Colorado Succeeds - STEM Day at the Capitol

March 11, 2016 Tammy Schaffer

Colorado is poised as a leader in STEM-related industries. Over the next five to ten years at least fifty-five percent of the state's top jobs will require STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) skills and degrees.

Colorado Succeeds is working to be certain that our students get a strong STEM education to prepare them for success. We'll talk with Jamie Trafficanda, Program Manager with Colorado Succeeds about the upcoming STEM Day at the Capitol.

When: Monday, March 14, 2016

Where: State Capitol – Old Supreme Court Chambers
200 E. Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80203

Along with Mark Alpert, Executive Board Member of South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce and advocate for STEM education and growth, we'll discuss legislation that impacts education in the state and about the challenges businesses face to develop Colorado-grow employees in STEM fields.

Mark Alpert on an Educated Workforce

February 2, 2016 admin

Mark Alpert, owner of Integrated Delivery Solutions and Chair of the Board of the South Metro Denver Chamber, joins us to discuss Colorado's workforce and education needs.

Mark has an impressive career history, working with design build for CH2MHill, and credits his engineering-focused high school education for his success. Mark wants to see similar opportunities for education and careers for generations of Coloradans, and advocates for STEM related education, as well as communication between industry and education to prepare a strong Colorado workforce.

We also discuss inspiration and best practices in business.

Upcoming STEM Summit - Brave Leader Scott Lee

October 2, 2015 Tammy Schaffer

As an innovative state, the majority of available work in Colorado in the coming years in Colorado will be STEM related jobs. This should be taken as great news, but many employers in the state are concerned that there will not be enough qualified workers.

That alone is reason enough for bushiness leaders, educators, policy makers and other stakeholders to come together for the 2015 Colorado STEM Summit, to be held October 30th in Denver, sponsored by the South Metro Denver Chamber. The summit will address the needs of employers, and how schools can prepare the coming workforce for these highly skilled jobs.

Our guests are Mark Alpert, Chair of the Board of the South Metro Denver Chamber, and Sue Kenfield, Chair of Marketing and Communications for the STEM Summit.

"For the foreseeable future, somewhere between 55% and 60 % of the new jobs in the state of Colorado are STEM jobs. yet the majority of e STEM jobs that are held here currently, by individuals the dominating group is people who have moved in , rather than individuals educated and established in the state. " - Mark Alpert

The STEM Summit will feature a panel of speakers, including featured speakers Thomas Friedman, Norman Augustine and Colorado Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia. Learn more by listening to our interview, then go to the Colorado STEM Summit website for registration information.

We continue our Brave Leader series with Scott Lee, a retired Army combat veteran who is now the lead counselor with Project Sanctuary. Project Sanctuary is a healing environment for military families recovering from the stress of deployment and combat action.

Scott works to help veterans address the effect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and how it impacts family relationships. Project Sanctuary treats the whole family, by offering them a retreat environment with activities like horseback riding, bike trips, and snowmobiling, combined with counseling and courses to teach their spouses and children to understand the lasting impact of living and working in a combat zone.

What Scott Lee and Project Sanctuary are doing to help our nation's veterans and their families is heroic and we are proud to recognize him as a #BraveLeadersCO

Listen Saturday at 1:00 PM on 710 KNUS - Please let us know what you think of our program, either by commenting here or on our Colorado Business Roundtable Facebook page, or join the discussion on Twitter @ColoradoBRT

Human Resources Law - Brave Leader Mark Alpert

September 25, 2015 Tammy Schaffer

Human Resources issues in the workplace are more complicated than ever. Many businesses may find it's helpful to have expert consultation on personnel issues, or simply accommodating new laws and requirements.

In our Pro-Business Colorado feature, Dave Tabor of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry introduces us to Chuck Passaglia, Attorney and Founder of Employment Law Solutions. Chuck is also a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserves, and serves as a Judge Advocate General which gives him additional perspective on the law and employer rights. He also relies on his humor to make employment law training less of a snooze.

Tune in to hear his perspectives on training, and for inspiration from the challenges he faces running his own business while serving deployments for our military.

Later, in our Brave Leader segment, we talk with Mark Alpert, new Chair of the Board of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, as well as owner of his new business, Integrated Delivery Solutions. Mark is also a former Senior Vice President for Design Build as CH2M Hill (now CH2M).

As an engineer, Mark pioneered the development of cost-effective design and construction, which led to the formalization of design-build and alternate project delivery methods. Truly forging the path in this area, his experience proves his leadership ability. Mark expands on his experience by helping to develop the careers of young new engineers.