Strengthening America’s Competitiveness A Year in Review 2014
Our Mission The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is dedicated to strengthening long-term American competitiveness and educating the public on how the free enterprise system improves society and the economy.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 2
Foundation Leadership Board of Directors Foundation Chairman
William G. Little
President and CEO Quam-Nichols Company, Inc.
Diana F. Cantor
Partner Alternative Investment Management, LLC
Michael Edwards
President and CEO Knoxville Chamber of Commerce
H. P. Goldfield
Vice Chair Albright Stonebridge Group
Thomas R. Kuhn
Foundation Chairman William G. Little, president and CEO of Quam-Nichols Company, Inc., provides remarks at Foundation’s Business Horizon Retreat 2014.
Rick V. Martella Jr.
2014
President Edison Electric Institute
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications Brickman
John R. McKernan Jr.
President U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Donald J. Shepard Chairman (Retired) AEGON N.V.
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BUILDING SKILLS, DRIVING INNOVATION, ENCOURAGING GROWTH The Foundation is strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness through initiatives that build skills, drive innovation, and encourage growth.
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Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina (center) and Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah (right) sit with Foundation President John R. McKernan Jr., former governor of Maine (left), to discuss the Enterprising States 2014 report and how individual states can foster economic growth (America’s Small Business Summit, June 11, 2014, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.).
Building Skills As the U.S. economy continues to slowly recover from the Great Recession, far too many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, and too many employers are unable to find qualified candidates for open positions. Shortcomings in our education and workforce development systems continue to widen the skills gap. If these shortcomings are not addressed, the supply of skilled workers will dwindle—leaving some 5 million jobs vacant by 2018—and our country won’t keep pace with the demands of a modern economy or the needs of employers struggling to compete. In addition to the work of the Foundation’s Center for Education and Workforce (see page 12), the Foundation is examining how the skills gap is being addressed across the country through its Enterprising States and Cities initiative. The Foundation’s 5th edition of Enterprising States, Enterprising States 2014: Re-Creating Equality and Opportunity, was released at the U.S. Chamber’s 10th annual Small Business Summit in June with governors Pat McCrory (R-NC) In September, the Center for Education and Workforce released its signature state-by-state and Gary Herbert (R-UT). education report, Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on K–12 Educational Effectiveness.
—Gary R. Herbert, governor of Utah
2014
We go around to the high schools, junior highs, and elementary schools, and we use the phrase, ‘if you want a good job, get a good education.’ We are making it a culture that you aspire to more education.
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Strengthening America’s Competitiveness
Despite the United States’ prosperity, poorly designed regulations can and have become obstacles to doing business there. Smart regulations are a necessity for facilitating economic activity and enabling fair business operations. All economies have rules and institutions that govern the behavior of their actors. Regulation should be simple, expedient—both in implementation and execution—and unambiguous, minimizing the uncertainty that firms face when entering the marketplace. —Regulatory Climate Index 2014 In February 2015, Foundation President John McKernan will travel to Utah for a press event with Gov. Herbert and the state legislature to highlight how well Utah is performing economically and how it is serving as a leader for other states.
In partnership with Sam’s Club, the Foundation hosted the YEA! National Saunders Scholarship Competition at America’s Small Business Summit. This competition celebrated the culmination of the YEA! Program, a yearlong educational program that takes students in grades 6–12 through the process of starting and running a registered business in partnership with their local chamber. In 2014, the Foundation supported the launch of the program in 80 additional chambers throughout the United States, resulting in nearly 2,000 new students participating and more than 1,500 new businesses created.
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The winners of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) National Saunders Scholars Competition pose with Tamara Lundgren, chairman, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and president and CEO, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.; and Seong Ohm, senior vice president, Merchandise Business Services, Sam’s ClubŽ.
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David Chavern, president of the Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation and executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the October 7, 2014, summit on the Future of Data-Driven Innovation.
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Driving Innovation The Foundation is exploring the enormous possibilities and opportunities of innovation. A highlight for the Foundation in 2014 was hosting former President George W. Bush at the annual Business Horizon Retreat at the Bush Institute in Dallas, on the topic of “North American Success: Continental Independence & Opportunities.” He spoke about North America’s competitiveness. Through the Foundation’s Data-Driven Innovation program, original research was conducted and released in The Former President George W. Bush speaks at the Future of Data-Driven Innovation, which Foundation’s Business Horizon Retreat 2014. explored the data-driven economy, the opportunities and challenges new technical and analytical breakthroughs are bringing to industries and entrepreneurs around the world, and policies that will enable greater innovation to occur.
