Heads up....Fun Event to Support Youth Design, Tuesday, April 23

 

A friend of mine Denise Korn, principal of Korn Design, a nationally recognized brand strategy and design firm, (she did branding for the amazing Liberty Hotel and the face lift for The Boston Ballet, etc.) is the vision behind her nonprofit, Youth Design. Its focus is on addressing critical socioeconomic needs of urban youth by teaching them highly marketable design skils, providing access to amazing mentors, and supporting them along the path toward higher education. Since 2003, Youth Design has targeted a talented pool of high school students attending Boston Public Schools. The goal is to nurture the next generation of diverse young designers in a kalaidescope of wonderful ways by connecting them with the city and its creative resources.

Check out the upcoming "Rally for Change" event at the W Hotel, 100 Stuart Street, Boston, Tuesday, April 23...  and support Youth Design!

 http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/327785

If you would like to learn more about Youth Design or find out ways that you can get involved and support the movement to shape the next generation of diverse design professionals visit www.youthdesign.org. Facebook  

 

new city, INC Expands Services

View from condo for sale, 0 Arlington Street, Boston, MA, Gibson Sotheby's International Real Estate

We are excited to announce that new city, INC now has a real estate arm to help clients buy and list homes as part of our portfolio of services. With her work as founder and CEO of new city, INC, specializing in relocation and recruitment enhancement services, Cheryl is well-versed in the challenges faced by families moving to the Boston area from abroad or outside of the city. She is focused on making her buyers' transitions as positive and trouble-free as possible.  Our popular blog "the bean" offers insights in to life in the Boston area and features occasional listings of note, so stay tuned.  

As a native of the area, Cheryl's deep knowledge of greater Boston school systems including independents schools, the Massachusetts business community, nonprofit organizations, area towns and suburbs, hospitals, and social and cultural opportunities allow her to offer prospective buyers a highly personalized approach to finding the right property. Her wide knowledge and experience covers area as diverse as country estates, weekend get-aways, Lexington and Concord neighborhoods, downtown lofts, Back Bay condos and town houses and historic Watertown Victorians. Downsizing, upsizing or relocating, she is devoted to her clients' best interests; regardless of the type or size of the transaction. 

If you are selling a home, Cheryl's expertise and extensive network, combined with the full resources of the Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty’s professional marketing team, translates into high levels of exposure to the right prospects.  Gibson Sotheby's has a world class network and is a great organization to be affiliated with. 

Thank you for your support over the years with new city, INC!  We look forward to many new offerings with newsletters and valuable information about our great city and surrounding areas in the near future.  

New in Town with a Child with Learning Differences?

I often meet families who have children with special needs and thought it would be helpful to interview an Educational Consultant who works with students with learning or attentional disorders to get a sense of the type of support that is out there. If you are new in town, or not, this service can provide targeted support and guidance for you and your child in finding a school.

I have known Carol Kinlan, since she worked at Shady Hill School as an Educational Specialist and now in her role as Educational Consultant with the Back Bay firm, Howland, Spence & McMillan. It's nice to know there are people out there to dig deep to know your child, understand their needs, and work to find the most appropriate school for them. I hope you find her sage advice helpful. She says:

"I help parents find private schools and colleges for their children. This process can range from locating the right kindergarten in downtown Boston for a talkative, tap dancing four-year-old to helping a horse-back riding scientist find a “best fit” college with equestrian facilities. In fact, the eight of us who work closely together here at Howland, Spence & McMillan come across just about every type of imaginable student profile.

Finding the right school match between the student and school can be complex. Students' grades, academic potential, test scores, interests and personality, play key roles.  However, for the student struggling with reading, writing, math, or attentional problems, every step of the process is trickier.  

Like the forensics team on the detective show CSI Miami, the educational consultant who works with students with academic challenges must sift, analyze and piece together quantitative and observational information. This work includes grades, neuropsychological and academic testing, and teacher and parent reports. Making the placement more complex can be a family’s geographic limitations; not every parent is ready to send their 10-year-old off to boarding school. During the initial feedback process, three questions need answers:

1.   What are the primary (and perhaps secondary) reasons this child is struggling in school?

 2.   Can these issues be resolved with their current school?

 3.   If not, which school environment would be optimal?

Let’s take a 7^th grade girl who has serious emotional outbursts at home and is disruptive and difficult at school. When asked about reading, the girl states, “I’m an okay reader, but I hate it.” In an interview with the girl’s mother, she adds, "It’s weird. She sometimes misinterprets instructions and gets them mixed up." Well, any student who grows up having problems understanding and interpreting what others communicate (in person or in print) is going to be angry. Assuming a language-based disorder is the reason for her daughter’s frustration, (and not family discord or a health issue), I work to identify appropriate private schools. In this case, I need to find a local school that is staffed with speech and language and reading specialists. It may also be important to consider an on-site psychologist who can work with the girl to help her control her emotions.

How about the high school sophomore boy who reads voraciously, loves theatre and writing, but due to poor attention and organizational skills has C’s and low B’s? First, the boy needs support for his weak attention and planning skills.  Then, the college search needs to be highly customized. We take a holistic approach: Where does the breakdown occur in his organization? Should he get extra time for SATs? What type of college size/setting is best for this boy?  Like most high school students, in this case, the journey over the next 2 ½ years is as important as the final college destination.  In the end, we work with many students with different academic profiles. Thankfully, colleges these days have a range of majors or pre-professional options that allow students to focus on their interests and strengths.

Finally, an important part of the process is making sure a school or college can support a student. To facilitate this, I work with schools before and after a student is accepted. For example, it’s important to know how long the student will be tutored, what strategies, programs or technology will be used, and most importantly, how gains will be measured.

