Plenary Speakers Day 1
Parallel Sessions Day 1
Day 1 – 14 Nov 2018
Parallel Sessions 1
Slides – Presentations
Videos – Plenary Sessions
Videos – Interviews
Growth in Transition 4th International Conference
Europe's Transformation: Where People Matter
Building bridges, not walls
by Manfred Ronzheimer
The 4th Growth in Transition Conference linked sustainability discourses at the global, European and national level
How do we build a sustainable future? It was none other than Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, who formulated the current message to world leaders. In his keynote speech at the start of the conference, he highlighted that the need to build bridges of international understanding and cooperation instead of dividing walls of nationalism was as urgent as never before. Everyone in the room understood that the message was also addressed to US President Trump, who continues to stand by his election promise to erect a wall against illegal immigration between Mexico and the US.
Other high-level political speakers at the conference included Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, Austria's Federal Minister for Sustainability and Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger, as host, and Stientje van Veldhoven, Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management. Beyond that input came from Hans Bruyninckx, President of the European Environment Agency, Kate Raworth, economist and sustainability expert at Oxford and Cambridge, who presented her concept of the "doughnut economics", an economic model that respects the planet's borders but also allows people to live well, and Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at Surrey University and author of "Prosperity without Growth". The topic of sustainability at the national level was discussed by social researcher and poverty expert Michaela Moser, Christoph Badelt, head of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research, and Willibald Cernko of ERSTE Bank Group. In 20 sessions and workshops, the topics of "Growth in Transition" were also dealt with in more depth on a smaller scale.
Kate Raworth (Photo: (c) Jana Madzigon)
The conference also provided an opportunity to learn about best practice examples and eco-innovative ideas from around the world. Successful founders such as Victoria Soelle from the Berlin DO School, Julian Paul Melchiorri from the UK (CEO Arborea), Reet Aus from Estonia (CEO Upmade), Nkemdilim Begho from Nigeria (Managing Director Futuresoft), Rodrigo Aranda from Spain (CEO Sintala Design), and Michael Fassnauer, CEO of UBIMET Austria, presented their visions and projects.
Considering important messages from the three levels:
A) The Global Level
"We are living in times of transformation", Ban Ki-moon stated at the beginning of his keynote titled "Sustainable Development: The Pathway to the Future" and provided examples of technical progress that had spread at great speed. This had been made possible by world markets and multilateralism, which had reached a climax during his time as UN Secretary General with the adoption of the SDGs in September 2015. "These are the most far-reaching goals ever formulated by the United Nations," Ban said.
In recent years, however, there have been delays in implementing the goals, as well as open resistance on the part of individual nations to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. He wanted to counter this, among other things, with his Center for Global Citizens, which was founded in Vienna and is committed to providing well-founded training for future state leaders and leaders. Ban is also involved in the Strategy Unit at the Austrian Federal Chancellery ("Think Austria"), which commenced its activities on 14 November. It will focus on strategic issues that are important for Austria's development.
In October, at the initiative of the Netherlands, a new international climate commission began its work in The Hague, chaired by Ban Ki-moon, which presented an action plan to protect against climate damage. "We are running out of time," Ban stressed with regard to climate change. "But we don't have a Plan B, because we don't have a Planet B either."
Elisabeth Köstinger (Photo: (c) Jana Madzigon)
The Austrian Minister for Sustainability and Tourism, Elisabeth Köstinger, also expressed this view in her keynote speech. "If we look at the world today, we can see that we are at a crossroads, especially in the area of climate protection," said the politician, "This is certainly the greatest challenge of our time.
Because the Paris Climate Agreement is "the central pillar in climate protection", the negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice in December will also be of great importance. "This will show what the Paris resolutions are worth," said Köstinger. The Minister expressed her concern that there was an ever larger group of critical states in the international community for which climate protection was no longer of overriding importance. "We must work on solutions to get these states back on board, because Europe alone can be a pioneer, but not a saviour of the global climate," Köstinger explained.
Finally, the Minister for Sustainability stressed that the organisation of this conference, in cooperation with Ban Ki-moon, was "a truly great honour" for Austria. "We are thus positioning ourselves very strongly in this thematic area, also in terms of global perception".
B) The European Level
Science and research had to constantly keep an eye on the "grand challenges" that are crucial for the future of the planet and develop solutions. That was the message from Wolfgang Burtscher, Director General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission in Brussels. This focus on the major challenges, such as the protection of common goods which include the the atmosphere or the oceans, was also important because it was the only way for science to continue to gain acceptance and support from society. "We therefore also need more direct participation of citizens in research projects," said Burtscher. Sustainable Development plays a major role in the preparations for the next Research Framework Programme "Horizon Europe". At 77 billion euros, around 60 percent of the budget is earmarked for these topics.
Wolfgang Burtscher (Photo: (c) BKA/Christoph Dunker)
In her capacity as current President of the Council of European Ministers for the Environment, Köstinger announced her intention to conclude important dossiers at the European level by the end of the year. "If we reach a final agreement between the Parliament, the Commission and the Member States on the CO2 reduction for new cars, that would really be a huge success in European climate policy," explained the Minister. As part of the "Growth in Transition" conference, 10 concrete proposals were formulated in a "Call to Action" to the European Commission and the Member States on the second day of the conference. These include increasing the importance of SDGs, strengthening eco-innovation, creating sustainable financing instruments, better integrating stakeholders in all fields of action and providing more concrete support for the knowledge society.
Moreover, Europe's most innovative companies received the "European Business Award For The Environment" at the conference. The prize was awarded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment in the categories "Management", "Product and Services", "Process", "Developing Country Cooperation" and "Business and Biodiversity". The finalists included two Austrian companies: Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH and ecop Technologies GmbH, which develops and produces highly efficient rotary heat pumps. The evening event on 14 November at the Palais Niederösterreich was organised by the European Commission, the Office of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism.
Hans Bruyninckx (Photo: (c) Jana Madzigon)
Hans Bruyninckx, Director of the European Environment Agency, called for unity and international cooperation: "There is an urgent need for action, we must not lose any time and we must not believe that we are already doing everything we can. We must think beyond 2030. We need a different, strong policy and a fundamental transformation of our economies. And we should work with young people in particular."
"Fight for Multilateralism"
Frans Timmermanns, the First Vice-President of the European Commission, emphasised in his closing speech that the UN's SDGs were the only future perspective for mankind. But the UN is currently being threatened and questioned. "Please fight for multilateralism," Timmenmanns exclaimed. "We need the United Nations."
The world was at the beginning of the 4th industrial revolution, which would consequently affect every human being. At the same time, the boundaries of the planet would be felt for the first time. Timmermanns painted the picture of an inclusive world society, in which the wealth generated was distributed more equitably, instead of making "only a few richer ones even richer" as at present.
He foresaw far-reaching changes in the private economic sector, such as the energy revolution and the switch to a circular economy. "None of the problems facing us are insurmountable," he said. It was important to benefit from science and rationality and to look to the future with confidence and joy about the possibilities for shaping it.
Frans Timmermans (Photo: (c) Jana Madzigon)
In his remarks on artificial intelligence, Timmermanns himself deviated from his recommendation by expressing great concern. Technical development was very rapid, and if no precautions were taken, machines with their own consciousness could elude human control. "This can go tremendously wrong," warned the EU Vice-President. "Dealing with this new technology must now have absolute priority," demanded Timmermanns.
Frans Timmermans accepted the Call to Action at the conference. He said: "If everyone lived like the Europeans, we would need almost three planets. It is clear that the great challenge of our time is to change the way we produce, consume, work and live. Nobody can afford to be a freerider because we are all affected. Europe has the capacity, the ingenuity and the courage to lead the way. And that is exactly what we should do together now."
C) The Austrian Level
The President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, said at the beginning of the conference that a holistic approach was necessary for the transformation to more sustainability: "Sustainability policy does not end with environmental and climate policy, it affects all areas of policy and life. We have to address people, explain connections and reach their understanding. This is best achieved if we involve as many citizens as possible, above all at the level of the municipalities."
Sobotka told the Political Panel on social development that he was concerned about the "break-up of society" and the increase in "fears of losing out". More and more people moved in their own communities of information and self-affirmation. Here, politics had to address interdependence and the feeling of togetherness more strongly. Participation was a key to this. "When people are no longer heard and taken along, they create their own world," said Sobotka. But the emphasis on tolerance was also important. "Sustainability is also always about accepting the other positions," the politician stressed.
Wolfgang Sobotka (Photo: (c) BKA/Christoph Dunker)
Sustainability Minister Köstinger stressed that Austria was not cutting back on its climate goals. In concrete terms, she explained: "We want to reduce emissions by 36 percent by 2030, we are sticking to this target and will make every effort to achieve it". Commitment should also be stepped up in the case of the SDGs. Austria currently ranks 9th in international comparison in terms of the implementation of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Austria wanted to make a leap forward here during this term of government. "I discussed with Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz that we want to be among the top 5 worldwide in the implementation of the SDGs," explained Minister Köstinger.
