Daily Archives: April 6, 2021

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TORONTO, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnions (NYSE: TRU) latest quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends found that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fraudsters in Canada are increasing their digital schemes against businesses. In addition, TransUnions recent Canada Consumer Pulse Study found that 34% of Canadian consumers have recently been targeted by digital fraud.

TransUnion came to its conclusions about fraud against businesses based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite TransUnion TruValidate. It found the percent of suspected fraudulent digital transaction attempts1 against businesses originating from Canada increased 26% when comparing the following two periods: Period #1 (March 11, 2019 and March 10, 2020); Period #2 (March 11, 2020 when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and March 10, 2021). Fraudsters are always looking to take advantage of significant world events. The COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding rapid digital acceleration brought about by stay-at-home orders is a global event unrivaled in the online age, said Anne-Marie Kelly, head of Market Development, Identity Management and Fraud Solutions at TransUnion. By analyzing billions of transactions we assessed fraud indicators over the past year, it has become clear that the war against the virus has also brought about a war against digital fraud. TransUnion found the Canadian cities with the highest percent of suspected fraudulent digital transactions were: 1) Longueuil, 2) Quebec City and 3) Montreal.

Consumers Targeted by COVID-19 SchemesTransUnions Global Consumer Pulse Study also found that the 34% of Canadian consumers who said they are being targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19 in the last three months is higher than approximately one year ago. In April 2020, 28% said they had been targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19.Gen Z, comprised of people born between 1995-2002, is currently the most targeted out of any generation at 49% of those surveyed. They are followed by Gen X, born 19651979, which have been targeted 34%.Among consumers in Canada who reported being targeted with digital COVID-19 schemes, the top pandemic-themed scam is phishing with 44% saying they were hit with it. Examining Fraud Types and Their Impact on IndustriesGlobally, TransUnion analyzed the below industries for a change in the percent of suspected digital fraud attempts against them, comparing the periods of March 11, 2019-March 10, 2020 and March 11, 2020-March 10, 2021.

Suspected Digital Fraud Attempt Rate Post-Pandemic Declaration

For more details about TransUnions recent global digital fraud findings, visit this blog post.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good. TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people in more than 30 countries. Our customers in Canada comprise some of the nations largest banks and card issuers, and TransUnion is a major credit reporting, fraud, and analytics solutions provider across the finance, retail, telecommunications, utilities, government and insurance sectors.

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1 The percent or rate of suspected fraudulent digital transaction attempts are those that TransUnions customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud

Contact:Fiona BangPhone -647-680-2885Email - fiona.bang@ketchum.com

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One Year after COVID-19 Pandemic Declared, New TransUnion Research Shows Digital Fraud Attempts from Canada Have Increased - StreetInsider.com

Above every marketing strategy and brand building is an effective team that can work together towards a specific goal. And nothing can bring you closer to the results youve been targeting than instilling a culture of empowerment within your workplace. Carrie Charles talks withKenny Blakesleeto share how he implemented such a culture that spelled success for bothApex Site SolutionsandPulse Signal Solutions. He explains how core values must always come into play in real life and helping employees understand why through various programs gives them a bigger professional purpose than they could ever imagine. Kenny also talks about the philanthropic work that puts him and his team in the middle of a battle against human trafficking, further empowering their belief and ideals beyond just being tower leaders.

I am excited to have with me the President and CEO ofApex Site SolutionsandPulse Signal Solutions, Kenny Blakeslee. Kenny, thank you for being on the show. Im so excited to talk with you.

Thanks for having me. I know that the names are a little bit of a mouthful and a little hard to remember. Theyre long-winded but we wanted to capture what the companys doing.

Im excited to hear about it. I cant wait. Kenny, you have a cool story of how you started in telecom and how you got to where you are. Can you talk about that a little bit?

I feel like Im a perfect example of whats possible in this industry. I started back in the90s when I was still in high school. I was working in a yard for a company back then. They were called UCCI in Roseville, California. I was working in the yard on a summer job. I left and went into the Navy. I did my four years in the Navy as an avionics technician. When I got out, I came back to work in the industry. I was working for my dad. Itwas only supposed to be temporary on my way back to do college after getting out of the military. I got hooked and never left. Ieventuallyleft my dads company. I was young. He was younger. We butted heads like the classic father-son story.I left and went to some other companies, got more experiencedand climbed the ladder. In 2010, I started Apex Site Solutions and built it from there. I went from working in a yard as a temporary job and continued to climb the ranks. I think thats a perfect example of whats possible in this industry and what makes it exciting for a lot of younger folks.

Tell us more about Apex and Pulse Signal.

Apex started in 2010. I was working as a project manager for a company that wassubbing out most of their work. They wanted me to grow in that role. I was having a ton of problems finding good subs that could do high-quality work and understood what we were doing and understood the quality that was required, the closeout requirements. At that point, I said, Why dont we do this? Im going to go get my contractors license. Ill go to work for myself. You start selling some stuff to me. Youll have at least one subcontractor who can do the work at a high-quality level and that you can trust. Put all of it on my plate.

I never planned initially to grow Apex into anything massive. It was an opportunity that I saw. I said, Let me go work for myself and hire a couple of people. Well build some sites. It will be a lot of fun. Theres an opportunity there. Soon more opportunity came. Morepeople wanted us to build sites. We hired a few more people and continued down that road of organic growth. Soon I looked up and we had twenty people working for us. I realized, This is turning into more of a company thanjusta guy out there that buildthe sites. Thats when things started to shift. I had to make the choice.Do we continue to growordo we stay extremely small?

At that point, I was still doing everything myself. I was still doing the closeout packages. I was still doing project management. I was still sendingthe bids while also still trying to be out in the field working with the teams. I hit that trough of sorrow where everything felt it weighed so much on me. As we talk about the culture that weve built with both of these companies, Ive got to admit, it wasnt always this way. When I was going through that trough of sorrow, this wasnt a great place to work. I was a borderline miserable guy. If the leader is miserable, thats going to pass down to everybody else. We werent a great place to work. We had a lot of turnovers.

I met somebodywhobecame a mentor to me. I started interacting with a couple of other peopletooin the industry like Brian Woodward who started to mentor me on becoming a better leader.Hes like,Youve got to hire some people in and start to trust some other people to take over some of these responsibilities. I was forced to grow in my leadership. By being challenged by people like that, it got me to a place where we started bringing other people in to take on some of the responsibilities. Their leadership started to grow. It started to free up my time and my mental space to become a better leader and to become more intentional with the way that we interacted with our team and everything else.

It started to grow from there. Admittedly, it wasnt always a success story. It took a lot of growth. It took a lot of efforts. Even once I decided to make the change, you got to build trust with the team too where you say, Were going to change the way we do things. They roll their eyeslike,Yeah, sure. It takes time. It takes a lot of effort. Thats how that grew. Pulse came. We launched that in 2019. Thats focused on in-building services, RF engineering, more of the professional services side of things. We saw an opportunity in the DAS world, in the in-building public space,for us to take the RF expertise that we built by working for the carriers, testingandtroubleshooting for the carriers and bring that to a new space.

Thats been a lot of fun. Its been a challenge. Its slightly different. Were going from a construction-focusedtower company, Apex,and going into more of a professional services field. Its been a learning curve for me.Were focusing on the same things that we focused on with Apex, which are the core values that we stick to and matter to us. Company culture has driven a lot of success and allows us to attract some top talents that want to be a part of the team. They can see our mission. They can understand how we behave and go about our business. Thats been a lot of fun. Were growing that too.

Kenny, this is one thing that captured my attention about you and your companies, itsthat culture. I find that it is one of the most amazing culture stories that Ive ever heard especially from a smaller company. I wanted to showcase that. Talk about your culture and your values. Talk about what your motivation was for creating this incredible culture.

Ill bring Brian Woodward back up. I spent a lot of time talking to him. He was a great mentor for me. He started to frame up for me aboutyou realize the difference that you can be making in peoples lives when you give them this career. Thats whats exciting about our industry. I saidthatIm the prime example of it but weve got guys and gals that come in with no experience. We teach them from the ground. We love to get them here with no skills, maybe a little bit of construction background but we can teach them the skills and the right way to go about things, the right way to handle yourself as a professional,all the way from the beginning.We coachand mentor them.We teach them these skills, attributes and soft skills,how to go about being a professional. We can lay out a career path for them.We take them from somebody,especially younger folks in their low twenties who maybe went to a little bit of college because they were told that they had to or theyd be a loser if they didnt.

