Upcoming Events
Tue 3/12
American Turnaround: Ed Whitacre
Date: Tue, March 12, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
American Turnaround
Ed Whitacre. Former CEO, General Motors
Whitacre was named CEO in 2009, the same year GM declared bankruptcy. He was the man tasked with taking the country's biggest corporate failure and getting back to profitability. His goals included increased vehicle efficiency and the launch of the Chevy Volt. Amid reservations from the administration that the Volt was too expensive to be viable, Whitacre became a supporter of the Chevy Volt, declaring the “proof will be in the pudding.” Has the Volt held up to Whitacre’s expectations?
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Wed 3/13
Candida Moss: The Myth of Persecution
Date: Wed, March 13, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
The Myth of Persecution
Candida Moss, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of Notre Dame; Author, The Myth of Persecution
Professor Moss posits that the early Church inflated and outright fabricated stories of Christian persecution as a means of growing their numbers. She also explains that the Church has, for centuries, carefully honed this perception of martyrdom to silence dissent and galvanize new generations of culture warriors. Citing recent examples (including Mitt Romney’s assertion that President Obama is waging a “war on religion” and Rick Santorum’s claim that the gay community “had gone out on a jihad” against him), Moss states that this rhetoric remains both politically popular and dangerous.
MLF: Humanities
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: George Hammond
Viktor Mayer Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier: The Big Data Revolution
Date: Wed, March 13, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier
Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation, Oxford University; Co-author, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think
Kenneth Cukier, Data Editor, The Economist; Co-author, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think
What does a car's paint color reveal about its roadworthiness? How did Google searches predict the spread of the H1N1 flu outbreak? One key to answering questions like these is big data. “Big data” refers to our ability to crunch vast collections of information, analyze it instantly, and draw conclusions from it. Two leading experts in the field reveal what big data is, how it may change our lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 book signing
Cost: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Thu 3/14
North Beach Walking Tour #11
Date: Thu, March 14, 2013Time: 2:00 PM
North Beach Walking Tour
Join another Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure! Explore vibrant North Beach with Rick Evans during a two-hour walk through this neighborhood with a colorful past, where food, culture, history and unexpected views all intersect in an Italian “urban village.” In addition to learning about Beat generation hangouts, you’ll discover authentic Italian cathedrals and coffee shops.
Location: Meeting Spot is Washington Square Park at Saints Peter and Paul Church (Filbert & Powell). Transportation to Washington Square Park is either the 30 bus or the 41/45 - all of which stop right in front of the park. Our guide will be on the steps of the church. The official address is 666 Filbert, between Columbus and Stockton. Please meet at 1:45, depart by 2. Parking Lot option: North Beach Garage, 735 Vallejo Street (between Powell and Stockton)
Time: 2-4 p.m. tour
Cost: $45 standard, $35 members
Program Organizer: Kristina Nemeth
Also know: Limited to 20 people. Must pre-register. Photo by Flickr user Clemson.
DEBORAH TANNEN: Can We Talk? What's Really Going on in Conversations between Parents, Partners, Co-w
Date: Thu, March 14, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Fri 3/15
Women in Emerging Economies
Date: Fri, March 15, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Women in Emerging Economies
La Vonn Schlegel, Director, Indiana Institute for International Business
Linda Calhoun, Vice Chair, International Relations Forum; Executive Director, Careergirls.org – Moderator
Schlegel will discuss the changing roles, situations and opportunities for businesswomen in emerging economies with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. She will explore the role women play in transitional economies, the challenges of balancing social customs with economic freedom and how technology and education are changing the futures of girls and women in the regions.
MLF: Middle East/Business & Leadership
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
Mon 3/18
Can We Prevent Chronic Disease by Slowing Aging?
Date: Mon, March 18, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
Can We Prevent Chronic Disease by Slowing Aging?
Gordon J. Lithgow, Ph.D.; Professor, Interdisciplinary Research Center, Geroscience, Buck Institute
Aging is the single largest risk factor for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer. Such chronic diseases account for 75 cents of every dollar spent on health care in the United States. The physical, emotional and financial burden carried by those who suffer from age-related conditions and disease – as well as by their family members and caregivers – is one of the most significant challenges to our health-care system and welfare as a society. Emerging science suggests that chronic disease could be prevented by simply understanding aging. Lithgow will discuss the basic science behind the next biomedical revolution and look at what’s to come.
MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, MEMBERS FREE
Program Organizer: John W. Milford
Middle East Discussion Group
Date: Mon, March 18, 2013Time: 5:30 PM
Join fellow Club members in discussing current events in the Middle East.
Middle East Discussion Group
Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines. After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session.
MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
Jancis Robinson with Linda Murphy: America's Love Affair with Wine
Date: Mon, March 18, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Tue 3/19
Island Practice
Date: Tue, March 19, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Island Practice
Pam Belluck, Staff Writer, The New York Times; Author, Island Practice
Belluck presents a spirited true story of a colorful, contrarian doctor on the world-famous yet idiosyncratic island of Nantucket. Dr. Timothy Lepore is surgeon, coroner, football team doctor, tick expert, unofficial psychologist, accidental homicide detective and occasional veterinarian. He has treated Jimmy Buffett, Chris Matthews, and Kennedy relatives, but makes house calls to a hermit in the forest and lets people pay in oatmeal raisin cookies. He carves scalpels from obsidian and tackles everything from "toe-tourniquet syndrome" to horses with Lyme disease. He espouses conservative views while performing abortions and giving patients marijuana cookies. Come learn about what his story has to teach us about today's health-care landscape, about the medical care we want, and about preserving individuality in a cookie-cutter world. Island Practice is being developed into a television series for CBS.
MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: William Grant
Wed 3/20
Metabolic wellness
Date: Wed, March 20, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Metabolic Wellness: Cracking Your Metabolic Code and Personalizing Your Health Choices to Create a Health-Style
James LaValle, R.Ph.; C.C.N.; N.M.D.; Cofounder, Living Longer Institute; Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy; Author, Cracking the Metabolic Code
Learn how you can assess the factors affecting your metabolism and what steps you can take to customize restoring your optimal metabolism. Each person’s metabolism is unique and influenced by lifestyle, diet, stress metabolism, genes, environmental influences and relationships.
MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members
Program Organizers: Susan Downs and Bill Grant
Empowering Women Leaders Through Personal Sponsorship
Date: Wed, March 20, 2013Time: 6:30 PM
Empowering Women Leaders Through Personal Sponsorships
Mark Edmunds, Vice Chairman and Regional Managing Partner, Northern Pacific Region, Deloitte LLP
Randy Pond, Executive Vice-President of Operations, Processes and Systems, Cisco Systems
Janice Roberts, Managing Director, Mayfield Fund
Shelley J. Correll, Barbara D. Finberg Director, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University – Moderator
Sponsorship is recognized as an important tool in advancing the careers of men and women. Yet a variety of research shows woman are far less likely to have sponsors, which may inhibit their ability to achieve the same level of success as their male counterparts. Our panel of senior leaders will focus on how to build, cultivate and foster successful sponsor relationships as well as how to become an effective sponsor yourself.
Location: Quadrus Conference Cente, 2400 Sandhill Rd., Menlo Park
Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in and networking reception, 7 p.m. program
Cost: $25 standard, $15 members
Also know: In association with Deloitte
Thu 3/21
Design Thinking with Yves Behar and Tim Brown
Date: Thu, March 21, 2013Time: 6:30 PM
Design Thinking with Yves Béhar and Tim Brown
Yves Béhar, Founder, fuseproject
Tim Brown, President and CEO, IDEO
Design is not just for house interiors or a tech gadget’s user interface. Design has come to infiltrate how great leaders think, collaborate and tackle the world’s smallest and greatest problems. The idea of design thinking, often credited to IDEO CEO Tim Brown, has transformed analytical thinking into creative yet practical problem solving. It is thinking outside the box come to life. Yves Béhar has leveraged his design ethos with a dedication to quality and a positive consumer-product relationship, and has led a number of diverse design projects like One Laptop Per Child and the NYC Condom, for that city's Department of Health. Join us as the wizards of design thinking Brown and Béhar dissect the formula for harmonizing industry, beauty, brand and meaning.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception
Cost: Regular: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students. Premium (reserved seating and premium reception. Limited to 65 guests): $50 standard, $35 members.
Also know: Photo by flickr user debs.
Fri 3/22
Clean Communities
Date: Fri, March 22, 2013Time: 11:00 AM
Clean Communities
Alex Mehran, CEO, Sunset Development
Carl Shannon, Managing Director, Tishman Speyer
Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Assocation
With Bay Area population forecast to increase to 8 or 9 million people, the region is grappling with where current and future residents will live and work. In San Francisco population density is rising in the trendy South of Market and Mission Bay areas, where housing is close to social media and other jobs. Commercial and residential real estate is thriving, including many new green buildings. But most of the region's 6 million residents don't live or work in an urban core. Infill and suburban development will both be needed to accommodate more people. The fact that buildings account for approximately 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions means future growth will have to be more efficient and smarter to meet state mandated goals for reducing carbon pollution. Are taller skyscrapers part of the answer? Can office parks really be green? A conversation about building the future of the Bay Area.
