial community.
· Identifying how to foster sustainable growth in Life Sciences, Health Care, Manufacturing, Energy, Young Entrepreneurship, High Tech Innovation, Information Tech and Urban Entrepreneurship, Advanced Materials, Women and Minority Entrepreneurship.
· Tools that optimize small business innovators / entrepreneurs and government relationships (eg. accelerators, emerging capital strategies etc.)

Where: University of Pittsburgh Joseph Katz Graduate School of Business
Mervis Hall Classrooms: 104 and 115 Mervis Hall
335 Mervis Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

When: Tuesday, March 12 – Wednesday, March 13; 8:30am – 6:15pm

*Please register at http://www.showclix.com/event/SBAOfficeofAdvocacy

Schedule 

Sector/ Panel	Facilitator	Room Assignment	Time
Life Sciences	Lynn M. Brusco lbrusco@plsg.com	MH 104	March 12 9:45 -11:45A
Healthcare	Lynn M. Brusco lbrusco@plsg.com	MH 104	March 12 1:15 – 3:15P
Energy	Dr. Anthony Cujini, Thomas Feeley thomas.feeley@netl.doe.gov	MH 115	March 12 1:15 – 3:15P
Young Entrepreneurship	Jerry Cozewith and Dave Lishego jerryc@youthamerica.org, dlishego@tepper.cmu.edu	MH 104	March 12 3:30 – 5:30P
Advanced Materials	Leone Hermans-Blackburn leonehb@pananocenter.org	MH 115	March 12 3:30 – 5:30P
High Technology and Innovation	Terri Glueck tglueck@innovationworks.org	MH 104	March 13 9:45 – 11:45A
Manufacturing / Advanced Manufacturing	Steve Shivak steve@smc.org	MH 104	March 13 1:15 – 3:15P
Women and Minority Entrepreneurship	Rufus Idris, Ann Schlicht, Linda Handley ridris@usaceed.org, aschlicht@chatham.edu, handleyl@verizon.net	MH 115	March 13 1:15 – 3:15P
Information Technology and Urban Entrepreneurship	Rhonda Carson Leach, Robert Stein, Linda Handley rastein@katz.pitt.edu, rcleach@katz.pitt.edu	MH 104	March 13 3:30 – 5:30P
Social Entrepreneurship	Richard Overmoyer overmoyer@fourtheconomy.com	MH 115	March 13 3:30 – 5:30P

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GlobalPittsburgh Co-Sponsoring Career & Immigration Symposium for International Students March 20

GlobalPittsburgh will co-sponsor a career and immigration symposium for international students in the Pittsburgh region on Wednesday, March 20 from noon to 6 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh. Admission is free.

A collaboration between Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Vibrant Pittsburgh, the Symposium is designed to help international students understand the transition from F-1 to OPT to H-1B visa status, how to participate in interviews in the U.S., how to prepare a resume for an American audience and culminating with a Networking session.

Agenda:
Noon - Registration Begins
12:30 PM - Keynote Speaker Moussa Coulibaly, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Treasurer, Dick's Sporting Goods
1:00 PM - Immigration Workshop guiding students from F-1 through OPT to H-1B
2:30 PM - Regional Employment Trends
3:00 PM - Resumes and Interviewing Preparation
4:00 PM - Networking Reception (Refreshments will be provided)

The Symposium will take place in the O'Hara Student Center Ballroom, second floor, on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The address is 4024 O’Hara Street (corner of University Place), Pittsburgh, PA 15213

There is no cost to attend, but registration is requested. To register, go to http://intlcareerseminar.eventbrite.com.

Other co-sponsors include the Allegheny Conference for Community Development, Imagine Pittsburgh, the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

For more information, contact your campus Career Center or International Student Office.

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GlobalPittsburgh Arranging Area Meetings for Group of International Women Being Honored For Activism by U.S. State Department

GlobalPittsburgh has been invited to arrange two days of programming in March for a group of five highly distinguished women who will be honored for their activism by Secretary of State John Kerry as International Women of Courage at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Two of last year's Women
of Courage honorees
during their 2012 visit
to Pittsburgh.

GlobalPittsburgh has arranged meetings for the group at the Women & Girl's Foundation, Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh Law School and Gwen's Girls. Chatham University and GlobalPittsburgh are partnering together on an invitation-only event for the group.

The International Women of Courage awards event, held on International Women’s Day on March 8, annually recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk. Since the inception of this award in 2007, the Department of State has honored 69 women from 45 different countries.

