This is the meeting for the week of February 26, 2018 through March 4, 2018

This Meeting at a Glance:Program:About Palo Alto UniversityProgram Description: Palo Alto University’s new President, Dr. Maureen O’Connor, gives a brief history of the university, an update on where the university current stands, and shares her vision for future projects and initiatives.Speaker: Dr. Maureen O'Connor, President of Palo Alto University

Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time.Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!

Here’s a message from Past President Rushton:

Hello fellow Rotarians and guests! Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley’s meeting for this week.Greetings, everyone! A big welcome to all our members and Rotarians around the world who join us to see what we have to share.It's our goal each week to share something that inspires you to see new possibilities in yourself through our interests in innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and especially how these topics play out in service to others. As I like to say, we in this eclub are exploring how technology can serve the business of service.This week we'll hear from the president of Palo Alto University right here in Silicon Valley. When you think about what happens at a university, what is most important in inspiring students to make great things happen for themselves and their communities? It would be wonderful to get a few thoughts in the Disqus section on your most inspiring learning moments from your university experiences.So settle in for some time focused on how we work to improve the lives of others, all while becoming better people ourselves.

As always, it's good to have you join us.

In service,

Rushton

Weekly Funny with the Lady of Laughter (LOL)

We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Yvonne Kwan, our “Lady of Laughter!”

From Yvonne: “This week’s crumbly jokes have been curated for you while munching on some Girl Scout cookies."

Why did the Oreo go to the dentist?

Because it lost its filling.

What did the Gingerbread Man put on his bed?

A cookie sheet.

What do you get when you use a deer-shaped cookie cutter?

Cookie doe!

Weekly Inspiration: The Tree

Every week we start our meetings with a short video highlighting innovation, inspiration, entrepreneurship, or social change.

Lead India is an organization working to find those who will make their communities better. Does your town or city have a program to help young people learn about their government and services? Many Silicon Valley communities do. We don't have to wait for others, though; Rotary is one of the best organizations for helping identify people who can step up to become leaders.

New Member Induction: Celine Neal

It is always a joyous occasion when this segment of our meeting appears, as it means we have just welcomed a new individual into our international family as our club's newest Rotarian. In this week's segment, we are welcoming new member Celine Neal!

Membership Co-Chair Mitty Chang here. Becoming a new member of our club takes dedication and time. We require all prospective members to attend at least 4 weeks of our meetings within a 2 month period before we will consider their application. Once the prospective member completes those meetings, and then submits their application, they still wait a 2 week period for our club's Board of Directors and club membership to approve their application.Being in an eClub like ours means that you need to be self-driven; able to attend these meetings on your own free-will because there's no one that's going to remind you otherwise. Being in an eClub also means that you don't see your fellow members in-person every week, so you have to be independent enough that you can work on projects on your own or collaborate with clubs in your area. For those of our members lucky enough to be in the Silicon Valley where we host our monthly events, there are opportunities to break bread and share drinks in person. For those of our members and candidates, like Celine, who are abroad, this adds an additional layer of challenge and complexity.But despite that, it is because we have members from all over the world -- from Canada to Australia to South Africa to Japan to Mexico and now to Belize -- that makes us so unique. It's because we continue paving a path for our club, constantly working on improving our website and the services we provide, that makes our club who we are. And most importantly, it's because of the amazing people we have part of our club; people from all different demographics, political spectrums, industries, and countries who come together to do service onto this world both locally and internationally. That is truly that makes us special.This week, it is with great pleasure that I am here to introduce to you our newest club member, Rotarian Celine Neal! Celine has a short message for us below.

"My name is Celine Neal, I am from the western part of Belize where the beautiful scenery of tropical rainforest and ruins are located and I am the current Community Service Director of the Rotaract Club of San Ignacio. Rotaract and Rotary

have

always been a passion of mine; I have been in Rotaract for the

past

4 years and counting.

When I was introduced to the Rotary Eclub of Silicon Valley I was super excited to engage in the meetings and to learn more about the eclub.

Being a fulltime student in the computer engineering program at Galen University and a

technician at Belize Electricity I depend on technology strongly as it has made it

easier for me to remain connected and active in my community.

I also try to balance being a member of Belize Cancer Society San Ignacio Branch and to work along with the SISE Municipal Child Advisory Board which is an initiative by UNDP, UNICEF, local Ministries.