Köstinger: "I am very encouraged by the committed discussion." The conference had once again provided an impetus for the discussion about economic growth in the context of sustainability. For example, the number of social enterprises should be clearly targeted for growth. The aim of the conference to make a contribution at the European level in this direction had been achieved. Köstinger also hoped that future Growth in Transition conferences would "continue to grow".
We do not wait for the future – we shape it!
On the second day, the conference adopted an action plan, the so-called "Call to Action", addressed to the EU Commission which was represented by First Vice-President Frans Timmermans.
The Call to Action was developed by the participants of the conference and calls on the European Commission and the Member States of the EU to address relevant issues such as decarbonisation, circular economy, sustainable management of natural resources, mitigation of climate change and digitalisation. generations are guilty of. The Call to Action also proposes promoting eco-innovation and sustainable finance. In addition, a stronger focus is to be placed on sustainability research and awareness of sustainability issues among the population is to be raised, not least through more intensive cooperation with the media. It also proposes to strengthen the "Growth in Transition" initiative at the European level and to involve citizens more in shaping the sustainable future of the European Union.
Find the Call to Action here.
Conference Blog Posts
New narratives of a good life or pragmatic proposals to politicians?
A Positive Post-Growth Scenario For Europe – The X Ways To Make A Post-Growth Society Work
"A Just Transition To A Low Carbon Economy – The Role Of Labour And Civil Society"
Companies taking action to meet SDG 13 – Towards a low-carbon economy by setting science-based-targets
Action rather than words, and dissidence where necessary
Get the Conference Newspaper!
"Green" or "Brown" Investments – Another Bubble In The Making?
Social-Ecological Transformations in Research and Politics
The Role of Women in Transformation – Sharing Experiences with Change Processes
Sustainability in Research Policy
A Science Willing and Able to Change?
Economy & Environment – Challenges for a Socio-Ecological Transformation
At the Peak of Social Change! Learning from Success Stories for Social Innovation
YOUR Suggestions for the Call to Action
National Visions & Global Leadership
Growth in Transition
The project "Growth in Transition" intends to trigger a dialogue among institutions and people about how we can shape the transformation process towards sustainability. It also aims at contributing to current EU and international processes and at informing the Austrian public about them.
In 2008 the Austrian Federal Ministry of Environment started a process dealing with the question, which kind of growth is compatible with sustainable development. The Initiative "Growth in Transition" ("Wachstum im Wandel") constantly tries to involve as many institutions and persons as possible in a dialogue, how we can frame a process of transition towards sustainability.
growthintransition.eu | wachstumimwandel.at
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NRL competition committee meeting
The NRL Competition Committee has recommended that no change be made to the current interchange system.
The recommendation will now go to the Australian Rugby League Commission before a final determination is made on interchange.
The Competition Committee's unanimous recommendation was for the number of interchanges per team per game to continue to be capped at eight.
The Committee made the recommendation after being presented with data including a report by Professor Kevin Norton, a Professor in Exercise Science at the University of South Australia, which compared the 2019 season to the past three seasons (2016-18), since interchange was reduced from 10 to eight.
The data showed that, due largely to the change in officiating philosophy in 2019:
Both the number and intensity of collisions have significantly reduced in 2019, reversing the trend seen across the 2016-2018 seasons
Both the number of stoppages and total stoppage time have significantly reduced in 2019, reversing the trend seen across the 2016-2018 seasons
The total distance covered per game has increased across all positions except hookers in 2019 compared to 2018
"On the evidence presented, there is simply not enough reason to change the number of interchanges now," Penrith Panthers Coach Ivan Cleary said.
"We made the point last year that we wanted to defer until halfway through this year to make a decision based on the way the game is heading. Now that we have done that, we feel there is no need to make a change."
NRL Head of Football Elite Competitions Graham Annesley added: "It became clear that a change to the approach by Match Officials, as well as the shot clock for drop-outs and scrums in 2019, had contributed to a change to the game which was the equivalent to a reduction of interchanges.
"Some of the levers which have been pulled this season have contributed to some of the key trends heading in the direction we want them to.
"As a game, we want to see more entertainment, unpredictability, more continuous football – as well as a safe environment for the players.
"We are not completely ruling out a reduction in interchange in the future based on trends and players and coaches adapting to changing environment. But for the immediate term there was no support for a change.
"There was unanimous support that interchange will remain at eight until it's agreed that the system requires a further change."
The meeting was also told that 60 percent of the collective Clubs, and 73 percent of players – based on an RLPA Player Advisory Group survey – did not support a further reduction in interchange at this time.
"We're supportive of this direction based on the fact that key metrics are shaping in the right direction and players have actively been engaged in the discussion," RLPA General Manager Stakeholder Relations Clint Newton.
"We're looking forward to continuing to help advance discussion on a more innovative and entertaining game."
The Competition Committee includes Cleary, North Queensland Cowboys Coach Paul Green, Immortal and Kangaroos Coach Mal Meninga, Darren Lockyer, Newton, former Coach John Lang as well as Annesley, NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, ARLC Chairman Peter Beattie and Commissioners Wayne Pearce and Peter V'landys.
The Competition Committee was also told that the 2019 season had (after 13 rounds) delivered:
more than two-and-a-half hours more ball in play so far, and a reduction in dead time of five-and-a-half hours compared to the same time in 2018.
a three-hour reduction in elapsed game time compared to the same time in 2018
an additional 250 sets of six compared to the same time in 2018
Average ball in play time per game was 54.16 minutes after Round 13, compared to 52.43 minutes at the same point in 2018.
Contributing factors for the trends included a significant reduction in penalties (1777 in 2018 down to 1322 in 2019) and penalty goal attempts (257 in 2018 down to 160 in 2019), as well as the reduction in scrum and drop-out clock time limits.
The group flagged a discussion on unpredictability and assessing ways to make the game even more entertaining for its next scheduled meeting later this year.
"One of our key objectives is producing more entertainment for our fans and we have seen some positive trends in 2019," Mr Annesley said.
"Our games have produced more football compared to last year and elapsed time has also been reduced.
"This is something the Competition Committee will continue to work on."


Flaw in BIND 8 Weakens the DNS Software
The Internet Software Consortium is discouraging the use of Version 8 of the Berkeley Internet Name Domain or BIND DNS software after discovering a serious flaw in it, which on exploitation could trigger attacks of cache poisoning.
The flaw that has been made public through a research paper by Amit Klein, CTO of the security vendor Trusteer Ltd. could allow an attacker to corrupt the DNS caches if he is able to guess the IDs of DNS query and provide answers.
BIND 8 is now nothing but a memory of coding practice and software architecture from the past, the consortium said in a warning. In today's Internet, BIND 8 is quite insecure. And years of workarounds and patching have confirmed that it will forever be so, the group said.
According to Infoblox's annual research in 2006, there were approximately 14% of DNS servers still using BIND 8.
Despite its potential danger, BIND 8 continues to be a popular DNS server. Therefore, this type of attack targets a large number of Internet users, wrote Amit Klein in a research paper. PC World reported this on September 5, 2007.
Klein wrote that BIND 8 uses a weak algorithm to produce transaction IDs. These are unorganized serial numbers that allow the algorithm to determine if someone is feeding false information in answering the queries. Because of this weakness, by observing some of the queries, it is possible to guess the transaction ID, Klein explained.
Equipped with that, an attacker could push incorrect information into the DNS server thus poisoning an address against a particular domain stored in the server's memory. Therefore, when users of that DNS server send traffic to a certain Website, it may get diverted to a different server having a fraudulent site. Such a deceptive process is called 'pharming'.
Though there is a patch available to fix the BIND 8 flaw, the Internet Software Consortium presses users to update it to Version 9.4, which they can download for free.
However, BIND 9.4 is also vulnerable to attacks even though it has a better transaction ID algorithm, Klein wrote.
Related article: Flaw For PayPal Website, Opportunity For Fraudsters


New poll is bad news for Charest in his battle with students
CityMaple SpringNewsPolitics
By Ethan Cox May 22, 2012 May 26, 2012
Student protests Tuesday May 21, 2012. Photo: Chris Zacchia
Ethan Cox is a former news editor with Forget The Box and he is currently heavily involved in politics and trying to change the world. He is currently covering the student protests for Rabble.ca and FTB. Here is his latest take on where the protests stand and where we go next. Be sure to join us for today's demonstration starting at place des festival at 2pm.
Just in time for the 100th day of Quebec's student strike comes a birthday present of epic proportions for the indefatigable students.
They're winning.
A QMI/Leger Marketing poll released early Tuesday morning by the Journal de Montreal bore the banner headline "Le gouvernment va trop loin" (The government has gone too far).
On the central question of whether respondents supported the government or the students in the ongoing conflict over increases to tuition fees, the poll found a stunning 18 point shift from the government to the students, compared to a poll taken ten days earlier. Although this shift still leaves the students trailing the government by 8 points, the momentum is clearly on their side.
On the question of whether the controversial, and likely unconstitutional, special law known as Loi 78 went "too far," 53 per cent agreed that it did, while 32 per cent judged it to be fair and balanced and 8 per cent thought it didn't go far enough.
Seventy-three per cent thought the extraordinary law, which critics have compared to the War Measures Act and the dark days of the Duplessis era, would fail to achieve Charest's stated goal of "restoring social peace." Three out of four respondents also supported the immediate resumption of negotiations between students and government, a firm repudiation of the Charest government's refusal to negotiate.
