Governor Baker Signs Executive Order to Target Chronic Unemployment

Governor Baker Signs Executive Order to Target Chronic Unemployment

Task Force to Present Strategic Plan to the Governor by November

BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker signed an Executive Order to establish a task force on Economic Opportunity for Populations Facing Chronically High Rates of Unemployment. The task force, chaired by Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Ron Walker will lay out a strategic plan to address chronic unemployment among specific target populations. The Secretaries of Housing and Economic Development, Education, Health and Human Services and Veterans’ Services, the Director of Access and Opportunity and members of the community appointed by the governor will also serve on the eight month task force.

                     

“Chronically unemployed populations and regions of our Commonwealth require collaboration with our educators and business community to break down the barriers to economic growth and job creation for everyone,” said Governor Baker.  “Too many Massachusetts workers have become discouraged as a growing economy unfortunately leaves them behind.  This task force will build upon the workforce development practices we know work and replicate them across the Commonwealth to create more opportunities for employment everywhere.”

The task force will be charged with focusing on “target populations” facing chronically high unemployment. African Americans, Hispanic or Latino Americans, certain groups of veterans, and persons with disabilities continue to see higher than average annual unemployment rates between 7 and 12 percent despite an annual average state unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.

"For too long, the target populations have suffered from chronically high rates of unemployment," said Secretary Ronald Walker. "The task force is charged with understanding how best to reshape our public workforce system to meet the needs of the target population and how best to assist individuals in achieving their goals of meaningful employment."

The task force will meet to study and identify the challenges in the target populations seeking work, review current workforce development practices, recommend strategies to reduce barriers to employment, and develop goals for recommended programs, policies, and practice. They will actively gather input from community-based organizations, business leaders, local officials and advocates. The task force will make policy recommendations to the governor by November 15, 2015, and shall terminate thirty days following the presentation of that plan to the Governor’s Office for review and policies that can be implemented within state government.

"Every day, we see individuals overcome major obstacles to employment success with the right mix of training, supports, job placement, and belief in their capabilities,” said Jerry Rubin, the CEO of Jewish Vocational Services who will be a member of the task force. “The Commonwealth and our leading employers need their talent, and these individuals deserve the opportunity to succeed."

Governor’s Task Force on Economic Opportunity for Populations Facing Chronically High Rates of Unemployment (Members Named To Date)

Ron Walker, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development

Chair

Jay Ash, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development

Jim Peyser, Secretary of Education

Marylou Sudders, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Francisco Urena, Secretary of Veterans’ Services

Jabes Rojas, Incoming-Deputy Chief of Staff for Access and Opportunity

Anthony Benoit, President, Ben Franklin Institute of Technology

Gerald Chertavian, Founder and CEO, Year-Up

Gregg Croteau, Executive Director, United Teen Equality Center (UTEC)

Donna Cupelo, Region President – New England, Verizon

Michael Fitzpatrick, Superintendent Director, Blackstone Valley Technical High School

Deborah Hicks, Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Mark Isenberg, VP for Workforce Development and Technology Services, Action for Boston Community Development

William Kiernan, Dean, UMass Boston School for Global Inclusion and Social Development

Jerry Rubin, President and CEO, Jewish Vocational Services of Greater Boston

The establishment of the task force on Economic Opportunity for Populations Facing Chronically High Rates of Unemployment follows Governor Baker’selevation of the Office of Access and Opportunity (OAO) to his office under the direction of a Deputy Chief of Staff and the creation of a Steering Committee for Access and Opportunity to increase diversity and inclusion within state government and the commonwealth’s procurement process. Governor Baker also signed an executive order establishing a Workforce Skills Cabinetbringing together officials and advocates for education, labor and economic development to address the growing skills gap between workers and potential employers. The task force strategic plan will inform the Workforce Skills Cabinet on-going work and is a deep dive into Massachusetts unemployment data highlighting our commitment to fostering an inclusive economic landscape.