I hope to bring new ideas to the

eclub

and to learn much more. Thank you for the invititation

to

become a member. I can't wait for the new experiences! :)

Sincerely,

Celine"

Celine, by becoming a member of our club you have officially joined an international family of people from all backgrounds who come together to perform small and large acts of kindness in this world; people who help build homes for those who need homes; who help feed those who are hungry; who help cure those who are sick; who help when people need help because we are Rotarians, and that's what we do.

On behalf of the club's Board of Directors and the club membership, we welcome you to our club as our newest member, Rotarian Celine Neal! Congratulations!

For Members Only: Updates

This segment of the meeting is dedicated to our club members. This section includes announcements and new initiatives. Guests, you are welcome to read this section or just skip it.

VOTING for next year's 2018-19 Club Officers is being sent to your inbox this Monday evening, February 26th! Be sure to keep an eye out and vote!

Members, if you did not receive an email regarding voting by Tuesday, February 27, please reach out to President Stephen at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com

Past Member Announcements:

Member namebadges delayed but will be shipped out in February
Active members now have yourname@siliconvalleyrotary.com email forwarders! Your forwarder should be your full first name plus the first initial of your last name. Emails going to your @siliconvalleyrotary.com email will be forwarded automatically to the email you have on file with our club. If you want your email forwarder changed to a different variation of your name, please email Webmaster Mitty at mittyc@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
Members Only Facebook Group: If you haven't joined our members-only Facebook Group, consider joining! Request an invitation from mitty@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Service Blotter Submissions: Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey

Our Events & Projects

We hold our meetings online, but we hold regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley every month! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of our events and service projects listed here.

Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!

https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/

Upcoming Events:

All times are Pacific Time! (San Francisco time)

Other Upcoming Club Events:

June 1-3, 2018 - San Jose, CA - Rotary District Conference for our home district, District 5170 - conference activities begin Friday night at 6 PM, includes an all-day Saturday conference, and Sunday morning service projects in San Jose
June 22, 2018 - Toronto, Canada - Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley's RI Convention Friday Happy Hour in Toronto from 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
June 22-27, 2018 - Toronto, Canada - 2018 Rotary International Convention
August 2018 - Our eClub's second annual charity fundraiser is coming up! More details coming soon!

More events coming soon! All events are open to guests, unless otherwise mentioned. Feel free to join us! If you ever have questions, please email inquiries@siliconvalleyrotary.com

What would you like to do?

Hey Members! What would you like to do? We're working on putting together some exciting socials and impactful service projects for our upcoming quarter's event calendar. Let us know what you want to do by posting in our members only Facebook Group (if you don't have access, please request it with Webmaster Mitty). Remember, you're only taking advantage of the full impact of Rotary when you're stepping up to get involved.

Happy Dollars: Do Good by Sharing Something Good

Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.

Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it's appropriate!)

Last week's happy dollar contributions went towards supporting our Interact high school students attending leadership training events such as PWR and RYLA. Here are some of the happy dollar messages from last week:

Thank you to member Rory Olsen for his generous $15 donation to ending polio through The Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus fund. Rory had this to say:"The insulation has been installed in my house. I need one more permit and then they can start hanging sheetrock. Looking to be done by the end of April. Please apply my gift to PolioPlus."

Thank you to member Brian Liddicoat for his generous $15 donation! Brian had this to say:"Thankful for a great week at Disneyland with my family."

Thank you to guest Paul Andrus for his $10 donation! Paul had this to say:"Thanks for lettinge dona make up meeting - wnjoyed the topic about Mental health. Today’s donation is on behalf of my Special Needs son Tio who has Angelman Syndrome. He is a big blessing in our family life."

Thank you all for your donations last week!

Happy dollars is also a great opportunity to share with the group about something good that has happened to you, while giving back to a great cause. This week's donations will go to powering our club's projects and helping with sending Interactors to PWR and RYLA!

So what are you happy about? Share with us below to help with doing good around the world.

Selected Six

Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select six comments every week from last week’s meeting to be featured during this week’s meeting.

