Friday, April 13, 2012

Social Impact Intern needed!

Project Management Internship
Social Impact, Inc.

Duration: Preferably April 16-August 31, 2012

Great opportunity to get broad exposure to international development consulting and to deepen your international development management skills!
Social Impact (SI) is an international development management consulting firm working to enhance the effectiveness of international development organizations and the programs they support. SI works in the sectors of democracy and governance, health, education, economic growth and environment. SI seeks a new Project Management Intern to support the USAID Evaluation Training task order, as well as tasks on a number of other projects.

Responsibilities include:
1) Supporting the implementation of trainings in Washington, DC and in USAID Missions worldwide;
2) Providing quality assurance and revisions to the two training program curricula;
3) Responding to participant inquiries and addressing participant and Mission needs;
4) Supporting the USAID Evaluation Practicum, a post-training program to further develop participants’ evaluation skills;
5) Providing general assistance to other programs alongside SI staff;
6) The internship will focus on assisting SI in the USAID Evaluation Training Task Order, with 6 trainings delivered between May and August. This will be an excellent opportunity to develop marketable skills related to project management and evaluation, as there will also be ample opportunity to attend sessions during the one-week or two-week evaluation courses.

Position requires highly motivated, dynamic, detail-oriented, people-person. Must be strong at multi-tasking and willing to work in a fast paced environment. Proficiency in Word and Excel a must. The internship is based in Arlington, VA at Courthouse Metro.

Compensation:
Monthly stipend of $500 provided with minimum 20 hours’ work week schedule, during school year.
Monthly stipend of $1000 provided with 40 hours’ work week schedule, during summer or sooner, if possible.

To Apply:
Visit our website at www.socialimpact.com to get a window into SI.
Please send a brief cover letter with your CV and the date you could begin part-time work via email to recruit@socialimpact.com with the subject title “Project Management Intern”.
All candidates must be eligible to work on a stipend basis in the US without any special provisions and also be enrolled in a current Master’s program (graduating no earlier than July 2012).
No phone calls or visits please.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Cherry Blossoms and Climate Event

Join the Koshland Science Museum and Miraikan, Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, for a public program and visual discovery of the science of cherry blossoms.

Track the relationship between climate and natural phenomena, such as the timing of the cherry blossoms. Explore how to use remote-sensing data to track these patterns using data visualized on Miraikan's Geo-Scope. Then, discover how to participate in these hands-on observations in your community.

Sakura Nights
Thursday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Koshland Science Museum
525 E Street, N.W.

More information: http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/events/upcomingevent.jsp?id=530.

This program is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s 2012 Centennial celebration.

Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite or by calling the Koshland Science Museum at (202) 334-1201. Tickets are $10; $7 for students.

Inquiries should be directed to: Amy Shaw

Monday, April 2, 2012

AU Earth Day Photography Contest

AU Library Nature Photo Contest Submission Guidelines:

  1. Contest is open to all members of the AU community.
  2. Photograph entries must be the original work of the entrant.
  3. Photos must be submitted with the dimensions of 4000 x 3000 pixels (at 150 dpi) or greater to ensure a high-quality print.
  4. Each email submission must include the title, location of the work, and the full name of the photographer.
  5. By submitting photographs to the contest via email, entrants agree to grant the AU Library permission to print and display photographs. All photographs will be credited to the photographer.
  6. Entries will be judged by a committee of AU Library staff members (no professional photographers) on creativity, compliance with the theme, originality and overall quality of the image.
  7. The contest organizers reserve the right to disqualify entries that do not conform to the stated rules and guidelines. By participating in the contest, the entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, and it is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that s/he has complied. The determination of the winners will be final and binding in all matters relating to this contest.
  8. The deadline for all entries to be received is April 13, 2012. Judging will be completed and winners will be announced thereafter.
  9. Submit photos and associated information as attachments to aulibphoto@gmail.com. Each entrant may submit no more than three photos.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Green Infrastructure: Using Natural Landscapes for Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Improvements

Resources For the Future First Wednesday Seminar

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
12:45 - 2:00 p.m.
A light lunch will be provided starting at 12:30 p.m.
First Floor Conference Center
1616 P St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Registration for in-person attendance is required. To RSVP for this event, please visit RFF's event registration page.
This event will also be webcast live starting at 12:45 p.m. Join the webcast at rff.org/live.