There was no real interest in doing that. They dont know what they want to do at this point. All of a sudden, we lay this career path out for them and try to teach them the skills and everything else to be successful. Theres so much opportunity here. We can make a generational change. I know it sounds a little much maybe sometimes but its true. We can get people in here who werent sureaboutwhat they wanted to do. Theywerent sure how they couldhavesuccess in the future.We layout for themthat this isnt a job. This is a career opportunity. You can go from being someone with zero experience in this industry and advance through the ranks of becoming a tower-lead, a foremanora field supervisor in our company, a project manager and then all the way up to running your own office.

Weve got guys and gals that withintwoyears are leading their own crews. Withinfiveyears, theyre actual project managers. Were not talking about the barely trained,scraping by because youre so busythatyou need to put somebody. Theyre successful. Weve teed them up for success. They jump into those roles. They thrive because of the different training platforms that we have and everything else we do. The bottom line is what got exciting for me was realizingthatI made that.I talk about coming out of that trough of sorrow that I was in for a while and it got exciting again, where it got exciting was when we realizedthat this isnt about building a company. This isnt necessarily even about serving the carriers or 5G. Thats the goal. The way that we accomplish that goal is by focusing on our people. Weve got somerockstarsin this company that deserves the opportunity to grow. Lets continue to cultivate that. Lets find more of thoserockstars. Lets give them a career path.

Thats why our company mission,we sat down and did the hard work of what is our true mission.What are our core values? Whats the vision for where were taking this? When I say hard work, a lot of people want to throw some words up on a wall and think it means something,but weput the timeto define itto make sure we all agreed on it. It was real. It wasnt aspirational. This is who we are and what were about. They did the hard work of getting it into the companycore, weaving it into the fabric of our culture and making sure its how we live. We decided our mission is to transform lives by providing growth and development opportunities that empower our people.

Our mission is 100% focused on empowering our people and giving them all the tools that they need to get there. Thats how were going to drive success. Thats what makes it fun. All of a sudden, what seemed like a little bit of a rat racebecame fun again. It wasnt about solving the problems of a construction site. It wasnt about folks calling in sick. When you realizethat our job here is to give them the tools to see and give them the opportunity to grow, now its fun again. Youre seeing peoples successes. You can celebrate those. Thats one of our core values,celebration.Its a tough industry. Its not easy. There are hard days. We work rain or shine. Were climbing towers.Were traveling a lot. Its not an easy job. Once we look at it as a career,thenwerealize that theres a light at the end of the tunnel, and theres a reason youre doing this on a day in and day out basis, it makes it bearable. Thats what were all about.

How do you empower your people? How do you keep them motivated and inspired?

There are a few different ways. One of the ways is by these core values. I continue to back to them. To me, whenever anybody talks about culture, it comes down to core values, living those core values and making sure that you do the hard things with those core values. You hire tothose,you promote those and you fire to those too. Sometimes people need to part ways with you if theyre not living those core values or if their mission isnt the same as yours. They can be the most talented folks in the world, but if youve taken the time to say, These are our core values. This is how we behave on a day in,day out basis. This is whats going to make us succeed, sometimes you got to part ways and say, This isnt a good fit. Thats one of the ways.

The other way is weve created a lot of training platforms. Weve created this career path. Weve created anOn the JobTraining career path. Its keeping with the military system, which is you get called out on different things. Wed gone through the career path from atowertech 1 to a towertech 2,towertech 3, foreman, project supervisor, project manager. Wevebrokendown the skills that are required for allofthose. Therearealso the attributes that go into itandthe soft skills that we coach to. Weve got some training that we put them through there. We give them leadership training. Sometimes we go out to outside sources for some of that leadership training.

ThisOnthe Job Training program that we put together breaks it down to the minutia, to the micro-skills that are necessary. Things like wiring aRaycap, testing fiber or splicing fiber. It breaks down all of those skills. They go through at any time that they can show proficiency. They get it signed off. They have to get it signed off twice. We have a practical exam that tests them out at each level. Their career path is in their hands. As long as theyre focused on that and theyre ambitious, they can get through that as fast as they want to. We also know that were promoting somebody. We check in on the core values all the time. Anytime we do a job debrief, theres a section that says, All of your crew members, how are they living our core values? Tell us where there may be deficiencies. We can coach that.

We utilize that togetthem clearabout,Heres everything you need to do. Its all in your hands. Youre empowered to take your career into your own hands. We also talk a lot about coaching and coachability. We also assign everybodya mentorwhen they come onboard. Theyve got a mentor for the first 60 to 90 days depending on how its going to make sure that theyre comfortable in the role. That firstsixweeksor so can always be overwhelming in a new role. We want to make sure that they feel comfortable. If there are any issues, if there are any questions they have, theyve got at least one point of contact that they can always reach out to and know that theyll get an ear to listen to them and also someone that they can bounce things off of. We try to keep theopen doorpolicy as well and everything else. We find that having someone thats assigned and is also checking in with them on a regular cadence helps to make people comfortable as they come onboard and make sure that they understand that this is a place that they can thrive.

Our goalisto make sure that people know. There are so many things we try to do to empower people. We have a professional development program that we check in with themevery six months. Wesit down with them, check-in on their goals, help them with goal setting, help them to be accountable to the goals theyve set out there. Thats both professional and personal. Its important to figure out their why. What gets them out of bed in the morning? What keeps them coming back to this tough job? Lets figure out how we can help them succeed in whatever those goals are, whatever they are. For some folks its, I want to earn more time with my kids. I want to buy a truck. I want to buy a home. Lets help them frame-up that why that gets them out of bed. Lets help them achieve those goals.

Kenny, this is the key to retention, everything you said. Youve become an incredible leader. How did you learn all of this? How did you know to put all of this in place? Was it intuitive? Are you committed to personal growth and development yourself? These are significant programs that make an enormous difference in engagement, retention and growing your company. How did you figure all this out?

I feel like you must have teed that one up for me because if you see me on social,Im talking about 1% betterevery dayall the time. Thats something that Ive taken on myselfas Ive grown as a leader.Number one, I talk about all the time the vision of where were taking this company. Were planning to take it national, both of them. Im not the leader that I need to be for this company yearsfrom now. The person that Im going to have to be to get us there and to be the right leader at those levels, Im not that personright now. For me to get there, Ive got to be focused on getting 1% better every day. I try to use that as an example for everybody to challenge them, Whoare wegoing to need you to be when youre stepping up and running your own office or when youre becoming our national VP of Safety? Any of those examples, youre not that personright now,but we can get you there. We want to get you there.

Our goal is to promote from within. We want to empower everybody to get there. One percent better every day is something we talk about all the time. Its one of our core values for both companies. Its through mentorshipandseeking out coaching. One of our values is coachability. We expect everyone in the company to be coachable. That means I better be coachable too. Im always seeking out mentorship and trying to grow, reading books.The bottom line is weve got people in this company that challenged me. Weve got somerockstarsin this company. Theyre not afraid to call me out if Im falling shorter or Im not doing what I need to do. Thanks to them for holding me accountable and for forcing me to grow. Where I standnowisnt going to cut it for the future. Ive got to keep growing. That forces me to think about that with our team too.

Another thing is how intentional we are. We talk about culture all the time. Were always asking ourselves in our team meetings,especially the core leadership team, how can we help folks grow? How can we challenge people? What programs can we put into place to systemize this to make sure its not one-off thoughts? As we scale, as we grow the company, how do we make sure that this carries over in any new office that we open up so that this isnt truejustin the home office anditdoesnt transfer through and translate to a new office? Its something were intentional about. Its something were always looking for. Another example of something that wed done and its a good example ofwhatthe teamiscoming up with it is we give all of our guys their Apex hard hats when they start. We started what we call a brag tag program. Its almostlikethe college football helmets where they got stickers for their helmet anytime they do something good.

We have Friday team calls. There are celebration videos. Anybody can join these Zoom calls on Friday. Anybody within the company can jump on there and shout out anybody else in the company and say, I want to notice Angel for accountability, one of our core values. He held me accountable for something that came up. Anytime people shout each other out, they get a sticker that they put on their hard hat and then they start to decorate it. They also have years in service on there and everything. Thats an example of something that when we first thought about it and it came up at a team meeting, were kicking the idea around. Would this be motivational? At first, I was a little worried. Im thinking, These are rough and tumble construction. Whats this?

