Latest news with #GinaFord
Associated Press
25-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Women In Bio Announces Expansion of Executive Women In Bio Program
DALLAS, March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Women In Bio (WIB) celebrates an expansion of its Executive Women In Bio program that supports access to networking, community and collaboration for the thousands of women in biotech and life sciences. New and existing partners of WIB have enabled the expansion of programming for the Executive Women In Bio program, the life science community's pre-eminent resource for executive women. EWIB champions for greater diversity in the industry and is committed to empowering women leaders at the highest levels by hosting robust professional development programs, creating targeted networking events, and fostering exclusive communities that amplify and support each other. Starting this year, the program will bring WIB chapters together to provide collaborative and engaging programming to more executive women by increasing the number of virtual panels, roundtables, and networking opportunities, and developing unique in-person opportunities to connect. 'We're so pleased that our partners value our growing community and the impact our women leaders can make in biotech and life sciences,' said Gina Ford, executive director of Women In Bio. 'We are grateful for their trust and partnership in fueling our impactful programs and initiatives.' Executive members of Women In Bio also have access to: Some additional programming for EWIB includes: The Boardroom Ready Program, an award-winning exclusive executive development platform designed to fuel women's participation on corporate boards. Through a series of courses and applied learning sessions, participants are equipped with the knowledge they'll need to successfully seek board appointments. The 2025 application process is open and applications are due on April 21, 2025. Executive Mentoring (eMAPS) programs offer cohort-based professional development for rising Directors, VPs, and C-Level executives. Annual invite-only Luminary event during the JPM Healthcare Conference in San Francisco with life science's best leaders and influences Renowned BIO International Convention panel and networking event — a must-attend event for C-Level executives, board members and aspiring board directors Exclusive webinars featuring timely no-holds-bar conversations with industry icons Local events in chapters across North America aimed at providing intimate conversation and connections A new and exclusive LinkedIn Group for executive-level WIB members to connect, share, and learn. About Women In Bio: Women In Bio is a dynamic community that empowers women across the life sciences. With nearly 4,000 members and greater than 12,000 individuals engaging programming across 13 chapters in North America, we foster a vibrant community that connects professionals from diverse backgrounds – from biotech to academia. WIB supports women at every stage of their career, from students to board members. Through mentorship, networking and innovative programming, WIB provides touchpoints locally, regionally and nationally to foster innovative thinking across industries and functions, encouraging collaboration. By joining WIB, women can be part of a powerful community advancing women in the life sciences.
Axios
21-03-2025
- General
- Axios
Mecklenburg County leaders unveil new plans for $11.2M historic Latta Place
Mecklenburg County leaders revealed the final design for historic Latta Place at a community meeting Thursday night in Huntersville. Why it matters: This new iteration of Latta Place, previously Latta Plantation, will dive into the site's complicated past, placing more emphasis on the lives of the enslaved people who lived there than it previously did. Catch up quick: Latta Place encompasses 16 acres within Latta Nature Preserve in Huntersville. The entire nature preserve covers around 1,540 acres. The county closed Latta Plantation in 2021 after a racist post from the nonprofit operating the site and ended its contract with Historic Latta Place Inc. The post was about a Juneteenth event that portrayed slave owners as refugees. County leaders have spent the subsequent years studying how leaders at other former plantations have confronted the past. Project leaders have also held community conversations and worked with historians to design the space. By the numbers: The project will cost around $11.2 million, per Bert Lynn, director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's Capital Planning Division. This figure includes everything from permitting to construction. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation will manage the project. What to expect: There will be a tribute to the enslaved, including the names of the 65 people who were known to be enslaved at Latta. The county describes it as a quiet space for reflection. This will be at the end of a self-guided interpretive trail. The trail will run through Latta Place and the nature preserve. It will explore the relationship inhabitants had with their surroundings, from the forest and the Catawba River to the cotton plantation. The trail, which will be ADA-accessible, will start with a space where visitors can pause to reflect and include interactive displays throughout. There will be a new 6,000-square-foot visitor center with a 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot meeting room for 75 to 80 people. It will also include exhibit space, a porch, lobby, exterior gallery, community space, staff offices and restrooms. Thursday's design presentation emphasized showing all sides of Latta Place, from the land to the history of the indigenous people, enslaved people, past landowners and where it stands today. Much of the visitor experience will be through "cultural memory" rather than objects, said Gina Ford, principal and co-founder of Agency Landscape + Planning, one of the agencies working on the project. There will also be gardens on the farmstead and an outdoor area where people can gather. Zoom in: The goal is to make the site as authentic as possible. Latta House and the meat house, which are original to the farmstead, will remain, with some repairs planned. A few items will be removed: a small replica barn, a replica structure that served as a field office, a chicken coop and freestanding restrooms. What's next: Construction is expected to start in late 2025, with an anticipated reopening in one year's time. What they're saying: "Mecklenburg [County] had a huge number of plantations, so this is just one plantation story, and I'm interested in how it gets interpreted," said H.D. "De" Kirkpatrick, a Plaza Midwood resident whose family settled in Charlotte during the late 1700s. Kirkpatrick and his Myers Park High School classmate, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, spoke about their entwined family histories. Jimmie's ancestors had been enslaved by De's ancestors. They're working on a book and have made a documentary together, Kirkpatrick told Axios. "I'm delighted the county is trying to do this in a clear, transparent way and deal honestly with the history of plantation life in Mecklenburg as well as plantation life here, because it's not a pretty story," De Kirkpatrick said.
