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Tech cross-border M&A on record pace in First Half of 2021 according to data from Velocity Global and PitchBook

Velocity Global

Deal multiples return to 2019 levels Cross-border software deals skyrocket Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector released today Cross-border tech merger and acquisition deals accelerated in the first half of 2021, on a record pace in transactional volume. That data from PitchBook was released today in the Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector published by Velocity Global, the leading provider of global employment solutions. The late surge of activity in 2020 continued through the first half of this year with approximately 1,000 cross-border tech deals closed, for an aggregate of $139.9 billion. “The deal multiple increased in the first half of this year and returned to 2019 levels, which indicates investor confidence in global economic recovery,” said Rob Wellner, Velocity Global chief revenue officer. “Increased multiples drive an even greater need for pre-deal preparation and successful integration after close.” Software value already tops 2020 The value of cross-border M&A deals for Software companies in the first six months of 2021 already topped full-year values for 2020 at over $100 billion. “The pandemic accelerated digital transformations, funneling budgets to build or buy the necessary tools,” added Wellner. “The acquirers are tech and non-tech alike, with tech adding to their stack, and non-tech adding to their in-house capabilities.” Pandemic Operations Drive Cross-Border M&A Interest As evidenced by the increase in median deal size in cross-border tech M&A, dealmakers paid up with confidence. Cross-border acquisitions require businesses to navigate a distributed workforce, and the global pandemic prompted companies of all sizes to invest in the proper resources. “Integration will always have complexities like country-specific labor laws and regulations, but companies are more willing than ever to invest in cross-border diversification and leverage tools to manage a distributed workforce,” said Wellner. “Work from home is really no different than work from another country as it relates to workflow and employee engagement.” Download the Cross-Border M&A Monitor: Tech Sector here. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 1,000 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. The company offers additional services including Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Velocity Global was named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across five continents. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. Contact Details John Hall +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

August 24, 2021 07:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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Juicy Juice Celebrates the Return of the Lunchbox this Back-to-School Season

YourUpdateTV

It’s finally here – the day parents and kids have been yearning for: a fresh start to a new school year and new beginnings. Parents and kids will be celebrating a back-to-school season unlike any other and experiencing a spectrum of emotions along with it. So, what can parents do to navigate both the excitement and nervousness of this back-to-school season and set their kids and themselves up for success? To help parents prepare themselves and their littles ones for the return to school, Juicy Juice is partnering with host of Disney Family Sundays on Disney+, child psychologist and founder of Yay Day Paper Co., Amber Kemp-Gerstel. Crafting expert Amber created custom-designed lunchbox notes for kids to discover at lunchtime to provide a connection to mom and dad. In addition, her tips and suggestions will help alleviate any back-to-school jitters kids may be feeling. The notes, along with other helpful advice from Amber on how to ease the transition of back to school, will be available on Juicy Juice’s website. Additionally, Juicy Juice is hosting a 100% YAY! Sweepstakes to celebrate mom, dad and the caretakers who were handling and coordinating all things virtually this past school year and get them excited and ready for back to school. Each day, ten $100 gift cards will be given away! Through September 22, parents can visit JuicyJuice.com and follow the instructions to complete and submit the online entry form. Entrants can also enter this sweepstakes every day receive a bonus entry for playing the 100% YAY! Lunchbox Game for more chances to win. Visit www.Juicyjuice.com/yay to enter and read the full rules. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

August 23, 2021 11:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Cloud Conventions Introduces SafetyNet to Create a Virtual Backup Plan for Live Events

