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Jeri Quest, a veteran of the Twin Cities advertising trade who in recent years ran her own personal-coaching business, has spent several months preparing to launch a new venture targeted at disadvantaged women.
Today, Quest and a dozen committed associates will announce the launch of the Twin Cities chapter of Dress for Success, a nonprofit to assist women with clothing, support and professional-development tools they need to help them achieve economic independence.
"I still need to make a living," said Quest, who has worked nearly full time as unpaid executive director through several months of planning and setup. "I will continue to support myself through my coaching business.
"But at this stage of my life, I have flexibility and I've been called to volunteer with this organization that engages my business experience and my passion to coach others. It just starts with the clothes. Then we invite women into our coaching and mentoring program. That's where we help to develop the skills ... to develop and change lives."
Quest, 53, will be joined by Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, and other supporters at a press conference announcing the launch at 11 a.m. today at Ford Centre in the warehouse district, 420 N. 5th St., Suite 845.
Dress for Success Twin Cities will accept clients after they've been interviewed by local social service agencies such as Jeremiah Program, PRIDE, Pillsbury United Communities and the Minneapolis Urban League.
Each client will meet with an image coach, who will help her select one interview-appropriate outfit. Once she finds work, she'll receive an additional week's worth of work attire and an invitation to join a group of peers and mentors.
Dress for Success will host a clothing drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 5 at U-Save Self Storage, 3800 Louisiana Av. S., St. Louis Park. Edina Realty's Twin Cities-area offices will serve as donation dropoff sites starting in January; the company's foundation also is kicking in $10,000.
More info can be found at www.dressforsuccess.org/twincities or 612-839-8329.
Science can be funThe Bakken Museum in Minneapolis was honored recently by the Association of Science-Technology Centers with the 2009 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award. The museum was cited for its school partnership program. The "Edgie" recognizes extraordinary accomplishments that significantly advance the mission of science-technology centers and museums.
The program was developed with Minneapolis Public Schools to change how students -- particularly girls, students of color and students from low-income families -- think about science.
Have your heard?Starkey Laboratories, the Minneapolis-based manufacturer and innovator of hearing systems, is winning design awards for its latest hearing aid technology. Starkey won the Consumer Electronics Show Innovations 2010 Award in the Health and Wellness category for the S Series with Sweep Technology behind-the-ear hearing aid. Recently, the company won a Tekne Award from the Minnesota High Tech Association for Sweep Technology and T2, which allows people to adjust hearing aid settings using a touch-tone or cell phone.
Sweep Technology replaces traditional hearing aid buttons and dials with a touch surface. The surface gives patients access to volume, memory and standby controls.
Center breaks groundMinnesota State University at Mankato has broken ground on the $1.8 million Center for Renewable Energy Research and Technology Transfer.
"It will stimulate growth and development in biofuels and related fields, and it will keep the state at the top of the list of green energy innovators," said Minnesota State Mankato President Richard Davenport.
The center, funded by government and private donors, will be designed to test emissions and efficiency of fuels for engines and building systems. Its emissions laboratory will be the only research facility in the Upper Midwest capable of testing biodiesel, ethanol, hybrid and other biofuel engines according to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, the school said.
NEAL ST. ANTHONY, STEVE ALEXANDER, JANET MOORE, AND PATRICK KENNEDY
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Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.