The Independent
09-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
I potty trained my kids in three days – it's not that hard
The potty training age is creeping up alarmingly, warn scientists – who are trying to find ways to reduce the 300,000 nappies sent to landfills globally every minute. Researchers at University College London (UCL) are asking parents from across the world to share their potty training experiences and techniques as part of The Big Toilet Project, to hopefully figure out a way to reverse the trend. 'I understand this is a sensitive and difficult issue for many families,' said Professor Mark Miodownik, who is heading the project. 'I found toilet training my kids very difficult. We are doing this research because there is a potential win-win situation here. Finding effective and safe ways to toilet train children earlier helps the child, helps the parents, reduces costs to the family, and reduces plastic waste.' I can tell his team point blank: I potty trained my kids in three days – it's not that hard. I read Gina Ford's Potty Training in One Week – I got it done far quicker. My kids were out of nappies by the age of around two. One of the main takeaways is to dedicate a full week of staying at home to potty train as soon as they are ready – and don't use pull-ups. Let children run around feral and follow them with a potty – if that means putting up with pee all over the place, who cares? Just get the job done and go out again into the world. Tick – another milestone completed and it's helping the environment. According to UCL's study, however, the average toddler is potty trained at three – about nine months later than its grandparents – and there are warnings from teachers and schools that one in four kids are starting school without being fully potty trained. Scientists are blaming the 'too good and too cheap' nappies for the slow pace of potty training. Experts claim they are so superior in absorbency that children aren't aware when they are even wet, meaning they don't learn when they need the toilet. Also, now that we aren't burdened with the dreadful chore of washing Terry towel nappies, parents aren't motivated to potty train as quickly. But the scientists are making a big mistake - don't blame the nappies, blame the parents. I'm not wishing to potty shame, but, really – what's the big deal? A key culprit is the child-led approach to parenting – or ' gentle parenting ' – in which you can't possibly force your child to use a potty. Instead, parents introduce it in a namby-pamby way, like you might a bowl of peas, as something they might be interested in – or might not be. No pressure at all! The view is, if it takes five years, then respect the children's comfort zone. But the emphasis on pandering to a child's rhythm with something like potty training means that it could literally take years to accomplish. I've heard potty training horror stories – and seen them too. I've seen kids of tiger mums so stressed out from potty training, they have developed phobias. One mum in Kew Gardens pulled out a mini potty-style loo with a fake flush and loo roll holder. Others, like comedian Katherine Ryan, potty trained her three kids almost from birth 'as soon as they can listen to a story'. They were out of nappies by the age of one and crawling to the toilet. Good for her – at least some parents have got the right idea. It's potty to send your child to their first day of school in absorbent pull-ups – and expect teachers to potty train them. Teachers have better things to do than pick up the pieces from lazy (or fashionable) parenting trends. My advice to the scientists is: Don't bother getting parents to complete a five-minute survey – or record monthly progress in a toilet training diary. Just tell parents to potty train children as soon as they hit 18 months to two years – or earlier if kids are ready – and prepare to stay at home for a week. It's really that simple.
