Paul Soglin: Waxing America

The Reverend James C. Wright Human Rights Award Goes to Anthony Timmons

Congratulations to Anthony Timmons, the recipient of the 2016 Reverend James C. Wright Human Rights Award.  Mr. Timmons will be honored at the September 1 Common Council meeting.  The Wright Award is given to an individual who conducts their daily life with with dedication and compassion for civil and human rights.  It is of course, named after James C. Wright, who served as the Executive Director of the Equal Opportunities Commission from its inception in 1968 until his retirement in 1992.

Mr. Timmons holds a BBA in Accounting and MBA in Finance and is employed with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.  Mr. Timmons generously volunteers his time and experience to ensure fiscal discipline for the betterment of organizations dedicated to children, youth and adults who are most in need in society.  Mr. Timmons has served as the Treasurer of the Madison Branch of the NAACP, Treasurer of the Wisconsin Association of Black State Employees, founding Treasurer of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, Inc., and Treasurer of the Capital City Lodge #2 of the Prince Hall Freemasonry.  Mr. Timmons cares about poverty alleviation, civil rights, social action, economic empowerment, human rights, social service, and political involvement.  Mr. Timmons uses his expertise as a trusted strategist and collaborator to assist organizations with advancing their visions, missions, and goals to assist the Madison community with its commitment to justice, equity, and inclusion.

Our City is a better place because of Anthony Timmons and others like him!  We are grateful for his service.

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Observance

On Monday, I joined hundreds from throughout Dane County in commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday at the Overture Center for Arts for the 30^th Annual Madison and Dane County Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance Ceremony.

At the ceremony, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and I presented the 2015 City-County Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Awards to two very deserving recipients: Barbara Nichols and Peng Her.

Ms. Nichols has dedicated her career and life to public service with a focus on Civil Rights.

Mr. Her overcame adversity to become an activist for not only the Hmong community but also for other marginalized populations.

Despite their differing career paths, both recipients embody the ideal that Dr. King lived.

Diane Nash, a long time civil rights leader and peace activist delivered the keynote address. Her career accomplishments include serving on a national committee that promoted passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and being active in the peace movement that contributed to the end of war in Vietnam. Her remarks were inspiring.

The gathering served as a celebration of the progress that has been made, and an important reminder of the work that remains. The legacy of Dr. King continues to motivate us to embody the qualities that he lived; fairness, equality, and peace.

Centro Hispano Banquet Celebration

Centro Hispano hosted their 25th Annual Celebration at the Monona Terrace recently. The banquet event featured live music, dancing, a silent auction, and the announcement of the 2014 Roberto G. Sánchez Award and the Ilda Conteris Thomas Award. The Roberto G. Sánchez Award honors an individual, group or organization that has demonstrated leadership in advancing educational and career opportunities for Latinos. Similarly, the Ilda Conteris Thomas Award honors an individual whose efforts ensure a strong Latino voice in the community.

Please join me in wishing congratulations to Anette Miller, recipient of the Roberto G. Sánchez Award, and Gladis Benavides, recipient of the Ilda Conteris Thomas Award. Both Anette and Gladis embody the vision of these awards with their dedication to supporting, empowering, and opening opportunities for Dane County’s Latino community.

I would also like to thank Karen Menendez Coller, Executive Director of Centro Hispano. Karen’s commitment to continuing to make Centro Hispano a resource for the Latino community does not go unnoticed.

Detective Gloria Reyes presenting the Roberto G. Sánchez Award to Anette Miller

Some Good News

In early June,  Sadie Villagas a City of Madison employee, with the assistance of James Lofton, a homeless man, prevented a despondent woman from jumping to her death from the roof of Monona Terrace.

The Common Council honored both individuals later in June at a council meeting.  We noted at the time that both of them put themselves in danger to save the life of another.

 At the time, Mr. Lofton told us he was a veteran.  He served two tours during Operation Desert Storm and one in Bosnia.  Tom Conrad of Housing Operations made inquires with the federal Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (VASH), about housing opportunities for Mr. Lofton.  Thanks to Tom’s efforts and those of others, James now has an apartment and is enjoying life on the east side of Madison.

This is another example of the compassion and thoughtfulness of city of Madison employees and how their work can benefit those in need.

 I am delighted for James who reports that he likes his apartment and his neighbors and is currently interviewing for a job.  His thoughtful actions in June have paid off far more than he ever imagined.  He remains humble and appreciative for the assistance he has received.

It is my understanding that the VASH program has assisted other homeless veterans in Madison; one is now a staff person with the program and another recently obtained an undergraduate degree and is considering pursuing a graduate degree.  I thought it would be nice to share some good news and to celebrate James’ continued successes.