伍氏宗親慶新春迎羊年勵學敬老

紐英崙伍胥山公所三月八日晚在帝苑大酒樓慶祝乙未羊年新春，數百宗親與遠道來賀嘉賓歡聚一堂，一聲聲“新春快樂”，“家庭幸福”，“羊年行大運”的祝福，逗得人人洋洋得意。

            伍氏宗親依慣例，當天中午先在華埠泰勒街22號會址上香祭祖，供上金豬及三鮮生果，秉告新的一年開始。

            當天晚上，數百宗親絡繹抵達帝苑大酒樓，欣賞洪青體育會敲鑼打鼓的舞獅，採青獻桔，再請出黃伍一家親的兩姓元老，主席，總長及嘉賓合影留念。

            紐英崙伍胥山公所主席伍侃滋，伍樂仁先後致歡迎詞，答謝詞，並代表伍氏公所送上新年利是給中華廣教學校，中華耆英會，中華僑立學校，以聊表伍氏的鼓勵向學，尊敬耆老之心。

            卸任主席，當上議長的伍煥華，當晚承擔了介紹嘉賓重任。

全美伍胥山公所美西總會總長伍元贊，全美黃氏宗親總會總長黃國威，紐英倫黃氏公所主席黃國瀚，紐英崙中華公所主席阮鴻燦，駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長賴銘琪，麻州眾議員黃子安等嘉賓致詞時，有的言簡意賅，有的用詞新穎，各有特色，但台下宗親，僑團都能感受到祝福誠意。

            在寒暄，暢敘，用餐後，伍氏公所的羊年新春慶祝，最後在公所康樂李伍碧香主持的卡拉ＯK等文娛節目中落幕。

圖片說明：

            黃伍兩姓在春宴舉行前合影留念。（黃定國攝）

            舞獅後，洪青體育會和黃伍兩姓宗親合影。前排右起，伍侃滋，黃官羨，黃國威，伍建坪，伍元贊，伍育俊，經文處處長賴銘琪，伍伯和，中華公所主席阮鴻燦等人合影。（黃定國攝）

            伍胥山公所兩名主席伍樂仁（左一），伍侃滋（右二）邀黃氏宗親會主席黃國瀚（右一）送上新年利是，中華廣教學校校長曾秀芬（右三），中華僑立學校老師，中華耆英會理事李壽泮等人代表領取。（黃定國攝）

            伍胥山公所兩名主席伍樂仁（左三），伍侃滋（右一）、李晶（左二）夫婦，歡迎經文處處長賴銘琪，雲雯蓁（右三，二），中華公所主席阮鴻燦（中），波士頓僑務委員馬滌凡（左一）等人到會。（黃定國攝）

            伍胥山公所議長伍換華（左二）當天中午在會所接待來賀的黃氏婦女部主任黃周麗桃。（圖由伍氏公所提供）

Governor Baker Names Mark Gaunya and Rina Vertes to the Massachusetts Health Connector Board of Directors

Governor Baker Names Mark Gaunya and Rina Vertes to the Massachusetts Health Connector Board of Directors

BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker today named two new members to the Massachusetts Health Connector Board of Directors, Mark S. Gaunya, GBA, LIA, co-owner and Chief Information Officer at Borislow Insurance, and Rina Vertes, President of Marjos Business Consulting.

“The Health Connector board is hugely important to the people’s ability to access health care options and the experts we appointed today are vital to improving the once troubled system,” said Governor Baker.  “I believe people are policy and I look forward to working with these health care experts as they lead the exchange.”

“Our administration believes these health care professionals with decades of experience will continue the turnaround effort of the Connector,” said Lieutenant Governor Polito, “and provide the people of Massachusetts with an efficient, well run exchange.”

Gaunya and Vertes will serve as two of Governor Baker’s four appointments to the 11-member Health Connector Board. Gaunya will sit in the seat reserved by statute for a member of the broker community and Vertes will take the seat reserved for a health insurance actuary. They will both participate in today’s Health Connector Board meeting.

“The broker community plays an important role in the Massachusetts healthcare market – we are the trusted advisors businesses and consumers rely on for objective advice and counsel on their healthcare needs,” Gaunya said. “I am honored Governor Baker asked me to serve on the Massachusetts Health Connector Board of Directors. This is a busy and important time in healthcare reform, and I am excited to be participating in the challenging work going forward.”