Police at Student protests tuesday may 21, 2012 Photo by Chris Zacchia
Disastrous as these numbers are for Charest, this may only be the beginning. The more the population analyzes the law, the more they will question it, according to Christian Bourque, Executive Vice President with Leger Marketing. He attributes the collapse in support for the government to Loi 78, noting "it's the only thing which has changed since the last poll".
For those of us on the ground here in Quebec, it seemed evident as soon as Loi 78 was introduced that Charest had overplayed his hand. In a province which has lived through the quiet revolution and the War Measures Act it seemed unlikely that we would fail to notice or care if our fundamental freedoms were curtailed.
The bill suspended the semester of striking institutions, to be resumed in late summer. It outlawed protests within fifty meters of an educational institution (rendering the downtown core a no-go zone), and protests whose details, including precise route, had not been communicated to police eight hours in advance. It also gave police the right to cancel a duly advertised demonstration, and imposed heavy fines for student organizations, organizers and simple citizens judged to have disobeyed the law. It is written so broadly that anyone communicating the details of an "illegal" protest, on twitter for example, could be severely fined.
Student protests tuesday may 21, 2012 Photo by Chris Zacchia
Perhaps the most concerning, and under-reported, provision of the law would allow the government to cancel the payment of dues to a student association or federation at a rate of one semester for each day or part thereof they were judged in violation of the law. Coupled with the reverse onus provision, which would force associations to prove members or supporters breaking the law were not acting on behalf of the association, this would allow Charest to effectively eliminate troublesome student associations and federations for a decade or longer. Would that we could all dispatch our enemies so easily!
Probably knowing the law would never survive a court challenge on constitutional grounds, the Liberals set it to expire in one year, before any challenge would likely be heard.
Over the weekend since Loi 78 was passed by the National Assembly it has been denounced by everyone from the Quebec Bar Association to pro-hike student groups. The Arcade Fire wore the emblematic red square symbol of the student strike during an appearance on Saturday Night Live, as did Xavier Dolan and his entourage at Cannes. Michael Moore waded in, pledging his support on twitter, and local boy turned Hollywood comedian Jon Lajoie publicly defied the law by releasing a "Song for Students" which ends with a call for viewers to join the mass demonstration organized for today to celebrate the 100th day of the strike.
No end in sight, over 5000 protesters marched until 1 in the monrning through upper Westmount past Jean Charest's home
But it wasn't just celebrities who took a dim view of the law. As demonstrations unfolded over the weekend it seemed that every bystander was suddenly cheering, every idled car honking in support and whole terraces full of people standing to applaud as the students went by. The last, and only, time I witnessed such a sudden shift in public opinion as this poll shows was during last May's orange wave.
Then too there was a palpable shift on the streets of Montreal. A sudden unanimity.
For my money Charest has already lost, at this point he's fighting history, and history always wins. Pauvre Jean, your summer of hell is only just starting…
A monster demonstration against Loi 78 and in celebration of the 100th day of the student strike has been called for TODAY (May 22) at 2PM at Place des Arts Metro.
If you are unable to attend, Concordia University Television (CUTV) have been revolutionizing how we interact with social movements by livestreaming the daily protests over the internet. Tune in! But remember, electronic copies are never as good as the real thing!
You can also follow me on twitter for live updates from the demo: @EthanCoxMTL
Bill 78Maple SpringNewsQuebecStudent Strike
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Ethan Cox
Ethan Cox is a 27 year old political organizer, writer and activist from Montreal. He has been with FTB since fall of 2010.
Khawaja case to put Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act on trial at Supreme Court
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The People of the State of New York vs. Malcolm Harris
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School's Out (book)
Posted on May 8, 1995 July 30, 2019 by hausofmarsian in Activism, LGBT, Marsian De Lellis, Press
Making the Massachusetts legislation work is one of the challenges facing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education – specifically, people like Jeff Perrotti. His job is to translate the act's theory into reality. Fortunately, it is a task he relishes.
"This bill is remarkable – it's a major thing," he began. "It give gay and lesbian kids real protection. Schools are mandated to develop an atmosphere that prevents harassment. The effects can really be far-reaching. In the past this law has been the basis for textbook changes; it's led to reparations for people of color, changing perceptions of women's roles different types of teacher training about discrimination and harassment. Now we're taking it one step further."
Among Jeff's biggest challenges is "letting schools know exactly what this means for them. That's a huge educational task, just letting them know that this exists. The anti-discrimination statutes have been on the books since 1971, but some schools still don't have a contact person for compliance. So we'll be doing lots of interpreting for schools helping them revise their regulations."
Obstacles exist. One relates to the overall nature of school change and how new programs are presented and institutionalized. "Anything that's new straddles the fine line between what's needed because it's not being done, and what's not really new or is deemed unnecessary," Mr. Perrotti explained. "If something is presented as too new, it may be seen as faddish or peripheral. But if it's presented another way, it can be diluted or simply not happen." The bureaucrats and educators assigned to the program at the Department of Education and in school district offices are keys to its success, he said, but they must have the support of insiders in each building. "If people pushing the program are seen as too 'outside,' they won't have the clout to get something going and then institutionalized," he continued. "On the other hand, if you involve too many 'tried and true' people, you run the risk that it never happens in a new and exciting way."
The challenge for Mr. Perrotti and his colleagues, then, is to bring in excited, energized people who have sensitivity to schools, which are cultures of their own filled with rigid barriers against being told what to do. That is not easy; few people feel comfortable in both the Department of Education and school worlds, he said. And both are incredible bureaucracies.
Any program's success, Mr. Perrotti noted, turns on "empowering people at the lowest level. That's where the work really goes on – but it can be incredibly frustrating. Bureaucracies are antithetical to empowering people."
However, he added one important caveat: "Students and parents have incredible power in schools. If they want something to happen, they can make it. We've come to realize how important parents are in this whole issue. Without a doubt, the most moving speakers we heard in the debate over amending the bill were the parents talking about accepting their gay and lesbian kids. PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is often on the outskirts of the gay community, but they've been integral on this issue and to this program."
Another obstacle to act's success is one that's seldom talked about, Mr. Perrotti said: "This involves teachers who don't feel safe coming out, and others in our community who find it too painful or fearful to be around kids. There are a lot of internalized worries to overcome."
Yet the Department of Education director sees that as an exciting challenge, too. "To let gays know they can take care of their kids – to talk about youth suicide, and overcome the four taboos of death, suicide, youth sexuality, and homosexuality – it takes a lot, but we're doing it. We're sensitizing and educating the gay and lesbian community that these are issues, that they're important issues, and that they should be talked about. And once we do it, we've found the gay community to be very, very generous with time, energy, expertise, and resources. It's an issue that involves everyone, not just kids in high school and their teachers, and the response has stared to be very, very gratifying."
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CMN Announces New Saint Maximilian Kolbe Giving Society
Aug. 14, 2021 | On the annual feast of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, patron saint of prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement, Catholic Mobilizing Network announces its new Saint Maximilian Kolbe Giving Society which recognizes those committed supporters who have invested in CMN's ministry for three or more consecutive years.
Known as Prisoner #16670 of Auschwitz, Saint Maximilian Kolbe was ultimately executed by lethal injection after volunteering his life for that of his cellmate, Franciszek Gajowniczek. By this act, Saint Maximilian offers Catholics an example of sacrificial love shown in the face of unthinkable state-sanctioned violence.
CMN is blessed to have a community of faithful supporters who, like Saint Maximilian, are committed to preserving life and resisting the culture of death. Their generosity enables the sustained growth of CMN's life-affirming mission to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice.
Learn more about CMN's Saint Maximilian Kolbe Giving Society.
Saint Joseph, Our Silent Teacher: A Reflection for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph
As a founding member of the Congregation of St. Joseph Mission Network, Catholic Mobilizing Network finds hope and guidance in Saint Joseph's powerful, though wordless, example.
A Prayer for the End of the Death Penalty


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2018 Public Policy Conference
Home » 2018 Public Policy Conference
8:00am - 3:30pm PDT
The California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities
1000 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Members: $0.00
Non-Members: $250.00
The legislation currently being debated in Washington, DC and Sacramento could result in significant changes for the philanthropy sector and our communities.
Building on the success of last year's Conference, we are once again partnering with the California Budget & Policy Center, which engages in independent fiscal and policy analysis and public education with the goal of improving public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low- and middle-income Californians. At this event, we will come together to take an in-depth look at the latest policy analysis and research and to prepare for and address key issues impacting our work. This year's conference will have a special focus on the 2020 Census, supporting full federal and state funding for a fair and accurate count, as well as higher education policy changes.
We hope you can join us on April 23rd for a day of candid conversations about our sector's role in advocacy efforts that strengthen our communities.
Our Public Policy Conference is now sold out!
Click here to download the attendee list.