Awareness of the impact of data—in all its forms and all its connections—will continue to grow exponentially throughout 2015. Citizens/consumers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and policymakers will all play active roles in shaping new ideas, uses, and access, and in determining how data will shape informed decision making and recast industries into more competitive and empowering environments.
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On October 7, 2014, the Foundation gathered some of the nation’s most influential leaders to discuss this research, the size and scope of the data-driven economy, policies to enable data-driven innovation, the opportunities it presents, and the positive impact of the unfolding data revolution.
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From collection to access to technology and privacy, the implications of the growing and deepening availability and use of data impact all of us in some shape or fashion. No one is left untouched by this environment as data literally permeates everything around us. —John R. McKernan Jr., president, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
A panel at the summit on The Future of Data-Driven Innovation discusses how data can be used for good. Panelists (left to right) Mikel Berger, president of Lafayettetech; Doug Robinson, executive director of the National 8 Association of State Chief Information Officers; Emory Simon, counselor at Business Software Alliance; Qing Wu, senior economist at Google; David Chavern, president of the Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation and executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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The Foundation’s Business Horizon Quarterly (BHQ) continues to offer informed and thought-provoking insights on emerging issues facing the American business community. In 2014, BHQ explored new strategies for business engagement, the challenges and opportunities of risk, education and workforce issues, and the future of data-driven innovation.
Working with the Foundation’s Emerging Issues Advisory Board, the Foundation led research and programming that examined patents and biotechnology, intergenerational wealth transfer, the future of public engagement, and free speech and business. Almost every day, the Foundation offers thoughtprovoking content via its blog, from insightful commentary and analysis of the latest news and economic findings on Main Street, nationally, and around the world to innovations, policies, and best practices that are revolutionizing industries, technologies, the workforce, and the way we do business. The Foundation’s revamped website and social media outlets have become must-visit harbors of exceptional content to keep up with what is on the business horizon.
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Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, delivers the keynote address on free speech and free enterprise at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Free Speech & Business event on December 3, 2014.
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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Forum, John R. McKernan Jr., president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and Martin Regalia, chief economist and senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, host a media roundtable to release The Growth Imperative: How Slow Growth Threatens Our Future and the American Dream.
Growth The Foundation is dedicated to promoting initiatives that grow our nation’s economy.
Free speech is free speech – period. And if we allow politicians to regulate the speech of certain individuals, we jeopardize the rights of all individuals. That’s why the Founders included free speech in the very first amendment to the Constitution. They did not want such a vital, indispensable liberty to be contingent on the ever-shifting tides of national, state, or local politics. – Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
The Foundation is taking on new challenges to growth in the form of freedom of expression. The fundamental right to share thoughts, views, facts, and ideas is essential to both individuals and entrepreneurs. It fosters competition, spurs debate, enhances diversity of thought, and increases options in the marketplace of products and services. The Foundation brought together constitutional experts, legal scholars, and policy and opinion leaders at a Free Speech & Business event on December 3, 2014, to explore the current First Amendment environment and challenges to freedom of expression in the business community. The event featured keynote speaker Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).
In 2015, John R. McKernan Jr., president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will travel around the country to present the report findings and seek solutions to the growth imperative. The future of our country and of every American family depends on growth, and the Foundation is committed to identifying comprehensive structural reforms that will enable long-term growth.
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The Foundation is dedicated to promoting initiatives that grow our nation’s economy. On November 10, 2014, the Foundation, in partnership with the American Action Forum, released The Growth Imperative: How Slow Growth Threatens Our Future and the American Dream, which underscores America’s dismal GDP growth rate and the need to return growth to its historical average in order to provide opportunities for every American and to restore our competitiveness as a nation.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Center for Education and Workforce promotes rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems to preserve the strength of America’s greatest economic resource: its workforce.
Former Maine governor and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation President John R. McKernan Jr. (center) discusses the importance of high educational standards with former governors Linda Lingle of Hawaii (left) and John Engler of Michigan (right) at the event “Confronting 12 the Myths: The Truth About the Common Core.”