“Thank you to Governor Baker for this opportunity to participate in Massachusetts’ continued efforts to make health care accessible and affordable to everyone,” said Vertes. “I look forward to being part of the next steps the Health Connector and Commonwealth take to ensure Massachusetts remains a leader in health care.”

About Mark S. Gaunya:

Gaunya is a co-owner of Borislow Insurance, a Massachusetts-based, New England region brokerage and consulting firm since 2005, and has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He has held a number of senior leadership positions for regional and national health insurers and provider organizations in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and is ACA and Self-Funding certified by the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU). Gaunya has served as the National Chair of the Healthcare Cost & Quality Transparency Taskforce for NAHU, and in 2013 he was appointed to the Legislative Council to continue that work. He has also served as President of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters (MassAHU) from 2009-2013. Under his leadership, MassAHU advocated for and helped to legislate the addition of the NAHU Connector Board seat that he will now occupy representing his broker colleagues all across the Commonwealth.

Rina Vertes:

Vertes is currently the leader of Marjos Business Consulting, with 25 years of experience at health care and insurance companies, including Minuteman Health as Chief Financial Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as Chief Actuary and Chief Underwriter, and CIGNA where she held positions in the Health Care and Investment Divisions. While at Blue Cross, Vertes co-led the development and implementation of the Alternative Quality Contract, a payment model incorporating risk-adjusted global payment and performance-based incentives, and was involved with Massachusetts’ health care reform from its inception. Vertes is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

白禮頓樓美食節 九名耆英秀手藝

大波士頓中華耆英會白禮頓樓日前舉辦首屆美食節，九名耆英帶來拿手好菜，競比手藝，互相品評，在興高采烈中評出杜在明、楊遠清夫婦的重慶涼拌三絲得一等獎。

            中華耆英會表示，參加該會活動的耆英，閒聊時談起各地美食，講到做菜難易，促成他們舉辦這首屆美食節。

            當天有三十多人參加，共九名耆英帶來自製美食。白禮頓中心主任梅麗梨致開幕詞後，司儀李正銀說明評獎採票選制，每名出席者各有一票，必須在品嚐後的十五分鐘內，就色、香、味、型、口感做綜合評分、投票，最後由李正銀，周信本結算各道菜餚得票數，並依得票數高低定名次。

            耆英們當天帶到會場的美食都很有特色，不少人還花了心思，擺出很美觀的碟頭。

            評獎結果，杜在明、楊遠清夫婦的重慶涼拌三絲得一等獎，關以民和關德榮夫婦的雞串得二等獎，鍾來娣的釀豆腐得三等獎。

            耆英們會後樂滋滋的說，這天等於一頓飯嚐到九種美味，有如出席大宴，不但味蕾大感滿足，彼此談話還多了不少話題，讓人心情愉快，得不得獎其實實在不重要。

圖片說明：

            前排左起，羅予禮、楊遠清、關德榮、鐘來娣、阮澄宇、翁秀玲、張麗冰，後排左起，李正銀、周信本、孫振華、張秀蘭、杜在明、杜志光、馮婉芬等人會後合影。（圖由中華耆英會提供）

麻省理工學院亞洲商務會議揭秘亞洲商業實務

麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇日前在該校媒體實驗室大樓舉辦第五屆會議，以“亞洲商業實務揭秘（Demystifying Business Practices in Asia）”為主題，為有意進入亞洲市場的投資者，企業家提供經驗談。

今年的MIT亞洲商務會議，由杜子超，Seungmin Baek擔任共同主席，有廿四人參與籌辦，共邀五名嘉賓做主題演講，安排了四場座談。包括泰國，新加坡等，有多國領事出席交流。

MIT史隆管理學院國際項目及行動學習副院長黃亞生在開幕致詞中指出，根據他創辦中國實驗室，印度實驗室，送學生到中國，印度企業去實習的經驗，亞洲企業在經營時，運作模式受文化影響極深。中國企業目前的走向國際化發展困境之一，在管理模式。

