Month: April 2023

Originally published by Southern Company

Several Southern Company system attorneys have been selected to participate in two prestigious programs with the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD).

Nitin Datt, chief counsel at Southern Company Gas, and Julia Yun, senior counsel at Southern Company Services, will participate in the LCLD Fellows program. Jamillah Pritchett, contract agent III at Southern Company Services, and Danielle Hines, senior specialist in real estate at Alabama Power Company, will participate in the LCLD Pathfinders program.

The year-long Fellows program is designed to build relationships and leadership skills in experienced high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds, while the Pathfinders program focuses on building these skills in early-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds.

“Nitin, Julia, Jamillah and Danielle have demonstrated strong leadership skills and have shown a commitment to Southern Company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Through these programs, they will have the opportunity to further refine these skills, build relationships and expand their network,” said Jim Kerr, Southern Company executive vice president and chief legal officer.

LCLD is a non-profit organization whose goal is building a more equitable and diverse legal profession and is comprised of more than 400 members, including corporations and law firms. The members participate in programs that prepare diverse talent for leadership positions. Southern Company has been an active participant and sponsor of LCLD for the past seven years.

“LCLD is an excellent organization and their programs have helped build strong leaders at Southern and within the community. I am excited to have more of our talented people participate in their programs,” Kerr said.

Once the attorneys complete the program, they will continue their professional development by attending pro bono, networking and continuing legal education events organized by the program’s active alumni.

April 18, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Ceres announced today a new commitment to expand its work to support major companies in the transition to electric vehicles (EV), as part of its participation in the White House’s EV Acceleration Challenge. The challenge is designed to accelerate the U.S. transition to EVs and meet the Biden administration’s goal of having 50% of all new passenger vehicle sales be electric by 2030.

In response to the administration’s call urging public and private sector leaders to dedicate resources to accelerate the nation’s transition to EVs, Ceres committed to support the 32+ major global and U.S. member companies of its Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance in transitioning to EVs.

Specifically, Ceres plans to develop a resource and advocacy guide for companies to promote sustainable EV supply chain practices and provide a platform for peer-to-peer dialogue on commercial fleet electrification best practices by the end of 2023. Alliance members, which include Amazon, DHL, Hertz, and Otis, among others, collectively own, lease, or operate over 2.5 million on-road vehicles in the U.S. alone.

“Ceres is honored to be included in the White House’s new round of major EV commitments. The tide is certainly turning on internal combustion engines and Ceres and the Corporate EV Alliance are proud to be part of the shift to zero emission vehicles and a cleaner transportation system,” said Sara Forni, director of clean vehicles at Ceres, and leader of the Ceres Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance.

Ceres is working to decarbonize the transportation sector through the work it is leading with the Alliance and through its Ceres Ambition 2030 initiative, an effort to decarbonize the six highest emitting sectors in the U.S. economy.

Ceres is among the dozens of participants that announced new public and private sector commitments in April as part of the White House’s EV Acceleration Challenge. Ceres also applauds the ambitious new EV commitments made by five Alliance members for the challenge:

Amazon: Announced it has rolled out over 3,000 electric delivery vehicles as part of its commitment to bring 100,000 electric delivery vehicles to the road by 2030.Exelon: Expand its customer-facing tools and resources in the second half of 2023 by offering a comprehensive fleet electrification assessment service through its EVsmart Program designed to help customers and businesses navigate vehicle electrification, create fleet electrification plans, and estimate total costs of ownership savings.Hertz: Substantially increase its electric vehicle rentals this year—forecasting nearly two million EV rentals in 2023, approximately five times the number of EV rentals in 2022—and extend the electric vehicle experience to leisure and business travelers and rideshare drivers across the country.Siemens: Install charging stations across the U.S. at its facilities and employees’ homes to support the electric conversion of its 10,000-vehicle fleet by 2030 and to set a requirement that 10% of parking spaces include EV charging stations at all new company facility construction projects.Uber: Reach 400 million EV miles driven on its platform in the U.S. by the end of 2023 by distributing resources through its Green Future program to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to EVs and through its partnerships with automakers, rental companies, and charging companies.

Ceres looks forward to continuing to support major corporate fleets as they transition to clean zero emission vehicles and develop a robust domestic EV supply chain that is responsibly and sustainably sourced.

About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies, and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.

Media Contact: Reginald Zimmerman

One in nine central Pennsylvanians face hunger every day.

“We are at very high levels of need for food assistance, and there are a lot of factors weighing on families right now,” says Joe Arthur, executive director at Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

The Food Bank works to provide healthy food through an extensive network of partners across 27 counties and enlists the help of more than 16,000 volunteers to serve more than 150,000 people each month who might otherwise go hungry.

“We don’t just provide the typical dry goods that you’d expect in a pantry, but also fresh and frozen foods, as well as produce and dairy,” says Arthur.

