Social Work student wins Spring 2021 UWGB Student Business Idea Virtual Pitch Contest

Cheri Branham (Social Work) and her project Technology Literacy Training for Older Adults has won the Spring 2021 UWGB Student Business Idea Virtual Pitch Contest. Branham pitched her idea in a 90-second video. First prize is $500 cash. Her project, influenced by her grandmother, provides free technology help to older adults at locations such as the ADRC. The teacher/mentors? College students. Branham recently placed first in the 2021 Innovation in Aging competition (see her presentation here) and will be competing May 20, 2021 in the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament. Register to attend.

Prize money was furnished by Dental City’s Competitive Spark Endowment.

See the Spring 2021 UWGB Student Business Idea Virtual Pitch Contest overview.

  • The second place winner of $400 was John Dyer (Business Administration) and his pitch for his very own Dyer Brewing Company.
  • Third place of $300 went to a team of six students working on Empowerment Through Diversity.
  • Fourth place, and $250, went to the team pitching their Support Local Subscription Box idea.
  • Fifth place, and $200, went to the team with the Healthy Snax Box idea.
  • Sixth place went to COLORSTOP, an idea pitched by a team of MS Management students. They earned $150 cash. COLORSTOP was the third place winner of Innovation in Aging 2021.
  • Seventh place and $125 cash went to eSec, another team of MS Management students. This team recently pitched at The Pitch (https://thepitchfoxcities.com/the-event/2021-st-norbert-college/) at St. Norbert College against teams from Lawrence University, UW 0shkosh, and St. Norbert College.
  • Eighth place, and $75, went to Joe Bezio (Undeclared) who pitched his idea, Flex-Holder.

UW-Green Bay IT expert says cybercrime can happen anywhere, anytime | WFRV Local 5 – Green Bay, Appleton

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Hackers have again made their presence known forcing a major oil pipeline on the east coast of the U.S. shut down. What they want is ransom and a local IT expert told Local 5’s Kris Schuller this type of cybercrime can happen anywhere, anytime.Across the southeastern section of the nation – panic at the pump.“I just suspected prices would go way up, I didn’t suspect there wouldn’t be any the next day,” said one woman looking for gasoline.Officials remind people to not fill plastic bags with gas as panic buying begins It came after hackers shut the Colonial Pipeline down – a ransomware attack that IT expert Gaurav Bansel from UW-Green Bay says is all about money.“It works on freezing your systems and kind of forcing you to pay money to get your systems back,” said Bansel.Bansel says this latest hack is making headlines because the pipeline supplies 40 percent of the East Coast’s fuel.

Source: UW-Green Bay IT expert says cybercrime can happen anywhere, anytime | WFRV Local 5 – Green Bay, Appleton

Business students earn the top rank across the world in prestigious GLO-BUS simulation competition

A student team from UW-Green Bay Associate Prof. Vallari Chandna’s (Marketing and Management) Capstone in Business Strategy class has been ranked first in the world in the Glo-Bus Simulation global ranking! C-Suite members Kimberly Bargender, Hannah Bunde, Jennifer Maruszczak, Zachary Pantzlaff, and Jake Rogers came placed first out of 1,800 teams from 80 colleges/universities participating currently. This is the first time a team has placed first from UW-Green Bay.

In the Capstone course’s strategy simulation, student teams run a company that is racing for global market leadership in the wearable video cameras and camera-equipped copter drones industry. Each decision round, students make 20+ types of decisions from all business domains including design and performance, assembly operations, shipping and delivery, workforce compensation, pricing and marketing, corporate social responsibility and citizenship, and the financing of company operations among others.

NE Wisconsin experts explain ransomware cyberattacks and how you can protect yourself from hackers | NBC26

“Somebody from outside the U.S. or anywhere in the world basically hacks into a company’s system and then it kind of freezes it,” UW-Green Bay Professor Gaurav Bansal said. “And then [the attacker] asks you to pay money. That’s called ransomware.”

Source: NE Wisconsin experts explain ransomware cyberattacks and how you can protect yourself from hackers | NBC26

Step by Step – FVTC News highlights UW-Green Bay student and vet

Amanda Couch knows a thing or two about determination. The 35-year-old U.S. Navy veteran enrolled at Fox Valley Tech as a full-time student in 2014, and has since earned three associate degrees, all while raising her young daughter. Not only that, Amanda is now well on her way to earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Human Resources Management emphasis at UW-Green Bay. It’s part of an agreement that allows FVTC grads to transfer to UWGB with junior standing. “All of my 64 Business Management credits transferred, as well as some Accounting credits,” she explains.Amanda’s FVTC degrees include Accounting, Business Management and Human Resources. Her goal upon graduating from UWGB is to work as an HR professional and ultimately lead her own team.

Source: Step by Step – FVTC News

NERR virtual kick-off events can be accessed at NERR website

UW-Green Bay and its partners, hosted two virtual kick-off events in April to educate the public about NERR and what it could mean to the region and state. The kick-off was highlighted by a video describing the importance of protecting our freshwater resource — not only for our physical livelihood, but for commerce, recreation, and pure enjoyment. Watch the video. The one-hour kick-off events can now be accessed at the UW-Green Bay NERR website.