It was amazing to watch the team embrace it. Theyre shouting each other out more than even getting the praise from leadership. When they get praise from their peers, youwatch them light up. They get excited about these stickers. Theyre proud to decorate their hard hats. Its something that took off. Not because of the idea of a sticker but the idea of celebrating each other, calling each other out. We talk about it all the time. One of our core values is accountability. We hold each other accountable. We hold each other to a high standard. We want to bethebest in class.

Achieving high standards is always necessary but you have to balance that out too. It cant always be accountability, cracking a whip and calling people out. You got to balance that out with a little celebration, a little love. Celebration is another one of our core values. We do want people celebrating those small victories. Understanding that weve got big goals but theres going to be milestones along the way that we have to appreciate. We cant get so caught up in that long-term vision that we dont celebrate the milestones and the little victories. It all goes back to being extremely intentional with the team, talking about it and weaving it into the fabric of the culture.

Regionally, where do you work? I know that you said you were going to be expanding nationally soon. Wheres your home office located? Where are all your offices located? Where do you do the majority of your work?

Were out of Elk Grove, Californianow, justSouth of Sacramento. We have one office.Wereplanning on opening another office in early 2022,and then starting to grow rapidly from there. We do serve Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California. We serve them all out of the home office. We got some crews that are deployed remotely. We also have a few crews that are set up remotely too. Were serving a wide region. Were going to start to expand our ability to better serve those regions by opening offices there and then growing from there. When it comes to Pulse, thats already serving nationally. With professional services, we can do a lot of work remotely.

Were working on projects out in Nebraska. Were working on some sites on the East Coast. We get called out to do some troubleshooting. We have some high-level RF engineers within Pulse. A lot of times when the tricky problems come up, theyll call us. Well go out and fix what other people are having trouble fixing. Weredeployedall over the United States with Pulse. We also have some team members over on the East Coast that is based there with Pulse too. Theyre working to drive each others growth. There are a lot of crossovers and they bring each other opportunities. Its another way that when we launched Pulse, it was important to communicate to the team here at Apex,This isnt us abandoning Apex.

Apex is still going to have my love and attention to the teams. This is another example of creating opportunity. Weve had a bunch of people that came from the Apex side. We realized that their skillset could serve on the professional services side. We foundthat that gets them more excited, I dont have to be doing some of that professional services stuff or the engineering type of things,iBwaveDesign. That interests me a little bit more. Theres an opportunity to go over there. Lets move you over there. Its all about them and its all about how they can thrive. It gets back to the mission of empowering our people and giving them a future.

You said that its all about them. That brings me to my next question for you. This is something that moved and touched me when I heard about this. You created a philanthropic organization in the tower industry to make a difference. This is something that Id like you to talk about. I would like everyone to know what Kenny has createdbecause we can all make a difference here. Its powerful. Can you please talk about TATE?

I cant take complete credit for it by any means. Weve had partners. Jim Tracy with Legacy Telecommunications got behind this thing. Nate is getting behind this thing. Im excited about it. To tell the full story, I connected with a local organization here called3Strands Global. Theyre based here locally. Thats how I came to know the CEO there. They do national work to help fight human trafficking. I got to know her. I was hearing her story, how theyre helping fight human trafficking and learning about how big of a problem it is. We were doing some work with them. They also source victims of human trafficking when they get rehabilitated, get ready to get back into the workforce. They help source people. We were working with them on that.

One day she was telling me the story of how they had trained all of the field employeesofa local utility company on how to spot the signs of human trafficking and then what to do about it, which isprettysimple. Its calling thenational hotline,reportthefactsand let the authorities take over. I thought, Thats cool. We can do that. We got tower workers. We got people going all over. Theyre road warriors. Theyre at gas stations. Theyre at truck stops. Theyre staying in hotels. Theyre building all these hotspots where they could spot signs. This could be perfect.

As we talked, it grew. How many tower workersare thereacross the entire nation,especially growing with 5G coming in with the need for the workforce? Its going to continue to grow exponentially. How powerful could that be if we could take this national and get all of the tower workers nationally? Get them all trained up on this especially since its a simple thing. I called up Jim Tracy from Legacy and floated the idea to him. He said, Lets run with this. Lets take this to Nate. Lets get backing. Lets do whatever we can. It grew from there. I also have to shout out John Foley from the Safer Buildings Coalition. We also took it to him and Laurie Caruso also from the Safer Buildings Coalition.

Originallywe said, ItsTowersAgainstTrafficking. They said, Thats only a small part of our audiences.Lets make itTelecomAgainstTrafficking andExploitation. Lets take it to all of the telecoms. They made it even bigger. We launched the portal, which means that the trainings gone live. ItsTelecomAgainstTrafficking andExploitation, TATE. Nates helping us to push this out there to all of their members. We want to continue to grow it from here. Its a simple ask. Its 30minutesworth of videos that anyone can watch. Youcanget RAN certified. We tried to keep the industry acronym there. Its RecognizeAndNotify. Thats all were asking. Get your people RAN certified.

When they watch these videos, they learn first about the problem of human trafficking, how big of a problem it is and the fact that it takes place in our own backyard. Itshocks a lot of people that its happening right under your nose. Second, they get trained on how to spot those signs of human trafficking after theyve learned about how big of a problemitis. Third, they learn what to do, which is as simple as picking up the phone. Theres a national hotline. You call that hotline and you report the facts. Its 30minutesworth of training. We can put all of our field folks through it. Theyre empowered to take action when they see this problem happening. Hopefully, we can start to shut down some of this problem.

As I learned about it, its an enormous problem. Anything we can do to help out. Any good that can comewith it is awesome. Its completely free of charge to anyone employers that want to sign up. Weve got sponsors that have signed up. Were also accepting other sponsors. Sponsors that have signed up to fund this like Legacy Telecommunications, Enertech Resources, my own company, Quality Telecom out of Rocklin, California. Companies are writing checkstosponsorthis so that it remains free of charge. The platform will stay there. All you got to do is sign your folks up and get them trained. Well get them certifications. Well get them stickers and everything else. Its another example of empowering the people in our industry for their future too. Its a simple ask.

What were going to be doing with our company is anybody onboard is going to get this training. Were already putting them through RF safety, climb training, OSHA training, all the other training we do. Whats 30 minutes more of a video to educate them on this, to let them know, This is important to our company that you look for these signs. One of the things that we want to do is have an impact on our community as we grow. This is an example of how we can do it. Anybody onboard is going to be going through this training and then were going to be certifying all of our folks that have been here a long time too.

Its something thats important to me. I hope its going to grow and take a life of its own from here on out. Its not something that I necessarily want to be leading the charge. I want this to grow. We got to start it. I want it to grow from here, get organic and become something important to our industry. They understand the power that our industry has to do good. Our industry already does a lot of good. They come together all the time especially with the Tower Family Foundation, things like that to help families of tower climbers that have died. There are a lot of examples of how our industry is already doing good. This is one more way that we can make an impact.

For the readers who work for a tower company or who know a leader of a tower company, what can we all do to get the word out? Can you give a website or a place someone can go? How can we all help this cause?

Any questions that anybody hasorif they want to reach out and learn a little bit more, they can emailInfo@3SGF.org. They can get info there. Also, the portal for the training where you can go free of charge, get registered and you can do the training iswww.3SGF.org/tate. I know thats a lot of info. Anybody can go there. Anybody can reach out to me as well or Jim Tracy for Legacy Telecom. Reach out to any of us. We know whats going on. We can get you pushed in the right direction because we want to get as many people to sign-up for this as possibleand let it start to take a life of its own.

Thanks for sharing that, Kenny. The next topic I want to cover is the workforce. What are you seeing out there when it comes to talent? Do you have to turn away work sometimes because you dont have the skilled labor to do what you need to do? What are you seeing out there?

The opportunities there in this industry, theres a ton of work going on. The deeper you look, the more opportunities you find even outside of what were used to. For us at least, the bottleneck is people, getting people trained up as fast as possible, finding good talent that stays committed to this. It is a tough industry. It isnt necessarily for everyone. We understand that. There is still a decent amount of turnover that we experienced because even when we interviewed people, we try to talk them out of the job. We try to say, Theres a great opportunity but heres what youre going to have to deal with. We spend a lot of time doing that. I think people still come in and get their eyes open in the first few months of, This is intense.

I dont know that I necessarily want to say were seeing a shortage,but if we could speed up the process of getting more talent in the door and getting them developed even fasterwithall theeffortwere putting them in, whatever we can do to empower more people to get into this industry, understand the benefits and the opportunities that are here, it would benefit us. We do consistently turn away workbecausewere flat out too busy. We dont want to rush anybody into leadership positions that arent ready for it. We were methodical about it. Were going to make sure people arent asked to do more than theyre capable of. We are having a situation where we want to speed this up.

