Students play an important role in the management of the school which empowers them to bring social and economic development to their communities, as well as learn leadership, empathy and compassion.

Students can be taught and empowered to become change-makers. Schools have resources that have been underutilized.

Villagers have strong bonds with schools. There are more schools than any other governmental offices. Schools can be lifelong centers for all.

In 1974, our speaker, Mechai Viravaidya, launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) to combat Thailand's soaring population growth rate. Using unconventional methods and humor, he made contraceptives widely accessible, leading to a significant reduction in the growth rate to 0.5% by 2003.

His innovative approach also proved effective in tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis, resulting in a remarkable 90% decline in new infections within 12 years.

Mechai’s impact extended beyond public health as he held key government positions and pioneered social entrepreneurship. Establishing Thailand's first social enterprise in 1975 to support PDA's operations, he later expanded it to include 18 others, notably the Cabbages & Condoms Restaurants and Resorts.

His dedication to rural development is evident through initiatives like the Village Development Partnership, empowering communities with sustainable ventures. Additionally, the Bamboo School, founded in 2008, stands as a beacon of lifelong learning and socioeconomic advancement. Mechai’s remarkable achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including the United Nations Population

To learn more, go to:

http://www.mechaifoundation.org/

https://tinyurl.com/MVFdocuments (a folder with articles and more)

Betsy Fisher is the US Director of the NGO Talent Beyond Boundaries and a lecturer in international refugee law at the University of Michigan Law School.

She is an immigration lawyer and advocates for government policy and technology-based platforms that help refugees and stateless people access lasting safety. She also enjoys watching sports and attempting to garden vegetables.

The number of displaced people, more than 110 million people currently, has rapidly expanded. Meanwhile, avenues have narrowed for people to safely return to their homes or gain long-term status and rights where they live now. In addition to asylum and resettlement, many seek to connect refugees with other avenues to safety through employment or family ties.

As an immigration lawyer and refugee advocate, Betsy has worked to advance these immigration pathways. As the US Director at Talent Beyond Boundaries, Betsy connects refugees with durable status and living wages in the United States, and previously developed a platform screening refugees for eligibility for dozens of immigration programs. Join us for a discussion of how we can leverage immigration policy and tech solutions to connect displaced people with lasting refuge.

To learn more, go to:

https://talentbeyondboundaries.org

To read a blog that Betsy co-wrote about avenues to connect refugees with third country solutions:

https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2023/11/21/modest-proposals-for-actors-supporting-third-country-solutions-for-refugees/

Betsy's LinkedIn account:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsy-fisher-78051a14/

Betsy's Twitter/X profile:

https://twitter.com/betsylfisher"

Starring on a hit YouTube channel, Grandpa Bobby and Grandpa Scott tell the stories of their travels.

Travel as Service: Traveling is more than an opportunity to visit important cultural and historic sites, or a chance to sink your toes in the sands of a tropical resort.

Travel is an opportunity to create bridges to alternate cultures and traditions. It is an opportunity to learn and to grow from that awareness. To walk in someone else’s footsteps.

Travel puts us in touch with people from all walks of life and experience. Through these interactions we can learn how people from different places encounter situations similar to our own in their own unique way – where they live, how they live, what they eat, what they value. Learning about different cultures provides a greater understanding and empathy for people around the world, which in turn can lead to greater tolerance and acceptance. These are the bridges that travel can serve to help unite our diverse planet, celebrate our common goals, and minimize misunderstandings – all with a hopeful eye towards peace.

Bobby Puleo (aka Grandpa Bobby) was born and raised in a small town in Upstate New York where he dreamed of being an architect and traveling the world. After receiving his degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona, Bobbly moved to San Francisco where he met Scott Rhinehart, and formed a relationship that has lasted nearly 46 years.

Together with Scott’s former wife, Grandpa Bobby helped raise two daughters and six grandchildren.

The travel bug never left, and over the years Grandpa Bobby has visited more than twenty countries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as most of the United States.

Scott Rhinehart (aka Grandpa Scott) was born and raised in a small mining town in Eastern Utah to a large family of nine, and as a young boy, dreamed of the adventures that lay beyond.

After moving to Southern California as a teenager, Scott received his degree in sociology, married and had two children. While the marriage may not have lasted a long time, the friendship with his former wife Laura was a constant. Together with Bobby, the three coparented their daughters and grandchildren as a close family unit.

