All posts by imreal

Pond Lehocky named to ‘Best Law Firms’ for 9th straight year


Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano is proud to announce that it has been named to the U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers® annual Best Law Firms list for the ninth consecutive year.

This prestigious award goes to firms that demonstrate professional excellence, as exhibited by continuously impressive ratings from clients and peers. The ranking acknowledges a law firm for the quality of its law practice and the breadth of its legal expertise.

Pond Lehocky is ranked in the Metropolitan Tier 1 for Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Law – Claimants. A tier designation recognizes the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.

Earlier this year all five partners— Samuel Pond, Jerry Lehocky, David Stern, Thomas Giordano Jr. and Stephen Miller—were named to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America© list. Also named to the list were associate attorneys Marilyn Jamain, Alexis Handrich, Francis Ciprero, Ryan Scanlon, Maureen “Morty” Cassidy and Andrew Ruder.

Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano opened its doors in July 2010 with six attorneys and only 22 total staff members. Today, it is the largest workers’ compensation and Social Security disability law firm in the region with over 200 staff members. The firm has expanded nationwide with offices in New Jersey, New York and California. It has recently added new practice areas for workers, including employment law and long-term disability, and has a national referral network, which has helped 86,000 clients with referrals.

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Athletic Republic Opening Facility in Roswell, GA


Athletic Republic Sports Performance Training in Roswell

AR Roswell owner Aldo Romano (left) and GM Jamal Baptiste (right)

We are excited to help boost the confidence and performance of athletes in Fulton County and the surrounding communities, and believe that we can offer them something that nobody else can. Our proven training methods will prepare athletes to take their skills to the next level.

North Atlanta competitive athletes and fitness-minded adults now have a new, better way to train. Athletic Republic, the leading sports performance training franchise, is opening in Roswell, Georgia on November 9, 2019. Athletes of all ages looking to gain an edge will now have access to science-based training methods proven to increase speed, power, agility, and stamina. The new Athletic Republic is scheduled to open to the public the week of November 4, with free workouts available to the community throughout the week. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, November 9, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Athletic Republic has three decades of experience training athletes of all ages and abilities, from youth and high school players to professional athletes. Scholastic athletes can prepare for their next competitive season with AR’s Acceleration Training, which can be tailored to meet the needs of specific sports, including soccer, volleyball, baseball, track and softball. Active adults can take advantage of the AR-FIT program to stay in shape, get stronger, and move better. All programs are run by certified trainers who provide individualized training in small group settings. In addition, a Return2Play training program will be available to fully prepare individuals for a return to full activity or competition following knee surgery.

Athletic Republic Roswell, the first Athletic Republic center in the Atlanta Metro area, is conveniently located between the Roswell and Alpharetta historic downtown districts and near the North Point and Avalon commercial districts. Found at 880 Holcomb Road, the 4800-square foot facility features training areas with specialized equipment and a roomy turf area. Classes are run throughout the day by certified trainers who implement training programs designed to address the specific needs of each athlete. Local coaches can also take advantage of team training programs during the off-season, pre-season, and in-season. Members of the community are invited to schedule a free trial by calling the center at 404-989-2791.

Athletic Republic Roswell is owned and operated by local entrepreneur Aldo Romano, a successful businessman who decided to combine his experience, education, and his lifelong love for sports to open an Athletic Republic training center in Roswell. A dedicated and experienced competitor in soccer, rugby, track & field, and tennis, he is passionate about helping athletes of all ages achieve peak athletic performance and become the best possible version of themselves on the field of play and in everyday life.

“For most of my life, sports have meant and continue to mean everything to me. I am excited to help boost the confidence and performance of athletes in Fulton County and the surrounding communities, and believe that we can offer them something that nobody else can,” said Romano. “Our proprietary equipment and proven science-based training methods will prepare athletes to take their skills to the next level.”

For more information on Athletic Republic Roswell, please visit https://roswell.athleticrepublic.com.

About Athletic Republic

Athletic Republic is the nation’s leading sports performance training franchisor with 85 locations and more than one million athletes trained. It is the premier destination for individualized, sport-specific training for athletes of all ages and abilities. Athletic Republic is rooted in science and uses its proven “Test-Teach-Train” philosophy alongside proprietary equipment and technology to help athletes improve their speed, power, agility and stamina. For more information, visit http://www.athleticrepublic.com.