I love what I do. I’m honored to walk with parents through this journey, and help them find the right school for their struggling child. What is most exciting is to work with families who care deeply about their child. Finding the right school or college for these students is the best reward."

Carol. A. Kinlan, M.Ed., M.B.A.

Educational Consultant 
Howland, Spence & McMillan
266 Beacon Street
Boston, MA.

Phone: 617-536-4319
Fax: 617-536-9031

Mentoring Greater Boston's Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

The Boston area is a leader for innovation, entrepreneurship and attracting top talent. There are currently a number of important organizations in our city mentoring, inspiring, and preparing high school students, to carry the entrepreneurial and innovation baton. Citizen Schools, Artists for Humanities, The Trinity Foundation,Beacon Academy and Youth CITIES, are a few organizations leading this effort.

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an event at the State House that supports high school students’ initiatives to bring teen entrepreneurship to Boston. Winchester High School student Ingrid Li, founder of the Entrepreneurial Youth Society and her team, engineered this event and garnered the support of heavy weights such as Senator Katherine Clark and Representative Alice Peisch to inspire teens to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Tim Rowe, CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center and Greg Selko, CEO of Karmaloop, two well-respected local entrepreneurs, along with Vicky Wu Davis, Executive Director of Youth CITIES, also spoke to the students. Since new city, INC is interested in topics around growing, keeping and attracting talent, this event was of particular interest, especially as it involves our youth.

I was inspired by the positive reactions of the students for the speakers in that room and wanted to learn more about how this spark was being ignited.  After the event, I spoke with Vicki Wu Davis of Youth CITIES about her work designing programs connecting mentors with middle and high school students and the impact this effort is having for greater Boston youth. Youth CITIES is a program that inspires, educates and equips middle and high school students to take action and make a difference in their communities.

Vicki offered:

“I think there’s a mutual vision between Youth CITIES and Boston’s entrepreneurial eco-system for creating the next generation of entrepreneurs who also care about their impact on community.

Youth CITIES is a boot camp of sorts that uses the principles of entrepreneurship to drive change in kids’ communities. They partner with prominent executives from the business and non-profit community and academia who teach fundamentals of leadership, presentation skills, entrepreneurship, and business plan creation.Youth CITIES students learning about income statements They have the opportunity to learn from them, network with them and gain confidence when interacting with folks who are top in their field. The goal of Youth CITIES is to help teens figure out what they love to do, explore how they can do more of it, while positively impacting local community, and how to monetize those efforts so venture can be sustainable.  The top student venture idea receives a $1500 grant and additional mentoring support to launch a prototype of their idea.“

Vicky shared what drives her and how bringing a strong mentorship program to students is a great benefit for innovation in the future.

 “I was raised in a family culture where finding a stable job in a large corporation with a good 401(k) program was the career goal. I didn’t know what entrepreneurship was, but thankfully stumbled across it through a trial and error journey, making my own pitches, building my own networks and finding my own mentors while in the hot seat. With Youth CITIES, you get to have that type of experiential learning, but in a safe, respectful environment.”

There are a number of ways to get involved with Youth CITIES:

- Become a mentor with the Boot Camp or Virtual Incubator

- Offer unique contextual learning opportunities through events or companies that students could experience

- Internship opportunities  

Giving forward is what these successful adults do when they share their skills and passions to inspire and mentor our youth of today and allow them to have a real-life hands on experience from which to grow.

A version of this post recently appeared in Boston.com's Global Business Hub.

A Different Perspective from the Charles "Riva"

Kayaking in Newton on the Charles River

Recently I had the pleasure of kayaking on the Charles with friends and was surprised by the natural beauty that surrounded us as we cast off in Newton. Being so close to 128 and the Mass Pike, I was suspect that I would not have that feeling of getting away, but 2 hours later, I couldn't believe how wonderful it was. There were no buildings, sounds, (other than birds), nor many other rowers. We passed by swans and their families, so many kinds of birds, lily pads, wild flowers, islands, and beautiful houses with pontoon boats docked ready for a ride. If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it during the last days of summer or for a spectacular outing in the fall. You don't have to leave town to get a fix of nature by water, just connect with Charles River Canoe and Kayak and go for it!

I asked Mark Jacobson, Manager of Charles River Recreation, to share some thoughts on seeing the area from the perspective of the "riva".

"You don't have to drive for hours to enjoy some quiet time on the water. Charles River Canoe and Kayak has 5 rental locations, which range from 10 to 45 minutes from downtown Boston. Our Kendall Square location is a 5-minute walk from the Kendall/MIT Red Line stop. Less driving & traveling means more time on the water.

Everything looks different from the water. If you are walking along the Charles River in Cambridge, you can have a nice view of the Boston Skyline. When you are floating in the middle of the Charles River, you have a great 360-degree view of the entire area.  Being out in the middle of the river with the waves lapping at the boat, you have a very peaceful feeling, even as you watch people running along the river, cars, buses and trucks zooming down the roads, and planes taking off and landing at Logan. A relaxed paddle down the Charles lets you see Cambridge, Allston/Brighton, the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End, and Charlestown.

Just off Route 128 and right on the Needham/Newton line, paddling from Nahanton Park offers a very different experience. Once you push away from the dock and paddle under a bridge, all you see is green. No cars, no roads, no buildings. Cutler and Millenium parks provide a quiet spot to enjoy a couple of hours on the river. Millenium Park has a nice boat landing that allows you to take a break and stretch your legs with a short walk up to the top of a hill to enjoy another great view of the river." 

I also noticed that Charles River Canoe and Kayak has tours ending with a catered picnic by Redbones, or lunch at the Barking Crab. I took one of their Sea Kayaking trips last year and it rocked. The adventure on the Charles was great fun and because of the location, I was able to enjoy a row in the a.m. with the rest of the day ahead.