In addition, Secretary Kerry will posthumously recognize the courage of Nirbhaya (Braveheart), the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern whose brutal gang rape in Delhi has inspired a popular movement to end violence against women in India.

The names of the six women to be honored have not yet been released. However, the general themes of the honorees’ work include: women, peace and security, support for victims of gender-based violence; engaging women in the political process and in politics; journalism; prevention of gang/drug violence; empowering young women; capacity building for women; and human and women’s rights organizations.

Following the award ceremony in Washington, the honorees will travel separately to cities across the United States to engage with the American people through the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program. They will visit Indianapolis, Portland, OR, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, and Jackson Hole, WY. The women will reconvene in San Diego to reflect on their visit and discuss ways to work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.


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Join Us For GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays International Networking Happy Hour March 7 at AVA Lounge

Join us for the next GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays international happy hour on Thursday, March 7 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. (or later) at AVA Lounge in East Liberty.

This month we will be partnering with our friends at the Pittsburgh Turkish American Association, and food will be catered by Daphne Cafe in Shadyside. Come learn more about the region's Turkish community and eat some delicious Mediterranean food. 

GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays is a regular monthly night of networking and socializing with different themes and different activities - but always with an international flavor - on the first Thursday of every month. It's an evening of friends, interesting conversation and good spirits with an international flair.

AVA Lounge is located at 126 S. Highland Avenue in East Liberty.
Admission is FREE for paid GlobalPittsburgh members. Admission is $5 at the door for everyone else. Membership information will be available at the event, but you may also join GlobalPittsburgh now at www.globalpittsburgh.org/membership and get in free on the night of the event.

Many thanks to support from Vibrant Pittsburgh, whose mini-grant program helps make these events possible.

If you have questions, please contact Nadya Kessler in the GlobalPittsburgh office at 412-392-4513 or by email at nkessler@globalpittsburgh.org. Photos from past First Thursdays and a few other GlobalPittsburgh events, activities, and programs can be viewed at www.flickr.com/photos/globalpittsburgh. See you there!

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Pittsburgh Asked by U.S. Olympic Committee About Interest in Hosting 2024 Summer Olympics

Could Pittsburgh host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games? The U.S. Olympic Committee wants to know.

The Associated Press news service is reporting that the USOC sent letters to the mayors of Pittsburgh and 34 other U.S. cities this week to gauge interest in a potential bid to bring the Summer Olympics back to the country for the first time since 1996.

"Our objective in this process is to identify a partner city that can work with us to present a compelling bid to the IOC and that has the right alignment of political, business and community leadership," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in the letter.

Following failed bids by New York and Chicago for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, the USOC is taking a measured approach before moving ahead with a new campaign and wants to be sure it has a good chance of winning.

"This letter does not guarantee that the USOC will bid for the 2024 Games, but rather is an initial step in evaluating a potential bid," the committee said.

The letters were sent to mayors of the country's 25 largest cities — including New York, Chicago and former Olympic host cities Los Angeles, Atlanta and St. Louis — and 10 others.

The USOC has also said it would consider whether to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, although the bigger and more prestigious Summer Games would seem to be the preference.

The U.S. hasn't hosted the Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996; Salt Lake City was the last American city to stage the Winter Games in 2002.

Los Angeles, Dallas and Tulsa, Okla., are among the cities that have expressed interest in hosting the 2024 Games. New York, Chicago and San Francisco have either bid or expressed interest in bidding in the past and could also get in the mix.

New York finished fourth in the international bidding for the 2012 Olympics, which went to London. Chicago suffered a stinging first-round exit in the vote for the 2016 Games, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

Chicago's defeat was blamed partly on the revenue-sharing feud between the USOC and IOC. The two sides have since resolved the dispute and signed a new agreement that clears the way for a U.S. bid. USOC leaders have also worked hard to improve the committee's standing in the international Olympic community.

"Now more than ever, we need to use the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage our youth to be active and engaged in sport," Blackmun wrote.

Other cities around the world that have expressed interest in bidding for the 2024 Games include Paris; Rome; Doha, Dubai; and Durban, South Africa. The IOC vote on the 2024 Games will be held in 2017.
The USOC is skipping the bidding for the 2020 Olympics. The three candidates for those games are Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo, with the IOC to vote Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The USOC said Tuesday it has 2½ years to decide whether to submit a 2024 bid and would do so in an "economically efficient way."

While New York and Chicago were selected by the USOC after a domestic bid process that cost up to $10 million, the USOC said it would embark on any new bid through "a thoughtful but more efficient process."

