Monday, March 13, 2017

9:30 – 10:30 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Social Media and Internet Safety

Speakers: Jessica Harstad, Vice President, Platinum Staffing

Kathy Hotakainen, Community Outreach Specialist for the FBI, Minneapolis Division

The FBI is seeing a significant increase in sextortion activity that is affecting thousands of American
children. It only takes one wrong click on social media or the internet for a child to become a victim. Our speakers will cover five main risks: inappropriate content, online privacy, sexting, online sexual solicitations, and cyber- bullying. They will talk about FBI cases in which Minnesota children have become victims based on their activity on social media and the internet. Learn how you can help children safely navigate today’s technology. Several handouts will be provided.

10:45 – 11:45 CULTURES, CLANS, AND COMMUNITIES

Empowering Hmong Farmers

Speaker: Pakou Hang, Executive Director, Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) hmongfarmers.com

HAFA’s mission is to advance the prosperity of Hmong American farmers through cooperative endeavors, capacity building, and advocacy. It provides training and business development opportunities for alternative markets such as co-ops, restaurants, and schools. It also gives the farmers security knowing that they will have long-term use of the land which also allows them to plant perennials.

11:45 – 12:15 BUSINESS MEETING
Changes to Minneapolis Branch Bylaws and Standing Rules will be read.

12:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON

1:15 – 2:15 WRITERS AND READERS

The Wedding Heard ’Round The World

Speakers: Michael McConnell Jack Baker

More than forty years before the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage, McConnell and Baker exchanged vows in the first legal same-sex wedding in the United States. Their memoir, The Wedding Heard ’Round the World, is the story of their ground-breaking experiences, their long campaign for marriage equality, and their insistence on equal rights for all citizens.