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 In an effort to assist communities, local governments and regional organizations to plan and implement water quality improvement projects in the area, the United States EPA (USEPA) is expanding resources available to Appalachian Ohio by investing in Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, in partnership with Rural Action, to form the Appalachian Ohio Clean Watershed Initiative.
The initiative is an expansion of the focus of the Appalachian Watershed Research Group (AWRG), which has a long history of success in acid mine drainage watershed restoration. The AWRG was created in 2001 by a group of faculty and staff from across Ohio University campus, and led by the Voinovich School. During the past decade, in partnership with state and federal agencies such as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management (ODNR-DMRM), watershed professionals focused on acid mine drainage remediation have effectively restored 47 miles of streams.
"The Appalachian Ohio Clean Watershed Initiative grant gives watershed professionals an opportunity to build capacity to make lasting water quality improvements in the region. Ohio University and collaborating community partner Rural Action will assist stakeholders to plan, design and write grants for water quality improvement projects by utilizing funds available through EPA grant programs," Jen Bowman, Voinovich School senior environmental project manager, said.
 The new funding will provide outreach and education opportunities to organizations and communities with water quality impairment issues. This includes training and workshop opportunities for the watershed coordinators, organizations and individuals, and assisting communities with identifying projects and finding resources to complete them.
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 On Friday, Nov. 13, Ohio University's Voinovich School of Public Affairs hosted an international delegation from Kosovo to discuss the challenges of building national parks among country borders.
Speaking to more than 50 attendees in Alden Library, the six-member delegation shared their struggles in building a peace park after war in the Balkans tore the region apart. The delegation visited the United States to explore American management of national parks and take highlights back to the Balkans to improve their own park development.
 "It has been a privilege to visit the Voinovich School because of the diversity of scholars and experts all in one place," Fatos Lajci, founder and director of Kosovo's Environmentally Responsible Action Group, said. "A day's worth of learning here is like a whole semester."
The delegation visited as part of an ongoing partnership between the Voinovich School, the Office of Global Opportunities and International Peace Park Expeditions (IPPE). The members of the delegation are active partners of Ohio University's Environmental Peacebuilding Study Abroad program to Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania each May.
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Building a stellar workforce for your venture is crucial, but complicated. At the Oct. 27, 2015, Venture Café, Mike Langer, vice president of business development at Red Hawk Technologies, provided tips on not only preparing to build the team, but also how to use that knowledge to create an entrepreneurial organization.
 Langer, a 1990 graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor's degree in communications, currently advises customers in areas such as Web and mobile application development, systems integration, business workflow improvement, lead generation, e-commerce platforms and sales force automation at Red Hawk Technologies. Founded by Ron Dunlevy and Matt Strippelhoff, Red Hawk Technologies is focused on building a "dream team" of experienced business analysts, developers and project managers to collaborate closely with customers' IT and marketing executives. Since its founding in 2008, the company has built its own dream team, growing from two employees to 14. Having seen the growth of the Red Hawk Technologies team firsthand, Langer was able to provide attendees of the Venture Café with the following tips on building an entrepreneurial team.
Preparing to Build a Great Team
Treat recruiting as life or death for your company because it is. Building an exceptional team is the most important thing you can do as a young leader. If you're great at it, you will likely succeed. If not, you will likely fail.
Build a road map of key hires tied to specific business objectives/milestones. Decide which hires are "must-haves" now versus later. Ask yourself: How critical is the role and functional area to achieving our short-term objectives? Determine the right level (such as: c-level executive, vice president, director, individual contributor) not only for today but for two or three quarters out.
 Always search for talent. At times,100 percent of your day should be dedicated to recruiting. Make it a competitive challenge and give yourself measurable objectives. Treat every discussion with someone as an opportunity to source candidates.
Be accepting of mentorship. People will want to help you and it's a critical differentiator - people don't want to help incumbent companies. Successful entrepreneurs will see you in themselves and will want to provide advice. Soak it up, be proactive, follow-up and thank them. Make sure when you're successful you do the same for another young entrepreneur.
As you hire your team, embed a culture of recruiting. Make recruiting part of every employee's target objectives. Plan and budget for the activity. Make it part of weekly company meetings. Celebrate successes.
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 Location: Appalachian Ohio Description: The person in this position will collaborate closely with Rural Action program directors and staff to provide the business analysis and support to two social enterprises at Rural Action, Zero Waste Event Productions and the Chesterhill Produce Auction.
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 Professor Derek Kauneckis and Masters of Environmental Studies (MSES) graduate students Anna Palmer and Courtney Carrino recently traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada on November 5 for the Native Water on Arid Lands Summit.The summit is the first major national meeting on water management and climate impacts for sovereign tribal territories in the western U.S. The meeting is part of a federal research grants from the USDA on understanding tribal resilience to climate change. Representatives from over dozen tribal groups attended.