The Food Bank and its partners have established a sophisticated operation. After collecting food donations from farms, orchards and even grocery store suppliers, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank sorts and packages food at its two Healthy Food Hub locations in Williamsport, PA and Harrisburg, PA. The packages are distributed to more than 1,200 partner agencies who ultimately get them into the hands of those in-need.

In the past 10 years, effectively since Arthur assumed his role as executive director, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has grown to distribute approximately five times the amount of food to communities and neighbors in need.

“We saw an extraordinary increase in demand in about 2009 following the Great Recession, so we really needed to expand,” says Arthur. “We turned our attention to growing our operations and focusing on healthy eating by building our fresh produce and dairy product operations.”

He adds: “The last decade has been really transformational for the Food Bank and the people and families we serve.”

Enbridge provided financial support to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in 2021 and 2022 through our Fueling Futures grants, which support initiatives that contribute to a sustainable future by helping to improve, grow and nurture the environment. Each donation of $5,000 has been directed toward the Food Bank’s general operations.

In addition to funding, Enbridge employees participated in a volunteer day during Hunger Action Month last September to pack 360 food boxes for seniors in need.

“Volunteering our time and skills is one of the most powerful ways to make a difference in our local community, and it can be just as rewarding for you as it is for those you are helping,” says Kim Trois, a regional field analyst at Enbridge. “As it turns out, we had a ton of fun too.”

Daily volunteer sessions highlight the current need for food security across the state, and donors can give in many ways—such as time, food or funds—to support the efforts.

Beyond working with countless passionate volunteers every day to serve the Food Bank’s mission, Arthur notes the real impact his work has every day across central PA.

“I love going home at night knowing we are helping thousands of people get enough healthy food in their kitchen and pantries to serve good meals.”

Language arts educators don’t necessarily view themselves as teaching STEM skills alongside grammar and vocabulary. Yet when teaching reading and writing, adding technology only increases student learning and engagement.

When Ameel Attallah, a Verizon Innovative Learning Schools coach at Secrist Middle School in Tucson, Arizona, wants to enrich student learning and increase engagement, he knows what to reach for: technology. Access to technology allows students “to be exposed to a plethora of resources and supplements beyond the textbook,” Attallah says.

Verizon Innovative Learning provides that access. Students receive one-on-one devices with data plans, which connect them to the internet both at school and at home. For schools that also have an innovation lab as part of the initiative, students gain experience with next-gen tech, including 3D printers, virtual reality headsets and augmented reality apps.

With devices and data plans in students’ hands, technology can then act as a link between fields of study. “[The Verizon Innovative Learning] Lab includes all the core subjects: English, math, science, history,” explains Theresa Spencer, English interventionist with Irving Independent School District in Texas. “It’s all in there together, helping the kids synergize their learning, put it together and build on the things they’re learning in each class.”

Within the context of learning English, technology aids students on their way to mastery. Julia Hochman Glees, a Verizon Innovative Learning Schools coach and English teacher, says that the technology provided by Verizon has made an impact on students at Berendo Middle School in Los Angeles, California. “[Working with media equipment] has been especially helpful with English language learners being able to use their voices. It empowers them to practice speaking skills, [and] working with that technology helps them stay motivated and use their talents in creative ways.”

Incorporating technology into a language arts curriculum is not only beneficial for students, but it allows teachers to take on the role of facilitator, allowing for more individualized student instruction. “The use of technology in language learning helps teachers individualize learning to achieve differentiation,” Attallah says.

Free lesson plans that weave together STEM standards and language arts, such as the examples below, can be found on Verizon Innovative Learning HQ.

Digital Storytelling: Interactive Biographies

To practice writing a biography in narrative form, students create an interactive alien using web-based software and then create a backstory for their character. The alien’s biography may be completely original, based off of a historical figure or modeled after the student’s own life. The possibilities are endless, but most importantly, students practice writing skills alongside STEM principles.

Become a Technology Superhero

What middle school student doesn’t love superheroes and comic books? In this lesson (the first of five), students interact with VilBot, a sarcastic robot assistant who guides them through the process of imagining a superhero and creating a comic book. This lesson combines writing, art and technology and allows students to work independently, creatively and at their own pace.

Pitching and Presenting with Adobe Spark: Futuristic Logos

Students learn the ins and outs of pitching and presenting an idea while becoming familiar with Adobe Spark. After watching a video on the elements of a successful logo, students design their own futuristic clothing brand using Adobe Spark, which allows them to practice writing, design work and persuasive skills.

Design Thinking: Seasick with Empathy

Design thinking includes empathizing with the end user in order to create a successful product or service. In this lesson, students work with partners to complete an “empathy interview” and then record their partner’s answers and map out their responses. They practice interviewing, take time to learn about one another, reflect on the importance of empathy and practice verbal and written language skills — all through the angle of design thinking.

For more free language arts lessons that include STEM standards, visit Verizon Innovative Learning HQ.