Center for Education and Workforce The Foundation has made it a priority to address America’s education system, which is failing to keep pace with the economy, and to support employers that are struggling to find skilled workers who can contribute to their growth and competitiveness.
This YouTube video highlights the fact that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2007 Leaders and Laggards report card was the impetus leaders in Tennessee needed to get serious about reforming education in the state.
This report allowed us to take action immediately to truly try and be globally competitive. —Catherine Glover, president and CEO, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry
•T o address the United States’ slipping education rankings among industrialized countries, the Foundation made it a priority in 2014 to advocate for the Common Core State Standards—rigorous expectations for all students to better prepare them for college-level work and provide them with the skills employers need. The Foundation has been the leading voice of the business community in supporting the standards, providing not only strategic and policy expertise but also financial support to partners in a dozen states. CEW launched the website businessforcore.org with access to informational content including videos, blogs, publications, social media, and infographics. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s support of the Common Core has been mentioned in more than
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• I n September, the Center for Education and Workforce (CEW) released its signature state-bystate education report, Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on K–12 Educational Effectiveness, at leadersandlaggards.org. The fourth in the series, this year’s report focuses on K–12 educational effectiveness in the states; it is the most successful report to date, generating coverage by more than 100 outlets in 25 states including The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, and Politico. In addition to the report, the Foundation held a national event, released an accompanying web tool (available at leadersandlaggards.org), and screened a video featuring Gov. Bill Haslam and former Gov. Phil Bredesen that tells the story of Leaders and Laggards’ impact on Tennessee’s education reform progress, which has generated more than 73,000 views (available at profilesofchange.org).
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Strengthening America’s Competitiveness 150 press stories across the country. CEW facilitated four regional Common Core institutes across the country for state and local chambers of commerce, and hosted a national event in Washington, D.C., with Republican governors, titled “Confronting the Myths: The Truth About the Common Core.” CEW will continue to advocate for college- and career-ready standards in 2015. The Foundation also released two videos about the standards which have generated nearly 200,000 views on YouTube.
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Through support from the Bill & Melinda •C EW launched a partnership with USA Funds to Gates Foundation, whose U.S. Program help close the skills gap in America by transforming is led by Allan Golston, the CEW is able to educate the public on the importance the relationship between the business and education that the Common Core State Standards communities so that good jobs do not go unfilled for have on student achievement. lack of qualified talent. This two-year initiative, Talent Pipeline Management, encourages employers to be involved in the design and delivery of education to create more effective employment transition opportunities for students and a more skilled workforce for employers. In November, the CEW launched thetalentsupplychain.org which includes resources, case studies, blog posts, and more for the business community. Year 1 of the initiative included partnering with Harvard Business School and George Washington University to release a white paper, Managing the Talent Pipeline: A New Approach to Closing the Skills Gap, and hosting a national conference as well as five regional discussions to engage employers. Year 2 will focus on expanding the network of businesses and education communities involved in the initiative.
USA Funds President and CEO William Hansen discusses building a movement around employer-driven solutions to a sold-out audience at the Talent Pipeline Management national conference in November at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Through talent pipeline management, we can achieve truly demand-driven education and workforce systems that will help create opportunity for individuals, ensure a steady flow of qualified workers to allow businesses to thrive and grow, and keep our nation on the leading edge of the global competition. —John R. McKernan Jr., president, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
•C urrently , a staggering 6.7 million young adults are neither in school nor working. And while the national unemployment rate has declined to 5.6%, the rate for those ages 16−24 is nearly twice that in some parts of the country. To kick off its work on youth employment, CEW, in partnership with Urban Alliance, hosted an event “Youth Employment Matters! High-Quality Solutions and the Role of Corporate Engagement.” Speakers included Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Youth Donohue, Foundation President John R. Employment Matters event at the U.S. Chamber McKernan Jr., and executives from Marriott of Commerce headquarters on October 3, 2014. International, Bank of America, and Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. Thanks to support from the Daniels Fund, CEW will continue to support youth employment in 2015 and is hosting a summit in February with Opportunity Nation, the Business Roundtable, United Way Worldwide, and Jobs for America’s Graduates. At the summit, CEW will release a white paper that discusses the challenges businesses experience implementing youth employment strategies and highlight essential elements for effective solutions.
