Latest news with #CathyCahill
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
More Than A Festival: Empowering Youth Through HBCUs, The Arts, And Community
Marching band performance at the HBCU Festival When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in 2020, it caused unprecedented setbacks for young people. During this challenging time, Cathy Cahill, president and CEO of the Mann, and Shelley Sylva, TD Bank's Head of Business Development and Community Outreach in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, came together with a vision. They decided to create an HBCU Festival at the Mann, which is a popular, outdoor music venue in Philadelphia. The two leaders recognized the power of such a festival not only to connect students and families with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and career opportunities, but also to bring the community at large together. At first glance, a college fair at a performing arts center might seem unlikely. However, the idea was, in fact, a natural extension of Mann's longstanding commitment to community enrichment. As Cahill explained, 'We've built robust education and engagement initiatives to support that community. We advanced and further shaped those efforts following a study we commissioned in 2018 that identified workforce development, out-of-school time, and creative placemaking as areas of huge need in the West Philadelphia neighborhood we call home.' The inaugural HBCU Festival took place in 2023 and on May 17, 2025. the Mann will once again host the event, with 'every hour filled with performances and master classes by notable HBCU choirs, drumlines, step and dance teams, and other performing arts groups.' At the heart of the festival will be an interactive college fair where students can meet representatives from a variety of HBCUs, as well as representatives from industry. However, the festival is more than a one-day event. It is part of a broader effort to support Philadelphia's youth. 'The HBCU Festival is a platform for young people to imagine what their futures might look like, just like our year-round apprenticeship and music education programs are,' shared Cahill. She added, 'All of these things work together to meet young people where they are. And, along the way, while these efforts are stoking the imaginations and career aspirations of young people, there is the potential that we are helping to build a workforce for the arts sector of the future.' As Heather Malin, author of Teaching for Purpose: Preparing Students for Lives of Meaning, demonstrates, the arts and exposure to the arts are highly important to young people in terms of building relationships with others, understanding others, and being understood. These types of connections are essential as young people move throughout their lives and within communities. Students from HBCUs presenting at the Festival. The Mann is not doing this work in isolation. TD Bank, a longtime partner, sees the festival as a key piece of its broader mission to invest in future leaders and create inclusive pathways to professional success. Paige Carlson-Heim, head of U.S. Social Impact at TD Bank, underscored this commitment, stating, 'TD recognizes that HBCUs are a cornerstone of education across our country, creating a talent pool that helps to advance America's institutions, workforce, and economy. As a bank, it's critically important that we find the best talent to deliver for our customers and communities. The HBCU festival is an opportunity for us to engage early with all students and families who are eager to learn about HBCUs.' She added, 'The festival not only presents an opportunity for all students and their families to learn, engage, and be inspired by the legacy of HBCUs through education and celebration of the performing arts, but it is also an opportunity to connect our shared communities. ' With the combined efforts of the Mann and TD Bank, the HBCU Festival is poised to shape the future of those youth who attend. It is also a reminder that in times of uncertainty for many, the arts, education, and community engagement have the potential to inspire, uplift, and pave the way for opportunity.
Cision Canada
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Cision Canada
University of Alaska Fairbanks purchases Windracers ULTRAs to test resupply delivery
LONDON, May 6, 2025 /CNW/ -- Windracers, pioneering provider of the low-cost self-flying cargo aircraft ULTRA™, announced today that it has contracted to provide the University of Alaska Fairbanks two (2) Windracers ULTRA MK1 aircraft for use in developing best practices for delivering to remote communities in Alaska. Featuring the Alaska Center for UAS Integration (ACUASI), one of the top drone research programs in the United States, University of Alaska Fairbanks is an international centre for research, education and the arts, emphasizing the circumpolar North and its diverse peoples. "Air cargo delivery for resupply of our remote communities is vital to life in Alaska so we purchased Windracers ULTRA to better test the possibilities," ACUASI Director Cathy Cahill said. "We need aircraft such as Windracers that can cover long distances, carry the weight of emergency supplies and do so reliably, regularly and safely. Our goal is to create an environment for the commercial sector in which UAVs, including self-flying cargo aircraft, become ubiquitous in Alaska and beyond." Windracers CEO Simon Muderack said the company's aircraft will serve ACUASI well. "Windracers is immensely proud that UAF has chosen ULTRA to meet their need for air cargo delivery services that can reliably fly in difficult weather and at a much lower cost to support very isolated communities with everyday essentials," Muderack said. "Windracers ULTRA is uniquely suited to support ACUASI through its multi-mission capability and its polar pedigree from Antarctic mission experience in January 2024," he said. "The Windracers team looks forward to growing partnership with UAF and ACUASI, delivering on their mission of testing supply to remote communities in Alaska." With a payload of over 100kg and a range of up to 1,000 km, Windracers ULTRA is the world's most accomplished long-distance heavily-lift drone available today and is dual-use for civilian and defence purposes. Windracers ULTRA has flown countless beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) missions for customers in support the most diverse set of use cases, including troop resupply and aerial reconnaissance in Ukraine, aerial geological and wildlife survey in the Antarctic, parcel delivery to islands off the Scottish and English coasts and parachute resupply of medical supplies in Africa.