Media Contact: Aldo Romano, aromano@athleticrepublicteam.com, 404-989-2791

Members of the press are invited to both a VIP reception on Thursday, November 7 at 6:00 pm and the Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, November 9 at 10:00 am. Please contact owner Aldo Romano at 404-989-2791 for more information.

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Academic HealthPlans Announces New VP of Business Development


Academic HealthPlans (AHP) announced Brian Judy has been named Vice President of Business Development. Brian will join AHP’s west coast office.

Brian has expertise in consulting and brokering customized student insurance programs at public and private colleges, including both individual and state-wide institutions. His expertise extends to the development and implementation of hard-waiver mandatory programs, including the administration of enrollment, waiver, audit, and IT solutions for his clients. Brian has also worked extensively in the intercollegiate athletic and blanket accident marketspace.

Brian’s hiring comes as the company expands its operations in the west coast. “AHP has been working in California for the last couple years, and we see additional opportunities in the western region. We are excited to have the local presence and additional student-focused experience that Brian brings to the team,” said Terry Lyons, President & CEO of AHP.

“I am beyond thrilled at the opportunity to collaborate with Terry and the team at AHP to deliver world-class student insurance brokerage, consulting, and administrative services to Higher Education Institutions here in the West. AHP has a clear vision for the future of student health and is appropriately prioritizing resources to bring that vision to life. Through our shared passion for client service and technical innovation, I believe we are embarking on an exciting chapter of raising expectations on what is possible in student health. I believe our efforts will define what colleges and universities come to expect from their business partners for the next decade, and I could not be more excited to contribute my knowledge and expertise to the cause.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis.

About Academic HealthPlans (AHP):

AHP is a student health insurance plan broker and plan administrator enabled by state-of-the-art technology. AHP was founded in 1998 with a focus on providing each client with Experience. Service. Care. AHP currently supports over 150 colleges and universities and approximately 300,000 insured members nationwide.

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Clearview Treatment Programs is Now an In-Network Provider with MHN and Health Net Insurance Plans


Clearview is excited to announce that many of our programs are now covered in-network by MHN and Health NetTM plans. Our clients can now utilize their in-network benefits for the following treatment programs:


“Being able to accept In-network benefits for clients with MHN and Health NetTM insurance plans removes one of the largest barriers to getting into treatment. We’re thrilled and looking forward to helping more people get help for their addiction or mental health disorders,” said Michael Roy, LCSW, founder and executive director of Clearview Treatment Programs.

Clearview’s evidence-based treatment programs are committed to helping people struggling with addictions and mental health disorders heal and achieve lasting recovery. This partnership with MHN and Health NetTM affiliations, including Health Net Arizona, Health Net California, and Health Net Oregon helps to ease the financial burden of treatment. We are pleased to make our treatment programs available to even more people and make it easier to begin the journey of recovery.

For any questions about our treatment programs and insurance accepted, please call our recovery specialists at (866) 372-2762.

About Clearview Treatment Programs

Clearview Treatment Programs is a premier provider of treatment for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, psychiatric disorders, addictions, and dual diagnosis. Internationally known for its Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and evidence-based treatment programs, Clearview offers a full continuum of care.

Clearview provides treatment for drug addiction, alcoholism, and co-occurring mental health disorders (BPD, PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and more) in co-ed and female only, evidence-based treatment settings. Levels of care include residential, intensive outpatient programs (IOP), day treatment (PHP), and individualized outpatient. For more information, visit https://www.clearviewtreatment.com.

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Veritas Collaborative Selects Industry Expert Rollyn Ornstein, M.D. as Medical Director


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Dr. Ornstein is an extraordinary addition to our team of expert physicians, a clinician-scholar who brings with her knowledge and skills earned over two decades of scholarly publications and subspecialty clinical experience in the field of eating disorders.

Veritas Collaborative, a national healthcare system for the treatment of eating disorders, announced Rollyn M. Ornstein, M.D. as the new medical director of its Child & Adolescent Hospital in Durham, N.C. Ornstein is a recognized leader in eating disorder treatment and brings nearly 20 years of eating disorders experience to the organization’s senior leadership team.

In her new role, Ornstein will oversee comprehensive medical and psychiatric care provided to adolescent patients at all levels of care. She will also provide leadership and guidance to clinical staff and work cross-functionally with a variety of teams throughout the organization to ensure positive outcomes and eliminate barriers to best-practice care. As a researcher with more than 25 published works, Ornstein hopes to carry on that work as priorities allow.

