Aug20Thu

Member News from WSFS

WSFS’ first person of color in the C-suite readies for role as ‘organizational change agent’
By  – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Michael Conklin has lived and worked in the Midwest for his entire life, most recently serving nearly eight years as senior vice president of global human resources for the nation’s fifth-largest bank, U.S. Bancorp. He oversaw the Minneapolis-based company’s consumer and business banking units as well as payment services — leading a team of 147 human resources professionals and 46,000 employees.

The Wisconsin native has not spent much time in the Philadelphia region save for regular visits to a Folcroft facility while at ConAgra Foods. So why uproot his family and leave the massive U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) to become executive vice president and chief human resources officer for WSFS Financial Corp. (NYSE: WSFS), a company 1,100 miles away that is only a fraction the size?

Click HERE to read more.

 

Aug19Wed

Pennsylvania’s new Covid-19 tracker will bolster contact tracing

By  – Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times

Pennsylvania next month will roll out a new app that will notify residents if they are close contacts of someone with a confirmed case of Covid-19.

Covid Alert Pa is being developed for the Pennsylvania Department of Health with the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an Irish app maker called NearForm that built a Covid-19 tracker for the Irish government.

“This app uses Bluetooth technology to let a person know that they have been exposed to Covid-19 without compromising their identity or location,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Levine made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday.

One of the persistent challenges in stemming the outbreak has been notifying people who have come within six feet of an infected person for a minimum of 15 minutes. It’s sometimes hard, for example, for people who are facing a Covid-19 diagnosis to tell a case investigator all the places they’ve been and for how long. And, said Levine, if an infected person had been in a store or a restaurant or somewhere else, it’s likely they didn’t know the names and contact numbers of everyone they were in contact with.

Click HERE to read more.

Aug06Thu

Irish Philadelphia News

Emily Schmidt, Bucks County native and former dancer with Rince Ri School of Irish Dance, is the author of The Galvin Girls, a historical fiction novel set to published by New Degree Press this coming December. The novel is based on Emily’s great-grandmother Helen Galvin and her four sisters who immigrated from Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland to Philadelphia in the mid-1920s.

Please consider preordering your own copy. In the last three weeks, Emily has successfully met and surpassed her campaign goal of $5,000. Every dollar used to purchase a book after the $5,000 will be donated to the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center, a Philly-based nonprofit that celebrates Irish music, dance, and community.

Emily’s campaign is unique because anyone who orders a book can be part of her Beta Reader Community and give her feedback on the book before it’s released, as well as help choose the cover and other really great opportunities. It could make a fantastic gift for anyone who has Irish ancestry and needs an interesting new read. Almost 150 people have backed the book and Emily is hoping to grow the community even more to help the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center in their time of need.

Publishing campaign here: https://igg.me/at/thegalvingirls

Recent interview with Irish Philadelphia here:
http://irishphiladelphia.com/2020/07/the-galvin-girls-a-tale-of-irish-sisters/

Aug04Tue

Member News from Today’s Graphics

All schools need safety signage to give students, faculty, and parents information on new procedures. You need your guidelines to be easily seen and clearly stated to help reduce any confusion and allow the process to move smoothly. Removable wall signs, banners, and floor graphics are a perfect cost-effective solution to get you started. Irish Chamber members at Today’s Graphics can assist with all your signage needs. Contact Frank Fox to learn more.

Jul31Fri

Pennsylvania may pilot COVID-19 contact tracing app popular in Ireland

6abc.com

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — A contact-tracing app that was downloaded by one-fifth of Ireland in 36 hours might undergo a pilot project in Pennsylvania that could go live in the coming weeks as part of an effort to more quickly contain coronavirus outbreaks by notifying people who may have been exposed, a state Health Department official said Wednesday.

The state Department of Health otherwise has said little about its plans for the app, other than it is seeking to introduce a mobile app and a $1.9 million contract with software developer NearForm Ltd of Ireland to deploy and maintain it.

At a hearing organized by state House Democrats, Lindsey Mauldin, a special assistant to state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, said department personnel are working with researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to figure out how to use the app in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is also working with Delaware, and surrounding states could join, Mauldin told lawmakers.

Click HERE to read more.