Agenda*
Beatriz Solís, Director of Healthy Communities (South), The California Endowment, and Chair, Board of Directors, Southern California Grantmakers
Christine Essel, President and CEO, Southern California Grantmakers
Keynote address by Dr. Timothy P. White, Chancellor of the California State University (CSU)
Introduction by: Peter J. Taylor, President, ECMC Foundation
Did you know that for every $1 the state invests in the California State University (CSU) system, the CSU system returns $5.43? The 23 campuses of the CSU play a critical role in providing future leaders with the skills and knowledge they will need to thrive in the workforce and help drive California's economy. With more than 110,000 annual graduates, the CSU is the state's greatest producer of bachelor's degrees and advances California's economy in agriculture, information technology, business, hospitality, life sciences, healthcare, public administration, education, media and entertainment.
Our opening keynote speaker, Dr. Timothy P. White, Chancellor of the California State University, will share his vision on how to make California count in a rapidly evolving economy by focusing on the Graduation Initiative 2025─an ambitious, system-wide initiative that seeks to increase graduation rates through a multipronged approach. The initiative includes a groundbreaking decision to eliminate remedial education in favor of credit-earning courses that will decrease the time it takes to complete a degree and eliminate achievement gaps for all students. Dr. White will also dive into how and where philanthropy can support these efforts.
Sneak Preview and Transition Break
Morning Breakout Sessions
Changing the Rules of the Game: Engaging in Policy Systems as a Grantmaker
Emerging Issues Affecting Immigrants and Refugees
Improving Success for All College Students is Key to California's Economy
Innovative Civic and Voter Engagement Methods for a New Generation
Leveraging Cross-Sector Collaborations to Make California Count
Despite Congressional action on the federal budget last month, resolving several months of crises that nearly sunk the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and could have resulted in significant cuts to an array of other domestic programs, uncertainty nonetheless abounds as we look ahead at the California policy landscape. Recently announced plans to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census will very likely threaten the state's fair share of federal resources and could reduce California's representation in Congress. Congress is contemplating a Farm Bill that could cut food assistance to our most vulnerable communities. State ballot initiatives may curtail recent progress made in investments in almost every issue area of importance to funders, including housing and homelessness, healthcare, the environment and more. Can cross-sector partnerships in California act as a bulwark against these challenges? And how are funders pro-actively navigating uncertainties?
Ditas Katague, Director, Census 2020 California Complete Count, State of California
Ashley Swearengin, CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation
Chris Hoene (Moderator), Executive Director, California Budget & Policy Center
Keynote and Interview with The Honorable Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State
Interviewed by Val Zavala, Former Vice President of News and Public Affairs, KCET
Introduction by Garrett Gin, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Business and Community Engagement for Greater Los Angeles, Bank of America
Secretary Padilla will speak to the urgency of the 2020 Census, particularly in light of recent federal action to disenfranchise and discourage a full, fair and accurate count. He will share updates on efforts to increase voter registration and civic participation to strengthen voter rights and offer insights on how collaboration with advocacy groups and philanthropic partners plays a central role to these initiatives.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
2020 Census: Ensuring Federal Funds for California
Addressing Poverty through Public Policy Strategies
Advancing Gender Justice through Public Policy Efforts
California Budget Perspective: What's At Stake in State and Federal Budget Proposals
Networking "Sundaes on the Plaza"
*Times Subject to Change
Voting Solutions for All People (VSAP) Initiative
During the conference, make sure to stop by the VSAP booth to check out the new voting system! Los Angeles County is re-imagining the voting experience, which is set to launch in 2020. At the core of this experience is a new Ballot Marking Device that aims to make voting more accessible, convenient and secure. The Ballot Marking Device features a touchscreen with a simple user interface, an audio ballot with tactile key-pad and built in ballot box. Voters will utilize the new Ballot Marking Device to mark and cast a paper ballot. Learn more at http://vsap.lavote.net.
The Lawyer Is In
Attorneys from Alliance for Justice's (AFJ) Bolder Advocacy Initiative will be available throughout the day to provide consultations on the rules of foundation and nonprofit participation in advocacy related to public policy and elections. (Note: AFJ will provide resources and guidance for informational purposes only. Consultations do not create an attorney-client relationship.)
How can philanthropy leverage its investments to further positive societal change? With the limited resources of grantmakers, where can funders increase their impact? Join us for a discussion from funders on how they're "changing the rules of the game" by engaging in various forms of systems change to create and sustain their investments and organizational mission in society. Participants will hear from different funders about how and why they engage in policy systems change by aligning their organizational mission, board's interests and communities. The session seeks to expand the opportunities to engage in systems change work for philanthropic organizations across a range of environs and acknowledges that these tactics work in combination with needed investments in advocacy.
Dannielle Campos, Senior Vice President, ESG Program Director, Bank of America
Bernadette Glenn, Executive Director and President, WHH Foundation
Sandra Shewry, Vice President, External Engagement, California Health Care Foundation (CHCF)
Zahirah Mann (Moderator), Program Officer, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
As Congress remains immobilized to resolve the future of Dreamers, the path for immigrants and refugees continues to narrow as a result of federal policy promulgated by the Trump Administration. Funders and advocates will share alarming trends that affect immigrant integration, economic mobility and the social inclusion for newcomers and their children in devastating new ways. These proposed public policies will touch upon the cornerstones of the priorities of funders broadly, from early childhood education to the health and well-being of Californians. Learn about the issues on which funders are casting a wary eye and how advocates will respond. Identify how grantmakers can prepare for public policies that may dramatically alter the institutions that promote development and growth of immigrants and refugees within society.
Peter Barth, Director of Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs, First 5 LA
Efrain Escobedo, Vice President, Education and Immigration, California Community Foundation
Jenny Rejeske, Senior Health Policy Analyst, National Immigration Law Center
Carolina Sheinfeld, Project Coordinator, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Beatriz 'Bia' Vieira (Moderator), California Program Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
California's standing as the sixth largest economy in the world depends on producing more college graduates, but persistent gaps in college access and success for students of color hinder progress. In this session, we will share key data points from the recently released report, "Left Out: How Exclusion in California's Colleges and Universities Hurts Our Values, Our Students, and Our Economy." This will be followed by a conversation about philanthropy's role in ensuring college access opportunities for all students.
Michele Siqueiros, President, The Campaign for College Opportunity
Peter J. Taylor, President, ECMC Foundation
In an era of social movements leading changes across our nation, California has the largest and most diverse new generation of voters looking for ways to stay engaged and make their voices count. This session will highlight ways to empower young voters through social media and unconventional grassroots organizing.
Christian Arana, Policy Director, Latino Community Foundation
Amy Leang Horn, Field Organizer, Khmer Girls in Action
Jennifer Ito, Research Director, Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), University of Southern California (USC)
Luis Sanchez, Co-Executive Director, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote/YVote
Connie Malloy (Moderator), Portfolio Director, The James Irvine Foundation
Census data guides the allocation of $4 trillion in federal funds, including anti-poverty programs, foster care, Medicaid and other social services. For California, this means our state receives about $76 billion dollars in federal funds. However, our state also has the highest concentration of hard-to-count populations. With a congressional seat on the line, a fair and accurate count ensures equal and fair political representation for the state. Join us to hear about current efforts underway in preparation for the Census, and ways to collaborate to ensure that all Californians are accounted for.
Maria de la Luz Garcia, Director of the Census 2020 Initiative, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
Joseph Tomás Mckellar, Co-Director, PICO California
Tavae Samuelu, Executive Director, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Melina Sanchez, Program Officer, The James Irvine Foundation
Nearly a fifth of Californians lack enough resources to meet basic needs when taking into account the state's high cost of living. While philanthropy has made significant investments, the social safety net provided by the government remains central to preventing more Californians from falling into poverty. New anti-poverty interventions, specifically the expanded state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Cal Savers program, provide opportunities for short-term and long-term anti-poverty strategies. Join us to discuss where funders can engage on new anti-poverty public policies.
Ruth Holton-Hodson, Senior Policy Advisor, Health and Retirement Initiatives, California State Treasurer John Chiang
Peter Manzo, President and CEO, United Ways of California
Kim Pattillo Brownson, Vice President of Policy and Strategy, First 5 LA
Sara Kimberlin (Moderator), Senior Policy Analyst, California Budget & Policy Center
Advancing Gender Justice through Public Policy and Advocacy Efforts
How does community-led policy rooted in gender justice help us achieve progress on multiple issues? How can we leverage data to understand where key issues intersect to have the most impact? How does working toward economic justice move the needle in other areas? In this session, participants will hear from policy experts, funders and community-based organizers who are informing policymakers about ways to ensure gender justice. In particular, this session will highlight the connections between access to comprehensive health care and economic justice, particularly as it relates to immigrant and indigenous communities.
Lucia Corral Peña, Senior Program Officer, Blue Shield of California Foundation
Rocío González, Health Policy Advocate, Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
Kristin Schumacher, Senior Policy Analyst, California Budget & Policy Center
Surina Khan (Moderator), Chief Executive Officer, The Women's Foundation of California
Why do Southern California community leaders and grantmakers need to know about changes to our federal and state budgets? For funders seeking to improve outcomes for low- and middle-income Californians, the proposed budgets could have profound effects on safety net services, education funding and more. Join us for a deeper dive into major elements of the Governor's proposed budget, changes expected at the federal level and key debates that will shape choices for our national, state and local budgets.
