Tag Archives: Princeton Regional Chamber

Danielle Allen: ‘interracial distrust’ vs ‘racism’

Faith and Social Justice, , , , ,

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Ask yourself, when you interact with a stranger from another race or background, whether you have treated them as you would a friend.

So said Danielle Allen, the luncheon speaker at the Princeton Regional Chamber on Thursday, March 5, at 11:30 p.m. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, she explained the difference between the term “Interracial distrust” and “racism.” As below:

“Interracial distrust does capture something missed by the word “racism.” Most of us use the word “racism” to denote the antipathy of white people to people of color. Though the word can equally well denote negative feelings that flow in other directions, we tend to restrict it to the attention “white” people pay to “colored” people.

“Interracial distrust,” in contrast, captures the fact that negative feelings flow all ways across multiple racial and ethnic lines. The world is too full to focus only on how one group of people perceives another group. I am interested in how each of us, individually, interacts with people who are different from us and whom we fear.”

Danielle Allen, a renowned author and co-editor, is currently at the Institute for Advanced Study but will soon leave Princeton for Harvard to be a professor and direct the Edmond. J. Safra Center for Ethics.  aiming to guide the center in a post-Ferguson direction.

She is chair of the Pulitzer Prize board, among other honors. Her topic for Thursday: Pursuing Happiness: What the Declaration of Independence Has to Teach Us About Human Flourishing.

The exact same kind of intercultural conversation that Allen espouses — it takes place in Princeton on first Mondays at the Princeton Public Library. Continuing Conversations on Race is March 2 and April 6 at 7 p.m.

 

 

Emily Mann at her best

Around Town, Dance and the other arts, , , , , ,

2014 11 6 Mann Tenzer

Emily Mann, celebrating her 25th year as artistic director of McCarter Theatre, regaled an enthusiastic lunch audience at the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce last week with the toils and tales of creative endeavors. In her case, it was her production of Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra — how  her collaborators — scenic, costume, music, choreography — combined their ideas to come up with an experience that the New York Times reviewer labeled “beautifully bold.”

Revealing the secret of the very sensual movement sequence that opens the play, with Nicole Ari Parker and Esau Pritchett having a tumble under the sheets, except there are no sheets, she said it was choreographer Peter Pucci’s idea to have the actors (each happily married) go through the indoctrination for new dancers that Pilobolus uses.   Pilobolus dancers are required to grasp each other in places where you aren’t supposed to grasp, so to start them off they must do an exercise where they touch — with the top of their heads — every part of the other person’s body. Makes sense, because skull skin doesn’t many nerves. The result was that Parker represented, as one reviewer said, the embodiment of physical love and desire.

After she finished, anyone who hadn’t seen the play was wishing they had seen the play.

During the Q&A she talked about how she is doing a documentary play on Gloria Steinem, and how she got started doing social justice documentaries or “theatre of testimony”. She was born to to the cloth, to mix religion metaphors.  Her father was an eminent professor of American history at the University  of Chicago, and the late John Hope Franklin,a  pioneer in African American history,   was his best friend.

Mann had such a compelling voice and podium presence that I was wishing I could see her on stage as an actress.

My photo shows Emily Mann, left, with Melissa Tenzer, founder and CEO of CareersUSA Princeton and president of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation,  which awarded $35,000 to four nonprofits that day.

 

 

 

Giving Away $5 Million Per Year

Business, Technology & Innovation, , , ,

rita allen christopherson

Money is always fun to talk about, to hear about. Big money is even more fun to hear about — especially when it is dispensed locally and you know a nonprofit that is getting some.

And I’m always fascinated by the person giving away the money. In this case, speaking at the Princeton Regional Chamber breakfast on  Wednesday, September 17, it’s Elizabeth Christopherson, CEO of the Rita Allen Foundation and former head of New Jersey Network.

I interviewed Christopherson two years ago for U.S. 1, asking her what it was like to go from a nonprofit that needed foundation money, to leading the foundation that actually gave the money. She had just moved into her office on Nassau Street, over Hamilton Jewelers.  At that time she revealed that “— despite her genteel women’s club demeanor, she is going hell-bent-for-leather on effecting transformative change.” (My words, not hers.)