Every company in telecom is experiencing the same thing that you said.Whats interesting and what makes you different too is that you have a training program inside of your company. You have development inside of your company. You bring people up. You bring new people in that dont have experience and you train them up. You may not be feeling it as intensely because of that. Youll bring in green people and say, Let me teach you. Lets plug you right into our training, development and career pathing and get you going. Thats huge for companies to develop their own training programs and apprenticeships to get new people into our industry. I think thats significant but even still, theres so much to be done and much work that were still facing the shortage. I couldnt agree with you more. Talk about 2021. What roles are you hiring for Apex and also at Pulse? Are you hiringnow? What is the outlook for 2021?

Were always strategic about how were hiring. Id say hiring tower technicians especially with no skillsets, thats evergreen for us. That is our big goal,to bring people in with no experience, set them out on that career path and watch them succeed. Occasionally, we do bring in people that are experienced and talented especially for some of those higher-level positions as we need to grow. Sometimes we got to bring in outside talent. Were hiring. We plan on hiring a lot more in 2021, tower foreman andsignalforeman, project coordinators, project managers, RF technicians and RF engineers. Thats more on the side of running test equipment, doing troubleshooting,someiBwave experience. Its wide-ranging.

Theres a whole bunch of roles that were going to be looking to fill. Were hitting that point in our growth where sometimes the random ones pop up. We promoted internally because we got lucky and had some talent joined the team. We promoted aDirector ofSafety where we used to have someone that was wearing multiple hats. Were at the sizenow where we cant be doing some multiple hats. We need a full-time dedicated person thats safety obsessed within our company thats going to take us to that next level of safety. We promoted from within there. We hired a talent acquisition manager. I think youguysare hopefully working together. The reason we did that is were going to need to do a lot of high-level hiring. We need to get a lot of good talent in the door. People that are eager to learn, eager to grow with us,andwant to embrace our core values. We can set them up for success and then they can set us up for success as well. Were going to rely on them to help us to grow and to be smarter than I am and teachingmehow to do this thing.

I have a question. This may be one of your secret sauces in your company. Where do you find these tower climbers and tower technicians that have no experience? Where do you look?

Its the standard places. Weve got ads out on Indeed. Weve got ads out on ZipRecruiter. Were going to Facebook a bit. Social media for our companies is not about driving business. Its not as if American Tower or AT&T and Verizon is going to social media to look at profiles to see who theyre going to hire to do work. Our social media is built around letting potential hires know or helping our recruiting so that people know about what our values are, what were all about, the opportunity were offering.The bottom line is some of the fun stuff that they can get to do.

Were utilizing tools like that. Were trying to use our social media to get our message out there so it attracts folks. Were having some success there. Weve also got referral programs within our company. Anybody that comes in and is liking it and realizes the opportunity here. They can start referring in their friends. They get some cash in their pocket for that. Were trying to get creative and do anything we can. When we get those folks that walk in and theyre the right person, its exciting. It excites the rest of the team. Youll have a tower foreman that says, Keep him on my crew. I want to keep working with that person because I feel like I can turn him into arockstar.

Everybody within the company understands that our growth is going to be empowered by creating success for the people that are coming up underneath you because thats how youre going to be successful. Every tower-lead thats going to become a tower foreman, we tell them, Thats great. Its your job to create two tower-leads for this because youre going to need to leave one where you were and youre going to need to take one with you. If you want to be a foreman, train up, mentorandcoach two new tower-leads andnowyoure a foreman in a truck as long as youve gone through the OJT program. Thats what its all about. Were using every technique we can to try to get people.

Kenny, I want to celebrate you and acknowledge you for who you are in the industry, who you are for the industry and most of all, who you are for your people. Its so refreshing to hear that you are people-centered and focused and thats your number one concern over anything else. Its wonderful. I think that we can all learn something from you. Im sure everybodywhosreading this wants to work for Apex or Pulse. Where can we all go to learn more about Apex and Pulse if someone wants to hire you or someone wants to work for you?

The websiteiswww.ApexSiteSolutions.com. There are ways to reach out to us there,www.PowerOfPulse.com. You can reach out and connect with us there. There are also some fun YouTube videos that were doing and somepodcastwere doing called Tap Talks on thePulse Signal Solutionspage. You can check out more about us thereandhave some fun with us. There are our social media accounts,Apexon Instagram,LinkedInand everywhere else. You can feel free to email me atKenny@ApexSiteSolutions.com. Theres alsoCareers@ApexSiteSolutions.com. There are all the standard ways but if you go to our website and click any of those links, youll get ahold of us and we can get connected that way. Thats the simplest.

Kenny, thank you so much for coming on the show. This has been valuable. Ive enjoyed talking to you and learning more about how you run your company and how you value people. Thank you.

I appreciate it. Thanks for the microphone and the megaphone. Thanks for taking the time to talk about TATEtoo. That was special.

You take care.

While leading the team at Pulse, Kenny also plays an active role in spreading awareness and increasing education throughout the in-building wireless industry. He is passionate about bringing together stakeholders throughout the industry ecosystem, aligning AHJs, FCC licensees, fire officials, contractors, developers, and building owners on the importance of quality in-building wireless systems.

Kenny began his RF career serving in the Navy. From 2001 to 2005, he served as an Avionics Technician, repairing components from jets on the aircraft carrier, John C Stennis. He achieved the rank of Petty Officer Second Class in three years.

After his service in the Navy, Kenny worked at various tower companies where he quickly climbed the ranks from greenhorn to foreman to RF tester to project manager, gaining the necessary skills and knowledge along the way. While serving as a project manager, he managed 10 internal crews along with subs in the completion of AT&T UMTS projects.

Kenny launched Apex Site Solutions, a DVBE, in 2010. Starting with just one employee, he has grown Apex to a team of over 90. Leading at Apex, Kenny also effectively implemented teams, processes, and systems that allow him to develop and mentor leaders to deliver industry-leading services. He has facilitated and grown relationships with all major carriers, tower owners, and service providers in the wireless telecommunications industry, and oversees the development of a comprehensive professional development program to speed the growth of a highly skilled workforce. In 2019, Kenny launched Pulse Signal Solutions, utilizing the RF acumen he has developed with carriers to bring RF expertise to the public safety communications industry.

Kenny currently resides in Elk Grove, California with his wife Brooke and two kids, Colton and Boston.

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A Company With Heart: Building A Culture Of Empowerment With Kenny Blakeslee - RCR Wireless News

College of Nursing alumna Kevina Cassell created Surviving the Frontlines, a 30-day self-care journal, to help nurses reconnect with their why during the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Kevina Cassell)

When Kevina Cassell went to sleep, her Surviving the Frontlines 30-day self-care journal for nurses had about 12 views on her website. Those came mostly from herself and a few friends, family and supporters from the University of MissouriSt. Louis.

The scene was quite different when the College of Nursing alumna woke up.

I had 1,450 views on that one item, Cassell said. It just kept going from there. In November for Black Friday, they sold out in three days. I added more to the website, and they sold out again. I was so blown away at the amount of support that I was getting from different nursing groups on Facebook.

Cassell, who earned her BSN at UMSL in 2017, had initially created the journal at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to help herself get in touch with her motivation to be a nurse before deciding to share her work with others. Since that first product, Cassell has created a student planner and 2021 vision journal.

When the pandemic hit, she was working as a dialysis nurse. Cassell says people dont realize how sick patients undergoing dialysis treatments are, and shed get close to patients and their families and struggle when they passed away suddenly.

COVID heightened that feeling because now her patients were suffering from more than kidney disease.

Id go home sad and in tears, she said. I was like, Did I make the right decision? Why did I become a nurse? I had to sit down and think on what I loved about being a nurse, what got me here, why stick with it, why its so important. I wrote a journal for myself to help cope with the amount of sickness and death that we were being surrounded with.

It really helped and reminded me how much I love being a nurse and my patients and how proud I am for pushing myself through the program. Once I had gotten through that moment, I wanted to do the same for other nurses.

Cassells journal includes prompts intended to help nurses meditate on their reasons for becoming nurses and their purpose in nursing, positive affirmations, creating a self-care plan, personal goals, reflection, evaluation, self-empowerment prompts and more.

Creating the student planner came naturally afterward. Aside from the standard to-do aspect of a planner, Cassell included quotes from prominent figures in nursing or health care, spaces to record goals, and areas to reflect on what they are learning well or struggling with.