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The challenge that brings all of us together today is bridging the opportunity gap—especially for the next generation of Americans who will one day lead this nation. It’s not just the future of these young people that’s at stake. The economic and competitive future of this country will be determined by how we respond to the growing trend of youth unemployment. —Tom Donohue, U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative helps veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment through nationwide hiring fairs and online resources, all in partnership with state and local chambers as well as leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
More than 1,000 transitioning service members and 100 employers participated in the Fort Bragg Transition Summit at 16 Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on August 13, 2014.
Hiring Our Heroes Veterans and military spouses continue to face significant employment hurdles. With the expected downsizing of the military—the largest since the end of the Cold War—more than 1.5 million service members will leave the military in the next five years. It is critical to support these men and women as they search for meaningful employment opportunities. • S ince Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) launched in March 2011, the initiative has hosted more than 840 hiring fairs and connected hundreds of thousands of veterans and military spouses with employers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Germany. HOH’s job fair placement rate of 12% is three times the national average of 4%.
•H OH also launched a series of Service Member Transition Summits in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, the U.S. Army, the Small Business Administration, and the White House’s Joining Forces initiative. These two-day events, often held on military installations, are designed around two goals: (1) educate recruiters and community leaders on First Lady Michelle Obama addresses best practices in hiring and retaining military employees more than a thousand service and (2) help transitioning service members and military members, employers, and community leaders at the Fort Campbell Transition spouses prepare for civilian careers. Each summit ends Summit at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on with an HOH hiring event to connect employers with April 23, 2014. talented veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses. HOH hosted seven summits in 2014, including two in Germany, which were the first HOH events held overseas and the largest hiring events ever held on U.S. military installations overseas. The summits connected more than 7,000 job seekers with more than 500 employers.
Today, you’re here for yourselves, and the mission is your future. That’s what this summit is about. It’s about a transformational shift across the military in how we think about your careers. —Michelle Obama, first lady of the United States
2014
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Strengthening America’s Competitiveness
• I n October 2014, HOH announced the creation of the Recovering Warrior and Caregiver Program (RWCP). Recognizing the distinct employment challenges that face our nation’s recovering warriors and the men and women who care for them, the RWCP offers careerbased events and tools designed exclusively for these populations. The program is chaired by Lt. Col. (Ret., USMC) Justin Constantine, a Purple Heart recipient who was wounded by a sniper attack in 2006, and is supported by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, and Paralyzed Veterans of America. At the first RWCP Employment Conference in Boston on October 14–15, more than 40 wounded veterans participated in more than 200 interviews with employers.
As a recovering warrior and someone who has been very involved in this issue since I was injured eight years ago, I can attest to how critical a program like the Recovering Warrior and Caregiver Program is in finding employment. Securing a fulfilling job and career is a huge step towards a successful recovery and feeling good about your future. Our high-touch, detail-oriented approach, as demonstrated by this fantastic event in Boston, is proving to be a successful model. — Lt. Col. (Ret., USMC) Justin Constantine, senior advisor, Hiring Our Heroes
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• I n March 2012, HOH and Capital One launched Hiring 500,000 Heroes, a national campaign to engage and encourage businesses to hire veterans and military spouses. On
November 12, 2014, at an HOH fair at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., HOH and Capital One announced that they had far exceeded their initial goal, securing 585,000 commitments from more than 1,700 businesses nationwide. Of those commitments, 369,000 hires have been confirmed.
•T o expand HOH’s reach beyond brick-and-mortar events, the program has developed a number of virtual tools to assist veterans and military spouses as they seek meaningful employment. These tools also benefit employers by linking them directly to military talent. In 2014, HOH expanded its online resources to include three new digital tools at no cost to employers, veterans, and military spouses: Career Spark (mycareerspark.com), Virtual Job Scout (virtualjobscout.org), and Employer Roadmap (employerroadmap.org).
•A s HOH moves into 2015, there will be a continued focus on reaching service members earlier in the transition process. Lt. Gen. David Halverson, Commanding General, U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM), announced at the 4th Annual Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards Dinner at the U.S. Chamber on November 12, 2014, that IMCOM would partner with HOH to host 20 veterans job summits on installations nationwide in 2015.