Convey Services

Cloud Conventions today introduced SafetyNet ™, a new program to provide a virtual event backup options for associations, tradeshows, event managers or trade groups that have a live event scheduled now or in the near future. SafetyNet provides a standby virtual event platform that can be activated if needed when attendance for a live event declines or if there is a requirement to pivot to an all-virtual program. A SafetyNet platform can be brought online in a matter of days without technical support or programming. Cloud Conventions is a sophisticated event management platform that redefines the attendee and exhibitor experience with a strong focus on delivering virtual and hybrid events, regardless of size or budget. “It seems like a repeat of 2020 as event managers, associations and other trade groups are struggling to decide if they should cancel their live event, shift to virtual or hybrid, or take other precautions to make attendees and exhibitors feel safe,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Cloud Conventions. “Any group hosting live events today needs a virtual backup plan that can be activated to ensure attendees and sponsors can participate in industry sessions, continuing education and still make connections that they would miss when they can’t attend in person.” SafetyNet maintains a low-cost Cloud Conventions virtual platform on standby behind a private login until required. It is hosted on a custom URL, is fully branded, customized and organized to host live or on-demand sessions, exhibitor and sponsor booths or provide a resource center for all event-related content. Attendees can be imported from a live event registration system and have their record transferred to SafetyNet including demographics and event access permissions. Sponsors are assigned a virtual booth template and configured to go live without technical assistance, in a matter of hours. “Now that live events have partially returned, many groups ask themselves if virtual events are worth it, so they only focus on their in-person event, often to their detriment,” added Bradfield. “A 2020 study of 1,000 respondents, ‘ Association Trends: From Disruption to Opportunity’ produced by Community Brands, details that having a virtual option for membership participation has changed from a nice-to-have to a must have. Some live events scheduled for the fall of 2021 are being abruptly cancelled due to on-going COVID risks. This is clearly an indicator that the pandemic is far from over. A SafetyNet option is the best insurance that the show will go on, no matter what.” SafetyNet is offered for a low, setup fee to create a fully branded and configured virtual environment. If the organizer chooses to go live with a hybrid or all-virtual event, the setup fee applies to the event package. Show managers can choose as much or as little assistance from Cloud Conventions to bring their event online quickly with all the features needed to educate and engage attendees. Having a virtual option guarantees a rewarding experience for attendees, better ROI for sponsors and ensures smoother event operation for organizers. Explore SafetyNet at: https://cloudconventions.com/page/139455/safetynet. About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions from Convey Services is Cloud Conventions is an enterprise virtual/hybrid event management platform that redefines the exhibitor and attendee experience to allow companies to provide easy access to in-depth product information, showcase their brands with graphics and videos, create calls to action and generate immediate sales leads. Used around the world for large managed events and smaller self-directed meetings, conferences and corporate kickoffs, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, continuing education, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Cloud Conventions supports multiple languages and currencies, internal, external and single-sign on registration, and supports all conferencing carriers and platforms. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Community™, SafetyNet™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

August 19, 2021 10:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time

In the Face of Shifting Learning Environments, the Society for Science Awards $214,000 to 66 Educators Tasked with Guiding Students in Scientific Research