This is a way for students to stay organized and inspired throughout their nursing journey, she said. Its a place for them to write down their goals and their tasks so that they dont get discouraged because it can get hard.

Cassell found planners invaluable during her BSN studies at UMSL, so she was able to draw on her own experiences working through the academically rigorous program while balancing her outside obligations as a mother to a small child.

It was challenging, she said. Because I was a parent, I couldnt just not work, so it was always difficult for me because I had to work during the day and be up all night studying or taking courses in the evening.

Nursing is Cassells second career. She earned her BBA from Georgia Southern University in 2005, finding a job in financial aid at Southeast Missouri State University after graduation. She went on to earn her MBA from SEMO and then became a human resources representative at the NCR Corporation in Duluth, Georgia, after graduation.

But after a few years, she realized it was time to make a change.

Traditional corporate, its just paperwork, Cassell said. Theres no passion there. Nursing allowed me to be who I was. Im a nurturer at heart. Im a giver. I love helping people. I love taking care of people.

Cassell had an idea that she might find a good professional fit in nursing administration, but she had to become a nurse first. She returned to Missouri, began working in administration at Washington University in St. Louis and enrolled in the UMSL College of Nursing.

The nursing program tested her but supportive faculty such as David Bell, Amanda Finley, Christine Recktenwald, Joan Ruppert and Sheila Grigsby made the difference for Cassells studies.

When youre in nursing, peoples lives are in your hands, she said. Its life or death, and you have to know your stuff. I put a lot of pressure on myself to know and actually understand, not just the material, but the why behind the material. I want the patient to have the best outcome. I want them to come out alive and well.

After graduating from the program and becoming a registered nurse, Cassell worked in rehab as a traumatic brain injury and stroke recovery nurse and as a dialysis nurse. Then, in June 2020, she accepted a position in employee health at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis where her job functions include helping manage occupational health and safety related issues and prevention of infectious disease. Her department is also responsible for helping manage the COVID process for their employees including everything from minimizing employee exposure to overseeing COVID vaccination clinics and post-vaccination observations.

When Cassell began nursing school, she never would have imagined shed get into nursing entrepreneurship. But her current job is exactly the sort of thing she had in mind.

Were just trying to do our part and keep the community COVID free, Cassell said. This role was actually a perfect fit for me. My goal as a nurse was always to go into nursing administration, and this job is preparing me for that path. It also blends all three of my degrees together.

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Pandemic inspires alumna to create Surviving the Frontlines journal and planner for nurses - UMSL Daily

2021 is a special year for LetsGrow.com. The company from Vlaardingen, specialized in collecting, visualizing, and analyzing crop data, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! The entire year 2021 will therefore be dedicated to this anniversary.

Has LetsGrow.com really been working with data in horticulture for twenty years? The answer to this question is: Yes. The company was founded in 2001, partly as a result of an initiative by Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The initial goal was to make the models of the WUR available to growers via the Internet, which was a very new technique at the time. Later, the company developed further in opening up various cultivation data in order to be able to compare crops. The experience, gained in two decades, has ensured that LetsGrow.com today is specialized in collecting, visualizing, and analyzing data from growers worldwide. In doing so, they combine the latest technologies with specialist knowledge.

The switch from a comparison platform to the optimization of cultivation by means of extensive data analyses arose from a higher goa namely the need for high-quality food in a growing world population. "In the coming years, many greenhouses will be built to serve this demand for food. In practice, this means that more greenhouses will be built than growers can be trained. So there is more and more need for knowledge of cultivation. In other words; how can a grower grow as efficiently and optimally as possible in a sustainable way and how do you make this scalable, repeatable and predictable?" - Ton van Dijk, Global Head of Sales & Operations at LetsGrow.com.

The plant central with plant empowermentAt LetsGrow.com, the plant is always central. The models and analyses are based on the principles of Plant Empowerment. This is an integrated approach to the sustainable cultivation of crops by supporting the balance of the plant and the greenhouse. The starting point is to stimulate and support the natural growth of plants by creating optimal growth conditions, both above ground and in the root zone. Ton: "By guiding growers with the Plant Empowerment theory and by providing visual insight into their data via our platform MyLetsGrow, they can make the step from traditional growing to Data-Driven Growing. We use technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for our models and always put plant physiology at the heart of this, we call this Expert Intelligence. We combine this with Expert Knowledge, the knowledge of our specialists and that of our customers, to achieve the best possible result for the customer."

A 40-strong diverse teamOver the past 20 years, the company has undergone considerable development in its services, but the team has also grown. Today, the team consists of almost 40 people. Ton is proud of the growth of the team and the developments they have made and are still making: "We employ many different types of people. Some with backgrounds in horticulture, but also people with knowledge of other technical branches or for example in sales and marketing. Our team is very diverse in knowledge, but also in gender and age. We combine young and university educated talents, with some very experienced colleagues. In addition, we also have a variety of male and female or cultural background. That makes us a dynamic group that is very well balanced".

Personal growth and lots of funLetsGrow.com also pays a lot of attention to a pleasant working atmosphere and personal development. Ton explains: "We think a healthy and pleasant company culture is very important and also encourage our people to continue to grow personally.

"In addition, we do a lot to recruit new enthusiastic colleagues. By encouraging a good work-life balance and offering a pleasant working environment. Despite the fact that we are all working at home a lot now, we do try to maintain the connection with our colleagues. Above all, work should be fun!".

Celebrating the anniversaryTo celebrate its twentieth anniversary, LetsGrow.com has various actions planned. Ton says: "Of course we are going to celebrate this milestone throughout the year. We are going to use our LinkedIn channel to share interesting articles in which we look back at the history of LetsGrow.com and look ahead to what the future will bring us. Of course, we want to include our clients in this vision of the future. That is why we are looking at the possibilities of organizing something for our clients. Offline or online, we are leaving those options open in this uncertain time".

For more information:LetsGrow.cominfo@letsgrow.com http://www.letsgrow.com

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Twenty years of working with data in horticulture - hortidaily.com

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NICE inContact (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced accelerated international adoption of its digital-first CXone cloud contact center platform, tripling sales in the past year and adding a record number of new international customers to the platform. With the increased global demand for CXone, NICE is doubling its local CXone sales and services resources across EMEA, APAC, and South America; launching new local cloud instances in multiple countries around the globe; and broadening its global security and compliance certifications. NICE inContacts global momentum is fueled by international investments, signaling the criticality of arming contact centers with an AI-infused cloud native platform that scales to fit the complex requirements of diverse global organizations. According to industry analysts, today, CXone is used by the most cloud contact center agents in the industry in more than 100 countries.

Our innovative, cloud native platform, CXone, is experiencing great momentum with organizations worldwide, said Paul Jarman, NICE inContact CEO. We are focused on leveraging our digital-first approach and a globally distributed team of customer success experts to push customer service beyond the traditional contact center environment regardless of location. Its imperative to keep global teams and customers connected, and we are committed to enabling that in any industry or location around the globe as we expand our footprint in key industries, such as healthcare, financial services, government, energy and utilities.

Recent new CXone customers headquartered internationally include government agencies and healthcare providers as well as large telecommunications and utility companies operating across Europe and Asia. In the past year, several large financial services firms in Canada, APAC and EMEA have selected CXone to move their contact center operations to the cloud and to help them transform the customer experience they provide. Companies of all sizes in EMEA and APAC, as well as business process outsourcers, are now using CXone across retail, travel and hospitality, and manufacturing industries.

Jarman continued, NICE inContact is driving innovation in the cloud contact center industry across four key pillars AI, digital engagement, self-service and agent-empowerment. Were bringing these innovations to organizations around the globe with customer success teams located in international locations and an enterprise-grade, global infrastructure that is needed for companies to confidently move contact center operations to the cloud.

NICE inContact has doubled local in-region expertise for CXone sales and services to capitalize on the robust demand in Europe and APAC, as well as expanding partner relationships in all regions across 35 offices globally, including 11 in the UK and Europe. Clients and partners have access to local teams that provide the full suite of onboarding, education, technical support, and professional services to successfully transform their customer service with CXone.

CXone delivers protection for critical company data and supports compliance with global security regulations and privacy standards. The NICE inContact Information Security Office has best practices in place for data privacy protection for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other legislation to protect personal data, as well as other certificates and standards such as FedRAMP in the U.S., Cyber Essentials in the UK, Information Security Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) in Australia, and many more.