• Th rough the support of the more than 40 members of the HOH Veteran and Military Spouse Employment Advisory Councils, HOH will continue to develop and deliver innovative online solutions to veterans and military spouses while ensuring that businesses have the resources and the know-how to hire them and grow their business.
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Lt. Gen. David Halverson, Commander, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, delivers keynote remarks at the 4th Annual Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards Dinner at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on November 12, 2014.
Summits introduce our service members to careers after military life. The number of service members finding jobs increases with every event. With the support of the Chamber of Commerce and the organizations represented here tonight, we will keep the momentum going and exceed this years’ numbers. —Lt. Gen. David Halverson, commander, U.S. Army Installation Management Command
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Corporate Citizenship Center showcases successful, inspirational, and replicable corporate citizenship models and their positive business impact on people and communities.
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(Left to right) Liz Maw, CEO, Net Impact; Stan Litow, vice president of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM and president, IBM Foundation; Bo Miller, global director for Corporate Citizenship, The Dow Chemical Company; and James S. Marks, senior vice president and director, Program Portfolios, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, speak at the Chamber Foundation 2014 Corporate Citizenship Conference.
Corporate Citizenship Center The Foundation lends its voice to business efforts to address social challenges, deliver insights businesses can use, and make connections that advance corporate citizenship initiatives.
• Th e Corporate Citizenship Center (CCC) engages with more than 130 businesses across sectors and industries to help advance their corporate citizenship goals on a variety of issues, including disaster response and recovery, energy and water use, waste management, women’s economic empowerment, nutrition, and obesity prevention. The CCC is guided by an Advisory Board comprised of 15 corporate citizenship business leaders. • I n 2014, the CCC held 21 events and webinars focused on the positive effects businesses have around the world. Collectively, these events attracted more than 2,100 business and corporate citizenship attendees.
• Th e U.S. Chamber Foundation celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Corporate Citizenship Awards on November 20, 2014, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters. The award honors businesses for their significant positive impacts in communities around the world. The event was emceed by Daymond John, star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” and founder and CEO of FUBU Inc.
•C CC’s Annual Corporate Citizenship Conference at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters September 8–10, 2014, attracted attendees and speakers from the public and private sectors to discuss challenges, solutions, and innovations in global and domestic issues. This year’s theme was “The Impact Equation: Stronger Business, Greater Results, Better World.”
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John R. McKernan, Jr., president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (left) and Michael Jacobson, director of Corporate Responsibility Office at Intel, and Chair of the CCC Advisory Board (right), provide welcome remarks at the 15th Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards.
(Left to right) Jeff Lundy, manager of research for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center; Arthur Brooks, president of American Enterprise Institute; and Linda Childears, president and CEO of the Daniels Fund, discuss the roots of philanthropy at the Foundation’s annual Corporate Citizenship Conference.
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Strengthening America’s Competitiveness Only by having conversations like these, and having networks of creative cooperation like those that I’m sure will be established over the next couple of days, will we actually create the progress and sustain the progress through collectively owning the solutions that we are all committed to. —Chelsea Clinton, vice chair, Clinton Foundation
Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director, Institute for Women, Peace and Security, Georgetown University, speak at the Chamber Foundation’s 2014 International Women’s Day Forum.
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•O n March 4, 2014, the U.S. Chamber Foundation, Business Call to Action, and the United Nations Office for Partnerships celebrated International Women’s Day at the United Nations. This annual forum brought together more than 500 leaders committed to the economic empowerment of women. CCC will continue its work in women’s economic empowerment and will celebrate the International Women’s Day Forum March 4–5, 2015, at the United Nations. (Left to right) Jigar Shah, CEO, Jigar Shah Consulting; Mary Grace Anderson, vice president, Safety, Environmental and Social Performance, Shell Upstream Americas; Rose McKinney-James, managing principal, Energy Works Consulting LLC, and board of directors, MGM Resorts International; David Melancon, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Benjamin Moore & Co.; and Hugh Welsh, president and general counsel, DSM North America, speak at the Chamber Foundation’s 2014 Sustainability Forum on Accelerating Sustainability: Energy and Water In Your Operations and Supply Chains.