UW-Green Bay and area partners are leading the charge to establish a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) for the Green Bay watershed—home to the largest freshwater estuary in the world. The NERR system is a national network of 29 sites across the coastal U.S., designed to practice and promote stewardship of coasts and estuaries. Established through the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserves represent a partnership program between the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding and national guidance, and each site is managed on a daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners.

The regional NERR designation would promote a coordinating force to manage, restore and protect the Green Bay ecosystem, with a programmatic focus on four sectors—research, education, stewardship, and training.

UW-Green Bay and its partners, hosted two virtual kick-off events in April to educate the public about NERR and what it could mean to the region and state. The kick-off was highlighted by a video describing the importance of protecting our freshwater resource — not only for our physical livelihood, but for commerce, recreation, and pure enjoyment. Watch the video.

The one-hour kick-off events can be accessed at the UW-Green Bay NERR website.

Next steps will be to review relevant geography being considered for a site, draft criteria to be used in the site selection process, and identify 3-5 optimal candidate locations for the Green Bay NERR.

 

Alumnus Banks joins Chamber Development Team

The Greater Green Bay Chamber economic development team is excited to welcome Lamarr Banks ’17 (Business Administration) as the Urban Hub community manager. 

Banks will be responsible for the development and day-to-day operations of programming through the Urban Hub co-working space located at 340 N. Broadway, Ste. 200, Green Bay, as well as provide key assistance to Greater Green Bay entrepreneurs and businesses to help them grow. In his role, he will promote the Startup Hub throughout Brown and surrounding counties, launch Chamber accelerator programming efforts, implement programming for the Urban Hub to assist local entrepreneurs and manage onsite needs of the Urban Hub. 

Lamarr Banks begins at Chamber
Lamarr Banks

With a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and several years’ experience in the financial industry, Banks describes himself as a “student of life, passionate about building a better future for people.” He is excited to be a part of the economic development team and looks forward to leveraging the resources of the Urban Hub to help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses. 

“We are excited to have Banks on the team,” says Kelly Armstrong, vice president of economic development at the Greater Green Bay Chamber. “He has great energy to take the Urban Hub to the next level and provide additional resources into our entrepreneurial ecosystem.” 

You can reach Banks at lbanks@greatergbc.org or 920.940.3245. 

CEO Randy Charles joins Cofrin School of Business Advisory Board

Green Bay, Wis.—The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Austin E. Cofrin School of Business (CSOB) is proud to welcome Randy Charles ‘87, CEO of Alive and Kickin’ (A & K) Pizza Crust to its Advisory Board.

Charles started A & K Pizza Crust with his father and two other partners in 1989, just two years after graduating from UW-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration. By 1991, he was named president and in 2011 he took over as CEO. The company now employs a workforce of 500-plus at four locations and sells its products throughout North America.

Randy Charles joins CSOB Advisory Board
Randy Charles

A & K’s success comes in part from the continual development and expansion of its product lines.

“Randy’s entrepreneurial spirit, and his drive to always reinvent, develop, and grow will be an asset to the Cofrin School of Business,” says CSOB Dean Matt Dornbush. “He will be an invaluable strategic leader as we work to expand our program offerings and experiential learning opportunities.”

Charles is eager to advance the strategic priorities of the School and strengthen its ties to the greater business community.

“The Cofrin School of Business plays a vital role in creating future area leaders by fostering critical partnerships between the University, its students, and the business community,” he explains. “I’m excited to join the Cofrin School of Business Advisory Board to help to strengthen these essential relationships.”

The Cofrin School of Business Advisory Board exists to engage people of influence, affluence, and potential in the mission of the organization, to receive guidance on important strategic initiatives, curricular design and programmatic offerings, and to provide a platform for networking and partnership building.

For more information on the Cofrin School of Business Advisory Board, please contact Madeline VanGroll at vangrolm@uwgb.edu.

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Insight Publications | Project features Sheboygan women-owned businesses

An upcoming virtual event will shine a spotlight on women-owned businesses in the Sheboygan area.Developed by Belladonna Film Project, with assistance from the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corp. and Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, “Rising Tides” includes short film segments of women-owned businesses, a live question-and-answer session and a panel discussion, which will feature women leading social change movements in Sheboygan County.“Specifically, these are smaller businesses that did not get a full two years under their belt before the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” said Beah Travis, the film project’s writer and director.The “Rising Tides” event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on May 20. The event is free. Click here to register.

Source: Insight Publications | Project features Sheboygan women-owned businesses

UW-Green Bay: Supercharging the future by growing our own | WisBusiness

“UW-Green Bay is meeting the demand for engineers due to the manufacturing growth in the Green Bay area and the NEW North region,” said UW-Green Bay’s Dean of Science, Engineering and Technology, John Katers. “As the economy continues to shift toward one of innovation and technology—even in historically important manufacturing sectors like the paper industry—electrical engineers are in high demand. Because we have such a strong employer base in the area who can offer internships and other hands-on experiences, we can grow that kind of talent right here. It’s very exciting to be able to meet this demand.”

Source: UW-Green Bay: Supercharging the future by growing our own | WisBusiness