Chris Hoene, Executive Director, California Budget & Policy Center
As Policy Director, Christian leads the Latino Community Foundation's efforts to advance policy solutions that will improve the lives and political power of California's Latinos. Christian served as the Senior Governance Specialist at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) in Washington, D.C. Prior to CHCI, he worked at the Aspen Institute for the College Excellence Program. He helped administer the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Competition honoring the top performing community colleges in the nation. Dedicated to the advancement of Latino communities, Christian began his career as an AmeriCorps member where he served as a college counselor at Cristo Rey New York High School in East Harlem, New York. Christian received a Master's Degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and holds a Bachelor's Degree from Georgetown University in International Politics.
As the senior policy and intergovernmental affairs strategist for the organization, Peter Barth builds and maintains strong relationships with elected officials, administrators and opinion leaders at all levels of government, as well as organizations and institutions partnering with First 5 LA's ongoing policy work. He previously worked at Third Sector Capital Partners, where has served as Director in their San Francisco office, coordinating their West Coast operations since June 2014. Before that, he was Assistant Secretary for Program and Fiscal Affairs for the California Health and Human Services Agency, appointed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and reconfirmed by Governor Jerry Brown. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a Bachelor's Degree in policy, management and planning. He holds a Master's Degree in public policy from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He has also completed fellowships with the California Capital Fellows Program, Academy of Business Leadership and American Enterprise Institute.
Dannielle Campos is a member of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) group, serving as a national philanthropy director for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Dannielle joined the bank in 1994 and prior to her current assignment, she served as a program officer and California manager for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. As the Market Development Manager for Greater Los Angeles, she was responsible for the strategic planning, coordinating and leveraging of the bank's local philanthropic contributions, events, sponsorships and community partnerships. She began her career at KCET-TV in Los Angeles working on documentaries funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dannielle earned a degree in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She currently serves on the boards of the Association of Corporate Contribution Professionals, the Center Theater Group and The Music Center of Los Angeles, Social Enterprise Alliance and the Advisory Board for the USC Center of Philanthropy, and LIFT Los Angeles. She is also a member of Bank of America's Hispanic Latino Leadership Council, Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs Diversity and Inclusion Council and the Greater LA Market Leadership Team.
Lucia Corral Peña is a Senior Program Officer, managing the portfolio of grants focused on ending domestic violence in California. Prior to this role, she was principal of Corral Peña Consulting where her practice focused on creating opportunities for low-income communities, addressing the unmet needs of immigrants, agricultural workers and women in California. She previously served as Director of the Western Region for Hispanics in Philanthropy, where she managed the organization's award-winning Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities in five states. She has also served as Program Director at The California Wellness Foundation where she focused on state and local projects promoting the health of California's low-wage workforce. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. She is a member of the California State Bar and an alumnus of The San Francisco Foundation's Multicultural Fellowship and the Hastings Public Interest Law Fellowship.
Efrain Escobedo is Vice President in charge of education and immigration programs at California Community Foundation. Prior to joining CCF, he was the Manager of Governmental and Legislative Affairs for the Registrar of Voters in Los Angeles County, the largest election jurisdiction in the nation with more than 4.5 million registered voters. He also served as Senior Director of Civic Engagement for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, where he helped develop and lead several national efforts in the areas of Citizenship, voter participation and the 2010 Census. He was instrumental in the development of innovative voter contact strategies and technologies that helped to engage more than one million young, newly registered and infrequent Latino voters across the country. Efrain earned his Bachelor's degree in American studies and ethnicity from the University of Southern California and is a recent graduate of the Los Angeles County Executive Leadership Program.
Maria de la Luz Garcia currently serves as the Director of the Census 2020 Initiative for the Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti. In that capacity, she is responsible for ensuring that all Angelenos are counted in 2020. Working collaboratively with the County of Los Angeles and a diverse coalition of community stakeholders, she and her team are helping to build a regionwide 2020 Census outreach and education effort. She has a passion for and experience in civic engagement efforts launching several civic engagement initiatives for the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach. She holds an M.P.A. and a Certificate in Public Policy from USC Price School of Public Policy and a B.A. from Vassar College.
Garrett Gin, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Business and Community Engagement for Greater Los Angeles, Bank of America
Garrett Gin leads a team of financial/banking professionals that is responsible for numerous corporate social responsibility initiatives, including local philanthropy, community reinvestment and community engagement. Prior to joining Bank of America in August 2009, he served as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Merrill Lynch in California. He is active in numerous business, civic and educational organizations, among them are the Los Angeles Business Council, the Central City Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the National Asian Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship.
Bernadette Glenn leads the WHH Foundation, a family foundation based in Los Angeles with family members scattered throughout the U.S. The focus of the WHH Foundation is to 'invest in human capital' through providing grants in education, the arts, health and community building. Before joining the Foundation, Glenn worked in telecommunications in the San Francisco area. A native of Dublin, Ireland, she received her BA in History and English, and a Higher Diploma in Education from University College Dublin. She also holds an M. Phil in Gender and Women's Studies from Trinity College Dublin. She is on the Board of Overseers of The Huntington Library and is a member of the Executive Committee of Caltech's Board of Associates. She also serves as Co-Chair of Social Venture Partners – Los Angeles, and on the Advisory Board of the California Council on Science and Technology.
Rocío González joined MICOP in 2017. Born and raised in Ventura County, and as a child of immigrants, she has seen the first-hand importance of immigrant rights and our community's access to quality health care. Previously, she worked as Policy Analyst with California Pan Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), where she advocated for statewide policies to improve the health of California's growing and largely diverse communities of color. She has a B.S. in Nutrition Science and Ethnic Studies from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she was awarded the 2015 President's Diversity Award and the recipient of CSU-LSAMP Scholar Award in the category of outstanding Social Change Advocate for Underrepresented Communities.
Chris Hoene became the Budget Center's Executive Director in October 2012, bringing to the organization 15 years of leadership in state and local policy research and analysis. He leads the strategic direction of the organization, acts as primary spokesperson and works with the Board of Directors and community partners to implement our vision and mission. Prior to joining the Budget Center, he was the Director of the Center for Research and Innovation at the National League of Cities in Washington, D.C., leading efforts to analyze trends in local and state government and promote constructive policy action on issues including public finance, economic development, housing, poverty reduction, infrastructure and governance. He previously worked for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in D.C. and the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the College of Idaho. In 2011, in recognition of his service to the state and local community, Chris was elected as a Fellow into the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
Ruth Holton-Hodson has spent her 30-year career as a consumer advocate in the government, philanthropic and non-profit sectors. Currently, she leads the outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts for California Secure Choice. Prior to that, she served for 6 years as the Deputy Controller for Health and Consumer Policy. She spent almost 10 years working for The California Wellness Foundation as a Special Projects Director and then Director of Public Policy focused on increasing access to health care in low income communities and educating the philanthropic sector about public policy grantmaking. She was the advocate and then Executive Director for California Common Cause where she ran two successful statewide initiative campaigns on campaign finance and ethics reforms. She began her public policy career as a lobbyist for the California Children's Lobby. She has a Master's in Educational Administration from The University of Chicago.
Amy Leang Horn is a second generation Cambodian, born and raised in Long Beach CA. Amy is the daughter of Khmer Rouge Survivors. Her family resettled in the U.S. in the late 70's. Long Beach is home to the largest concentrations of Cambodians outside of the motherland. Growing up in Long Beach in the 90's was difficult. Amy was forced to navigate poverty, racism and gang violence. After losing family to gang violence and incarceration, Amy became an activist at age 15. She joined a local organization called Khmer Girls in Action and canvassed for the Parental Notification Act and fought for access to reproductive health care services for youth in her community. She is now the Field Organizer at Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) working specifically around Integrated Voters Engagement. She is also building the organization's alumni network base, integrating alums in KGA's civic engagement work.
Jennifer Ito is the Research Director at USC PERE where she conducts research on issues of regional inclusion and social movement building. Jennifer has co-authored several PERE publications including Linking Innovation with Inclusion: Demography, Equity, and the Future of San Diego and Changing States: A Framework for Progressive Governance. Before joining PERE, she was the Research Director for Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), a grassroots organizing and movement building organization based in South Los Angeles. Appointed by the California Assembly Speaker, she served on the California Commission on the 21st Century Economy in 2009. In 2015, she served on the California State Controller's Council of Economic Advisors. She currently serves on the boards of the Economic Roundtable, California Budget and Policy Center and Asian Pacific Environmental Network Action. She holds a Masters in Urban Planning from UCLA.
Ditas Katague is currently the Director of the California Complete Count – Census 2020 for the State of California. She also serves as the Chair of the U.S. Census Bureau's National Advisory Committee on Race, Ethnicities and Other Populations. She served as the Director of Governor Schwarzenegger's Census 2010 project. In 2000, as Chief Deputy Campaign Director for the Governor's Census 2000 California Complete Count campaign, she led a groundbreaking multi-lingual, multi-media outreach effort that resulted in a mail-in return rate that outpaced the entire nation. She is an expert in multi-ethnic outreach and civic engagement. Ditas most recently served as Chief of Staff to the California Public Utilities Commissioner Catherine Sandoval where she improved public participation and access to the energy and telecommunications utility rate and regulation process. Since 1998, she has served on the Advisory Board for the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.