Society for Science

Today, the Society for Science is proud to release the names of 66 stellar educators who will serve in the organization’s Advocate Program in the 2021-2022 school year. Fifty-eight Advocates will each receive a $3,000 stipend while eight Lead Advocates will receive $5,000 each. Throughout their one-year terms, these dedicated Advocates will encourage at least three to five students — who identify as a race or ethnicity historically underrepresented in STEM — in science and engineering research and help them enter those projects into competitions. Now in its seventh year, the Advocate Program strives to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators through hands-on research and competition, and supports full representation of all identities in STEM fields. Advocates will break down barriers to competition participation by providing support for selecting competitions, gathering materials, meeting deadlines, preparing for competition and ensuring inclusivity. “In the coming school year, students and teachers will have to remain flexible during a fluctuating public health emergency,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of the Society for Science and Publisher of Science News. “Through the Advocate Program, we hope students continue to participate in meaningful and transformative science research experiences. We hope this program continues to be a catalyst for underrepresented students to consider future STEM careers. The 66 Advocates are a truly amazing group of mentors for the next generation of scientists and engineers.” Twenty-seven returning Advocates have shared that the program kept students engaged in scientific research and competition despite the pandemic last year. In the last month, just as the U.S. population saw COVID-19 restrictions lift, infection rates decline and vaccination rates soar, and the educational community was shifting back to some form of normal, the delta variant began to spread. In the upcoming school year, we can expect a changing roadmap to dictate student learning in a variety of environments (i.e. in-person, remote or hybrid) and that schools will vary their safety protocols across the nation. Throughout this flux, returning and new Advocates will seek to keep their mentees engaged. The Advocate Program uses a tiered mentorship model, where educators are not only mentoring their students and raising future generations of scientists and engineers, but they are also mentoring, learning from and evolving supportive relationships with each another. Advocates will further develop their science research programs in another unusual year, connect with professionals in the science community and meet like-minded educators who value authentic student research and the educational opportunities that science competitions offer. To date, Advocates have supported more than 4,000 students during their participation in the program, of which, 3,076 students have successfully competed in at least one science research competition. During the 2020-2021 cycle, approximately 80 percent of student mentees participated in science competitions at the local and/or national level. Moreover, students of Advocates are responsible for over 5,000 unique competition entries, with many students entering more than one competition. Ninety percent of those students are from low-income households and 70 percent are of a race or ethnicity underrepresented in STEM. This year, the Advocates are from 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and include 23 middle school teachers, three who work with both middle and high school students, 29 high school teachers, six affiliated with universities and five out-of-school educators. The following are 2021-2022 Lead Advocates, who will oversee groups of Advocates: McKenzie Baecker, Two Rivers Public Charter School (Washington, DC) Scotti Benton, Jasper County Middle School (Monticello, GA) Elizabeth Bieri, Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School (Birmingham, AL) Robin Driver, Eisenhower High School (Yakima, WA) Reshawndra Hutchins-Trapp, Elite Scholars Academy (Jonesboro, GA) Jeremy Jonas, Tucson High Magnet School (Tucson, AZ) Sam Loftus, Shasta Middle School (Eugene, OR) Yajaira Torres-De Jesús, Colegio Rosa Bell (Guaynabo, PR) The following are 2021-2022 Advocates: Adenike Akinyode, Eastside High School (Gainesville, FL) Laura Alberici da Barbiano, Blanson CTE High School (Houston, TX) Ramon Benavides, Del Valle High School (El Paso, TX) Dallas Bergstrom, Miller Career & Technology Center (Katy, TX) Caitlin Bonham, Kenwood Academy High School (Chicago, IL) Humberto Bracho, Frick United Academy of Language (Oakland, CA) Justin Brown, Kealakehe High School (Kailua-Kona, HI) Leslie Cannon, The ATLAS Academy at Tennyson Middle School (Waco, TX) Philip Clarke, Centennial School District (Gresham, OR) Cameron