會議的五名主題演講嘉賓，分別為A. T. Kearney公司合夥人兼日本主席Tak Umezawa，萬通控股執行長江泓毅，貝萊德（Black Rock）集團台灣區董事長李豪(Leo Seewald)，山葉發動機株式會社（Yamaha Motor）董事總經理瀧澤正弘（Masahiro Takizawa），以及火箭因特網（Rocket Internet）共同執行長Koen Thijssen。

主題演講嘉賓中，萬通控股執行長江泓毅最貼近中國。江泓毅和馮倫一起為萬通打天下。他以“模式轉變：當東方遇上西方”為主題，藉創辦紐約中國中心的過程，提出了幾個企業經營重點，包括從事實中找真相，對合夥人要誠實、透明，雙贏的思考態度，把敵人變成朋友及股東，找當地合夥人等。

江泓毅也透露，萬通原本的主要業務是地產，但從紐約中國中心開始，萬通將逐步多元化，2014年底促成北京金融街和紐約華爾街對話，和紐約科學院簽約，合作發展智慧城市，綠化樓宇，以及健康生活，以中美合作共贏之天空峰匯（The Sky Club of Sino-US Synergy）為目標，就是其中的幾項行動。

江泓毅坦言，中國經濟成長減緩這新常態（new normal）逼使許多公司面對生存挑戰，但誠如黃亞生教授所說，改善管理模式是長遠經營必須要做的調整。

四場座談，主題分別為“亞洲土壤對創業來說有多肥沃（How fertile is Asian soil for entrepreurship）”，“全球化：行動在哪裡？”，“如何辨識下一個大的新創企業？”，“真正推動創新的是什麼”？

應邀出席座談的講者，包括阿里巴巴跨邊界企業對消費者（Cross Border B2C）市場部主管秦瀟，創新思想研究院創始人兼主席楊林，米天創投創始合夥人田田，軟通動力顧問委員會副董事長楊文慶，曾任支付友( Paypal)媒體網絡營運長的David Chang，以及NTT數據執行長Imran Sayeed，NTT Docomo創投執行總經理Yuko Watanabe Sasahara等人。

會議的壓軸主題演講是近年大受矚目的“火箭因特網（Rocket Internet）“。 亞太因特網集團執行總經理Koen Thijssen敘述了該公司在亞洲打造因特網企業的經過，以及想要成為中國，美國之外，世界上最大的因特網平台的夢想。他本人來自德國柏林，坦言火箭因特網能夠成功，並不靠新構想，99%都源於執行力，如今已打進十五個國家，觸及十二億人口，主要為新興市場的發展中國家服務。

麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇是來自台灣，現為TCL多媒體互聯網事業部副總經理的趙育穎，五年前在MIT史隆商學院就讀時，和同學一起創辦的會議。在該院院長David C. Schmittlein，以及該院創辦中國實驗室，印度實驗室的華裔教授黃亞生大力支持下，如今已成大波士頓內舉足輕重的亞洲會議。

圖片說明：

            麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇共同主席杜子超（右）邀來萬通控股執行長江泓毅（左）作主題演講嘉賓。（菊子攝）

            MIT史隆管理學院國際項目及行動學習副院長黃亞生指中國公司的管理模式有待改善。（菊子攝）

            麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇籌辦學生會後合影。（菊子攝）

            麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇共同主席杜子超（左），Seungmin Baek（右）。（菊子攝）

            萬通控股江泓毅（右二）和論壇講者楊林（右一），田田（左一），以及紐英崙中華資訊網路協會會長陶東斌（左二），企業家劉仲岳（中）等人在會中相遇，暢談。（菊子攝）

            麻省理工學院亞洲商業論壇的部分籌辦學生，左起，Nutnsdee Hemsordy，Jindatip Sirikungkorn， Vincent Nguyen，Sutqttq Pang Viroonrug，Pat Boonthai，蕭郁臻，王希，梁慧成，Dung Dao等人。（菊子攝）

            李豪（左二），楊林（右二）等人座談全球化。（菊子攝）

            Koen Thijssen談火箭因特網的發展故事。（菊子攝）