Across the globe, NICE inContact CXone delivers high availability, elastic scalability, carrier-grade voice and connectivity services, and low latency through multiple global CXone cloud infrastructure sites that include platform services and voice points-of-presence (POPs). In addition to our established global sites.

NICE inContact is rapidly expanding its well-established go-to-market partner network now with over 90 partners that include global carriers, unified communications (UCaaS), resellers, VARs, systems integrators, and certified implementation partners. For example, the company has forged a partnership with a global leader in digital transformation and other major partnerships with leading service providers that have enabled it to reach thousands of new customers across Europe. Recently, NICE inContact entered into a partnership with a telecommunications company in Canada, expanding access to NICE inContact CXone across North America.

About NICE inContactNICE inContact works with organizations of all sizes to create extraordinary and trustworthy customer experiences that create deeper brand loyalty and relationships that last. With NICE inContact CXoneTM, the industrys most complete cloud customer experience platform, we combine best-in-class Customer Analytics, Omnichannel Routing, Workforce Engagement, Automation and Artificial Intelligence, all on an Open Cloud Foundation to help any company transform every single customer interaction. See how our customer-centric expert services, innovative software, extensive ecosystem of valuable partnerships, and over a decade of global experience can help you transform every experience and customer relationship for lasting results. NICE inContact is recognized as a market leader by the leading industry analyst firms. http://www.niceincontact.com

NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) is the worlds leading provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. http://www.nice.com

Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. For a full list of NICEs marks, please see: http://www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including the statements by Mr. Jarman, are based on the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of NICE Ltd. (the Company). In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as believe, expect, seek, may, will, intend, should, project, anticipate, plan, estimate, or similar words. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described herein, including but not limited to the impact of changes in economic and business conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; successful execution of the Companys growth strategy; success and growth of the Companys cloud Software-as-a-Service business; changes in technology and market requirements; decline in demand for the Company's products; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel; loss of market share; an inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements; the Companys dependency on third-party cloud computing platform providers, hosting facilities and service partners; cyber security attacks or other security breaches against the Company; the effect of newly enacted or modified laws, regulation or standards on the Company and our products and various other factors and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, refer to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, except as required by law.

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NICE inContact CXone Accelerates International Growth: Tripling Sales and Adding a Record Number of New Customers - Business Wire

International Womens Day may have already passed, but I see no reason not to celebrate women every other day of the year as well. This week Im examining environmental issues from a less-common perspective gender. Looking at climate change through a gendered lens reveals inequities that may seem unrelated to the untrained eye. However, we would be remiss to consider the outcomes of climate change without acknowledging that some groups are more immediately vulnerable than others.

If Im totally honest, I hadnt heard of the term ecofeminism until recently, when I read an article for class. In laymans terms, it refers to the intersectionality of the feminist and green movements, but, in reality, is much more multifaceted. Ecofeminists see the parallels between the exploitation of the environment and of women and work to bring attention to the ways that women are oppressed by the increasing effects of climate change.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, environmental conditions impact the lives of women and men in different ways due to historically-established inequalities. Traditional gender roles create differences in the ways men and women act in relation to the environment and environmental change.

Gender gaps are a significant barrier to womens freedom to make decisions and pursue opportunities, as well as to effective sustainable development and resource control and allocation. In many cases, they are at the mercy of a rapidly changing climate. Matcha Porn-In, a Thai human-rights organization, describes the gender-gap issue poignantly: If you are invisible in everyday life, your needs will not be thought of, let alone addressed, in a crisis situation.

While gender norms are slowly being redefined, this work isnt necessarily progressing at the same rate around the world. In many developing countries, women have less opportunities for furthering their education and careers, instead assuming the traditional role of a family caretaker and mother. The UN Sustainable Developments fifth goal seeks to eliminate forms of violence and discrimination against women, achieving gender equality and equal rights to economic resources and property ownership. While this goal is well-meaning and brings attention to a key aspect of development, it is also unspecific and lacking effective actions.

Environmental crises themselves can compound pre-existing issues in society. Climate change impacts, such as crop failure, can cause far-reaching food insecurity, putting added stress on women to source enough food to feed their households. Fossil fuel shortages in areas that lack developed infrastructure may burden women, for whom collecting fuel and water to cook for their households is a daily task. As resources become more scarce, women who act as caretakers spend more of their time expending energy searching for what they need to support their families, effectively ensuring that there is no time for them to further their education, pursue their own goals or better their own lives.

Natural disasters and resource conflict can uproot households and leave women more vulnerable to gender-based violence. Consequently, sustainability management programs created to address climate change issues must do a better job of taking local gender dynamics into account, creating safe spaces and rebuilding infrastructure with the dual goal of creating more sustainable habits as well as increased gender equality.

One way of addressing the societal inequities that women face is the establishment of microfinance institutions. Traditional banks require collateral, assets and high credit scores to take out loans, which keeps much of the worlds poorest populations locked within a perpetual cycle of poverty. In recent years, an increasing number of microfinance institutions have been created for marginalized unbanked communities to promote self-sufficiency and income generation. Many microfinance organizations were created specifically for low-income women, providing low-interest microloans and financial literacy information to start their own businesses and provide personal empowerment and autonomy.

Additionally, women are historically underrepresented in seats of political power, making up less than 25% of national parliamentarians worldwide. As a result, in the governance and sustainable management spheres, womens needs and priorities are often overlooked. Establishing patterns of progressive and inclusive decision making is essential for environmental conservation and also for the promotion of womens rights as a whole.

Jacinda Ardern, the recently reelected prime minister of New Zealand, has an ambitious agenda that includes both environmental and womens rights issues, including net zero emissions by 2050, providing free menstrual products in all schools, approving paid leave for miscarriages and establishing a climate commission. One of the worlds youngest prime ministers, Finlands Sanna Marin, is working towards economic, social and environmental sustainability:closing the pay gap between men and women, legislating stricter nationwide rape laws and attempting nationwide carbon neutrality by 2035.

Additionally, more countries around the world, including Finland, are beginning to provide free college education to university students. While this is the start of closing a financial and gender inequality gap in higher education, we need to consider how to adequately address gender biases and inclusivity in educational environments across the globe. Global female illiteracy rates are much higher than men, but every additional year of attending school provides lasting benefits. Going to school can help women earn higher wages and have better professional opportunities, as well as having fewer children and being less vulnerable to domestic violence.

As we begin the arduous process of redesigning our societies for a more sustainable future, more gender-based issues can also be addressed via urban planning. Developers continue to expand and build in the hopes of creating a greener, more sustainable urban utopia.

Designing sustainable and feminist cities are not mutually exclusive. Improving public transportation reduces the use of privately-owned cars, also benefiting women who may be pregnant or mothers who have to drop children off at daycare before heading off to work.

Walkable streets encourage foot traffic and are more accessible for strollers and wheelchairs. Using renewable energy to create extended lighting systems will save energy as well as potentially reduce violent crimes against women at night.

While these are merely a few examples of the intersection of environmentalism and feminism, I say all this with a caveat. Climate change affects groups around the world differently, but it most severely impacts marginalized communities, including women, Black and Indigenous people and people of color, low-income, those in rural, remote, or informal housing, those with disabilities and trans and gender-nonconforming individuals.

To dip briefly back into the theoretical realm, ecofeminism seeks to establish alliances across multiple sectors of struggle. To achieve real gender equality, we must reassess traditional gender roles and question our belief systems. We cannot effectively fight all aspects of climate change without addressing ensuing socio-economic issues and intersectional identities. Solutions need to recognize the individual ways that people around the globe are experiencing the changing climate, resource scarcity, increasing population density and pollution.

Incorporating intersectional feminism into environmental governance, decisions, activism and change is just one of many ways that we can approach societal injustices head-on and design solutions for unique climate problems faced by women.

At its root, climate change is both caused by and affects class struggles, poverty, racial discrimination and other forms of inequity. We must recognize this interconnectedness; fighting for climate justice cannot come without fighting against oppression and injustices on a larger scale. With greater conscientiousness, global leaders, institutions, NGOs and activists can simultaneously promote environmental protection and gender equality.

Montana Denton is a junior writing about environmental issues, sustainability and society. Her column, Triple Bottom Line, runs every other Thursday.

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Triple Bottom Line: Feminism is still relevant and the environmental movement needs it - Daily Trojan Online

Circus Zambia (Image courtesy of Circus Zambia)

Gift Chansa grew up in Chibolya, a neighbourhood in Lusaka, Zambia, known as one of the roughest parts of the city. Stereotyped as a festering hub of crime and drug culture, Chansas childhood backdrop came with a lot of baggage.