Cooley, Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (Memphis, TN) Sarah Cooper, Southeast Career and Technical Academy (Las Vegas, NV) Renee Cordes, Flathead High School (Kalispell, MT) Christine Danger, University of Florida & Hillsborough Public Schools (Tampa, FL) Lakshmi Darbha, Aavanee (Frederick, MD) Dannielle Davis, Circle of Excellence Network (St. Louis, MO) Michelle Denson, Atlanta Public Schools (Atlanta, GA) Jessica Doiron, Freedom High School (Woodbridge, VA) Martrice Donaldson, School District of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) Lauren Dudley, Chapman University (Orange, CA) Mark Eastburn, Princeton High School (Princeton, NJ) Kathleen Galau, Thunder Mountain High School (Juneau, AK) Jennifer Gentry, Vanderbilt Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach (Nashville, TN) Christine Girtain, Toms River High School South & Toms River High School North (Toms River, NJ) Angela Groves-Price, WP McLean Middle School (Fort Worth, TX) Todd Ireland, 100 Black Men of Douglasville, Inc. (Douglasville, GA) Sunday Iwalaiye, Prince George’s County Public Schools (Laurel, MD) Karen Johnson, Evanston Township High School (Evanston, IL) Edwina Kinchington, Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy (Pittsburgh, PA) Andrea LaRosa, Westside Middle School Academy (Danbury, CT) Debra Las, John Adams Middle School (Rochester, MN) Gaurang Limachia, GoSTEM (Chicago, IL) Amy Mallozzi, Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR) Priscilla Martinez Fuentes, Homer Hanna Early College High School (Brownsville, TX) Margarette Marturano, Seminole Ridge High School (Wellington, FL) Erin Mayer, Casey Middle School (Boulder, CO) Allyson McFalls, Blowing Rock Elementary School (Blowing Rock, NC) Amy Melby, Yuma High School (Yuma, CO) Ryan Melton, Grenada Career and Technical Center (Grenada, MS) Jessica Menchaca, Del Valle ISD (Del Valle, TX) Raquel Miranda, Project Youth 4 Youth International (El Paso, TX) Lalitha Murali, Glen Hills Middle School (Glendale, WI) Jacqueline Nichols, Sunnyside Unified School District (Tucson, AZ) Bree Oatman, South Dakota Discovery Center (Pierre, SD) Susana Oliu, John Muir High School Early College Magnet (Pasadena, CA) Yolanda Pender-Bey, Mount Vernon Elementary School (Chicago, IL) Macy Pickman, USD 409 (Atchison, KS) Eileen Poserio, Wolf Point High School (Wolf Point, MT) Cecilie Prine, Lander Middle School (Lander, WY) Mary-Elizabeth Quan, Ontario-Montclair School District (Ontario, CA) Nate Rayor, Mescalero Apache School (Mescalero, NM) Carter Shank, Kings Science and Technology Magnet Center (Omaha, NE) Bradley Spencer, Weber School District (Roy, UT) Scott Troy, Westminster High School (Westminster, CO) Joshua Truitt, Hilsman Middle School (Athens, GA) Kiara T. Vann, Stratford STEM High School (Nashville, TN) John Wiley, Challenge School (Denver, CO) Sara Yeh, Ray Wiltsey Middle School (Ontario, CA) Jean Yoo, Almeria Middle School (Fontana, CA) The Advocate Program is made possible by the Arconic Foundation, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and Regeneron. In addition to receiving stipends, each Lead Advocate will supervise six to eight new Advocates with whom they host monthly calls, facilitating monthly reports on how their students are doing in their research endeavors and offering helpful guidance and support. Lead Advocates are returning educators who hold additional responsibilities; each hosts a session at an Advocate Training Institute and creates a webinar providing guidance to any educator seeking to bolster STEM research programs in their schools. This past June, this year’s cohort attended a virtual Advocate Training Institute, where sessions covered topics such as research in hybrid learning environments, designing and implementation of a STEM research course, s trategies to level up student research and using public resources to support student projects. For additional information about the Advocate Program, visit: https://www.societyforscience.org/outreach-and-equity/advocate-program/ About Society for Science Society for Science is dedicated to the achievement of young scientists in independent research and to public engagement in science. Established in 1921, the Society is a nonprofit whose vision is to promote the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Through its world-class competitions, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, and the Broadcom MASTERS, and its award-winning magazine, Science News and Science News for Students, Society for Science & the Public is committed to inform, educate, and inspire. Learn more at www.societyforscience.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (Society4Science). Contact Details Society for Science Aparna Paul +1 781-375-8353 aparna@societyforscience.org Company Website https://www.societyforscience.org/

