Federal Agencies Teach Leadership Skills, Hear from Students at 2011 Intertribal Youth Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Week-Long Youth Leadership Conference Focuses on Public Safety Within Tribal Communities

WASHINGTON – One hundred and seventy five young men and women from nearly 50 tribal communities across the country have convened at the week-long 2011 National Intertribal Youth Summit in Santa Fe, N.M., which runs from July 24-28, 2011. The summit features administration officials from the White House and the Departments of Justice, Interior, Health and Human Services and Education, and it coincides with the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s signing of the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) into law.  

The 2011 National Intertribal Youth Summit is a youth leadership conference for tribal youth participants to meet other American Indian and Alaska Native youth through special sessions targeting leadership development and critical youth issues such as healthy relationships and lifestyles, education, substance and alcohol abuse, cultural preservation, community development and protecting the environment.

The summit also provides an opportunity for Obama administration officials to hear directly from youth in Indian Country. The administration and federal agencies have made a commitment to building healthier and safer communities through strengthened coordination and collaboration with tribal partners.

 “You are the future, and the small choices you make can have an enormous impact on your communities,” Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli told the group of assembled students. “Tribal communities face unique challenges, and it can’t be overstated the importance of your leadership in securing a bright future for your friends, families, and neighbors.”

In response to requests from tribal leaders for the development of more culturally appropriate prevention, early intervention, treatment, rehabilitation and reentry programs for tribal youth and families, the Justice Department launched the Youth Summit initiative to promote long-term improvement in public safety in tribal communities.

The summit’s focus was on youth voices.   During the week-long session, participants had the opportunity to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to run in their communities.   In a special session called Voices of Youth, participants shared thoughts, concerns and recommendations on ways to address public safety and positively impact the lives of youth across Indian Country—providing a platform for honest dialogue with federal officials. Additional workshops provided tribal youth with knowledge and skills in leadership development and strategies for achieving academic and career success.

Youth were nominated by their tribal youth program coordinators and submitted an application to attend the summit. The Department of Justice’s Office on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs (OJJDP) and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) made the final selections. In addition to the Youth Summit this week, Attorney General Eric Holder, thirty U.S. Attorneys and other administration officials will visit Rapid City and Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D., to engage in listening sessions with tribal leaders and hear from advocates in the fields of tribal safety and domestic violence. Attorney General Holder will also participate in a special wreath laying ceremony at Wounded Knee.

‘You, Too, Can Shape History,’ Gates Tells Graduates

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2011 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates took his message of public service to graduates of North Dakota State University today and the University of Oklahoma yesterday, urging young people to “consider a life of service.”

“I say to each of you, as someone who started out just another kid from the plains, that you, too, can shape history,” Gates said in prepared remarks to the Oklahoma graduates. The secretary, a Kansas native, has announced he will retire this summer, ending four decades of public service.

“I’ve served eight presidents and been around the world more times than I can count,” he said. “Most recently, I’ve held the great trust, my greatest honor since entering public service, of guiding and looking out for those who defend us. They fight to protect the freedoms and opportunities that all Americans enjoy -- freedoms and opportunities that can take any one of you wherever you choose to go.”

Quoting from President Barack Obama, Gates said in his prepared statement that graduates can go wherever they choose, but only “if you have the courage to put your foot firmly into the course of history.”

Gates said he was honored to commission graduating ROTC cadets -- 10 in Oklahoma, nine in North Dakota -- into the Army, Navy and Air Force. “You join an American military that has been fighting multiple wars at an incredible tempo over the past decade,” he said. “This is the true patriotism of the deed.”

The secretary urged the graduates to “keep the faith” of the ideals and beliefs America was founded on. “I see that faith every day in the faces of the young men and women of the military who have volunteered to serve this great nation,” he said. “Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of young Americans in uniform have volunteered to put their lives on the line to defend us -- to set aside their dreams so you can fulfill your dreams.”