Two years ago, Scott created the YouTube channel Two Gay Grandpas Travel to document their travel adventures for their grandchildren and to inspire them to seek out new adventures.

The internet soon came to embrace these videos as well, and to date, over 97,000 subscribers follow their adventures.

Members and guests, please welcome Grandpa Bobby and Grandpa Scott!

To learn more about their travels, watch their videos at:

https://www.youtube.com/@twogaygrandpastravel/videos

To listen to the Travel Your Heart podcast, you can go to:

https://open.spotify.com/show/29TnR3cpXCGRlif38XYy6P

Béatrice Zre is a specialist in the management of NGOs and community-based organizations. She is presenting in French, and we thank Valerie Sun for providing translation help.

The original zoom call, unedited with the French, can be see on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/enDxdw5eLtY

In addition to her commitment to Femmes Plus, Béatrice was a member of the Rotary Club of Paddington from 2016. After the dissolution of the Paddington club, she joined the Rotary Direct Membership in 2023. She collaborated with Rotary clubs on several projects that have had a significant impact on populations in Africa. Her mentor, Rotarian Mac Purcell, gave her a PHF last year in recognition of her hard work for the benefit of her community. Mac is a Major Donor and Bequest Society Member Level 6, and works with Béatrice to empower women and girls in Africa, focusing on the support of Rotary clubs to make the empowerment of women and girls in Africa a reality.

The mission of Femmes Plus is to promote women's rights and highlight their contribution to achieving sustainable development goals. It is managed by a Rotarian and supported by Rotarians. Femmes Plus' work aims to promote female entrepreneurship, female leadership, health, education and the protection of women and children. The organization is committed to reducing gender inequalities and achieving women's empowerment and equal opportunities.

To learn more, go to:

https://www.femmes-plus.org/

https://www.facebook.com/femmes.plus7/

https://youtube.com/@femmestv4303

https://issuu.com/femmesplus

Michael Collopy, San Francisco native and renowned portrait photographer, will discuss his career photographing some of the world’s most influential leaders, including seven U.S. presidents, and 41 Nobel peace laureates, business leaders, and civil rights activists.

Collopy has also been commissioned to photograph such movie stars and musicians as George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Paul McCartney, B.B. King, the Rolling Stones, and Frank Sinatra, and his iconic photos of Mother Teresa in her Calcutta mission have come to symbolize her work and humanity.

His latest published collection of photographs, “Courage,” profiles people who “have exemplified bravery through specific acts of courage,” including poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, Former South African President Nelson Mandela, and primatologist Jane Goodall.

In his presentation, Collopy will discuss the art of portrait photography, the power of photojournalism to move an audience, and how he has been inspired by the people he has photographed.

Michael Collopy has gained worldwide recognition for his commissioned portraits of hundreds of public figures. His portfolio contains a vast array of portraits from world leaders such as Nelson Mandela and 41 Nobel peace laureates to 7 U.S. Presidents and entertainers like Paul McCartney, George Clooney, Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba. Collopy also worked with Frank Sinatra for many years. In 1996 Collopy released his 1st bestselling book: "Works Of Love Are Works Of Peace" with Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

In 2016, one of Collopy's portraits of Mother Teresa was chosen as the official Vatican picture for Mother Teresa's Canonization. This image appeared on the cover of Time Magazine for the 3rd time in 10 years.

Another photograph from Collopy's archive was selected and painted as Mother Teresa's official Sainthood portrait and was displayed on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for a week and broadcast throughout the world. Pope Francis tweeted the image out on the eve of the Canonization and received 95,000 likes. The image currently hangs in the chapels of the Missionaries of Charity around the globe.

Michael Collopy is the founder of: architectsofpeace.org and The Caminar for Mental Health expressive arts program (links below).

To learn more, go to:

https://michaelcollopyphotography.com

https://www.architectsofpeace.org

https://instagram.com/michael.collopy.photography

https://instagram.com/architectsofpeace

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host, ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/

Podcast Producer, ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/

⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

In our third and final presentation featuring amazing high schoolers this month, you'll hear from North Star, a group that created a GPS-tracking bracelet called SJ Tracker meant for Alzheimer’s patients.

It works with a mobile app, SafeJourney, which allows family members and caregivers to track the patients' location anytime and anywhere through their phone.