August 18, 2021 01:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Velocity Global Wins Company of the Year in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International

Velocity Global

Company wins top award in Business to Business category Independent global business awards judged by prominent media including Bloomberg News, Huffington Post, TechRadar, and others Velocity Global is the gold winner in the Company of the Year business-to-business category in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International, the only independent global business awards program judged each year by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications from around the world. “This award recognizes the hard work of our team in a year that forever changed the work landscape,” said Ben Wright, Velocity Global founder and CEO. “Living our ‘People-First’ brand, we prioritized the jobs and safety of our teammates and supported employees for our clients. We achieved significant growth in a difficult year for many. That momentum paved the way for us to make two acquisitions this year as we build upon our leading global work platform.” The company’s global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. Users access a streamlined technology interface as well as partner with a dedicated experienced team for individualized solutions and expertise. Winners in the 9th annual program were determined based on scoring from an independent panel of judges from a wide spectrum of top-tier publications and media outlets from 10 countries. Each year, only editors, writers, and contributors to business, consumer, financial, trade, and technology publications, as well as broadcast outlets and analyst firms, serve as judges in Best in Biz Awards. The program’s uniqueness stems, in part, from this distinct composition of its judging panels, enabling it to best leverage the judges’ unparalleled expertise, experience, and objectivity to determine award winners. This year’s judging panel included writers and contributors to such publications as Bloomberg News, Data Breach Today, HTMAG (Israel), Huffington Post, NDR (Germany), Panorama Magazine (United Arab Emirates), Small Business IT (Canada), TechRadar (UK), as well as other outlets from Brazil, Canada, India, United Kingdom and more. For a full list of gold, silver, and bronze winners in Best in Biz Awards 2021 International, visit http://intl.bestinbizawards.com/intl-2021-winners. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work beyond borders. Its global work platform simplifies the employer and employee experience through proprietary cloud-based workforce management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched scale. As the largest global Employer of Record (also known as International PEO) in 185 countries and all 50 United States, more than 1,000 brands rely on Velocity Global to build global teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. The company offers additional services including Independent Contractor Compliance to assess a workforce, and Agent of Record (AoR) to streamline payments to contractors. Velocity Global was named a “Leader” in Global Employer of Record services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across five continents. For more information visit velocityglobal.com. About Best in Biz Awards Since 2011, Best in Biz Awards has made its mark as the only independent business awards program judged each year by a who’s who of prominent reporters and editors from top-tier publications from North America and around the world. Best in Biz Awards honors are conferred in two separate programs: North America and International, and in more than 90 categories, including company, team, executive, product, and CSR, media, PR, and other categories. For more information about the International program, see: http://intl.bestinbizawards.com. Contact Details Velocity Global John Hall +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

August 18, 2021 07:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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LSC-University Park Geology Department earns national recognition

Lone Star College-University Park

Today, Lone Star College-University Park’s Department of Geology received the 2021 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected LSC-University Park’s Department of Geology because of its work to support students within and beyond the classroom. Students in the geology program at LSC-University Park experience innovative, hands-on learning opportunities such as a three-story geology rock wall that provides visual examples of the physical and historical geology elements students would only find in the field. Additionally, the program recently installed an on-campus weather station, allowing faculty to incorporate real-world data collection and interpretation into a new meteorology course that counts as a core science requirement for degree-seeking students. “LSC-University Park is proud of our Department of Geology’s devotion to advancing STEM education to all students,” said LSC-University Park President Dr. Shah Ardalan. “Promoting STEM programs to a diverse student population is critically important for the future of our country’s competitiveness in related industries. Our Department of Geology is a shining example of the dedication and commitment of our faculty and staff to our students and the community we serve. LSC-University Park is providing access for more females and minorities to enter career pathways in a well-paid, high-demand field.” Creating these opportunities has allowed the Department of Geology to establish a strong relationship with several area universities to encourage seamless transfer to bachelor’s degree programs in the geological sciences. Additionally, the department is active in working with area high schools to promote career paths within this growing field, specifically targeting underrepresented groups including females and minorities. “We really want to make current and future students aware of geology earlier in their academic careers,” said Dr. Bryn Benford, professor of geology at LSC-University Park. “Many geology majors do not realize they want to major in geology. It’s not until they go to fulfill their core science requirement and find themselves sitting in a geology class and realize, ‘this is pretty cool.’ Once students show an interest in pursuing geology, we help them every semester: from sitting with them and picking their classes, visiting university campuses, and even going on geology field trips throughout the region.” “We know that many STEM programs are not always recognized for their success, dedication and mentorship for underrepresented students,” says Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We want to honor the schools and organizations that have created programs that inspire and encourage young people who may currently be in or are interested in a future career in STEM. We are proud to honor these programs as role models to other institutions of higher education and beyond.” LSC-University Park will be featured along with 78 other recipients in the September 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. For more information about the 2021 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award and INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, visit insightintodiversity.com. Established in 2012, Lone Star College-University Park has been recognized nationally and internationally for its innovation, as well as its focus on student access and success. Conveniently located off SH 249 in the heart of northwest Houston, Lone Star College-University Park is known as the “community’s college,” providing students with highly-affordable degree and certificate programs that transfer seamlessly to four-year universities or lead to direct employment. The college's facilities include the Center for Science & Innovation, the Energy & Manufacturing Institute, Learning Innovation Labs and the Geology Rock Wall. Dr. Shah Ardalan has been president of LSC-University Park since its founding in 2012. To get started at LSC-University Park, visit LoneStar.edu/StartUP or call 281.290.2600. The fall semester begins Aug. 30 and classes are filling quickly. Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 93,000+ students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area with an annual economic impact of nearly $3 billion. LSC consists of seven colleges, 10 centers, two university centers, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC-Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu. Media Contacts: Steve Scheffler Executive Director College Relations 281.290.3690 (O) 281.851.1690 (M) Steven.J.Scheffler@LoneStar.edu Jessica Jordan Communications Manager College Relations 281.290.1812 (O) 979.236.6723 (M) Jessica.Jordan@LoneStar.edu Contact Details Steve Scheffler +1 281-290-3690