“Dr. Ornstein’s expertise in eating disorder research and treatment, alongside her unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality care to all patients, regardless of age, gender or socioeconomic status, made her a natural fit to lead our Durham adolescent medical team,” said Stacie McEntyre, founder and CEO of Veritas Collaborative.

After graduating from Brown University with a Bachelor of Science in psychology, Ornstein attended New York University School of Medicine to earn her medical degree. With a passion for the healthcare needs of teenagers, Ornstein completed her residency in pediatrics and began a fellowship in adolescent medicine at what is now Cohen Children’s Medical Center – Northwell Health. Following her fellowship, Ornstein stayed on the team as an attending physician for six years. She spent the last 11 years at Penn State Health Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., where she was the adolescent medicine director of the eating disorders partial hospitalization program. She also served as the interim division chief of adolescent medicine for three years and earned the position of full professor of pediatrics. Her multifaceted career equips her well for the road ahead.

“Dr. Ornstein is an extraordinary addition to our team of expert physicians, a clinician-scholar who brings with her knowledge and skills earned over two decades of scholarly publications and subspecialty clinical experience in the field of eating disorders. Though Veritas Collaborative is fortunate to have her as a clinical leader at our adolescent facility, it is our patients who will benefit most, with the opportunity to pursue recovery under the direction of a true leader in our field,” said Brian Keefe, M.D., chief medical officer of Veritas Collaborative.

Ornstein began her role as medical director at Veritas Collaborative’s Child & Adolescent Hospital in Durham, N.C. in September 2019 and already has plans for building upon the Veritas mission to drive the standard of care in eating disorder treatment.

“Working as part of the Veritas Collaborative team is more than a job shift for me. It’s a merging of my multiple passions for adolescent medical care, eating disorder recovery, and forward-thinking leadership,” said Ornstein. “It is extremely gratifying to help create a recovery journey using the skills I’ve honed throughout my professional career, and I’m looking forward to making a positive impact.”

About Veritas Collaborative

Veritas Collaborative is a national healthcare system for the treatment of eating disorders. Veritas provides a range of individualized, evidence-based services for patients eight years of age and older, including inpatient, acute residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient levels of care in a gender-neutral and inclusive environment. Veritas envisions a world in which all persons with eating disorders and their families have access to best-practice care and hold hope for a cure. Their multidisciplinary teams of treatment professionals include physicians, psychiatrists, dietitians, therapists, nurses, teachers, culinary team members and therapeutic assistants.

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Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn Named to 2020 US News and World Report Best Law Firms across Five Areas of Practice


www.hkqlaw.com

Attorney Joseph A. Quinn, Jr.

I am honored to be part of this notable distinction and so very proud of our attorneys at the firm. Hard work, dedication, compassion, decades of experience, education and research, teamwork, preparation and exemplary skills in the courtroom contribute to the results we obtain for our clients.”

Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn PC (HKQ Law) is pleased to announce that the Firm has been named to the 2020 US News and World Report and Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms”. Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn received an Allentown Tier 1 designation: Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Product Liability – Plaintiffs, and Workers’ Compensation – Claimants; and an Allentown Tier 2 designation, Employment Law– Management. Metropolitan Tier 1 and 2 include Northeastern Pennsylvania and Allentown Lehigh Valley.

Firms included in the 2020 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. “Choosing the right law firm can be a vital decision,” said Tim Smart, executive editor at U.S. News & World Report. “The rankings draw on U.S. News’ 35 years of experience evaluating complex institutions to help individuals and companies alike make the best decisions.”To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5 percent of practicing attorneys in the United States. Almost, 16,000 attorneys provided more than 1,229,000 law firm assessments, and over 12,000 clients provided more than 107,000 evaluations.

“For the 2020 ‘Best Law Firms’ publication, the evaluation process has remained just as rigorous and discerning as it did when we first started ten years ago.” says Phil Greer, CEO of Best Lawyers. “This year we reviewed 14,931 law firms throughout the United States – across 75 national practice areas – and a total of 2,106 firms received a national law firm ranking. We are proud that the ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings continue to act as an indicator of excellence throughout the legal industry.”