Through public-private partnerships, we are transforming the way we secure our nation. – Jeh Johnson, secretary, Department of Homeland Security
•C CC hosted the 4th National Conference on Building Secretary Jeh Johnson, U.S. Resilience Through Public-Private Partnerships on Department of Homeland Security, October 15, 2014, in partnership with the Department of makes keynote remarks at the 4th National Conference on Building Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Resilience Through Public-Private Agency, and the U.S. Northern Command. The conference Partnerships. brought together participants from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to discuss how to build and maintain public-private partnerships for disaster resilience. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, and Weather Channel CEO David Kenny spoke at the event.
• I n 2014, CCC hosted a business delegation trip to Philadelphia that brought together companies and government agencies to discuss successes, lessons learned, and the links between health and the community. Community-based wellness will continue to be a focus for CCC. Businesses can play an important role in community health, and CCC will further explore successful community-based health models in 2015.
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• I n addition to hosting events, CCC featured more than 100 corporate citizenship best practices in its 2014 case study series. CCC also released three corporate citizenship original research reports that highlight the many ways businesses engage with their communities.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Center for Women in Business is designed to advance women business leaders. CWB facilitates networking and mentoring opportunities for women at all stages of their careers, advances opportunities for women who seek leadership positions, and builds a robust network of women to encourage peerto-peer networking, education, and professional growth.
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(Left to right) Sheela Murthy, founder, Murthy Law Firm; Jeanette Prenger, founder and president, ECCO Select; El Brown, founder and CEO, KinderJam; and Rumia Ambrose-Burbank, founder and president, VMS, share their experiences as women entrepreneurs at the 3rd Annual CWB Summit: Leading Women in Free Enterprise.
Center for Women in Business Over the past 15 years, the number of women-owned firms has increased at one and a half times the rate of other small enterprises; they now account for almost 30% of all businesses. Additionally, one in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
• S ince its inception in 2012, the Center for Women in Business (CWB) has reached thousands of people at events across the country with its message of advancing women. Tamara Lundgren, CEO of Schnitzer Steel and
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•C WB’s third annual summit, Leading Women in Free Enterprise, brought together leaders to talk about the issues facing women small business owners and unveiled CWB’s latest research report, Women-Owned Businesses: Carving a New American Business Landscape, which highlights the growing impact of women entrepreneurs on the American economy. In 2015, CWB’s fourth annual summit will be broadly focused on the state of women leaders at the helms of U.S. companies of all sizes. It will pay particular attention to women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and how the business community can increase the presence of women in these fields. CWB will release its latest research report, The Contributions of Women in STEM and the U.S. Economy: Past, Present, and Future, at the summit.
chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, speaks to the audience about her experiences as the leader of a Fortune 1,000 company at the 3rd Annual CWB Summit: Leading Women in Free Enterprise.
Secretary Penny Pritzker, U.S. Department of Commerce, makes remarks at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Global Conference on Women in the Boardroom on September 15, 2014.
Women play a vital role in driving prosperity and growth across our economy. —Tamara Lundgren, CEO of Schnitzer Steel and chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
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Strengthening America’s Competitiveness
•O ther areas of engagement for CWB in 2014 included hosting the Executive Women in Government Annual Summit, the SAIS Global Conference on Women in the Boardroom, and the Annual Mentoring and Networking Reception. CWB also hosted independent conferences, book events, and webinars, and welcomed fellows from the U.S. State Department and the Library of Congress.
•C WB continues to address the need to leverage the full potential of all our talent to ensure that America has a competitive 21st century workforce. Throughout 2015, CWB representatives will travel to local communities and meet with regional chambers and corporations to discuss corporate advancement, mentorship, sponsorship, networking, and entrepreneurship.
CWB moderated a panel discussion with female leaders in business at an event hosted by the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.
The most important role that CWB has is to provide a platform for women to connect with each other in meaningful ways and to establish powerful peer-to-peer networks and connections that help them for a lifetime. —Alana Muller, author, Coffee Lunch Coffee: A Practical Field Guide for Master Networking
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We must state firmly and clearly that diversity in corporate leadership is not solely a women’s issue. It is an issue of economic competitiveness. And the presence of more women in the boardroom and in the corporate suite is critical to companies’ creativity, performance, and ability to thrive in the 21st century. —Penny Pritzker, secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
2014
27 Hundreds of women and men learned about the value of mentoring and sponsorship from CWB at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce’s Power of Women event.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Institute for Organization Management is the professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It offers a four-week advanced education program for trade association, chamber of commerce, and other nonprofit professionals.