 Anna Palmer, a native of New York City, is currently researching how to develop community vulnerability measures that can accurately represent tribal community's inherent resilience yet identify potential threats to well-being. She is examining how to utilize climate resiliency indicators developed for urban areas and states for tribal sovereign territories.  Courtney Carrino, a member of the Cherokee Nation from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is working closely with tribal communities on understand how to better incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into climate change resiliency planning. The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs continues its tradition of engaging climate change policy research as a national priority and is working on this project in collaboration with the University of Nevada Reno (UNR), Desert Research Institute (DRI), University of Arizona (UA), Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON).
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On Friday, Oct. 23, the CE3 Brownbag Lunch series hosted approximately 100 explorers this year on a visit to Crane Hollow Nature Preserve, a biodiversity hotspot deep within Hocking County's Laurel Township.
Crane Hollow encompasses more than 1,940 acres. Of those, 1,286 acres have been designated as a state nature preserve by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. The preserve includes almost 10,000 known species, some of which are unique to Crane Hollow.
"It's like vising the iconic cliffs and rocks in Hocking Hills, but they're totally undisturbed by humans," Merri Collins, a first-year MSES student, said. "It's incredible to have all the unique species at your fingertips. Being able to research biodiversity loss with Crane Hollow as a control group would be amazing."
Student attendees visited with taxonomists who have been categorizing species there for the past 20 years. With diverse flora and fauna - including bobcats - thriving without human impact, the region makes for an ideal research setting. Collins said her favorite part was the colorful fungi on the undisturbed rocks.
"It has a rainforest feel because many species keep being discovered right here in Appalachia," Collins said.
Bethany Bella, a sophomore working on a bachelor of specialized studies, agreed that the preserve's disconnect from humanity was its main appeal.
"What a wonderful way to spend an early fall afternoon it was!" Bella said. "It's a far cry from the swarms of visitors hiking through Old Man's Cave in Hocking Hills."
Visit the Voinovich School Flickr page for Bethany Bella's photos from the trip.
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Ohio Third Frontier is relaunching its paid internship program to connect students, especially those from minority and traditionally underrepresented groups, with internship opportunities in small, innovative technology companies. Ohio Third Frontier, part of the Ohio Development Services Agency, fosters the creation and growth of start-up companies in the software, medical technologies, advanced materials and other high-tech industries. This network includes mentors, investors, nonprofit organizations and hundreds of early stage technology companies across the state. Who they're looking for:
- Students pursuing degrees ranging from the associate level through the doctoral level
- Students from minority and traditionally underrepresented populations preferred
- Students from all disciplines
Program details:
- Recruiting for 2016 spring and/or summer semesters
- Internships will last between 3 and 12 months
- Internships will be located across the state
- Qualified candidates will be matched with companies mainly from the Ohio Third Frontier network and portfolio, but the program is open to all qualified Ohio companies
- Paid up to $10,000 per internship with a $5,000 contribution from company, leading to a possible $15,000 internship opportunity
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 Friday November 20 at 8 p.m. is the deadline for students to register for this year's Scripps Innovation Challenge. The Fourth Annual Scripps Innovation Challenge is a university-wide student competition to create innovative solutions to real-world media and communication problems. The goal is to harness the creativity of Ohio University students to develop new and innovative products, tools, or strategies that could be the basis for a startup business or a new entrepreneurial venture by an established company.  The competition is open to all Ohio University students, regardless of major. Working individually or in teams, they choose from a range of challenges and come up with a creative solution. Winners are selected after presenting their ideas on Pitch Day to a group of media industry professionals in March 2016. This year's challenges will be posted soon. A total of $25,000 will be awarded to the winners, with the first-place team receiving $10,000. In addition, teams can win all or a portion of an additional $5,000 diversity-enhancement prize pool - an incentive for ideas that address underserved and underrepresented audiences. Be sure to register today on the website! __________________________________________
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On Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 2 - 3 p.m., the Voinovich School will host the Voinovich Scholar Showcase in The Ridges, Building 21, Leadership Room 105. This event will highlight the accomplishments of three current Undergraduate Research Scholars. The Scholars will present about their research and project collaborations at the School. Current Scholars are expected to attend this event as part of their weekly hours. Those Scholars with a class conflict who are unable to attend should notify Holly Craycraft at craycraf@ohio.edu by sending their RSVP by Nov. 30. Anyone who would like to attend should also RSVP to Holly by Nov. 30. ___________________________________________
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Dr. Amy Lynch of the Geography Department is teaching a spring 2016 semester seminar on green infrastructure. Interested students should be sure to register for this class because it won't be offered again for a few years.
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Scripps Innovation Challenge Registration Deadline
Nov. 20, 8 p.m.More information
Voinovich Scholar Showcase
Dec. 1, 2-3 p.m.
The Ridges,
Building 21,
Leadership Room 105
Important Dates
Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Break begins Nov. 30Classes resume
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"The innovator is the inventor. The entrepreneur is the one who stays up at night worrying how to make the payroll at the end of the month. Sometimes the two are the same."
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Impact & Innovation is a newsletter for the students, faculty and professionals of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.
Have an article idea? Contact Laura Alloway, Voinovich School Director of Marketing and Communications.
Impact & Innovation is written and created by undergraduate students Diana Wiebe, M.C. Tilton, Jasmine Grillmeier, Daniel Kington, with photography by Jillyann Burns.
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