“As one of the founders of Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn, I am honored to be part of this notable distinction and so very proud of our attorneys at the firm. Hard work, dedication, compassion, decades of experience, education and research, teamwork, preparation and exemplary skills in the courtroom contribute to the results we obtain for our clients,” says HKQ Law Attorney Joseph A. Quinn, Jr.

Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for its abilities, its professionalism and its integrity. The 2020 “Best Law Firms” rankings can be seen in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com.

About Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn, PC

Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn is considered one of the top civil litigation and commercial law firms that has had the privilege of representing more families in the courtroom than any other NEPA firm. The attorneys at HKQ Law have been honored as Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms by US News and World Report, and have received the AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbel. HKQ Law was recently recognized for one of the top 20 Verdicts in Pennsylvania.

The firm’s Personal Injury Team, led by Attorney Joe Quinn, Jr., has won some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the region’s history. The Personal Injury Team focuses on a wide array of personal injury claims and civil litigation, including medical malpractice, auto and truck accidents, aviation accidents, unsafe vehicles, dangerous or defective products, workplace injuries (worker’s compensation), construction site accidents, claim denials by insurance companies, dangerous drugs, defective children’s products, nursing home abuse and neglect, and falls due to unsafe conditions (slip and fall).

Attorney Joseph A Quinn, Jr. is one of only 100 attorneys in the United States (and one of only three in Pennsylvania) honored with membership in the Inner Circle of Trial Advocates, and one of only 500 attorneys worldwide chosen to be a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer every year since the program began and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America every year since the publication was established in 1987. Best Lawyers also named him top personal injury attorney for Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. In addition, Best Lawyers, in conjunction with U.S. News & World Report, has designated HKQ a Tier 1 Best Law Firm across multiple categories in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

Since the inception of the firm, the Commercial / Corporate Team led by Attorney Allan Kluger has provided comprehensive, integrated legal services to many of Northeastern and Eastern Pennsylvania’s largest corporations, businesses, banks, non-profits and institutions, handling matters involving labor and employment, wills, trusts and estate planning, estate administration, elder law, commercial transactions, residential and commercial real estate, zoning, land use and development, telecommunications, mediations and arbitrations, commercial litigation, title insurance, business planning and business succession, corporate/business structuring, employment discrimination law for employers, banking, creditor’s rights, finance, lender liability defense, covenants not to compete, construction law, mergers and acquisitions and other business matters.

Additional information can be found at http://www.HKQLaw.com or by calling (800) 760-1529.

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IPVideo Corporation’s Vape and THC Detector HALO IOT Smart Sensor has been granted approval for UL Listing


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We ensured HALO met the highest safety standards to protect school children.

IPVideo Corporation, manufacturer of the HALO IOT Smart Sensor, today announced that they have been granted approval as a UL listed smart sensor. The award-winning vape and THC detector meets UL’s internationally recognized standards for safety and quality.

With over 120 years of experience and the development of more than 1,500 standards, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is a widely recognized global safety science organization, providing one of the highest levels of testing and qualification. Their standards and certifications are universally recognized as important indicators of product safety, quality and reliability.

According to UL, the certification works to provide safe living and working environments through the application of safety science and to “support the production and use of products that are physically and environmentally safe.” IPVideo’s award-winning environmental sensor and vape detection technology is used every day by school districts across the U.S.

“HALO is a safety and security product designed for privacy areas like hospital rooms, school bathrooms, locker rooms and dorm rooms. It is imperative that a safety product doesn’t create a safety hazard.” stated Frank Jacovino, VP of Engineering and Product Development for IPVideo Corporation. “We ensured HALO met the highest safety standards to protect school children. In addition, we manufacture our product in the U.S. in an ITAR Certified and ISO 9001 registered facility and why we chose to go through the rigorous testing and approval process of UL. In addition to UL, the HALO IOT Smart Sensor is FCC Certified, ROHS Compliant, WEEE Compliant, Plenum rated and vandal IK10 rated.”

HALO has the unique ability to provide IoT sensing as event-based triggers to provide security in privacy concern areas where traditional security cameras and solutions are not practical. As an environmental monitoring tool, HALO uses multiple sensors together in a single intelligent platform to learn, analyze and create event alerts. HALO is the only product to detect vape and vape with THC. In addition, it can detect flammables, hazardous chemicals, air quality and changes in temperature and humidity. HALO can also detect noise level fluctuations and analyze room occupancy through light detection.