At 2014 Northeast Institute, April C. Burton, IOM, chapter administrator for Project Management Institute, Inc., receives her IOM graduation certificate from Bob Foulks, IOM, CAE, CPA, CGMA, 2014 Chairman of the Institute Board of Trustees (left), and Karen Delvecchio, IOM, 2014 Chairman of the28 Northeast Institute Board of Regents (right).
Institute for Organization Management Since 1921, the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management (IOM) has educated hundreds of thousands of nonprofit leaders from across the country, making 2014 graduates of Midwest Institute. it one of the oldest and most highly regarded adult education programs in nonprofit management.
• Th e Institute was designed to enhance individual performance, elevate professional standards, and recognize association, chamber of commerce, and other nonprofit professionals who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of nonprofit management. Its four-week curriculum is taught by university professors, industry experts, and leading practitioners in the chamber and association industries.
• I n 2014, 822 chamber and association executives from 48 states and the District of Columbia participated in 24 credit hours of nonprofit management instruction toward their IOM recognition. One hundred fifty executives graduated and received their IOM certificates. The attendees and graduates were nonprofit professionals from across the country who participated in the following sessions: Winter Institute in Tucson, Arizona; Midwest Institute in Madison, Wisconsin; Southeast Institute in Athens, Georgia; West Institute in Los Angeles, California; and Northeast Institute in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
• In 2015, Institute programs will be offered in Tucson, Arizona; Madison, Wisconsin; Athens, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; and Villanova, Pennsylvania.
For first-year participants, I would say don’t be afraid to share not only your success with your classmates, but also your issues at hand and things you need to work on, because the more you bond with your classmates, the more you will get out of it. I call on them all year long for issues that I have. – Jennifer Daly, Institute attendee
2014
• In 2014, IOM raised $43,111 in scholarship funds and awarded a total of $96,686 in scholarship money to students. The Institute will continue to expand its scholarship funds in 2015.
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Global competitiveness and connectivity are changing how we do business, and we have to be agile as we shape things for the future. Staying ahead depends on more foresighted policies in the public sector, combined with more innovation in the private sector. —Dennis Muilenburg, vice chairman, president, and COO, The Boeing Company
Dennis Muilenburg, vice chairman, president and COO of The Boeing Company, delivers a keynote address at the 13th Annual Aviation Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on April 3, 2014.
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Highlights from the Foundation’s 2014 Signature and Partnership Events In addition to all its programs and initiatives in 2014, the Foundation hosted 20 signature and partnership events that brought nearly 3,000 attendees through the Chamber doors. The 13th Annual Aviation Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on April 3, 2014, brought top experts, including 19 CEOs, from all areas of the aviation sector and resulted in a record-breaking number of attendees, sponsorships, and media coverage. The 14th Annual Aviation Summit will be held on March 17, 2015, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The 3rd Annual Health Care Summit on October 22, 2014, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters examined how strategies developed in the private sector can drive advancements throughout the health care delivery system. This year’s event set new records for sponsorships and attendance.
Dr. Eric Topol, chief academic officer at Scripps Health, gives a keynote address at the 3rd Annual Health Care Summit.
Medicine as we know it today—which is highly paternalistic and informationdeficient—will be changed to digitized, democratized, and truly a data science. —Dr. Eric Topol, chief academic officer, Scripps Health
2014
Doug Parker and Willie Walsh, CEOs of American Airlines Group and International Airlines Group, respectively, discuss the status of the world’s airline industry in the View from 35,000 Feet panel at the 13th Annual Aviation Summit.
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LOOKING AHEAD As we move forward, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will continue to focus on building skills, driving innovation, and encouraging growth. By having an impact in these areas, the Foundation is improving America’s competitiveness and changing the future of American business. The Chamber Foundation will continue to explore the emerging issues that will provide the potential challenges and opportunities for businesses around the United States and will share best practices from communities and regions that are successfully supporting America’s competitiveness.
Skills. Innovation. Growth.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness and educating the public on how the free enterprise system improves society and the economy.