Tomorrowland
Jeffrey Heller, President, Heller Manus
Additional panelists TBA
China's urbanization is creating new cities at a mind-boggling rate. Gleaming office towers are rising all over the country and massive amounts of land are being converted to residential and commercial uses. Is China growing in an energy- and carbon-smart fashion? What will be the hallmarks of these new metropolitan centers? How will they shape 21st century trends in architecture, land use and urban living?
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 10:30 a.m. check-in, 11 a.m. first program, noon networking reception, 12:30 p.m. second program
Cost: $65 standard, $45 members, $20 students (with valid ID)
Tue 3/26
New Visions: Smart Choices - Western Water Security in a Changing Climate
Date: Tue, March 26, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
New Visions: Smart Choices – Western Water Security in a Changing Climate
Scott Miller, CEO, Resource Media
Kimery Wiltshire, CEO, Carpe Diem West
Western water managers, community leaders and decision makers are hungry for solutions as well as inspiration. As the climate warms and weather extremes become undeniable, policymakers at all levels are looking for no-regrets strategies and tactics to build resilience and durability into our current and future water-delivery systems. Miller and Wilshire, western states water experts, will discuss the report “New Visions – Western Water Security,” which highlights successful, actionable and economically sensible steps being taken now throughout the American West. Join us and share your insights, experiences, fears, concerns, success stories and predictions about water use and supply for western communities, agriculture, economies, cities and urban areas.
MLF: Environment & Natural Resources
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Ann Clark
Wed 3/27
Humanities West Book Discussion - Bernini: His Life & His Rome
Date: Wed, March 27, 2013Time: 5:30 PM
Humanities West Book Discussion: Bernini: His Life and His Rome
Join us to discuss Bernini: His Life and His Rome, by Franco Mormando. Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) was the last of the great universal Italian artistic geniuses: sculptor, architect, painter, playwright and scenographer. His artistic vision is still seen in the statues, fountains and buildings that transformed Rome into a Baroque paradise. Mormando leads us through Bernini’s many feuds and love affairs, scandals and sins, set against a vivid backdrop of popes and politicians, schemes and secrets. The discussion will be led by Lynn Harris.
MLF: Humanities
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: $5 standard, MEMBERS FREE
Program Organizer: George Hammond
Michael B. Eisen: Reinventing Scientific Communication
Date: Wed, March 27, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Michael B. Eisen: Reinventing Scientific Communication
Michael B. Eisen, Ph.D; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Co-founder, Public Library of Science
The scientific literature is one of humanity’s greatest creations – a complete record of the ideas, experiments and discoveries of generations of researchers across the globe. While most of this corpus is now online, it remains as inaccessible to the public as it was centuries ago – with the physical limitations of print journals replaced by expensive publisher pay walls. Eisen, a leader in the movement to reinvent scientific communication, will discuss the origins of this absurd system, why it still exists, how the “open access” movement he helped to launch is finally bringing it to an end.
MLF: Health & Medicine/Science & Technology
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Chisako Ress and Kishore Hari
Dan Richard, Chair, CA High Speed Rail Authority: Merging The Dream and Reality of High Speed Rail
Date: Wed, March 27, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Dan Richard: Merging the Dream and Reality of High Speed Rail
Chairman, California High Speed Rail Authority
After telling Governor Jerry Brown that California’s high-speed rail plan was “really screwed up and going to end up biting you in the ankles,” Richard was appointed by Brown to be chairman of California’s High Speed Rail Authority in February 2012. Richard will discuss the potential for high-speed rail to transform the future of California’s Central Valley by connecting it to major urban centers, revitalizing city cores, and reducing suburban sprawl’s encroachment on agriculture.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Thu 3/28
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour #18
Date: Thu, March 28, 2013Time: 2:00 PM
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour
Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets, and public squares. Hear about the famous architects that influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, Art Deco lobbies, unique open spaces, and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot!
Location: Lobby of Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter St.
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour
Cost: $40 standard, $30 members
Also know: Tour operates rain or shine. Limited to 20 people. Participants must pre-register. The tour covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District. . Note: This tour involves walking up and down stairs.
The Rising Tide of Elder Financial Exploitation
Date: Thu, March 28, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
The Rising Tide of Elder Financial Exploitation
Jenefer Duane, Sr. Program Analyst, Office for Older Americans, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Helen Karr, Elder Abuse Special Assistant, San Francisco District Attorney's Office
Again and again, we hear stories in which older adults have been exploited by unfair, deceptive and abusive practices – Power of Attorney abuse, for example. Often these crimes are perpetrated by the victim’s own family, caregivers or another trusted individual. Our speakers will provide information on advances in combating the hidden epidemic of fraud and scams and other forms of exploitation that target that target older persons. They’ll address this pervasive issue in our society, providing tips on how to prevent, identify and report financial exploitation.
MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, $8 members
Program Organizer: John W. Milford
Also know: In association with San Francisco Village