According to Chansa, If you come from Chibolya, then no one takes you seriously. Few people in Lusaka would hire someone from Chibolya, and at job interviews Chansa and his friends used to say that they were from somewhere else, anywhere else.

Sometimes though, said Chansa, you dont think about it and you say, I am from Chibolya, and then people treat you different. Youre always pushed back and reminded where you come from.

Its a vicious cycle, almost impossible to escape. No one could have predicted that Chansa was destined to fly there were to be no boundaries pushing him back, and nothing stopping him from bringing Chibolya along for the ride.

It was in the streets of Chibolya, about 16 years ago,that the seeds of Chansas incredible journey were sown. Having learnt how to do a perfect backflip simply through playing, a nine-year-old Chansa and his childhood pals put together an informal acrobatics group, and organised street competitions and shows that other kids from the neighbourhood would come and watch.

During one of these competitions, Chansa was scouted by Mr Kapota a minor celebrity (and major personality) in Lusaka at the time to be a part of an acrobatic group of young people called the African Dance Factory, started in 2005. It was through this that he was introduced to Barefeet Theatre in 2006, a performance group-come-grassroots initiative for underprivileged children in Lusaka.

Barefeet Theatres programming provided Chansa with the platform that he needed to soar. He was exposed to artists and academics from around the world, introduced to other teenagers who were interested in performance arts, and given the responsibility of facilitating his own workshops and performances. Most importantly, he was provided with a safe space in which he could learn to trust and express himself.

Chansa and his friends spent almost every waking hour after school practising, competing, and showing off their moves. It was a way of life, I would say. There was no time outside of training to get dragged into harmful activities (such as drugs, drinking, and quick money schemes) to which teenagers are susceptible.

I think, in a way, it protected us, because we always had something to do.

By 2013, Chansa had become a junior facilitator at Barefeet. He toured the world, performing in Ireland, Zimbabwe, China and many other countries. The performance group also helped him enroll in a circus school in the Netherlands, where, during his final performance, he had a revelation.

I was amazed by how many people came to see the performance that we did. I was like, oh, people want to see me do this, they want to see me in the circus. People actually appreciate this.

At that moment Chansa knew that he wanted to bring the circus back to Chibolya, and to put on shows in the neighbourhood itself.

That way people could come into the compound and see our shows and see that not all young people from there are criminals. There are also young people who need a chance. They need help to reach their full potential.

And thus was the genesis of Circus Zambia, what Chansa refers to as a social enterprise that equips young people with circus, life skills, education support, and job opportunities.

Co-founded in 2016 with Chansas childhood friends, Amos Malokwa and Bernard Kaumba, as well as Charlotte Groen from the Netherlands, Circus Zambia comprises two major parts. The first is the performance company (the guys who are professional at eating fire, juggling, stilt-walking etc.) The incredible bodily feats executed by this group provide a substantial amount of the funding for the latter section of Circus Zambia: The Social Circus Hub.

The Social Circus Hub programme is designed to support the development of children from Chibolya and other underprivileged neighbourhoods in Lusaka. Healthy living, community building, and body contortions are all a part of the holistic curriculum, which is organised into three sections: Body, Mind, and Soul.

The Body section of the programme is the physical training. Chansa calls it the roadmap for young people to learn how to be performers, how to do acrobatics, how to juggle, do a handstand, a backflip.

Children enroll in the Toes level, then progress through Knees, Shoulders, and finally Heads. Once you are a Head you are a trained circus performer. Many of the programmes graduates stay to be a part of Circus Zambia itself, while others join circus troupes elsewhere in the world.

The Mind section of the Social Circus is all about education. Circus Zambia provides money for about 100 children a year to attend local schools. The funding, when it doesnt come directly from the revenue generated by the shows put on by the performance company, comes from international grants as well as local benefactors and campaigns on gofundme. The circus also has a library programme in which children are exposed to literature and are able to borrow books at any time.

The final section, Soul, is the real essence of the circus. It tackles issues that young people face in local communities, issues that are difficult to tackle within traditional social structures.

One such issue is that of safe sex. Its hard to talk about sex in Zambia, Chansa told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2018, nobody talks about sex. This is a huge problem in a country that was so devastated by the AIDS epidemic in the early 2000s.

Circus Zambias Clowns for Condoms initiative is an attempt at talking about these issues in an entertaining way. Sponsored by MTV Staying Alive Foundation, the circus puts together hilarious shows and workshops that freely address the issues of STIs, safe sex, condoms, and the origins of HIV. The clowns are usually accompanied by members of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who provide testing and further educational literature on the subject.

Another issue that was tackled by the circuss Soul programme was that of gender equality and women empowerment. A project named Pamodzi Ya Bakazi, sponsored by Danish company CISU, featured performances that tackled some of the issues that women face.

The use of clowning, as Chansa refers to the humorous side of the circus, is essential in getting important messages across to both the members of the company and the audience.

Fun is a good way to engage people because theyre watching you and theyre amazed. Theyre happy. When we perform, we want people to have an experience, a memorable experience so that they wont forget the message that we are actually portraying.

What could be more memorable than a man riding a unicycle juggling fire sticks, and then talking about sex?

Fun and laughter are also therapeutic, says Chansa. We are so assailed with dreary stories, statistics, and troubling social realities that sometimes the only way to get things across is to feel better about them, and when you laugh its infectious, because the person next to you will laugh, and the next person will feel the positivity.

The Soul of the circus is all about reaching out to young people and enabling them to become change-makers. Empowering them. Providing them with skills, soft skills in a way, so that they can reach their full potential, Chansa explained. And, according to its own estimates, Circus Zambia has reached about 5,000 Zambian children per year since its establishment.

Its fascinating that Circus Zambia has been so successful in these social initiatives, being that circuses have a historical reputation as a nexus for outsiders, freak shows, and vagabonds. Colloquially, one runs away to join the circus, they dont return home and get social benefits from it.

But this very fact is one of the reasons that it works so well, Chansa explains. A group of outsiders is almost always an accepting one; Circus Zambia aims to include children from all walks of life in its community. The circus is not competitive, you work in an ensemble, as a team. When youre developing something, you communicate and share ideas, and those are important things to learn for yourself. You learn to trust each other through the process of training.

In the dog-eat-dog, late-capitalist, Covid-riddled world of today, an accepting community to bond and create with is a magical idea to anyone. But its paramount to the children of Chibolya, whose lives are in danger of falling back into the vicious cycle that coming from a rough neighbourhood implies.

Further, when you perform, you express your feelings, you express who you are, and the people accept you. That builds you, because you can progress and change; you dont stay the same person.

Chansa elaborated on the confidence that this type of expression affords children, and how important it is to their development and growth. He talked about teaching young kids who learn circus tricks extremely quickly.

Just realising that they can pick something up, that gives young people confidence young people, that when they came to Circus Zambia, they wouldnt even speak in front of anyone because they were so shy. But now they can stand up to me and say, What are you saying, Gift? And that fuels you. You realise that theyve really grown, and theyre confident. And its because they stand in front of people and they perform and theyre interacting with different people in different ways.

Joining the circus also teaches another invaluable lesson, one thats needed to succeed in life: discipline. Chansa, in his personal journey, learnt that, If Im disciplined enough, I can achieve what I want through what I do, because in order for us to put up a performance we need to practise and train. What the audience sees is just the end-product that we have put so much time into creating, rehearsing, and perfecting.

Its the same sentiment that he wants to impart to the young members of Circus Zambia, that discipline of when you drop something, you pick it up, you try again, you keep going. Its a trust in oneself, a confidence that through discipline and determination you can do things you thought impossible, a practice-makes-perfect mentality, that Chansa wishes to (and does) impart to the young members of Circus Zambia.

Part of growing this confidence is the acceptance of fear as an innate reality of life, but also as something that can be overcome. Children experience the danger that goes in [to performing], the fears we have before we perform. What might happen, what might not happen. They learn that even with hours and hours of practice, things go wrong, because life is unpredictable, and thats okay. Its about embracing fear, regarding it as a challenge to rise up to, rather than something to run away from.

The realities of Covid-19 have hit Circus Zambia hard. Their year of touring around the world was put to a stop, and many of their projects that required larger gatherings of children are obviously no longer safe to carry out.

Were surviving, Chansa responded to a question about how Circus Zambia was doing. Just as he had learnt to embrace the fear and danger of circus performance, he has accepted the challenge of this new reality.