For further information regarding HALO IOT Smart Sensor and IPVideo Corporation, visit http://www.ipvideocorp.com/halo/ or call 631-969-2601.

About IPVideo Corporation

IPVideo Corporation harnesses the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to deliver a range of open platform physical security, sensor and audio/visual solutions that provide maximum flexibility, performance, ease-of-use and value. We design and manufacture solutions for a smarter and safer world! IPVideo Corporation is a subsidiary of Advanced Convergence Group.

Our newest product offering HALO IOT Smart Sensor is disrupting the world of physical security. As the security industry product of the year, HALO is a security device for privacy areas and an environmental monitoring tool. It’s vaping and THC detection capabilities are gaining global attention and being used by school districts across the country to combat the youth vaping epidemic. IPVideo Corporation is headquartered in Bay Shore, NY. For more information, visit http://www.ipvideocorp.com.

About UL

As a global company with more than 120 years of expertise, we employ exacting scientific processes and the highest ethical principles to help create a better world. As safety challenges and concerns expand to include sustainability, well-being, connected technologies and security, we provide broad leadership, deep expertise and vital services to guide these transformations.

Fueled by our mission of working for a safer world, we are trusted partners in solving our customers’ and stakeholders’ most critical challenges. We believe that when choices are empowered by insight and opportunity, the potential to realize responsible innovation and better living is endless.

To fulfill our mission, UL delivers business solutions and our nonprofit conducts independent research and shares scientific knowledge broadly. For more information, visit http://www.ul.com

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Werner Sonderegger’s newly released “Celebrating The Feasts of Israel” is a wonderful testimony of his passion to see Christians grounded in the Word of God


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“Celebrating The Feasts of Israel: Explore the Depth of Our Faith In Jesus Christ and Pass It on to the Next Generation”: an edifying discussion that studies the Feasts of Israel focusing on God’s command, the biblical history, and the feasts’ fulfillment in Christ; thus revealing the importance of one’s Christian life and his faith. “Celebrating The Feasts of Israel: Explore the Depth of Our Faith In Jesus Christ and Pass It on to the Next Generation” is the creation of published author Werner Sonderegger, a Bible scholar who served on the mission field in Europe and Africa. He led multiple six-month bilingual discipleship programs and wrote the English-German leadership textbook Ambassador. He has been the guest speaker of numerous seminars about principles of Christian counseling and provided counsel to those seeking freedom from occult ritual abuse. He also holds a Doctorate in Christian Philosophy.

This unique book captures God’s plan for the Feasts of Israel; with their biblical history, rich traditions and triumphant fulfillment in Christ. It will open your eyes to see how relevant these Feasts are to your everyday Christian life and will serve as a powerful tool to pass your faith in Jesus Christ to the next generation. Interwoven throughout this book are testimonies, songs, Christian theology, topics of discipleship, and suggestions of a Christ centered celebration of these Feasts in your own family. The richness and personal nature of these Feasts is waiting to be unfolded in the story of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible. Be ready to discover God’s great plan for you, your family, and this world as it is portrayed in this second expanded edition of Celebrating the Feasts of Israel.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Werner Sonderegger’s new book is a beautiful read that captures the richness of the feasts in one’s personal growth and connection with Christ.

It suggests ways to celebrate these feasts within the family in order to pass our faith in Jesus Christ on to the next generation.

View a synopsis of “Celebrating The Feasts of Israel: Explore the Depth of Our Faith In Jesus Christ and Pass It on to the Next Generation” on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase “Celebrating The Feasts of Israel: Explore the Depth of Our Faith In Jesus Christ and Pass It on to the Next Generation” at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about “Celebrating The Feasts of Israel: Explore the Depth of Our Faith In Jesus Christ and Pass It on to the Next Generation,” contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.

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FreeConferenceCall.com Gives Fall 2019 Green Awards to the American Red Cross, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Tennessee Tech


David Erickson, CEO of FreeConferenceCall.com, recognizes the American Red Cross, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Tennessee Tech for being leaders in helping the planet stay healthy – these companies are shining examples of how organizations and modern businesses should operate.

FreeConferenceCall.com, the world’s second largest conferencing network by call volume, announced its Green Awards winners for Fall of 2019.

As part of its effort to spread awareness about the increasing need to be environmentally friendly, FreeConferenceCall.com evaluated high-volume users. Among dozens of candidates, three were selected as users that have greatly contributed to reducing their carbon footprint by leveraging the FreeConferenceCall.com platform.