North Star is a group of 10th grade students from The Study in Montreal:

Lisa is 15 years old and has an interest in sports. She is interested in pursuing the sciences when she goes to university.

Xinyi is 16 years old and has a passion for music and visual arts. Xinyi is interested in a career in Engineering.

Joanaye is 16 years old and is a valued member of the school choir. Joanaye would like to work with children in the future.

The team was mentored by high school teacher Benjamin Douek who has participated in several business accelerator programs and is also the founder of Robot In A Can; a startup dedicated to providing computer science education to youth.

Amalia Liogas is the Director of IT at The Study. Her philosophy of education supports creativity, challenging students and learning outside the classroom.

The Study has participated in the Technovation competition for many years now. Students are tasked with identifying a problem based on one of the UN’s sustainable development goals as well as developing an app-based solution. Along with the app, students must produce a business plan and a marketing plan.

This year, team North Star pitched their product to a jury of technology industry professionals at the Montreal regional competition.

Team North Star won First Place for their Technical Pitch, were awarded the Jury Favorite Prize and they also received a grant from Caisse Desjardins for Best Business Plan. They were the only team at this year’s competition to feature both a software and hardware solution.

To learn more about the Technovation Challenge, go to:

https://technovationchallensge.org/

This is our second of three weeks featuring young people engaged in important work - in this case, questions about teens and social media.

Researcher Danah Boyd once wrote, "Most teens aren't addicted to social media; they're addicted to each other." Join us for an engaging workshop showcasing the results of a student-designed action research project, completed in partnership with ICGS, that explores the impact of social media use on girls' self-esteem, mental health, and relationships. Participants will hear from the student researchers and will review the research methodology, and, most importantly, actionable strategies for girls, parents, guardians, and educators. Discover how we all can foster healthier social media habits and empower girls to navigate the digital landscape with confidence and resilience.

Eric Walters serves as the Director of STEM Education at Marymount School of New York, where he teaches Physics, Atmospheric Science, and several technology electives. He also serves as the faculty moderator for the Tech + Social Media Team, which coordinates the STEMxYouth Summit as well as the 2024 Girls + Social Media Survey. As an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Educator, he believes that transformative teaching and learning occurs when students (and teachers) construct their own knowledge, collaborate with peers, and represent that knowledge and understanding in ways that are meaningful to the learner, all while receiving authentic, relevant, robust, and holistic feedback.

This week is the first of three in a row in which we feature students who have done amazing work to improve the lives of others.

This presentation is an overview of a project our speaker, Pierce Wright, developed aiming to predict the nature of incoming Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls by training an algorithm.

A volunteer EMR, Wright found most ambulance calls he fielded related to mental health and substance abuse—which most EMS responders are not trained to treat—resulting in the patient being transported to an emergency department (ED). Utilizing EMS to “transport” the increasing number of mental health calls creates two public health risks: (1) an ambulance becomes unavailable for a trauma call; and (2) the patient may be admitted to an ED, often at public expense, when mental health treatment is more appropriate.

A policy solution is to create specific EMS crews staffed with mental health professionals, using the predictive algorithm to identify such calls. After a retrospective study of AI projects in this space, Pierce established an algorithm using 24 million interactions from New York City’s (NYC) EMS Incident Dispatch Data, from January 2005 - March 2022. The algorithm was validated with additional data from April - December 2022. The algorithm achieved 94.5% predictability, compared to 92.3% accuracy for EMS operators. Across 9 million NYC 911 calls annually, the algorithm could more effectively allocate resources for 198,000 cases.

Extrapolated nationally based on data found in Karaca & Moore (2020), where $5.6 billion is spent annually on mental and substance use disorder ED visits, savings of $123 million may be possible—more if the algorithm can prevent misguided hospital admissions. Additional data, such as new call types and customization for regional municipalities, would make the model more robust and scalable.

Pierce Wright is a rising high school senior at The Browning School in New York City. He is a nationally certified Emergency Medical Responder and has spent more than 500 hours on shift with the Westport (CT) Volunteer EMS.

His paper on his working with EMS incident data has been accepted for presentation at conferences around the world, including as the keynote speaker at the International Experts Summit on Public Health and Preventative Medicine in 2025. Pierce’s work has received numerous awards, including first place at the TerraNYC STEM Fair and second place at the New York State Science & Engineering Fair. He has also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award (Silver Medal).