It just made me realise that, okay, were taking a risk, we are always taking a risk. And I think its what we do best. And because of this I think we will survive. DM/ML

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A ring of empowerment: The circus that teaches young people how to win at life - Daily Maverick

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The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy- hooks, 1994

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom published in 1994 was bell hooks first major work on education. In a very personal style, she critically delineates the understanding of pedagogies inside a classroom and walks us through the importance of resistance, experience and ecstasy in teaching as well as learning in Teaching to Transgress.

The school attempts to create an ideal educational environment by employing various institutional practices to silence non-conformity and it is made possible through continuous disciplining and surveillance of the minds and bodies of students (Kjaran 2014). I remember the incident happened in 2018, in Kamala Girls School of Kolkata, where 10 girls were accused of indulging in homosexual activities, who were forcefully asked to admit so in writing by the then acting headmistress of the school.

Also read: Bringing About Feminist Reforms Through Reflection Based Educational Practices

bell hooks, in Teaching to Transgress, illustrated the significance of feminist rethinking of pedagogical practices in order to engage and reinvent various possibilities and to create a learning community which is deeply engaged in, hearing one anothers voice , in recognising one anothers presence in the classroom.

bell hooks, in Teaching to Transgress, illustrated the significance of feminist rethinking of pedagogical practices in order to engage and reinvent various possibilities and to create a learning community which is deeply engaged in, hearing one anothers voice , in recognising one anothers presence in the classroom.

Home was a place where I was forced to conform to someone elses image of who and what I should be. School was the place where I could forget that self and, through ideas reinvent myself. (hooks 1994, pp-3)

In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks addressed how her experience of learning and attending the school changed with racial integration. The sheer joy she used to experience in reinventing new ideas and self during her early schooling then got transformed into a distressed classroom reality where racist stereotypes were reinforced. The role of excitement and pleasure in the classroom space is often dismissed as the banking system of education considers these experiences as disruptive to the learning process. hooks also expressed, the assembly line approach of learning merely aims to confine pupils instead of empowering them.

As bell hooks manifests in her book how Paulo Frieres works (the Brazilian thinker, author of the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed) were her first introduction to critical pedagogy, my formal introduction to the same happened along the lines of reading her works. It is often witnessed how the bourgeois educational structure encourages the dichotomy between public and private. It essentially aims to make a distinction between being an academic and their habits and life practices.

A question which became central with the rise ofthe #metoo movement is to how to address this compartmentalisation which overlooks the biases and dismisses the experiences of survivors. hooks thus importantly expressed the need for a progressive pedagogic practice in Teaching to Transgress. It must encompass discovering alternative strategies for both teaching and learning and offer the need of self-actualization for both teachers and students. It is, thereby, significant as a teacher/professor to acknowledge the privilege with which one enters the classroom instead of upholding the idea of a mind/body split. The practice of engaged pedagogy emphasises on the interrogation of various positionalities from where one brings about their narratives and experiences in everyday classroom discussions. It enhances the capacity and ability to question and resist biases and take greater risks for a holistic and comprehensive empowerment of not only as an individual but also as a community of teachers and learners.

There was this one sentence of Freires that became a revolutionary mantra for me: We cannot enter the struggle as objects in order to later become subjects. (hooks 1994, pp-46)

The fourth chapter of Teaching to Transgress, Paulo Freire illustrates a playful exchange of dialogue between Gloria Watkins (her own self) and bell hooks (her writing voice). The chapter intricately deals with how Freires liberatory works deeply influenced hooks to engage with the process of critical thought. She expressed how she could deeply identify with Freires work which had a profound impact on her thinking and consciousness raising. Her intimate engagement with Freires work related to literacy helped her find resistance in liberatory paradigms which can make everyone feel included in the education system.

As an anti racist and feminist writer, hooks acknowledge the phallocentric construction of the discourse of liberation that can be found in Freires writing in Teaching to Transgress. Yet she emphasises why Freires work on recognising subjective position is crucial and necessary for understanding the model of critical pedagogy. hooks writes how the feminist thinking she employs in her writing builds her capacity to constructively critique Freires work instead of dismissing the informed perspective his work represents. She writes, critical interrogation is not the same as dismissal (hooks 1994, pp-49).

Freires concept of literacy questions the politics of domination often witnessed in a classroom space. This helped hooks to reflect upon how the specifics of racial and gendered realities are often rendered invisible in a classroom discussion. To describe her personal interaction with Paulo she wrote, For me our meeting was incredible; it made me a devoted student and comrade of Paulos for life (hooks 1994 pp-55). She witnessed how Freire embodies the practice he describes in theory. She thus significantly writes about praxis in Teaching to Transgress. She emphasised on the importance of engaging in action and reflection in order to participate in the true transformation of the society and engaging in practicing critical pedagogy is instrumental in this transgression.

Also read: A New Report Tracks School Educational Reforms In Delhi From 2015-2020

..once you learn to look at yourself critically, you look at everything around you with new eyes. (hooks 1994, pp-117)

In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks also explores how feminist thinking in the classroom can develop the classroom as a space to have dialogue where one can express their dissent and also in the process forge interpersonal relationships. She extensively addresses the gatekeeping exercised by white feminists who perceived the inclusion of conversation around race in the feminist movement as threat to their own hegemonic hold in the movement. The specific realities and issues faced by black women was absolutely absent from the existing body of feminist scholarship for a long period of time.

She also writes how there were multiple factors which discouraged black women from engaging and producing the feminist scholarship. The act of committing to feminist politics is more than often viewed with suspicion. The sense of alienation experienced by individuals routinely as they identify themselves as feminists, develop a distancing attitude towards feminism amongst young women. hooks significantly addresses how examining our own standpoints critically and transforming our own consciousness is the first stage in the process of feminist politicization (hooks 1994, pp-117). She extensively writes about the power exercised by white women either benevolently or tyrannically on black women in Teaching to Transgress.

The lack of confrontation and willingness to engage in dialogue stands in the way of establishing solidarity between white women and black women which is essential for the collective feminist movement to step forward. She argues introducing feminist thinking in the classroom will not only dismantle the existing academic hegemony but also enable one to interrogate ones own biases.

To Educate for freedom, then we have to challenge and change the way everyone thinks about the pedagogical process- (hooks 1994, pp-144)

bell hooks reimagines classroom as a space characterised by critical interrogation and reciprocal exchange of dialogues. As a professional academic (teacher/professor) one is required to be critical of their own pedagogical practice and accept criticism from others and especially students. In the classroom one has to be profoundly aware of the privilege their position accompanies and be sensitive towards it. The mind/body split overlooks the position of privilege one holds in the classroom and reinforces the hegemonic ideals and values. hooks thus writes in Teaching to Transgress that its time for us to rethink our pedagogical practice and deconstruct the traditional biases we carry with ourselves into the classroom. The act of simply adding radical subject matter in the curriculum might be the initial steps but is not enough to create a liberatory pedagogy. She writes, Education as the practice of freedom is not just about liberatory knowledge, it is about a liberatory practice in the classroom (hooks 1994, pp-147).

In Teaching to Transgress, hooks writes, Thats the difference education as the practice of freedom makes. The bottom line assumption has to be that everyone in the classroom is able to act responsibly (hooks 1994, pp-152). The classroom thereby is a significant space which must empower students and teachers simultaneously by building a community of learners together.

It is often considered that the classroom is distinctly divided into two groups, active preachers (teachers/professors) and passive listeners (students). Thus for a critique of liberatory pedagogy it is difficult to imagine that a classroom must be a space where teachers and students are working together. As a teacher, one is not only responsible for creating an environment where students speak up their views and also they listen to others opinions respectfully. In Teaching to Transgress, hooks writes, Thats the difference education as the practice of freedom makes. The bottom line assumption has to be that everyone in the classroom is able to act responsibly (hooks 1994, pp-152). The classroom thereby is a significant space which must empower students and teachers simultaneously by building a community of learners together. An equal commitment towards reimagining the education which critically engages, interrogates and practices freedom.

hooks bell (1994), Teaching to Transgress: Education as the practice of Freedom

Kjaran, Ingvar Jon (2017): Constructing Sexualities and Gendered bodies in school spaces: Nordic Insights on Queer and Transgender students, Newyork: Palgrave Macmillan

Specia Akello & Osman A Ahmed (2015), Education as a Practice of Freedom: Reflections on bell hooks, retrieved from, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079754.pdf

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Teaching To Transgress: Analysing bell hooks Work Reimagining Education Critically - Feminism in India