Surina Khan, Chief Executive Officer, The Women's Foundation of California
As CEO, Surina oversees the Foundation's strategic direction which is focused on building community-based power through investing in effective nonprofit organizations, training community leaders in policy advocacy, connecting key partners and mobilizing significant financial resources. She joined the staff in 2005 as a Senior Program Officer and was promoted to Director of Programs and then Vice President of Programs. In 2011, she was recruited by the Ford Foundation to design and launch Ford's LGBT Rights Initiative and went on to become a Director in the Democracy Rights and Justice Program where she shaped more than $30 million in annual grantmaking around the world to expand rights for women, LGBT people, people living with HIV/AIDS and in the areas of strengthening democratic participation and governance. Earlier in her career, Surina served as Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International) where she worked to advance the human rights of LGBTQI people and people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Prior to that, she was a research analyst for Political Research Associates, conducting groundbreaking research on the Right's attacks on women.
Sara Kimberlin, Senior Policy Analyst, California Budget & Policy Center
Sara Kimberlin joined the Budget Center in January 2017, bringing with her more than 15 years of experience in California in the fields of policy analysis, social science research, human services and housing. Sara came to the Budget Center from the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, where she continues to be an Affiliate. At the Center on Poverty and Inequality, she conducted research and analysis of poverty trends, safety-net programs and policy proposals intended to improve outcomes for low-income families and individuals. Sara has also worked as a Research Fellow for the John Burton Foundation, focusing on child welfare policy; as Development Director for Shelter Network (now LifeMoves), a homeless services nonprofit; and as an independent consultant to nonprofits, foundations and cross-sector partnerships, specializing in workforce development, housing and safety-net supports. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.
Connie Malloy, Portfolio Director, The James Irvine Foundation
Connie Archbold Malloy serves as Portfolio Director at The James Irvine Foundation, where she developed the Fair Work initiative to ensure that fairness and opportunity are afforded to all of California's workers. She also leads grantmaking in the areas of immigration, voter and civic engagement, elections policies and practices, and social impact bonds. She is currently appointed to the first-ever California Citizens Redistricting Commission, for a 10-year term: 2010-2020. As Rotating Commission Chair, Connie has overseen the creation and implementation of fair political districts for the first time in the nation's history, redesigning CA's citizen representation across the Assembly, Senate, Congressional, and Board of Equalization maps. She earned her Master's Degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor's Degree from La Sierra University in Riverside, CA.
Zahirah Mann, Program Officer, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Zahirah Mann joined the The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation in 2017. Zahirah has over fifteen years of experience working with nonprofits in the Los Angeles region, including as a Program Officer at the Annenberg Foundation and Program Manager at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, leading a collaborative of private and public funders investing in solutions to end homelessness. Before entering philanthropy, Zahirah was a public interest attorney representing and advising nonprofits, coalitions and governmental entities. She received her J.D. cum laude from Tulane Law School and her A.B. from Vassar College.
Peter Manzo is the President and CEO of United Ways of California, which improves health, education and financial results for low-income children and families by enhancing and coordinating the community impact and advocacy work of California's United Ways. Previously, he was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Advancement Project, a civil rights "action tank" that advances equity and expands opportunity for low income and vulnerable people; Executive Director and General Counsel of the Center for Nonprofit Management, where he directed the expansion of the Center's information, training, consulting, technology and search and compensation services to nonprofits; and Directing Attorney of Community Development Programs for Public Counsel. He is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley; he also is a graduate of the London School of Economics, where he received a Master's degree in Political Sociology and the University of Notre Dame, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Government.
Joseph Tomás Mckellar is Co-Director of PICO California, the largest faith-based community organization in the state. He has been leading efforts to grow grassroots organizing capacity for racial, economic, health and environmental equity across California. In 2017, he led PICO California's organizing efforts to win SB 54, The California Values Act, which became the country's strongest sanctuary legislation protecting immigrant families from deportations and opening new pathways to rehabilitation for ex-offenders. In 2016, Joseph served as Faith in the Valley's founding Interim Director, leading efforts in the San Joaquin Valley to launch a powerful regional organization at its "Founding Convention" with 1,500 people from 6 counties and 16 labor and community partners.
The Honorable Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State
Alex Padilla was sworn in as California Secretary of State on January 5, 2015. Previously, he served in the California State Senate (2006-2014) where he chaired the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. Padilla graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. He recently completed a five-year term as a member of the MIT Corporation (Board of Trustees). Previously, he worked for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and then-Assemblymember Tony Cardenas. In 1999, at the age of 26, he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council to represent the east San Fernando Valley community where he grew up. In 2001, his colleagues elected him to the first of three terms as Council President, becoming the youngest member and the first Latino to serve in this capacity. In 2005, Padilla was elected President of the League of California Cities. In 2006, he was elected to the California State Senate. He was reelected in 2010. Padilla previously served as President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), a non-partisan organization made up of more than 6,000 federal, state and local officials dedicated to all aspects of civic engagement.
Kim Pattillo Brownson is responsible for strengthening First 5 LA's profile and influence on local and statewide early childhood public policy, legislative and advocacy efforts. She previously served as the Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Advancement Project. In addition to spearheading statewide coalition work on the early childhood budget, her local coalition work at the Los Angeles Unified School District resulted in over $1 billion in increased investment in the highest-need neighborhoods for K-12 and early learning students, and expanded early learning programs for almost 8,000 young children. Prior, Kim was an education attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Previously, she worked in private sector litigation at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Kim began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Dolores Sloviter on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal and the Honorable Louis H. Pollak in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to law school, she worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where she provided financial and strategic planning services to Fortune 500 companies. She earned a Doctor of Law degree from Yale Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies.
Jenny Rejeske leads the National Immigration Law Center's (NILC) team working to defend, protect and improve low-income immigrants' access to affordable health care. NILC works in partnership with national policy and advocacy groups, community-based organizations, health care providers, legal and social services agencies and government officials. Prior to joining NILC, she directed the health advocacy program at the New York Immigration Coalition. Jenny started her health-related career working at community health centers in New York City and Estes Park, CO. She earned her M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Milano the New School for Management and Urban Policy.
Tavae Samuelu is the Executive Director for Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC). As the Executive Director, Tavae provides strategic oversight towards realizing EPIC's mission to promote social justice by engaging the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community through culturally-relevant development, advocacy and research. She's passionate about liberation work and supporting the political consciousness and growth of youth. Before joining EPIC, she served as the Development Director for the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond and has since become a member of RYSE's Board of Directors.
Luis Sanchez currently serves as Co-Executive Director of Power California (formerly known as Mobilize the Immigrant Vote), a network of 30 organizations building an intergeneration movement of young people and families of color in California. He founded YVote, a statewide youth organizing network transforming young voters of color into an influential voting bloc. He previously served as a Senior Fellow for the Movement Strategy Center. As former Chief-of-Staff for LAUSD School Board President Mónica García, he successfully championed school reform models that offer students smaller, more personalized settings. As the founder and former Executive Director of InnerCity Struggle, he organized youth, parents, and community leaders to lead campaigns for safe and healthy neighborhoods. As the former Vice President of the Los Angeles Recreation and Park Commission, he worked with the Mayor's office to launch the Summer Night Lights, a violence prevention initiative that keeps parks open after dark by offering recreational activities. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in English and holds a Masters in Public Administration from Cal State Northridge.
Melina Sanchez joined the Irvine Foundation as a Program Officer in June 2016 to work on the Foundation's civic participation initiatives. Previously, she served as a Civic Engagement Officer at the California Community Foundation in Los Angeles for nearly five years. Melina helped to define and implement strategies and activities as part of the foundation's inaugural Civic Engagement Department and convened the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative Coalition, a cross-sector collaborative that helped restore $40 million for early learning programs at the Los Angeles Unified School District. Melina earned her B.A. from Vanderbilt University. She completed her mid-career MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a focus on philanthropy, working on a study of philanthropy in Latin America through the Hauser Institute for Civil Society, as well as holding a position on the editorial staff of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy.
Kristin Schumacher joined the Budget Center as a policy analyst in 2013 and has been a senior policy analyst since November 2017. Prior to joining the Budget Center, she taught public policy and public administration courses in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver and held research positions with the University and the Feminist Majority Foundation. She also worked in fundraising and development with the Colorado AIDS Project in Denver. She received a Ph.D. in public affairs from the University of Colorado Denver and a master's degree in social work with an emphasis in policy and administration from the University of Texas, Austin.
Carolina Sheinfeld has been with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles since 2003, first as an International Human Rights Analyst and most recently as the Project Coordinator for LAFLA's Torture Survivors Project. Her program provides legal assistance, case management and community education to refugees and asylum seekers, and facilitates the integration process of vulnerable immigrant groups. It serves survivors from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. She also developed a professional network for legal and social providers called The Asylum Collaborative of Los Angeles, which has been in existence for over a decade. She was the Chair of the Refugee Forum of Los Angeles in 2016 and 2017 and has been a member of the State Advisory Council on Refugee Assistance and Services since 2009. She holds a Master of Public Diplomacy from USC's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism and is a Fellow for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Programme since 2011. In 2014, she completed a Professional Certificate on Peace and Conflict Resolution in Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, as a Rotary World Peace Fellow and in 2015, joined the Responsible Leaders Network of BMW Foundation.