Here are six comments selected from last week’s meeting featuring the program on How a Newspaper Article Changed the Mental Health System:

Guest Rebecca Fry had this to say:“Great to hear from a Silicon Valley member! Nice to change up the meeting format. Living in a terrace house in Sydney with little room makes a robot dog tempting!“

Member Chris Cochrane (Toronto, Canada) had this to say:“Rory, love learning from you. Thank you for sharing.Robot dog? Has possibilities except maybe the loyalty/ loving side of a dog.If a robot can impart these traits, I'm for getting one!”

Member Monique Ziesenhenne (California, USA) had this to say:“Thanks very much for your program, Rory! I appreciate the work you've done and I, too, enjoy hearing from members about their passions and work. Love the robot dog - I had a cousin who worked for Sony years ago and he talked about how they had them in the office! Makes bringing your dog to work much easier. Catherine A., a library fellowship sounds like an idea I can support!”

Member Catherine A. (California, USA) had this to say:“Judge Olsen, congratulations on your 20 years of judicial service and obvious compassion towards those suffering from mental illness. Your talk reminds me of a woman who was a childhood friend of my mother, who developed cognitive issues later in life. Fortunately, this woman also had a very understanding husband and friends who understood her illness. When she was having one of her "spells" she hired a commercial painting company to paint the large automotive repair facility across the street from her home, peach (which was her favorite color). The owners of the auto repair company knew this lady and her husband very well, so when the painters arrived, the auto repair manager asked some questions, discovered what had happened, then gave the painters a large tip for their trouble (with their promise to cancel the painting contract), then sent them home.On a serious note, it is wonderful to see your efforts to insure that those who are most severely afflicted by mental illnesses are treated, rather than just incarcerated.“

Member Angela Hoang (Sydney, Australia) had this to say:“Thank you for your talk Judge Rory, I'm so glad that there are people out there like yourself in the judicial system who are such advocates for the rights and interests of mental health patients. It's such a complex area (and one that I'm in contact with in a community setting) very often and it's good to know that it's being considered in other spheres not only in healthcare since it touches all aspects of patient lives.“

Member Celine Neal (Belize) had this to say:“Hi Rory,Thank you for sharing your work with us and for writing the article and for being patient and not giving up and for seeing the need for more funding for those suffering from mental illness.”

Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week’s meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you’ll see your comment featured next week!

Program: About Palo Alto University

Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, education, technology, and humanitarian service. This week our guest speaker is Dr. Maureen O'Connor, President of Palo Alto University.

Prior to becoming President at PAU in August, 2016, Dr. Maureen O’Connor served at the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York City for 18 years. She was the 2014 recipient of the New York State Psychological Association's Margaret Floy Washburn Mentoring award. Dr. O’Connor “I am honored and excited to have been selected as the next President of Palo Alto University. Its commitment to diversity and its strategic focus on education anchored in psychology puts it in a unique and excellent position to make a difference in our students’ lives, in Silicon Valley, and beyond.”

Dr. O’Connor completed a dual degree program in Psychology, Law, and Policy at the University of Arizona, earning both her Ph.D. and J.D. She is a member of the bar in Arizona and Washington, D.C., and clerked for the Honorable Patricia Wald, then Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. She has held numerous governance positions in the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI/APA Division 9), including as President, and is currently serving on SPSSI’s Task Force on Engaged Scholarship.She served as Chair of the Psychology Department at John Jay College from 2002 – 2008, during which time she hired close to 30 faculty and built a leading program in law and psychology. Since 2008 she has directed the Doctoral Program in Psychology at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. Through intensive strategic planning, she has supported the development of exciting programs in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Critical Psychology, and Health Psychology and Clinical Science, among others, and has overseen the accreditation processes for three clinical training programs. Her research and teaching interests are in the intersection of psychology, gender, and law, and, in the use of scientific information and expert testimony in the legal system, particularly focused on gendered components of that process. She has been active in building a robust pedagogy development program for students, supporting the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Graduate Student Teaching Association.

Members and guests, please welcome Dr. Maureen O'Connor to our meeting!

Share with us your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of this meeting page!If you have questions for Maureen, feel free to ask in the comments!

Upcoming Program Schedule

All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.

Upcoming Recordings:

If you would like to join us for any of the live recordings, you are welcome to join us. Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always https://zoom.us/j/5104080000. Please note the timezone for all recordings are listed for San Francisco, California, USA time (Pacific Time).

You’re Almost Done! One last thing: The Attendance Survey...

Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done. First, we have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.

Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!

About Palo Alto University