In his free time, Pierce enjoys listening to music, fly fishing, computer builds, and walking his Samoyed, Cloud, in Central Park.

Youtube video of this presentation: https://youtu.be/nil401MZoGg

To read the paper about this project, please visit: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4782065

This week we'll hear from Nick LaGarde and Mike Kane.

As we record, Nick is the president for the eClub of Silicon Valley for 2023-2024. As he wraps up his year, Nick is excited to reflect back on the challenges and successes of the Rotary year.

Nick is a proud father of four and the partner to fellow eClub Rotarian, Tatiana. During the work week, Nick helps nonprofits make the most of their mission of helping others through strategy, technology and business transformation, primarily focusing on the implementation of Salesforce. Connect with Nick on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicklagarde/

Mike is a technology enthusiast. His early career in computers began in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s and later led to a move to Silicon Valley in 1976. During his time in Silicon Valley, he held senior management positions at Intel, Apple, Oracle, IBM Global Services, and US Web/CKS. In 2004, Mike left the corporate world and founded WorkgroupIT, an IT consulting and services company.

In 2013, Mike joined the Rotary Club of Los Gatos Morning, serving multiple terms on the board and as the club webmaster. After relocating to Lincoln, CA, in 2020, Mike joined the eClub of Silicon Valley to stay connected to District 5170 and be part of the ""new"" Rotary model focused on service but independent of weekly in-person meetings. After a long career without much spare time, Rotary, particularly the eClub of Silicon Valley, has been a perfect way to give back and prioritize Service Above Self.

Mike has served as Club Secretary and is now the President-elect for the 2024-2025 term. Additionally, Mike has been married to Jeanie for 56 years and is a proud parent of four adult children and four grandchildren.

Nick is the president for the eClub of Silicon Valley for 2023-2024. As he wraps up his year, Nick is excited to reflect back on the challenges and successes of the Rotary year.

Nick is a proud father of 4 and the partner to fellow eClub Rotarian, Tatiana. During the work week, Nick helps nonprofits make the most of their mission of helping others through strategy, technology and business transformation, primarily focusing on the implementation of Salesforce. Connect with Nick on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicklagarde/.

Mike is a technology enthusiast. His early career in computers began in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s and later led to a move to Silicon Valley in 1976. During his time in Silicon Valley, he held senior management positions at Intel, Apple, Oracle, IBM Global Services, and US Web/CKS. In 2004, Mike left the corporate world and founded WorkgroupIT, an IT consulting and services company.

In 2013, Mike joined the Rotary Club of Los Gatos Morning, serving multiple terms on the board and as the club webmaster. After relocating to Lincoln, CA, in 2020, Mike joined the eClub of Silicon Valley to stay connected to District 5170 and be part of the "new" Rotary model focused on service but independent of weekly in-person meetings. After a long career without much spare time, Rotary, particularly the eClub of Silicon Valley, has been a perfect way to give back and prioritize Service Above Self.

Mike has served as Club Secretary and is now the President-elect for the 2024-2025 term. Additionally, Mike has been married to Jeanie for 54 years and is a proud parent of four adult children and four grandchildren.

https://youtu.be/hWujUnkEraA

Today we'll learn about an organization called Real Ice.

Climate change, caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, could cause the global temperature to increase by several degrees by the end of the century, precipitating climate tipping points with serious consequences.

The solution to this problem is to cease the burning of fossil fuels and to eliminate excess greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. However, lowering atmospheric greenhouse gas levels – even under the most aggressive scenarios – may not happen fast enough to prevent the onset of tipping points.

Such reasoning has led to proposals for methods to actively cool the Earth in order to buy time to decarbonize, and there has been considerable debate around the risks and benefits of these various methods. Sea ice thickening is one of these methods that aims at slowing or reversing the decline of Arctic sea ice through sea water pump by enhancing its natural formation and thickening.

Our speaker, Pascal Martin-Daguet, is a civil engineer from France who has spent over three decades as a project manager on large and complex construction projects over the world and especially in Asia. Pascal has specialized in what some would call "impossible projects," working to solve problems with sustainability in mind.

Pascal has lived in twelve different countries and believes that diversity in all its forms is what makes human societies rich and strong. He believes that we need to rethink and rebuild human societies so that life can continue to thrive, and he’s fully engaged in that challenge. Additionally, he was an active member of the Rotary Clubs of Penang in Malaysia and of Vladivostok in Russia.