Registration is now underway for a unique evening class to help aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners launch or grow a successful business.  The program is a joint project of Dominican University New York, M&T Bank, and BRIDGES, a community-based, peer-driven, cross-disability, not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocacy and leadership on behalf of people with disabilities. 

Intro to Entrepreneurship is a stand-alone program, and there is no requirement that registrants be enrolled Dominican University students. The class will be held on seven Wednesdays from March 13 through April 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with about one hour of homework for each class.  During the last class, course participants will be eligible to showcase their small business ideas in a Shark Tank style “Rocket Pitch Competition” for a chance to secure seed funding. Three winners will take home $5,000 each, which is funded through a grant from The Bailey Foundation.    

Participants in the program will learn how to:

• Create a solid business plan that outlines goals, strategies, and financial projections to provide a roadmap for success.
• Effectively manage credit, from securing loans to optimizing credit utilization.
• Excel in marketing their business, create a strong brand identity, and attract and retain customers through strategic branding efforts. 
• Perfect a business proposal pitch to increase the chance of securing investment and forming valuable partnerships.

“Intro to Entrepreneurship lays the groundwork for fostering local innovation, providing young entrepreneurs with the essential knowledge, skills, and drive needed for success,” stated Tyre´ Robinson, M&T Bank Regional President. “M&T Bank is honored to join Dominican University and BRIDGES in this initiative.”

M&T Bank is a generous sponsor and supporter of this collaboration through scholarships, prize money, and promotional considerations.  In addition, M&T will provide financial counselors and branch managers at the majority of class sessions to support small business startups in the lower Hudson Valley.  

Dominican University New York Interim President Sr. Mary Hughes, O.P., Ed.D., said, “This class is a wonderful example of how the community can join together to support small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.  Dominican University is proud to be teaming up with M&T Bank and BRIDGES to educate, encourage, and hopefully inspire entrepreneurs.”

Dominican University graduate students who take the class will receive credit toward their Capstone requirement and undergraduate students will receive one credit toward their business degree. The Intro to Entrepreneurship class costs $782. Scholarships are available.

BRIDGES CEO Carlos Martinez said, “People with disabilities, veterans, and people formerly involved in the justice system often face challenges and barriers to employment and financial self-sufficiency. Entrepreneurship is a clear pathway to autonomy, and we are elated to collaborate with M&T Bank and Dominican University to bring this Intro to Entrepreneurship mini-course to our community, empowering future and early-stage business owners to follow their dreams. This initiative is at the heart of BRIDGES’ mission to remove barriers and advance autonomy for all.”

For more information, visit: duny.edu/entrepreneurs.

Dominican College is holding free workshops to educate local residents about the environment and to teach them how to become good stewards of our communities.  The workshops are free and are funded through a grant from Orange & Rockland Utilities.

Regina Alvarez, Ph.D.,  Dominican College Assistant Professor of Biology and Instructor at the New York Botanical Garden, said that although many people are concerned about the environment, they often don’t realize how important nature is in cities and suburbs.  Nature, she stresses, is all around us, even in the most urban environments.

“We believe this workshop series will foster community wellness and a sense of connection to the natural environment in Rockland County,” said Alvarez.  “Learning about the world around us and how to care for it locally empowers the community to protect and advocate for the environment within which we all live. “

The workshops will take place at the Prusmack Center, 3 Campus Drive, Blauvelt, NY, on the Dominican College campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.  For more information, or to register for one or more workshops, please email DCWORKSHOPS@duny.edu

The four workshops scheduled are:

• Introduction to the Biodiversity of Rockland County – Saturday, July 24, 2021  Alvarez will teach participants to recognize the biodiversity around them and to explore the connection between biodiversity and their well-being. 
• Community Science: The People’s 21^st Century Flora – Saturday, August 21, 2021  Daniel Atha, Director of Conservation Outreach, New York Botanical Garden, will discuss EcoFloras of North America.  This innovative model connects people to plant collections, nature, and urban biodiversity, combining existing knowledge from herbaria and libraries with real-time observations of plants and their ecological partners. 
• The Natural History of Insects – Saturday, September 18, 2021  Ken Chaya, President of the Linnaean Society of New York and Instructor at the New York Botanical Garden, will delve into the world of the creatures that make up 84 percent of the animal kingdom. Participants will learn about the roles insects play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, as well as their fascinating life cycles and complex social systems.
• The Unseen Universe: Microbial Diversity Under Our Feet – Saturday, October 16, 2021  Bernadette Connors, Ph.D., Dominican College Associate Professor of Biology, will guide participants in exploring the microbes from soil and water using next generation computational technologies.  Participants will also learn about the connection of microbes to environmental and public health.

The workshops are open to interested community members, local teachers, college students, and high school students.

The message of the annual Outlook on the Economy presentation on May 18, 2021, was that the regional economy has shown signs of improvement now that COVID cases are down and vaccinations are on the rise.

Jason Bram, a research officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was the guest speaker during the Zoom forum.   “This downturn that has been declared a recession is much more like a natural disaster,” he said.  Bram explained that in a recession the recovery is very gradual.  However, he hopes the economy will turn around quickly following COVID, as it usually does following an earthquake or hurricane.

Bram noted that consumer spending is up, the service sector is improving, and home prices have increased, except in Manhattan.  Inflation, however, is an area of concern.

Bram’s research focuses on the U.S. economy, with a primary emphasis on the Federal Reserve’s Second District, which includes New York State, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

During the 7^th Annual Healthcare Symposium, “Obesity and Weight Gain During the Pandemic,” a panel of experts discussed the “quarantine 15” and how obese patients fared with COVID-19.

Lisa Hirsch, MD, an Internist with Bon Secours Medical Group, stressed that obesity increases the risk of poor outcomes with COVID-19. “It not only increases the risk of severe illness, but increases the need for critical care services.  It triples the risk of hospitalizations, increases the risk of death, and although it is too early with the vaccine to know, other vaccines have had decreased efficacy with overweight people,”  she said.

Hirsh said that factors leading to pandemic weight gain included stress, boredom, gyms closing down, more accessibility to the kitchen, and an increase in baking. Her advice to lose the weight involved three steps:  motivation, plan, and compliance.

Other panelists included Jill L. Brodsky, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist, CareMount Medical Urgent Care; Michelle S. Kleinman, Public Health Nutritionist, Rockland County Department of Health; and Robert Ranieri, Senior Vice President, Rose & Kiernan, Inc.

The symposium took place via Zoom on February 23, 2021, and was moderated by Joan Facelle, MD, Former Rockland County Commissioner of Health and Vice Chair of the Dominican College Board of Trustees.

Overall, the regional economy is in good shape with unemployment rates at or near record lows.  That was the message from Jason Bram,  a Research Officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during the 9^th annual Outlook on the Regional Economy presentation on January 23, 2020  in the Prusmack Center.

There are some signs that the robust economy is slowing, however.  Bram pointed out that housing markets have softened,  job growth has slowed, and recent business surveys are less positive.  “The economy has slowed, but it hasn’t slowed dramatically,” said Bram.  “It’s hard to be negative when unemployment is so low and still declining.”

Bram research focuses on the U.S. economy, with a primary emphasis on the Federal Reserve’s Second District, which includes New York State, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He produces the regional Beige Book reports, and uses monthly business surveys to monitor and analyze current and emerging economic trends and issues of concern.