Tag Archives: Rotary Club of Madison

October 11: Sustaining American Democracy

Posted on October 13, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Ellsworth Brown

Dan Tokaji, Dean and Professor of Law at UW-Madison Law School, addressed sustaining and strengthening American democracy, focusing on election administration, restructuring elections, money and politics, and the big picture.

With humor, wisdom, a catalogue of issues, and some suggested solutions, Tokaji observed that a unique characteristic of American politics is the profound scale of local elections, inherently partisan, differing by state and often in conflict with federal election laws that, themselves, have changed significantly since the year 2000.

Redistricting, unlimited acceptance of private money, and the need for fidelity to truth further confound the election picture.

If you missed our meeting this week, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/kmHObUPTDG8.

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Posted in Madison WI, Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Weekly Rotary Guest Speaker

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October 4: Application of Artificial Intelligence

Posted on October 9, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Rich Leffler

UW Professor Kaiping Chen explained last week that AI performs tasks that mimic human intelligence in order to help humans make decisions. There are visible applications, like Alexa or Siri; there are less visible applications such as a robot that can perform surgery; and there are invisible applications that can determine who gets medical care or whether a prisoner is released on bail or kept in jail. There are also deep fakes on the Internet intended to fool. To provide equity, decisions concerning applications should be made by a collective stewardship of the communities that may be affected, including the under-served and the under-resourced.

If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch it here:  https://youtu.be/Oz-YRR8ee2Y. 

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September 27: Bending Granite

Posted on September 28, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Joy Cardin

From left: Tom Mosgaller, Kathleen Paris and Michael Williamson

Our speakers shared advice on how leaders can manage and drive change in their organizations based on the experiences described in their book – Bending Granite: 30+ True Stories of Leading Change in Dane County.  

Kathleen Paris focused on how former Madison Police Chief David Couper transformed MPD into a more inclusive community-policing organization;  Michael Williamson spoke about how former Madison Mayor Joe Sensenbrenner implemented TQM (Total Quality Management) practices, including worker input and data-based decision-making, to solve long wait times to repair and maintain city vehicles; and Tom Mosgaller explained how studies have shown more young teachers would stay in the classroom longer if given more access to best practices and mentors.  

If you missed our meeting this week, you can view it here: https://youtu.be/LiimUDx-qH8.

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September 20: Spotlighting the Use of Psychedelics in Healthcare

Posted on September 25, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Sharyn Alden

If you’ve heard of psychedelics in existing research at UW-Madison and its 10 years of clinical trials, you may know of the ever-expanding base of knowledge that is evolving.

Dr. Chantelle Thomas and Dr. Todd Kammerzelt, are building bridges of understanding of psychedelics’ use in healthcare.

Dr. Thomas explained those who seek treatment for PTSD and addiction, for example, have typically tried very hard to get help via traditional paths in the healthcare system.

Prior to psychedelic therapy, a patient goes through about 50 hours of screening, Dr. Kammerzelt said, and it is followed with numerous hours of therapy.

Experiences with psychedelics widely varies depending on factors such as a person’s environment and support system.

Dr. Thomas said, if you’re at a party, and you’ve taken the compounds, outside stimulators may be amplified. Conversely, medical therapists are geared to looking inside a person to help them on their journey to wellness.

That path can be arduous since the person may not have previously received the tools they needed.

If you missed our meeting last week, you can watch the video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvjESk0SeIo&t=4s

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September 13: Madison Tourism Has Wide-Reaching Benefits

Posted on September 19, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Sharyn Alden

“We Never Stop Moving Forward,” said Ellie Westman Chin, President & CEO of Destination Madison, now celebrating its 50th year.

No matter if you have lived in the Midwest Capital for decades, Ellie Chin shed new light on how leisure travel campaigns and hosting events like Ironman and Top Chef, translate to a strong economic impact.

She noted tourism is often called the ‘invisible industry’ yet in 2022 it represented 1.4 billion dollars in direct spending by visitors in the Madison community.

Madison, one of only two U.S. cities situated on an isthmus, has enormous drawing power. Visitors arrive for a multitude of reasons, to explore, learn and navigate its lakes and rivers, and its year-round unique vibes. But the brand wizards at Destination Madison keep coming up with new ways to attract businesses and visitors such as the North American Chinese Basketball Association Tournament or the World Stem Cell Summit.

There’s never been an easy way to describe the plethora of Madison’s pleasures, but to paraphrase Brandon Withrow in his recent write-up of a visit to Madison for The Daily Beast, he noted the city is quirky, delicious, and never simple.

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Posted in Rotary Club of Madison, Rotary Club of Madison Guest Speaker, Rotary Weekly Guest Speaker, Weekly Rotary Guest Speaker

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September 6: Shared Revenue in Wisconsin

Posted on September 8, 2023 by | Leave a comment

–submitted by Jessika Kasten

Jerry Deschane, Executive Director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, discussed how earlier this summer, Wisconsin’s republican Legislature and democratic Governor were able to come together to pass one of the largest (and most critical) investments in state municipal aid in a generation (Act 12). The new bill will put one penny of every sales tax dollar towards local municipalities, increasing both large cities’ and small towns’ ability to run and staff their police departments, fire departments and other infrastructure. This example shows that, although it’s not easy, a representative government that approaches issues with civility and compromise, can work.

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