Congratulations to Samir Dahman who was asked to partner with Google for a commercial about the Google Apps business suite. Watch the video here:

For more information go to http://sipofua-auto.eventbrite.com/

This year’s Leadership Panel will be held at First Community Village from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1. Every year Leadership UA pulls together an exciting panel of business and community leaders to give our audience their perspective and experiences with leading. Please join us for this interesting and interactive event.

The panel will include:

David Staley – Director of the Goldberg Center and adjunct associate professor, Department of History, The Ohio sate University

David Staley, Ph.D. serves as National Dean for General Education at Harrison College. He is also Director of the Harvey Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of History at The Ohio State University. In this role, Staley catalyzes the thoughtful use of digital technologies and new media for purposes of teaching and scholarship. From 2003-2008, he was Executive Director of the American Association for History and Computing (AAHC), and is the author of Computers, Visualization and History: How New Technology Will Transform Our Understanding of the Past (M.E. Sharpe, 2003). Staley has published widely (in print and electronically) on the intersection of technology and history, and in addition to his written works, has also produced visualizations in both scholarly journals and at professional meetings. He serves as President of Columbus Futurists, the local chapter of the World Future Society, has published History and Future: Using Historical Thinking to Imagine the Future (Lexington Books, 2007), and is the Principal of The DStaley Group, a strategic foresight consulting firm. He is the chief catalyst of Universitas, a salon for creatives and innovators hosted in Columbus. During the 2004-05 academic year, he led DePauw University’s educational technology assessment.

Eric Troy – President & CEO of EJT Consulting

Eric J. Troy, M.A. is a recognized marketing expert and consummate public speaker that promotes creative and results-oriented solutions for communicating effectively with audiences from all cultures and economic levels. Eric is a highly sought-after professional speaker, having presented before numerous associations, conferences, educational, corporate and community audiences throughout the country. He is a sought-after expert by both local and national print, radio and broadcast media. He has been featured on NPR and ESPN Classics.

Eric is an established entrepreneur as the President & CEO of EJT Consulting – a premier consulting firm specializing in leadership development. He has over two decades of experience in the areas of education, advertising, marketing, media relations and sports development in both North America and South Africa. He has worked with Fortune 500 corporations such as, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Nationwide Insurance and South African based Telkom, S.A. He has advised professional athletes in the area of brand and image marketing representing MLB, NFL and NBA.

Eric served as the assistant director, for the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) overseeing the Manufacturing Technologies and promoting 21st Century Skills Learning. Before joining ODE, he directed the Leadership Center for African American Males for the Ohio Board of Regents. In addition, Eric held dual positions at The Ohio State University as program director for the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male and Manager of Public Relations & Special Projects for the Office of Minority Affairs. Eric has been published in The Ohio State University Alumnus Magazine November – December 2006 “The Common Bond” The impact of Hip-Hop Music on Main Stream Society. Eric also developed curriculum and taught Sports Marketing as an adjunct faculty member at Columbus
State Community College.

Eric is a graduate of Morehouse College with a B.A. in marketing and holds an M.A. in Sports Management from the Ohio State University. Listed in Who’s Who in U.S. Executives, he serves on various boards and committees. Eric resides in Gahanna, Ohio with his wife Gayle. Their daughter Raykale, resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mike Brown – Director of Development & Public Affairs, Experience Columbus

As the director of development / public affairs for Experience Columbus, Michael S. Brown is an advocate for building the community’s brand and tourism economy.  Brown is focused on leveraging collaborations with private and public partners that raise Columbus’ national image as a smart/open community to harness the economic power of tourism, sports, conventions, conferences and events.

Mike joined Experience Columbus in 2010 after serving 11 years in the administration of Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman as Communications Director and Policy Advisor.  He currently serves as a board member of the Jazz Arts Group, the Columbus Downtown Commission, Independents’ Day Festival, and on the strategic relations committee for the Columbus Museum of Art.  Brown is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Vicki Bowen – Executive Director, Dress for Success

Vicki is a passionate advocate for the Dress for Success mission. She first became involved with the cause over 12 years ago when she was a National Marketing & Operations Trainer for an acquisitions and development firm managing a 14-state portfolio. During this time she learned about Dress for Success, and began volunteering for missions in several regions of the country. In 2005, Vicki approached Dress for Success Worldwide and initiated discussions about launching an affiliate in Central Ohio; in 2007, Vicki became the Executive Director of Dress for Success Columbus.

Her initial focus was to raise awareness within the community about the vital need for empowering women living in poverty, and she nurtured partnerships with social service agencies with the collaborative goal of self sufficiency. Within 6 months, she added two new Worldwide initiatives; a Career Center promoting workforce readiness and Professional Women’s Group employment retention program.

To date, Dress for Success Columbus has assisted more than 2,100 women in transition. All programs are free of charge for every woman served. With in-kind donations and volunteer time valued at nearly $1,000,000 in 2010, Vicki has been able to effectively manage this high-impact low-budget mission with annual expenses under $180,000. Last year, Dress for Success Columbus was honored to receive the Lublin Award from Dress for Success Worldwide for the mission’s growth, number of women served, programs implemented, and depth of volunteer service. The local mission was also awarded with Professional Women’s Group of the year. Of 114 affiliates in 41 states and 7 countries, Dress for Success Columbus has been consistently recognized for unwavering commitment to social change and empowering underprivileged women to realize their potential and achieve financial independence.

Vicki was appointed to Governor Strickland’s Anti-Poverty Task Force in 2008 and 2009, and is involved with Ohio Business Week Foundation, ‘I Know I Can’, is mentor for Upper Arlington High School and devotes time to service in her church. She volunteered with the Governor’s Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach, and was a host committee member for 2010 Momentum. Vicki has served on the Franklin County Re-Entry Task force, and is involved with several re-entry initiatives. She is a featured community leader in the 2009 edition of ‘The Women’s Book’.

The Leadership UA board is seeking nominations for the Margine Moul and Service to Youth awards. Please return your nomination before the January 27 cut-off. Click the links below to download the nomination forms.

Award Nomination – Margine Moul Award

Award Nomination – Service to Youth Award

Here’s a list of past year’s award recipients:

Margine Moul Award Recipients:

2011, Linda Readey

2010, Jane and Don Leach

2009, UA Fire Chief Mitch Ross & UA Police Chief Brian Quinn

Gloria Heydlauff

Paula Brooks

Dr. William Schaefer

Priscilla Mead

Ed & Marcie Seidel

Earl Sala

Yvonne Simon

Mary Ann Krauss

Richard King

Virginia Barney

Margine Moul

Service to Youth Award Recipient:

2011, Michael Borders

2010, Bill Snellgrove

2009, Dr. Debora Binkley

Hayley Head

Joe Valentino

Once again, we wish you and your’s the very best this holiday season! Thank you for your continuing support of Leadership UA.