About the Event

Nature provides a wealth of ecological services: forests store carbon and clean the air; rivers provide water for drinking and harbor animal species; and wetlands purify stormwater and serve as buffers against floods. Governments around the world are increasingly recognizing that this “green infrastructure” can be a cost-effective supplement or substitute for the “gray infrastructure”—pipes, dams, levees, treatment plants—traditionally used to control flooding, purify and store water, and reduce urban stormwater runoff.
At this First Wednesday Seminar, sponsored by RFF's Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth, panelists will explore what “green infrastructure” means and describe how to evaluate the costs and benefits of land-use options for reducing flood damages. They will also discuss the challenges of convincing stakeholders that natural systems can provide infrastructure services and complement public projects. RFF experts will describe a case study evaluating flood abatement options in a Wisconsin watershed, and provide some lessons learned from working to implement a payment for environmental services program in the Florida Everglades.

Moderator:

Lynn Scarlett, Co-Director, RFF Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth

Panelists:

Margaret Walls, Research Director and Thomas J. Klutznick Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
"The Role of Land Use Policies in Minimizing Flood Damage"
Len Shabman, Resident Scholar, Resources for the Future
“A Green Infrastructure Contribution to Everglades Restoration”

Tuesday Event at the Brookings Institute

Addressing the Legal Gaps in Climate Change Migration, Displacement and Resettlement: From Sinking Islands to Flooded Deltas

Large numbers of people are expected to leave their homes and communities in the coming years because of the effects of climate change. Some will leave as a result of the increasing severity and frequency of sudden-onset disasters. Others will move as long-term processes of environmental degradation intensify, including desertification and rising sea levels. Still others are likely to be relocated by their governments when the areas where they live are declared uninhabitable. While much remains unknown about the scale, timing and nature of such population movements, it seems clear that present normative frameworks will be inadequate to deal with large-scale future movements of people as a result of climate change. Are new international treaties or guiding principles needed for climate change-induced displacement, migration and resettlement?

Event Information

Tuesday, April 03, 2012
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC

On April 3, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement will host a discussion on the gaps in present normative frameworks and the pros and cons of coming up with new instruments for climate change displacement, migration and resettlement. Panelists include Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Jane McAdam, Senior Fellow Elizabeth Ferris, co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and Michele Klein Solomon, permanent observer of the International Organization for Migration to the United Nations. Vincent Cochetel, representative from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will moderate the discussion.

After the program, panelists will take audience questions.

Participants

Moderator

Vincent Cochetel

Representative to the United States and the Caribbean
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Panelists

Elizabeth Ferris

Co-Director, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement

Jane McAdam

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement

Michele Klein Solomon

Permanent Observer to the United Nations
International Organization for Migration

US Department of Labor Releases "Why Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career"

From http://www.greencollarblog.org/2012/03/us-dol-why-green-is-your-color-a-womans-guide-to-a-sustainable-career.html

US Department of Labor Releases "Why Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career"

Last month, the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor released a report entitled Why Green is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career (PDF).  This publication is designed to help women find and keep higher paying jobs in the clean energy economy.
The report (which can be downloaded here) includes information on a range of in-demand and emerging jobs, as well as job training opportunities and career development tools, in the clean energy economy. The guide is also intended to serve as a resource for workforce development professionals, training providers, educators, career counselors, and women’s advocacy organizations.
"Many occupations in the clean energy economy remain virtually untapped by women," said Sara Manzano-Díaz, director of the Women’s Bureau. "This guide is an invaluable resource that workforce professionals can use to help women transition into higher paying jobs that serve as a pathway into the middle class. It is also a tool to help fight job segregation."
The report is a result of nationwide roundtables at which leaders from the public and private sectors discussed opportunities for women in the clean energy economy. These conversations revealed that an overall lack of awareness and information about nontraditional jobs was a significant challenge to women wanting to succeed in this marketplace. Information about the roundtables is available at http://www.dol.gov/wb/media/green.htm.
More information on the Women's Bureau is available at 202-693-6710 or online at http://www.dol.gov/wb