FreeConferenceCall.com has been changing the way people do business since 2001. It has helped countless organizations around the world host professional online conferences at no cost. Their robust audio, video and screen sharing tools become an integral part of many companies’ communications infrastructure.

FreeConferenceCall.com directly minimizes an organization’s teleconferencing bill while indirectly reducing their cost of business, travel and carbon emissions, major contributors to climate change.

David Erickson, CEO of FreeConferenceCall.com, recognizes the following companies for becoming leaders in helping the planet stay healthy – these companies are shining examples of how organizations and modern businesses should operate going forward, utilizing the abundance of technology available to leave the planet better and lead the way for the generations that come after.

To congratulate our winners, we’ve partnered with World Land Trust and pledged to conserve half an acre for each organization throughout this campaign, as part of a worldwide effort to preserve the earth’s resources and protect the natural environment.

“The money that is given to the World Land Trust,” Sir David Attenborough claims, “has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of.”

Our Green Awards Winners for Fall of 2019 are:

  • American Red Cross
  • Tennessee Tech University
  • O’Reilly Auto Parts

The FreeConferenceCall.com provides business with conference lines that allow two or more members of an organization to communicate with one another without the need to meet in person. With its technology, FreeConferenceCall.com aids in reducing the use of high emission means of transportation, like cars, planes and other motorized vehicles.

With the option to connect with users from anywhere in the world, the winners have shown that using the FreeConferenceCall.com platform provides their organization with both business and environmental advantages.

About FreeConferenceCall.com

FreeConferenceCall.com is the most recognized conferencing brand in the world with users in more than 800,000 businesses, including nearly all Fortune 500. Service offerings around the globe with unlimited use include: high-quality high definition audio conferencing, screen sharing, video conferencing, audio and visual recordings, customized greetings, security features, desktop scheduling and mobile applications. Mid-market and enterprise customers can take advantage of FreeConferenceCall.com For Business™: high-quality, reliable and secure conferencing and collaboration services complemented by 24/7 customer support, enterprise account management teams, consolidated billing, customized user analytic reports, employee rollout and training and white-label services.

FreeConferenceCall.com was founded by David Erickson in 2001 and is based in Long Beach, Calif.

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Artificial Intelligence and Other Innovative Tech Solutions Take Center Stage at iTexico


Innovation round table at itexico October 2019

Innovation round table at itexico

“Most AI products are not well designed from the human center perspective; design is the first step to put out great products and innovation.” “Design Sprints are giving us opportunities for our products and for our company that is going to drive the next round of development.”

iTexico’s Delivery Center in Guadalajara was the headquarters for a gathering of some of the tech industry’s companies and contributors, where they shared their takes on the future of innovation and the Mexican IT landscape.

Within this hot spot of technological prowess, talks ranged from all manner of discussions, but most important of all was what the future would hold and how the attendees planned on reaching it. It became clear, through unanimous agreement, that 100% of the company’s tech leaders believe that innovation within the field was among the most important concepts to address. Around 60% of those attending could account for their own active pursuits to innovate.

Mexican IT Ecosystem Stakeholders

The current state of the IT ecosystem within America’s borders presents multiple opportunities for Mexico to carve out its own niche in the market. While American IT network may be a massive force, its supply of capable software engineers has begun running low. Without a deep, reliable labor pool to pull from, the market will find that it won’t be able to maintain rapid, high quality output for its products.

The Mexican IT ecosystem is laden with an enormous reservoir of what U.S. companies desperately need: skilled engineers. Not only can Mexico provide these resources in sufficient amounts to meet the call for demand from over the border, but they can do so at competitive prices that most companies can’t afford to ignore.

This segment of the conference welcomed three special guests to participate in the discussions:

Amdocs Latin America Office Director – Benjamín Huerta

Co-Founder and CEO Startup GDL – Cindy Blanco

iTexico COO – Guillermo Ortega

Discussing Innovation Leveraging Design Sprints 

One of the foremost concerns in regards to new innovations encroaching the market is how to effectively implement them into a pre-existing framework quickly and effectively. Reacting quickly to new changes in the market, especially regarding developments that have the potential to bear enormous impact on how business will be conducted, is paramount for the ever-changing field of software development.