August 17, 2021 02:23 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Feppy Bilingual Immersion Subscription Box for Kids Celebrates One-Year Anniversary with New Video Audiobook Feature

FeppyBox

-- FeppyBox features innovative immersive, curated bilingual storytelling for kids ages 3-6 -- -- New Video Audiobook Feature Enhances Pronunciation in English and Spanish -- FeppyBox, a bilingual children’s education subscription box designed to immerse children 3-6 years-old in Spanish and English language learning, is celebrating its one-year anniversary with the launch of a new video audiobook feature. The new Feppy video audiobook feature brings the magic of storytelling alive, and demystifies pronunciation in a foreign language, further immersing families in a bilingual world. The Feppy video audio books are included as exclusive access to all FeppyBox subscribers to help with pronunciation of Feppy stories each month. The award-winning bilingual immersion FeppyBox is beloved by families and makes learning in Spanish and English fun. Through a monthly subscription of curated content, inclusive of bilingual books, songs, games, and now video audiobooks, FeppyBox makes it easier for parents to raise their children bilingually, in a fun way designed to feel more like playing than learning. Studies have shown that the best time to learn a second language is between birth and the age of seven. During those forming years the brain is developing to absorb information in an unconscious way. While many bilingual children’s programs are designed to teach preschool curriculum, the FeppyBox difference lies in providing turn-key curated content to immerse kids in a second language, with innovative storytelling that instills lifelong values, taking out the guesswork for parents and caregivers. Founded in 2020, Feppy, a mix of “Happy” and “Feliz” (Spanish for “happy”), is a unique bilingual early childhood immersion brand offering award-winning books, music, videos and play, in a curated monthly subscription box. “We’re excited to be celebrating our one-year anniversary, and are excited to continue to find new ways to encourage creativity, promote connection and make the Feppy experience that much more fun.” said Ronit Shiro, Founder and CEO of Feppy. “At Feppy, the combination of our FeppyBox books and their video audio version was a natural next step, and we are thrilled with the positive response from our subscribing families. From them, we have learned that with the right tools, one doesn’t have to be bilingual to raise a bilingual child,“ added Ronit. Feppy’s curated content includes enhanced visual and auditory storytelling, making it inclusive to all types of learners. All children absorb and learn language in different ways, whether they tend to be more visual, auditory, kinesthetic or tactile. Below is a sneak peek at Feppy’s unique bilingual childhood immersion recipe. Each monthly FeppyBox contains: -- Feppy’s Award-Winning Books: Feppy Book is an original story in both English and Spanish, and exclusive access to its audio videobook. The video not only offers unlimited learning time, but it also supports pronunciation. The spark of bilingualism happens when a kid connects the content in both languages. -- Feppy Music: Feppy Music includes bilingual lyrics to adapted versions of traditional children’s songs with rhythm twists: Merengueton, Salsa/Trap, Reggaeton/Vallenato, Electro Mambo, and other Latin rhythms. Curated Feppy music lists can be found on Spotify, Apple Music and most music streaming platforms. -- Feppy Parents: Feppy Parents is a unique parent guide to support ongoing immersive learning. -- Feppy Play: Feppy Play is a hands-on activity that encourages play-based learning and highlights themes from the Feppy story. Every item in FeppyBox is fully bilingual, so parents don’t need to know both languages to share Feppy with their children. Here is how it works: -- Parents subscribe to FeppyBox without a contract and can cancel anytime. -- FeppyBox arrives at their door monthly to create fun experiences for children to become bilingual. -- Pricing: A monthly subscription is $29.99, or $39.99 for DobleFeppyBox, which contains one extra set of play materials for a sibling or friend. -- Shipping: Shipping is free in the United States. About FeppyBox Designed to raise the next generation of open-minded, resilient global citizens, FeppyBox is an award-winning, kid-friendly and truly bilingual English and Spanish subscription box for kids ages 3-6. Founded in 2020, Feppy’s early childhood curated content is inclusive of bilingual books, songs, games, and video, and has been named “Best in Family-Friendly Media, Products, and Services” by the Mom's Choice Awards and “Parent's Favorite Product” by the Tillywig Toy & Media Awards. For more information, please visit www.FeppyBox.com and follow @feppybox on Instagram and Facebook. Contact Details TORO Agency - PR and Cultural Marketing Ceci Toro ceci.toro@thetoroagency.com Company Website https://feppybox.com

