The Future is Now: How to Survive and Thrive in an Era of Uncertainty

Whatever your career options, it is always important to take stock, evaluate your opportunities, and plan your next steps.

The Maynard Institute, in partnership with the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, is offering “The Future is Now,” a one-day workshop with a hands-on approach to assessing your career and developing a plan to move forward.

You will learn from technology experts and receive personal guidance from experienced career coaches.

Speakers will include Kim Moy, managing editor, Yahoo! front page and Susan Mernit, manager of the Knight News Challenge, and a co-founder of People’s Software.

Career coaches Larry Olmstead and Rafael Gonzalez will help you inventory your skills, think through your career and life goals and develop a strategy for creating success.

Register now. Approach your future with confidence, not fear.

To register online, please use this web application form.

To register by fax, please fill out the Program Application and fax to the attention of Agata Lowell at fax number 510 891 9565.

Once you have registered, please visit this page to pay your $75 tuition fee.

View program schedule.

Date: Friday, March 6, 2009
Location: Annenberg School, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Tuition: $75 - Includes morning refreshments and lunch.

Rafael Gonzalez is an executive coach and organizational consultant who focuses on whole-life balance and a strategic visionary growth process. His diverse clients have included AT&T, General Electric, Texas Instruments, Hewlett Packard, Apple, Motorola, Tribune Co., Knight Ridder, Universal Studios, Viacom, Chevron, Merck, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Visa and the United Nations. Rafael has served as an adjunct faculty at several universities; for 10 years, he taught at the Media Management Center and Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University. He holds a master's degree from San Jose State University in clinical social work and organizational and community development.

Susan Mernit has been a vice president at Netscape and AOL, a senior director of product development at Yahoo!, a social media and web strategy/product development consultant, an editorial director for local new and media sites, and a developer of social media marketing and community strategies. Currently, she is a consultant to the Knight Foundation, managing The Knight News Challenge, a program that gives away $5 million annually, the co-founder of People's Software, a tech start-up and 2008 TechStars company, and a consultant to start-ups, foundations, non-profits and media companies. Susan has been named one of the top women in web 2.0, tech and social media multiple times, and has created products and businesses that have won Codies and Eppys. She is an active blogger and also is working on a new startup.

Kim Moy is an online managing editor with a decade of experience as a web product manager and editor. She is currently managing editor, front page, at Yahoo! She joined Yahoo! in 2007 after working as product manager at Knight Ridder Digital, now McClatchy Interactive, and was a news and home page producer at MercuryNews.com. She was a program manager at AOL/Netscape and a content producer at ChannelOne.com She has worked as a reporter for the Sacramento Bee.

Larry Olmstead is president of San Jose-based Leading Edge Associates and is an expert in the areas of diversity, organizational change and leadership development. He spent 25 years at Knight Ridder, the nation's second largest newspaper publisher until its acquisition by McClatchy in 2006. As a journalist, Larry rose to become managing editor of the Miami Herald and later assistant VP/news of Knight Ridder, participating in three Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts along the way. In 2002, KR promoted Larry to vice president, overseeing recruitment, training, leadership development, succession management and diversity programs. Larry's team helped Knight Ridder achieve historic highs in minority and female representation, and created training programs that resulted in millions of dollars in incremental revenue. Larry is a board member of the Metro YMCA of Santa Clara County and the Silicon Valley Conference for Community and Justice. He is past president of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and past co-chair of the International Women's Media Foundation.