Sandra Shewry leads CHCF's health policy communications, digital publishing, government relations and audience engagement functions. She previously served as CHCF's Director of State Health Policy. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was President and CEO of the Center for Connected Health Policy, a nonprofit organization working to remove policy barriers to the integration of telehealth technologies into California's health care system. Sandra held a number of senior leadership positions within California state government, including Director of the California Department of Health Care Services, which administers the state Medicaid program (Medi-Cal). She also served as the Executive Director of the California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board. Sandra received her Bachelor's degree in community studies and psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master's degree in public health and social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.
Michele Siqueiros has been with the Campaign since 2004, serving first as the Associate Director and the past seven years as Executive Director and was named President in 2014. With her leadership in 2010, the Campaign led the effort for historic transfer reform that will make it easier for students to transfer from any California Community College to the California State University system and most recently led support for the passage of the Student Success Act of 2012. She was instrumental in assembling a statewide network of over 12,000 coalition supporters, involving over 50,000 young people and their families through the "Save Me a Spot in College" and "I'm One in A Million" scholarship contests awarding over $670,000 in scholarship dollars. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and Chicano/a Studies from Pitzer College and her Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Peter Taylor is the President of ECMC Foundation. In this role, he has lead more than $60 million of investments in initiatives affecting educational outcomes, especially among underserved populations, in the areas of teacher and leader development, college success, and career readiness. Before joining ECMC Foundation, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the University of California system. During his time there, he oversaw all aspects of financial management at the 10 campuses, five academic medical centers and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Peter was recently appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Board of Trustees of the California State University system. He also serves on the boards of Edison International and Pacific Life. He previously served as president of the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors, the alumni representative on the UC Board of Regents, and a board member of the J. Paul Getty Trust. In 2004, he was appointed to the California Performance Review Commission by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. From 2000–2002, Peter served on the board of the California Student Aid Commission, as an appointee of Governor Gray Davis.
Ashley Swearengin, President and CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation
Ashley Swearengin is the President and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, a charitable foundation serving the six counties of Central California and providing over $110 million in funding to over 650 community benefit organizations. Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as the mayor of Fresno from 2009 through 2016. As mayor, she focused her efforts on improving distressed neighborhoods, revitalizing the downtown and urban core, promoting business and job growth, securing the city's long-term water supply, addressing chronic homelessness and stabilizing the city's financial position. Before becoming mayor, she led a number of community and economic development initiatives in the Central Valley, including the Governor's Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno State's Office of Community and Economic Development and the Central Valley Business Incubator. She sits on numerous boards of organizations dedicated to economic empowerment and educational attainment, including the College Futures Foundation, California Competes, California Forward, New America and FUSE Corps. She holds MBA and BS degrees from California State University, Fresno.
Beatriz 'Bia' Vieira, California Program Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)
Beatriz 'Bia' Vieira advances GCIR's programs and initiatives in the Golden State. She joined GCIR in August 2017. She brings over 20 years of experience in human rights and advocacy work, including program leadership and management, fundraising, policy development, organizing, public outreach, and constituency building. She previously served for six years as the Philadelphia Foundation's first Vice President for philanthropic services, where she led the foundation's strategy and distribution of approximately $29 million in annual grants, including a grantmaking initiative addressing the health and wellness of low-income youth of color in Philadelphia. Earlier, she spent 10 years as the Executive Director of Lutheran Settlement House, where she managed an annual operating budget of over $8 million and oversaw social services, health, education, and advocacy programs provided to more than 10,000 consumers annually. Born and raised in Brazil, Bia earned a B.A. in Spanish and Anthropology, as well as a M.A. in Literature and Linguistics, from Temple University.
Dr. Timothy P. White, Chancellor, California State University (CSU)
Dr. Timothy P. White is chancellor of the California State University. As chancellor, he leads a university of 23 campuses and a global community of 479,000 students, 50,000 faculty and staff and more than 3.3 million alumni. He also leads the CSU as it embarks on an ambitious systemwide plan – Graduation Initiative 2025 – to increase graduation rates, decrease time to degree and eliminate achievement gaps for
all students by recruiting more faculty, hiring more advisors and student-support staff, providing new tools and adding thousands of more classes over the next decade. Prior to joining CSU, White held senior academic and administrative positions at the University of Michigan, Oregon State University, University of Idaho and at University of California campuses in Berkeley and Riverside. White deeply believes in and is a product of California's Master Plan for Higher Education, having pursued his higher education from Diablo Valley Community College, Fresno State, California State University, East Bay and the University of California, Berkeley.
Val Zavala, Former Vice President of News and Public Affairs, KCET
Val Zavala is recently retired from her position as Vice President of News and Public Affairs at KCET after 30 years of service as a television anchor, reporter, producer and executive producer. Over her three decades in public television she has covered major issues impacting Southern California politics, education, healthcare, environment, demographics, the economy, arts and culture. As anchor/reporter for KCET's prime-time news magazines, SoCal Connected and Life & Times, Zavala has won 18 L.A. Area Emmy® Awards, eight Golden Mikes and numerous Los Angeles Press Club awards. She also won a prestigious Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism award for her 1-minute ballot proposition explainers. She was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University in 1992. She received her Masters in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. and her B.A. in Latin American Studies from Yale University. She serves as a Senior Fellow and mentor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, as well as board member for Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles and a regent for Mount Saint Mary's University.
For more information on sponsorship opportunities, click here, or contact Amanda Byrd - (213) 680-8866 ext. 226 or [email protected].
SCG, NCG and SDG members can attend at no cost through our Philanthropy California partnership.
Non-Members: $250
Who May Attend
Current SCG members and grantmakers eligible for SCG membership.
2018 Public Policy Conference Sponsorship Opportunities.pdf Attendee List.pdf
Funding Issue Area & Geographic Regions
EQUITY & SOCIAL JUSTICEPUBLIC POLICY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENTAdvocacyCivil RightsPublic Policy
Related Venue:
The California Endowment
Child Welfare Collaborative Meeting
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: Bank of America Room
Give Back As A Mentor (EPIP LA)
(LA) Research Briefing: Survey of Asian American and Pacific Islander in CA
California Community Foundation Conference Center (Boardroom)
LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment Meeting: Tackling Early Childhood Trauma in LA County
A Conversation with Marcus Walton, GEO's New President and CEO
1000 North Alameda Street, Suite 230
Tel: (213) 680‐8866 Fax: (213) 680‐8730
© 2019 Southern California Grantmakers, All Rights Reserved.


"Those Little Buggers!" The voice cursed. Though the voice was deep, Brandon could tell it was a girl who saved him. He turned around to see a ginormous person, far taller than any girl he'd known.
She looked to be only a few years older than Brandon, but she was the height of an average woman. She was wearing a long, cardigan-like sweater with a ski-style pattern. She also had what appeared to be fur top hiking boots and a menacing spear which had a head that seemed to absorb the fading moonlight.
"Sorry, those are just gorillas," The girl said, her tanned skin and freckles were visible where shafts of morning light streamed in the cave. She motioned toward the little green creatures who were laying in an exhausted heap in the corner of the cave. "They won't bother you anymore."
"Th-thanks…" Brandon said, still flustered. Another tall person, a boy, walked up and stood beside the girl. He held up his wooden rod (sharpened at the tip) to Brandon's throat. He heard a howl of warning from Hal on the other side of the enclosure.
"Wh-Whoa," Brandon stammered, tripping over himself as he stumbled backward. "We might be in some sort of misunderstanding…"
The girl just laughed. "Calm down, Kandel, this wee fellow is not going to hurt you."
"You're too unwary, Navona," The boy, Kandel replied. He did not move his spear, he only grimaced in a suspicious manner. When he moved, the wooden beads on his sweater jingled against each other.
"And you are too skeptical of everyone," Navona said with a tone of authority. Her sweater had many more beads than Kandel's. She even had delicately carved ones as earrings. "Lower the spear, ally."
Reluctantly, Kandel brought the spear back down to his side. Brandon rubbed his neck, glad it was still there in one piece. "So wha-wh-... who are you."
Kandel pursed his lips and mumbled, "So, he's not just a runt." Navona nodded at Kandel. "Probably a traveler." Then, she turned to Brandon. "We're lourdwarfs. Not from around here are you?"
"Oh," Brandon said, almost rudely. These are lourdwarfs.
"Hey!" came Hal's voice, it echoed off the walls of the cave. Brandon turned to see him leaning over the drowsy pile of green creatures. "What are these things. Did I hear you call them Gorillas?"
"Yeah, well, yeah," Navona replied. "They're Gorilla Lourdwarfs. They're a different type, y'know?"
"I'm afraid not," Hal answered.
"Yeah, sorry," Brandon added.
"You guys really are new here, aren't you?" Kandel asked and Navona chuckled.
"Mmhm… you might have to catch us up."