August 17, 2021 10:09 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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ADPList raises $1.3 million to help professionals and students get instant access to mentorship

ADPList

Global mentorship platform ADPList today announced US$1.3 million in funding from Surge, a rapid scale-up program by Sequoia Capital India for startups in India and Southeast Asia. ADPList is a platform for people to find, book and meet mentors around the world, providing anyone with access to some of the best minds - starting with the design and product management community. At present, there is no shared platform that makes cross-border mentoring easy, or offers a global network of mentors with different skill sets and at different levels. In the current creator economy, where people are keen to share, support and teach others, ADPList’s instant, one-click access to a global network has made it one of the industry’s most prominent platforms. What initially began as a means for designers to provide peer support, share career opportunities and offer mentorship to others impacted by the pandemic, has since organically grown to over 20,500 mentees, 2,500 mentors, and over 5,000 booked sessions per month. “We started ADPList during the height of the pandemic, and the success of the platform has since shown us that there is a global network of people ready to connect and provide support for others in their communities. The evolution of ADPList today continues to build on the belief that every mentors’ voice can transform people’s career anxiety to agency, and our platform provides them with an entirely new, accessible and engaging way to do so,” said Felix Lee, co-founder of ADPList. “From the first moment I started mentoring with ADPList, I knew it was more than an act of ‘passing on knowledge’. After clocking 6000+ minutes across ten time zones with 100+ mentees from more than 15 different counties, I can tell you one thing for sure: Every session is a unique exchange of our lives, our stories and our dreams. There is no better feeling when Amazing Design People find each other!” said Michael Tam, Global Design Director at IBM iX. On ADPList, mentors can indicate their availability on a shared calendar for mentees to select and schedule virtual sessions. Video calls are conducted within the platform along with feedback and ratings after each session. Beyond one-on-one mentoring, the platform also offers small group mentoring, townhall-style talks and other formats. ADPList started in 2020 as a list of names, sprouted by the founders’ desire to help the many designers who found themselves out of a job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One tab in the open-source spreadsheet focused on mentoring, which received the most clicks. This eventually inspired the founder to build this into a platform, and that’s how Amazing Design People List - ADPList - was born. ADPList mentors work at companies like Spotify, Apple, Twitter, LinkedIn, Nike, Netflix, Twitch, Coinbase and many more. The company was incorporated in 2021 in Singapore by Felix Lee and James Baduor. Felix is a product designer turned tech entrepreneur. He was the Design Lead at Gotrade and Co-Founder at Packdat, which was acquired in 2018. He completed his studies at Singapore Polytechnic but decided not to go on to university, and instead pursue his entrepreneurial pursuits. Based in Ghana, James is passionate about community and design education, and taught himself Webflow and other NoCode tools. He has helped numerous students build design careers and worked with startups to validate their MVPs and launch their products. He is one of Webflow’s top creators in the world, with the number one most viewed project on the platform. The funding is supported by prominent angel investors Crystal Widjaja (ex-Gojek executive), JJ Chai (CEO of Rainforest), Quek Siu Rui (Co-Founder & CEO, Carousell), Ting Feng Toh (Co-Founder of GetGo), and Zopim Founders (Royston Tay, Wen Xiang Wu, and Yang Bin Kwok). ADPList is part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies that have developed new digital solutions to help companies and individuals live, work and learn better in a rapidly evolving Southeast Asian landscape. About ADPList Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Singapore, ADPList is a platform for people to find, book and meet mentors around the world, providing anyone with access to some of the best minds in the design and product management community. The company is on a mission to democratise mentorship and make it accessible for everyone through a community platform where people can find, book, and meet mentors around the world. Contact Details ADPList Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://adplist.org/