 

Thanks for Speaking Up!

 

There have been some troubling reports of abuse in Madison in the last couple of months. They have led to a number of questions regarding what could and should we have done differently.

If there is any positive outcome to these tragedies, it is that neighbors are reaching out to each other and perhaps working harder to be good neighbors. It is my belief that this is one of the most important things we can do as citizens and human beings; look out for each other. If you think there is something suspicious going on nearby, report it. If you do not think you are getting a response, report it again.

I want to share with you an incident in which someone, in fact a City employee, did stand up and speak out when she saw a wrong. She is a Madison Metro bus driver, and last November, she stepped out of her comfort zone and reported child abuse.

The incident happened as the bus passed a mother and her 3-year-old child on a North Pinckney Street sidewalk. The driver, who contacted police, reported that the woman reached into a stroller and struck the young child multiple times while yelling at her to shut up and go to sleep.

The woman was tentatively charged with physical abuse of a child.

I am pleased to say that the driver’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. She is being publically recognized this spring by the South Central Branch of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Members of the local chapter are honoring the driver for taking responsibility and taking the time to go out of her way to report the abuse rather than look the other way and go about her daily routine.

Of course our bus driver did not know her actions would win her recognition or be reported in the newspaper. She reported the abuse because it was the right thing to do. I know many people have done the same thing without recognition. I applaud anyone who has taken those actions and I applaud our bus driver. It’s people like her who make Madison a wonderful city in which to live.

Enjoy the spring weather!

 

White House Highlights Barbara A. Bitters and Angela Byars-Winston as “Champions of Change” for Girls and Women in STEM

I want to add my congratulations to Barbara A. Bitters and Angela Byars-Winston for their recognition as 'Champions of Change"  These outstanding women will also be featured in the White House website at http://whitehouse.gov/champions.

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, December 9^th, twelve local leaders in the effort to recruit and retain girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will be honored at the White House as Champions of Change. These men and women, who include teachers, industry leaders, students, and non-profit leaders, have each taken great strides to reduce the barriers that drive many girls and women to turn away from high-paying, highly rewarding careers as the Nation’s top innovators.  

 “These ‘Champions of Change’ are community heroes, helping to build the ranks of women in the Nation’s STEM workforce and ensuring that America’s science and engineering enterprise is fueled by the diverse talents of all of its citizens,” said Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “The bold work of these Champions epitomizes the President’s vision of an ‘all hands on deck’ effort by government, academia, non-profits, and industry to maintain America’s leadership in STEM fields for decades to come.”

 The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different issue is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community activists, are recognized for the work they are doing to better their communities.

 To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 3:30 pm ET December 9th.

 Barbara A. Bitters is the Assistant Director for the Career and Technical Education Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (www.dpi.wi.gov). Barbara is both the state leader of the Wisconsin Girl's Collaborative Project (www.ngcproject.org) and the co-leader of the Wisconsin STEM Equity Pipeline Project under the auspices of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation (NAPE) (www.stemequitypipeline.org).  As the leader for these two projects her focus has been to develop and refine strategies and activities that attract, serve, and support the success of girls/women and other under-represented groups to build STEM skills and to explore STEM Careers. She was the state Sex Equity Coordinator under federal vocational education requirements U.S for over 12 years. In 1980, Barbara, under an intergovernmental exchange program, served in the Department of Education as a Special Advisor on Women’s Issues and Vocational Equity to the Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education. She was co-director of the National Leadership Development Conference for Vocational Sex Equity Coordinators from 1979-1987.Barbara is a Past Chair of the Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education (AGELE) (www.agele.org) and is on the Executive Committee of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) (www.napequity.org).

 Angela Byars-Winston, Ph.D. is a counseling psychologist and Associate Professor (tenure track) in the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine, section of General Internal Medicine and the UW Center for Women’s Health Research. Her research examines cultural influences on academic and career development, especially for racial and ethnic minorities and women in the sciences, engineering, and medicine with the aim of broadening their participation in STEM.  Dr. Byars-Winston has translated her research into evidence-based, culturally-relevant interventions to increase the persistence of underrepresented groups in STEM, working with middle school students to early career professionals.  She is currently Principal Investigator for an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to measure the impact of mentored research experiences on career outcomes for diverse undergraduates in biology and biomedical science and co-Investigator of another NIH grant to promote retention of racial and ethnic minority doctoral students in the biological and behavioral sciences.  In addition, Dr. Byars-Winston is a member of the STEM Equity Pipeline National Advisory Board, the Wisconsin Career Development Association Executive Committee, and the National Career Development Association Diversity Committee.  She is a graduate of San Diego State University (bachelor’s and master’s degrees) and Arizona State University (doctoral degree).