Gates also told them to not be afraid to pursue their own idealism, something best done through public service. “If you scratch deeply enough, you will find that those who serve -- no matter how outwardly tough or jaded or egotistical -- are, in their heart of hearts, romantics and idealists. And optimists. We actually believe we can make a difference, that we can improve the lives of others, that we can better the future of this country and of the world.”

The secretary warned against some public sentiments that the United States should scale back its global leadership role in light of record deficits and 10 years of war. “The lessons of history tell us we must not allow our frustrations to cause us to withdraw from the world or diminish our ability or our determination to deal with the threats and challenges on the horizon,” he said.

Gates quoted President Theodore Roosevelt in saying that a nation that absolves itself from duties around the world forfeits its place “among the peoples that shape the destiny of mankind.”

“Are we, as a nation, willing to forfeit our place to shape not only our own future, but the future of this world with which we all are so intrinsically linked?” the secretary said. “It falls on us as Americans to lead, to shape the course of world events, to face challenges, to make the necessary sacrifices and take the necessary risks to defend our values and our interests.”

For America to continue to be a force for good in the world, “the most able and idealistic of its young people -- of you -- must step forward and accept the burden and the duty of public service,” Gates said.

Flournoy Hails Pioneering Military, Civilian Women

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2011 – The Pentagon’s top civilian policy official said she wouldn’t be in her current position if it weren’t for the many women before her, whom she hailed as “true pioneers.”

That was the message delivered today by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy, who spoke at the Joint Services Women’s History Month luncheon held at the Kennedy Caucus Room of the U.S. Senate’s Russell Office Building.

“These women -- uniformed and civilian alike -- have showed the others who followed that it’s possible to be a woman and serve your country with great distinction,” Flournoy said. “And often, they had to overcome great obstacles to do so.”

The luncheon event follows President Barack Obama’s Feb. 28 proclamation designating March as Women’s History Month.

In his proclamation, Obama noted that American women “scale the skies as astronauts, expand our economy as entrepreneurs and business leaders, and serve our country at the highest levels of government and our Armed Forces.”

On Feb. 28, the U.S. Senate approved Concurrent Resolution 8, which recognizes “the importance of women to national defense throughout the history of the United States; and encourages the people of the United States to honor women who have served and who continue to serve the United States in the U.S. Armed Forces.”

Attending today’s luncheon with Flournoy was Undersecretary of the Army Joseph W. Westphal, who as the then-acting Army secretary oversaw the May 11, 2001, dedication of the Women’s Army Museum at Fort Lee, Va.

Westphal thanked today’s women serving in the nation’s military services who’ve “given so much of themselves to support and defend our nation and our way of life.”

Flournoy highlighted some of the women who were responsible for significant accomplishments in defense of the United States.

Jeanne M. Holm, who recently passed away at age 88, was a “true pioneer,” Flournoy said, who joined the Army and worked as a silversmith and a truck driver during World War II.

In 1949, Holm joined the U.S. Air Force and went on to become its first female one-star general, and later, the first female two-star in any branch of the armed forces, Flournoy said.

Holm accomplished many things in her life, Flournoy said, noting she’d worked tirelessly to expand opportunities for military women.

During her military career Holm had fought promotion ‘glass ceilings’ and quotas that limited women, Flournoy noted. Holm, she added, had called for women to be admitted to the service academies, to be able to fly as pilots, and claim the same housing and medical and benefits as men did.

“All these things eventually came to pass, and it’s easy for all of us to sit here and take them for granted,” Flournoy said. “But these advances took a lot of hard work and General Holm worked hard to achieve them.”

Another pioneer and role model for military women, she said, is the late retired Navy Rear Adm. [lower half] Grace Marie Hopper. A Naval officer, Hopper became the first woman to receive a restricted line promotion to flag officer in 1983. Known as “Amazing Grace,” Hopper had a doctorate in mathematics from Yale and joined the Navy reserve as an ordnance officer during World War II.