August 17, 2021 09:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Cyvatar’s Stephanie Simpson Named a Finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity at the 2021 Black Unicorn Awards

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today announced the selection of another member of its senior executive team as a finalist for outstanding achievement at this year’s Cyber Defense Magazine Black Unicorn awards, announced during the 2021 Black Hat USA conference. Stephanie Simpson, vice president of platform management, was chosen as a finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity; she competed against the industry’s leading cybersecurity experts for this prestigious award. “We’re pleased to name Stephanie Simpson as a finalist for the Top 10 Women in Cybersecurity among an elite group of female information security professionals at the third annual Black Unicorn awards,” said judges Robert R. Ackerman Jr., David DeWalt, Dr. Peter Stephenson, and Gary Miliefsky. “This year’s competition was fierce, and she should be proud of her achievement.” Stephanie was selected from women around the world who vied for top honors. She has two decades of software product leadership, from ideation to launch, to fill gaps in the industry and meet customer needs. She has brought many award-winning innovations to market including Cyvatar’s cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) platform, developed with fellow Black Unicorn winner Craig Goodwin. As an engineer, Stephanie is no stranger to disruptive technologies, and customers and colleagues alike benefit from her passionate, transformative leadership style. “Female technical talent in cybersecurity is hard to find, and we’re fortunate to have such an accomplished practitioner as Stephanie on the executive team at Cyvatar,” said Corey White, Cyvatar co-founder and chief executive. “Diversity and inclusion are foundational to our success, which makes Stephanie’s vision, energy, and leadership vital as we recruit top talent across the organization.” Only Cyvatar offers subscription-based CSaaS designed to provide outcomes, continuous remediation, ongoing solution maintenance, and the ability for all of its customers to execute their security strategies at speed and scale. Find out how CSaaS can work for your business at cyvatar.ai. About Cyber Defense Awards This is Cyber Defense Magazine’s 9th year of honoring cybersecurity innovators, in this case the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 on our Cyber Defense Awards platform. In this competition, judges for these prestigious awards includes cybersecurity industry veterans, trailblazers and market makers Gary Miliefsky of CDMG, Dr. Peter Stephenson of CDMG, Robert R. Ackerman Jr. of Allegis Cyber and David DeWalt of NightDragon with much appreciation to emeritus judge Robert Herjavec of Herjavec Group. To see the complete list of finalists for the Black Unicorn Awards for 2021 please visit https://cyberdefenseawards.com/black-unicorn-awards-finalists-2021/ About Cyvatar Cyvatar is committed to making cybersecurity effortless for everyone. As the industry’s first subscription-based, cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) company, it’s our mission to transform the way the security industry builds, sells, and supports cyber solutions. We empower our members to achieve successful outcomes by providing expert advisors, proven technologies, and a strategic process roadmap to guarantee results that map to their business drivers. Our approach is rooted in proprietary ICARM (installation, configuration, assessment, remediation, maintenance) methodology that delivers smarter, measurable security solutions for superior compliance and cyber-attack protection faster and more efficiently, all at a fixed monthly price. And because we’re a subscription, members can cancel anytime. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California with locations around the world. Begin your journey to security confidence at https://cyvatar.ai/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details Cyvatar KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

August 16, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time