This concern gave birth to the concept of Design Sprints. More and more companies are implementing this methodology as a part of their process and innovation culture, driving a concerted effort to maintain integrity, relevance, and flexibility to adapt. iTexico has begun assisting these companies that are attempting to retain innovative performance through introducing the Design Sprint methodology, originally pioneered by Google.

A Design Sprint is a 4- or 5-day process to condense potentially months of work into a few days. It’s purpose is to solve big challenges, create new products, or improve existing ones through a focused, rapid week of effort. If done correctly, innovative methods, concepts, products, or technologies can be successfully remastered in a much shorter time than it might usually take.

“Design Sprints are giving us the opportunities for our products and for our company that are going to drive the next round of development.”

The Design Sprint methodology was pioneered by Google Ventures, and in time has proven to be a powerful and high impact tool for our clients and their users. It replaces endless debate and uncertainty with a proven step-by-step system for fast and focused decision-making.

By using Design Sprints, we will collaborate and work towards solving your pressing business challenges by understanding, ideating, deciding, prototyping, and testing ideas in a very short time frame following a proven process.

An excellent example of this process can be found through AI Adoption with Design Sprints

How iTexico Creates Value with Digital Innovation

Abhay Agarwal lead a pivoted discussion dedicated to the value of AI adoption for enterprise. Abhay is the co-founder and principal at Standard Notation, an AI design firm and iTexico AI partner. He is a lecturer at the Stanford University Hasso Platner Institute of Design, and co-creator of the course “Designing Machine Learning.” Prior to that, he was a research fellow at Microsoft’s AI+Research group. He holds an MS from the Stanford Design program as well as a BS from UC Berkeley’s EE&CS program.

Abhay spoke in depth about the following question: “What does AI mean for enterprise?” The roundtable discussion rolled forward, covering the rethinking about how companies do their core business, down to fundamentals, and rewriting how information flows through the business.

“Most AI products are not well designed from the human center perspective; design is the first step to put out great products and innovation.”

The changes in thought process and business practice are explicitly reliant on effectively adopting AI technologies into the company framework. This will bring forth entirely new features for their markets, making small technical changes that carry outsized impacts.

iTexico plans to shortly release their AI Adoption Program, enabling companies to harness the potential with AI by adopting this technology through baby steps.

iTexico’s Recent Innovation: HAL/Cloud

Gerardo Hernandez led the discussion around the award winning HAL, applying Machine Learning to the business sector.

Gerardo Hernandez is an accomplished technologist and a Senior Microsoft Certified Developer who has evolved into a results-oriented manager with more than 15 years of experience providing creative solutions for any kind of problem. He is passionate about data and how it can be translated into great and amazing things, participating in many projects across a variety of industries: retail, services, oil & gas, healthcare, and AI.

At the same time that HAL was the topic of the segment, the discussion drifted over to a specific Cloud business problem: migration.

“AI is an uphill battle. So make sure you’re climbing the right hill.”

An application with poor architecture, performance, a lot of security issues, and an expensive monthly fee may find that it has to change platforms. The iTexico Cloud practice, led by Gerardo, solved the problem of executing the migration process to Microsoft Azure, creating a cluster to guarantee service, a load balancer to prevent overload, and a honeypot to attract constant attacks.

The GDL Innovation Center

During this day and a half at the iTexico GDL Innovation Center, all participating companies shared their experiences and landscape around innovation, using iTexico as the medium to fuel their transformation and digital innovations.

“Making everyone part of the process of innovation is our approach… everyone has the chance to add something to the mix.”

iTexico offers a real opportunity to not only cut costs but to participate in the core process of innovation for our companies. AI adoption may be the leading torch for modern innovation in companies in every country, but it’s not the only goal worth pursuing.

About iTexico

iTexico fuels digital innovation to enable companies to transform their business through a wide range of digital service offerings, including Design, Product Engineering, Quality Assurance, Mobile, Cloud, and AI. By leveraging a Nearshore+ delivery model, iTexico provides an amazing choice for the right talent at the right time.

iTexico’s headquarters are located in Austin, TX, with two wholly-owned Innovation Centers in Guadalajara and Aguascalientes, Mexico, as well as offices in Cancun, Dallas, and California. Over the last 9 years, iTexico has experienced steady year over year growth by developing strong partnerships with well-funded early stage growth and large transformation-driven companies, including Carbon Black, Marriott, Western Digital, HomeAway, and many others. For more information, visit http://www.itexico.com.