Hopper was involved in early efforts to develop an electronic computer, Flournoy said. Hopper later developed the prototype of the COBOL software programming, which Flournoy described as “a breakthrough that was credited with making computer programming far more accessible than it had been before.”

Civilian women like Sheila E. Widnall also have made great strides serving in leading roles in the defense department, the undersecretary said.

“High on this list was Sheila Widnall -- the only woman yet to receive a full appointment as a service secretary,” Flournoy said, noting that Widnall also had served as a professor and an associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Widnall had served as Secretary of the Air Force between 1993 and 1997 –- the first woman appointed as the Air Force’s senior civilian.

As Air Force secretary, Widnall “oversaw a modernization program during … budgetary constraints, and helped create a more effective acquisition process to ensure America’s continued air superiority,” Flournoy said.

Widnall also paved the way for “more and more” women to serve in leadership roles in the Pentagon, the undersecretary said.

“In today’s Pentagon,” Flournoy said, “women are the secretary of defense’s chief advisers on everything from legislative affairs, to issues and portfolios from Africa to Eurasia, from homeland defense to the global campaign against weapons of mass destruction.”

Talented, courageous women of the past have paved the way for the opportunities, responsibilities and accomplishments available to today’s women leaders, Flournoy said.

“And all of us in turn, I’m sure, will do everything within our power to open doors for the next generation,” she said. “And that next generation will make contributions to our nation’s defense that we cannot even imagine here today.”

Shipmate of the Week – Dr. John Oliver

Posted by: LTJG Stephanie Young

A majestic lighthouse on the Great Lakes. A sustainable fish hatchery along the Atlantic coast. A marine sanctuary off the Olympic Peninsula. An industrious port in the country’s heartland.

America’s coastal environments are all vastly different, yet they remain connected in ways that influence everyone. With the ocean touching every aspect of our lives, preserving the coastal environment is of the highest importance.  The Coast Guard’s Dr. John T. Oliver has become intimately involved in ensuring that our nation preserves these vital ecosystems.

Developing a strategy for the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes became a national priority when President Obama announced America’s first national ocean policy in June 2009.

As a result, Dr. Oliver, Senior Ocean Policy Advisor, now represents the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security on the country’s first National Ocean Council. Oliver, leading a team of subject matter experts, is tasked with developing and implementing plans for the ocean, our coast and the Great Lakes in which a growing number of uses – economy, energy, security, cultural, recreational – are expanding at a rate that challenges our ability to effectively plan and manage ecosystems.

Appreciating the fact that local decisions regarding personal, recreational, or commercial use of a waterfront are often made with little regard to how they can impact hundreds of miles of coastline and the nearby marine environment, Oliver knows that we cannot continue down this path.

“This new approach to ocean management will promote the Coast Guard’s safety, security, and stewardship missions,” said Oliver. “Having the information so that you really know what is going on in the ocean and along our coasts, and making management decisions based on what is best for the entire ecosystem, is critical to restoring the health and maximizing the economic productivity and enjoyment of our bountiful and beautiful maritime domain.”

Addressing the impacts these competing demands can have on a marine ecosystem is known as Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning and Oliver is looked to as one of the nation’s leading experts on effective CMSP.

Developing a CMSP policy is no easy task, and one of the biggest hurdles is ensuring every stakeholder has a voice. To consider all of the key issues, the Task Force has reached out to stakeholders representing the maritime shipping industry, commercial fishing interests, the recreational fishing, boating, and yachting community, coastal tourism boards, port and waterway experts and specialists in national and homeland security.

“Dr. Oliver’s remarkable efforts have ensured that the Coast Guard will play a leadership role in the National Ocean Council and in the Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning process,” said Rear Adm. Brian Salerno, Deputy Commandant for Operations. “We could not have achieved all that we have without his extraordinary work.”

