Coming Out of the Great Recession: Changes in Workforce Development

Valerie Palamountain

Valerie Palamountain

What can we expect as the economy recovers? Where will the jobs be? What skills will be in demand? How do we plan for the changes? These are the questions that PVCC Division of Workforce Services grapples with everyday. Join us as we gaze into our crystal balls to find the answers.

Valerie Palamountain is the Dean of Workforce Services at Piedmont Virginia Community College. In her position, Ms. Palamountain works with business organizations, the Virginia Workforce Center, and economic development agencies within the Charlottesville region to develop training programs that meet the needs of the business community.

Prior to joining PVCC, she held a similar position at Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Ms. Palamountain also worked in private industry for 15 years as a project management consultant in the information technology industry. Her experience includes marketing, training and consulting with Fortune 1000 companies.

Ms. Palamountain holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University at Albany, Albany, NY.

Ms. Palamountain is on the boards of the Albemarle County Rotary Club, the Small Business Development Center, and the Charlottesville One Stop Committee. She resides in Palmyra, Virginia, and enjoys gardening, music and outdoor activities.

Ms. Palamountain spoke at the April 13, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV member Grace Zisk.

Our Current US National Interest and Policies in the Middle East

Donald E. Nuechterlein

Donald E. Nuechterlein

Can the United States police the world? Can we identify and act on another country’s national security interests? These are some of the issues addressed by Donald Nuechterlein at this month’s meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.

Donald E. Nuechterlein grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and received his undergraduate and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Michigan. He served on active duty in the Navy during World War II and was commissioned in 1945. After the war ended, he served in the U.S. military occupation of Germany, in Bremerhaven and Berlin.

Mr. Nuechterlein had a long career in the federal government, at home and abroad. After joining the State Department in 1952, he served in Washington, D.C. and at U.S. embassies in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Bangkok, Thailand. In 1965 he joined the senior staff, International Security Affairs, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as a specialist on Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. In 1968, he became a founding faculty member of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville and lectured and conducted seminars on U.S. foreign policy. He retired from government service in 1988.

Dr. Nuechterlein has taught U.S. foreign policy both in the United States and abroad, including George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Queen’s University in Canada, the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, and the University of Virginia, where he taught most recently in 2008. He was a Rockefeller fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (1963-64), a Fulbright scholar at the University College of Wales (1976), visiting faculty member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford (1982-83), and research fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra (1991) During each of these fellowships, he wrote a book on various aspects of U.S. foreign policy.

Don is the author of ten books, the most recent: Defiant Superpower: The New American Hegemony (2005). He writes a monthly commentary on international relations for several Virginia papers, including in Charlottesville, Richmond, Lynchburg, and Roanoke.

Don and his wife, Mildred, have four children and six grandchildren, and reside in Albemarle County near Charlottesville.

Mr. Nuechterlein spoke at the March 9, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Sue Liberman.

Will We Ration Health Care? The Coming Public Policy Debate

Eric Patashnik

Eric Patashnik

The passage of the Affordable Care Act has generated concerns that the government will ration valuable health care services. But what exactly is rationing, and how does the U.S. health care system allocate scarce resources today? In this podcast, University of Virginia Professor Eric Patashnik discusses his research on the politics of evidence-based medicine and why rationing has emerged as a major public policy issue. He covers the role of doctors, political leaders, and public opinion in shaping the context in which the debate over rationing is playing out.

Eric Patashnik is Associate Dean and Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is also Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Patashnik received both his MPP and PhD (political science) from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously held faculty positions at Yale University and UCLA. Patashnik’s latest book is Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted (Princeton University Press, 2008), which received the 2009 Louis Brownlow Book Award given by the National Academy of Public Administration. His two other books are Promoting the General Welfare: New Perspectives on Government Performance (co-editor with Alan S. Gerber, Brookings Institution Press, 2006), and Putting Trust in the U.S. Budget: Federal Trust Funds and the Politics of Commitment (Cambridge University Press, 2000). His essays have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Governance, Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Social Service Review, and in many edited volumes. His current major research project, with Alan Gerber of Yale University, explores the politics of evidence-based medicine in the United States and is supported by grants from the Smith Richardson and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations.

Mr. Patashnik spoke at the February 9, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Bob McGrath.

Comprehensive Wealth Management

David John Marotta

David John Marotta speaking on wealth management at the January meeting of the Senior Statemen of Virginia.

David John Marotta, CFP(r), AIF(r), is president of Marotta Wealth Management and an American Association of Independent Investors Life Member. He is a graduate of Stanford University and president of Marotta Wealth Management, a fee-only financial planning firm with offices in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia. David is the author of a weekly financial column, “Marotta on Money,” and a well respected leader in the financial industry. He has appeared in publications including The Washington Post, the LA Times, Money Magazine, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Financial Planning Magazine and the Central New York Business Journal, and is a monthly guest on the Rob Schilling Show of Charlottesville’s WINA. David is a frequent speaker on topics including preparing for college expenses, investing, taxes and retirement planning at the Consumer Education Foundation of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and American Association of Independent Investors.

In today’s presentation David reminds us that thoughtful wealth management is more than just maximizing net worth. It also gives us the best chance of meeting our life goals. Wealth is only valuable because it helps us make a significant impact on our world. It doesn’t give us meaning. Retirement therefore isn’t an age; it is the state of being financially independent. The goal is to have enough money to be able to achieve the success and significance in life that you desire. A holistic approach to wealth management builds your finances around your core values.

Mr. Marotta spoke at the January 12, 2011 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV member Charles Smith.

A History of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia

Senior Statesmen Logo

On the second Wednesday of each month, the Senior Statesmen of Virginia present outstanding speakers of local and regional interest. In December, they met to reflect on the past and future of their organization.

SSV founding member and past president Gene Ecton Davis spoke at the organization’s annual meeting about the history of the SSV. Following Ms. Davis’ presentation, Senior Statesmen members reflected on how they might better serve their community in the coming year.

The meeting took place at the Branchlands Manor House on December 9, 2009. The event was moderated by SSV President Marvin Hilton.