"A Celestial Visitor" by George Martin
Young Competition category winner: Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015
1 October 2015 Astronomy Now
This image of Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy was taken from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, UK by 15-year-old George Martin on 18 December 2014 using a Sky-watcher 200P 200mm f/5 Newtonian telescope, Sky-watcher EQ5 equatorial, single-axis motor mount and Nikon D3200 camera, ISO 3200. Image credit: © George Martin.
In the words of the astrophotographer: "Having seen two comets previously, and having bought a new telescope, I decided to have a shot at what the display of C/2014 (Lovejoy) could hopefully offer. I could see the comet both with my eyes and through the eyepiece, and noticed how fast it moved when flicking through photos. I knew it would be an issue to stack, as the comet would appear blurred. Having separated the detail from the light pollution, the tail can be easily seen. It is fantastic to think that Lovejoy will not be visible again for another 8000 years."
This year's Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition received a record 2700 entries by astrophotographers from 59 countries around the world. These astonishing pictures reveal fresh perspectives on astrophotography favourites alongside some of the great astronomical events of the last year.
We will showcase the winning images from all 11 categories over the next few days, but if you wish to see them all together on display, the Royal Observatory Greenwich has an exhibition open 18 September 2015 — 26 June 2016. Hours: 10.00–17.00, entry is free.
"A Celestial Visitor"
Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015
Royal Observatory Greenwich
"The Arrow Missed the Heart" by Lefteris Velissaratos
20 September 2015 Astronomy Now
A stunning juxtaposition of an ethereal solar system body, long-period comet C/2014 E2 Jacques, and the vast, heart-shaped emission nebula IC 1805, some 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia — winning image of the Planets, Comets & Asteroids category in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2015.
Researchers explain why the Greenwich prime meridian moved
13 August 2015 Astronomy Now
In 1884, a delegation of international representatives convened in Washington, D.C. to recommend that Earth's prime meridian marking zero degrees longitude should pass through the Airy Transit Circle (ATC) at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. But according to the GPS receivers of surveyors and smartphones of London tourists today, why does the line of zero longitude run 102 metres east of the ATC?
"Solar Prominence" by Gary Palmer
2 August 2015 Astronomy Now
Nomination number five from the prestigious Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, an annual celebration of the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos by astrophotographers worldwide. Now in its seventh year, the 2015 competition received 2700 spectacular entries from over 60 countries and the winners will be announced 17 September.


Digital Storm Coridium Review
By Brian Westover
Unstoppable graphics performance from dual AMD Radeon R9 295X2 graphics cards.
Overclocked Intel Core i7-4930K hex-core processor.
Liquid cooling throughout.
Limited room for upgrades.
The Digital Storm Coridium harnesses two of AMD's fastest graphics cards for record-setting gaming performance. But reaching new heights with this premium desktop requires paying top dollar.
Everybody wants to be the best, especially in PC gaming, where performance commands premium prices, and boutique vendors race to build systems with the hottest hardware every time a new part is released. It's a constant race to claim the title of most powerful gaming PC, and the latest entrant is the Digital Storm Coridium a premium-priced high-end gaming desktop that pushes the envelope further than any system before. AMD's cutting-edge graphics card, the dual-chip Radeon R9 295X2, is the latest ammunition in the ongoing battle for faster, more powerful gaming rigs, and the Coridium boasts two of the beasts, plus an overclocked hex-core Intel Core i7 processor. The result is ridiculous power—enough to enjoy gaming on multiple 4K monitors—but it costs a whopping $7,779 (as tested). If you're looking for the fastest gaming rig around, and don't mind spending as much as a used Toyota Corolla, the Coridium is our new Editors' Choice for high-end gaming desktops.
The Coridium is built inside a Corsair Obsidian Series 450D chassis, which features a steel body, a brushed-aluminum the front panel, and a large, acrylic side window for showing off what's under the hood. The whole thing measures 19.44 by 8.26 by 19.56 inches (HWD), putting it squarely in the midtower category, and not so big as to overcrowd a desk. For this build, Digital Storm has slightly modified the front panel, filling the two drive bays with a tray-loading optical drive (12x Blu-ray and DVD writer/reader), and the front of a cooling reservoir for Digital Storm's own HydroLux liquid cooling system. Also on the front of the case is a Power button, two USB 3.0 ports, separate jacks for a headphone and microphones, and a Reset button.
Around the back of the tower, you'll find plenty of connections,
with nine USB ports (four USB 3.0, five USB 2.0), one dedicated port for BIOS Flash, and two USB/eSATA combination ports. There's a PS/2 port for older gaming peripherals, and a FireWire 400 port, along with Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF for digital surround sound, and other standard audio ports. There are two graphics cards inside, combining to offer two DVI-D outputs and eight mini DisplayPorts.
Open up the left side of the case, and you'll find an Asus Sabertooth X79 motherboard, set up for overclocking and outfitted with an Intel Core i7-4930K hex-core processor overclocked to 4.6GHz. Right next to the CPU you'll find not one, but two giant AMD Radeon R9 295X2 graphics cards, dual-chip cards built for blazing graphics performance at 4K resolution. With two dual-chip cards in Quad-Crossfire configuration, there's a lot of hardware between you and the motherboard, but we could see that our review unit came with 16GB of RAM, with four 4GB sticks of 1866MHz Corsair Vengeance Pro RAM filling four of the eight available slots.
Falcon Northwest Fragbox (GeForce GTX 780 SLI)
Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan)
Maingear Epic Rush X79
All of this high-powered hardware generates a lot of heat and demands a lot of power. The two graphics cards have built-in liquid cooling, so each card has tubing and a radiator to contend with, in addition to the overclocked processor, which is cooled with its own Digital Storm HydroLux cooler, with its radiator positioned just below the optical drive. It's a mess of tubing, and while it's surprisingly quiet, it will complicate any maintenance work or upgrades inside the case. Then there are the power requirements; the overclocked hex-core processor needs a lot of juice, but the pair of AMD R9 295X2 cards have heavy power demands and specific support requirements. As such, the Coridium is powered by a 1,500-watt Silverstone power supply.
Crack open the right side of the case, and you'll see two identical-looking Samsung EVDO solid-state drives (SSDs). One SSD serves as a boot drive, with 250GB capacity, while the other 1TB SSD is the storage drive. Opting for the two slim SSDs is a smart move, since they can be tucked out of the way without having to contend with the bulk of a regular hard drive—with multiple radiators, five cooling fans, and a sizeable PSU, there's not a lot of free space in this tower. The flash-based storage also offers faster performance than spinning drives, so it contributes to the already-obscene speed promised by the Coridium.
Speaking of speed, the Coridium delivered some impressive numbers on our benchmark tests. Between the overclocked Intel Core i7-4930K hex-core processor and the two beastly Radeon R9 295X2 graphics cards, the Coridium chewed through all of our tests without hesitation, easily taking its place among the fastest, most powerful systems we've reviewed.
The Coridium is built to harness the might of two Radeon R9 295X2 graphics cards, and the graphics performance is definitely the highlight of the system, putting every comparable system to shame in our gaming tests. In Aliens vs. Predator at 1,366-by-768 resolution and low detail settings, the Coridium shattered records with a category-leading 641 frames per second (fps), and 302fps when dialed up to 1,920-by-1,080 with full detail settings. In Heaven, the Coridium produced 245fps at baseline settings, and 245fps at 1,920-by-1,080 and full detail settings. These results put it in the upper echelon of top-tier systems, even outdoing other multiple-GPU systems, like the Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan). And at full 4K resolution the Coridium will still play any game, at maximum settings and full resolution, and offer impressive frame rates doing it.
For those who want to use some of this power for something other than gaming, the overclocked CPU offers potent performance on its own, with a CineBench score of 13.88 points, putting it ahead of almost every competitor. The Coridium completed Handbrake in 20 seconds, which is slightly ahead of other high-powered competitors, but that performance wasn't consistent across all multimedia applications. In Photoshop CS6, the Coridium completed our test in 4 minutes 46 seconds; it's an admirable score, but nowhere near the 2:41 of the Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan), or the 2:30 of the Maingear Epic Rush X79.
The Digital Storm Coridium is far from affordable, and even with overclocking and top-tier components, it doesn't quite offer the best general-use performance. But it does one thing better than any other gaming rig we've seen: pump out more frames at higher resolutions than any other machine we've tested. If you want the very best 4K gaming performance, nothing tops the Coridium with its double-dose of dual-GPU AMD cards. It puts our former Editors' Choice, the Falcon Northwest Fragbox (GeForce GTX 780 SLI) to shame in gaming tests, and it pulls ahead of the similarly priced Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan). If pure, unbridled graphics performance is what you're after, the Digital Storm Coridium delivers like no other. It's our Editors' Choice for high-end gaming desktops.
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About Brian Westover
Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices. As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between Superman and Batman. This was cute when he was five, but worrisome at seventeen. Naturally, he is now a journalist, writing about technology and gadgets. Brian has been writing professionally since 2007, and his work has appeared in business newsletters, websites, textbooks, and magazines. He earned his degree in Communications from Brigham Young University - Idaho. When not writing or fighting villainy, Brian enjoys sampling the culinary delights of New York, perusing obscure trivia, and spending time with his wife.
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