She heads one of the larger foundations in New Jersey. The monies for it came from Rita Allen’s first husband, Charles Allen, known as ‘the Shy Midas of Wall Street,’ founder of Allen & Company, the prominent boutique firm that is famously averse to publicity.  That’s a story in itself.

Now the  $140 million foundation grants more than $5 million per year. Previous grantees have been Isles Inc. and Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association.

Looking at the current web page for the foundation, it seems to me that Christopherson has realigned its focus. And she has planted it firmly in the 21st century. For instance, the website offers a social media guide for nonprofits, a downloadable PDF.

I’m eager to hear how Christopherson has settled into the job. Two years ago she admitted that what sounds easy — giving away money — is not easy. “There are not enough funds, and we try to be as strategic as we can be,” she said.  “It is very difficult to say no when you care — and we do care.” 

How They Did It: Julie Brown

Business, Technology & Innovation, , ,

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It’s always exciting to hear from folks who were on the ground floor of a successful company. Julie Brown, the speaker for Thursday’s Princeton chamber lunch, was on the ground floor (well, actually, the second floor over Hoagie Haven) of Universal Display Corporation, now with global partners and 125 full time workers in Ewing.  Your cell phone probably has UDC’s display technology.

Click here for lunch information. I’m looking forward to this — Julie was one of the most interesting people I’ve interviewed.

keller photo

From little acorns: Teams of Princeton University students are working at the Keller Center this summer to churn out tech startups. On Monday, August 11, they showcase them in an always popular event. For information on how to register, click here.

One such startup — not from a student, but from a professor, was Universal Display. Former Princeton professor Steve Forrest had some bright ideas about bright displays using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Display) technology, and his three-person startup is now 100 plus. His sidekick, CTO Julie Brown, speaks at the Princeton Regional Chamber just as these students finish their project. Her talk: Thursday, August 7, at the Forrestal Marriott.

I’ve registered for both events.

House of Cupcakes won a spot on “Cupcake Wars” with this video and fulfilled their pledge to donate all the proceeds to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital

Then their store burned down.

Hear their story at the Princeton Regional Chamber breakfast, Wednesday, July 23.

This just in from my friend Eileen. . . . 

Please join us on June 10 to market your business at this business showcase. Become a sponsor or reserve a table, and share this email with friends and business network groups.

With your support and a little help from my friends, this year’s event will be a truly memorable success. Thanks!

Regards,  

 

Eileen N. Sinett

Chair, Plainsboro Business Partnership
CEO, Speaking that Connects

      Click Here for Sponsor & Table Registration Form

Click Here for Online Registration

Eisgruber Bleeds Orange?

Around Town, Business,

President-Elect Chris EisgruberChristian Eisgruber, the new president of Princeton University, speaks at the Princeton Regional Chamber lunch on Thursday, May 8, at the Forrestal Marriott.

Raised Catholic, he recently discovered that he has Jewish heritage, and now describes himself as a non-theist Jew.

Another intriguing factoid: he used to teach a seminar on the Supreme Court and I’ll bet he has a strong opinion about the Court’s ruling on affirmative action. One of his missions as provost was to increase diversity on campus.

He’s the first president in 25 years to be an alumnus of the university: he is Class of 1989.

Ed Felten in the news

Open SSL is like a public infrastructure without a tax base, said Ed Felten in an interview on NPR re Internet security and Heartbleed. Felten was the Princeton Regional Chamber’s luncheon speaker in March.

Bridgegate Journalist: At the Chamber

Around Town, ,

EScottStudio

So far, Eric Scott has been the only journalist to get a personal interview with Governor Chris Christie on the Bridgegate scandal. He is the news director for NJ 101.5, and speaks at the Princeton Regional Chamber on Thursday, April 3, at 11:30 a.m. For details on Scott and what he will say, here is the U.S. 1 story.