Whether you work in a port complex or sail on a freshwater lake, the oceans and coastal areas all play a key role in the lives of every American. While each ecosystem has connections with others that are both complex and intricate, Dr. Oliver and his colleagues are at the forefront of change aimed at preserving our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes for future generations.

President Obama Awards National Medals of Science to America's Best and Brightest Scientific Minds

On November 17th, President Obama presented 10 researchers with the highest technical and scientific award given by the United States, the the National Medal of Science.

"The achievements of these men and women stand as testament to their ingenuity, to their zeal for discovery and for their willingness to give of themselves and to sacrifice in order to expand the reach of human understanding," the President said at a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday evening. "The scientists and innovators here have saved lives, improved our health and well being, helped unleash whole new industries and millions of jobs, transformed the way we work, learn and communicate ... their contributions serve as proof not only to their creativity and skill, but to the promise of science itself."

The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959, and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Awarded annually, the medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering. Nominees are selected by a committee of presidential appointees based on their advanced knowledge in, and contributions to, the biological, behavioral/social and physical sciences, as well as chemistry, engineering, computing and mathematics.

NSF Director Subra Suresh addressed the laureates at a black tie awards dinner that followed the formal ceremony at the White House. "Tonight we acknowledge not only the heritage that you received and have carried on, but even more so, we celebrate the legacy that you bestow to coming generations of explorers, discoverers, inventors, and innovators," said Suresh. "You feed our anticipation of continued contributions and leadership. And, we look forward to the future flowering of science and innovation in your hands and in the hearts and minds of those you mentor and train ... To put the minds and the hands of humanity to work in creating a better world for all."

On its 51st anniversary, this year's National Medal of Science recipients are:

Yakir Aharonov, Chapman University, for his work in quantum physics, which ranges from the Aharonov-Bohm effect, to the notion of weak measurement, making him one of the most influential figures in modern physics.

Stephen Benkovic, Pennsylvania State University, for his seminal research that has changed our understanding of how enzymes function, singly or in complexes, and has led to novel pharmaceuticals and biocatalysts.

Esther Conwell, University of Rochester, for promoting women in science, and for contributions to understanding electron and whole transport in semiconducting materials that has helped to enable integrated circuits and organic electronic devices.

Marye Anne Fox, University of California, San Diego, for seminal contributions to chemistry by elucidating the role that non-homogeneous environments can exert on excited-state processes, and enhancing our understanding of charge-transfer reactions and their application to such fields as polymers, solar energy conversion and nanotechnology.

Susan Lindquist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for showing that changes in protein folding can have profound and unexpected influences in fields as wide-ranging as human disease, evolution and nanotechnology, and for providing fundamental experimental support for the prion hypothesis. The prion hypothesis is a key scientific assertion associated with a group of progressive conditions that affect the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans.

Mortimer Mishkin, National Institutes of Health, for fundamental contributions to understanding the functional organization of the primate brain, including the discovery of the role of the inferior temporal cortex in vision, delineation of the selective contributions of medial temporal lobe structures to memory, and discovery of the neural bases of cognitive and noncognitive memory systems.

David Mumford, Brown University, for extraordinary contributions to the mathematical, engineering and neurobiological sciences.

Stanley Prusiner, University of California, San Francisco, for his discovery of prions representing an unprecedented class of infectious agents comprised only of proteins, which elucidated a novel paradigm of disease in which a single pathogenic process produces infectious, inherited or sporadic illnesses in humans and animals.

Warren Washington, National Center for Atmospheric Research, for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of Earth's coupled climate system through numerical simulation, leadership in U.S. science policy, and inspiring mentorship of young people of all backgrounds and origins.

Amnon Yariv, California Institute of Technology, for scientific and engineering contributions to photonics and quantum electronics that have profoundly impacted lightwave communications and the field of optics as a whole.

Note to regional reporters: For more information about or interviews with local winners of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, please contact the awardees' home institution or agency.

-NSF-