The USOC letter sought to remind the mayors of the huge undertaking involved in hosting the Olympics. Blackmun noted that the operating costs would be in excess of $3 billion, a figure that does not include venue construction and infrastructure costs.

The city would also require 45,000 hotel rooms, an Olympic village for 16,500 athletes and officials, an international airport and a workforce of up to 200,000, the letter said.

"The games have had a transformative impact on a number of host cities, including Barcelona, Beijing and London," Blackmun said. READ FULL ARTICLE

Nigerian Governor Visits Pittsburgh to Discuss Potential Partnerships & Opportunities; Connect with Local Programs

Government officials, business and community leaders from Allegheny County and Osun State, Nigeria gathered recently to strategize about ways the two areas can work together and learn from each other.

Gov. Aregbesola

Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and high-ranking members of his delegation met in late February with Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Marie C. Johns, SBA Deputy Administrator who also will be visiting the region, as well local business representatives, faith-based groups and community organizations.

The governor visited Manchester Bidwell Training Center and the Braddock Pot Shop, a ceramic water filter factory, and met with representatives of area universities. The visit ended with a Black History Month Celebration and dinner at the Kingsley Association in East Liberty.

A highlight of the visit was a Roundtable Business Forum on Feb. 21 also at the Kingsley Center. Co-hosted by Christian Evangelistic Economic Development (CEED) and the Allegheny County Department of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, the Forum will provide the opportunity to discuss current business opportunities in Nigeria and possible international trade partnerships, and investment opportunities for small businesses.

"The Roundtable is the second in our series of meetings to connect Southwestern Pennsylvania small businesses and institutions to the dynamic global market," said Rufus Idris, Executive Director of CEED.

The governor's visit was preceded by visits from high-ranking members of his administration to explore ways to learn from Pittsburgh’s transformation from a heavily polluted smoky city to a city now globally recognized as a green leader that has successfully managed to improve its economy and environmental stewardship.

Gov. Aregbesola plans to continue establishing partnerships in the areas of transformational leadership practices, business-to-business partnerships and win-win investments opportunities, educational exchange programs, import and export relationships, green technology and environment, health care, agriculture and cultural exchange and tours.

A rising star in Nigerian politics, Gov. Aregbesola is an engineer and political activist who between 1999 and 2007 led the bold beginnings of the infrastructural transformation of Lagos, one of the world’s largest megacities. Widely acknowledged as an exceptional grassroots campaigner and mobilizer, he has served as Governor of Osun State since 2010.

As Governor, he has focused on strengthening the state in the areas of agriculture, economic development, youth employment, education and security. His vision for the state is encapsulated in a Six Point Integral Action Plan to banish poverty, hunger and unemployment; to restore healthy living; to promote functional education and to enhance communal peace and progress. His plan seeks to ensure that the fruits of economic development positively impact as many lives as possible. The various meetings and events throughout the two days are hosted by CEED, Allegheny County MWDBE Department, the Kingsley Association, Union of African Communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Osun State Government.

CEED is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free micro-enterprise and small business start-up support to area businesses, both in the City of Pittsburgh and the ten surrounding counties. The organization 
works to create opportunities for community growth and economic sustainability throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania using a small business assistance program called SKILLS TO WEALTH.

- Diane I. Daniels READ FULL ARTICLE

GlobalPittsburgh Arranges Meetings for French Mayor Studying Emergency Response, Governance, Elections

GlobalPittsburgh recently arranged two days of programming in the Pittsburgh area for Mr. David Le Solliec, mayor of Gourin, a town in northwestern France. Mr. Le Solliec was invited to the U.S. under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program to observe emergency response coordination, city governance and security, law enforcement oversight, first responders operations, and local elections.

At the Westmoreland
County Department of
Public Safety

Gourin faces problems like rural migration to urban areas, the closing of small businesses and unfavorable implementation of farming quota policies. Mr. Le Solliec addresses these issues as mayor of Gourin and as an elected member of the Regional Council of Brittany, where he serves on a commission on environment, economic development and offshore wind energy.

Mr. Le Solliec is also a reserve lieutenant-colonel in the Gendarmerie (government police force) and is responsible for the defense and communication of the Gendarmerie at the district level. He is also a pilot and volunteer firefighter.

During his stay in the Pittsburgh area from Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2013, Mr. Le Solliec met with:

Mark Wolosik
Division Manager
Elections Division
Allegheny County

Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant
Operations Branch
City of Pittsburgh Police Headquarters

Paul McKrell
Government Affairs Manager
Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Michael Brooker
Director
Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety

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