Weathering the Future: Forecasting Economic Risk with Open Data

FYI

Weathering the Future: Forecasting Economic Risk
      Tuesday, April 28, 2015
      12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
      RSVP here:
      http://www.meetup.com/The-IBM-Open-Governance-Council/events/221884372/?a=ea1_grp&rv=ea1



      For the second year in a row, US GDP estimates are being revised
      downward due to harsh winter weather in the North East. Record snow
      falls and bitter cold are casualties of the Polar Vortex of low
      pressure weather systems that bring Arctic air down across the
      eastern United States. Meteorologists say this seasonal phenomenon is
      the result of warming water in the Pacific that has changed historic
      weather patterns and may continue for several more years.



      But these changes don't have to hurt business and regional growth.
      Using new Open Weather Data provided by NOAA, and advanced risk
      calculation and planning tools, organizations can improve
      forecasting, prevention, and remediation. We can and must integrate
      weather planning into business processes and policy planning. This is
      where Open Data can have a demonstrable impact on GDP growth and
      human life by reducing seasonal weather impacts.





      Please join us as we explore the issues, challenges, and solutions
      with our outstanding speakers and panel:





      David Kenny is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Weather
      Company (Weather). An experienced executive with a strong record in
      the media and digital industries, Kenny oversees the company’s
      valuable portfolio of consumer and business-to-business weather
      brands and businesses including The Weather Channel, weather.com,
      wunderground.com and WSI. Kenny assumed this role in January 2012
      after serving as president of Akamai, the leading cloud platform
      designed to help enterprises provide secure, high-performing user
      experiences to mobile and fixed Internet users.





      Dave Jones is CEO, President, and Founder of StormCenter
      Communications, Inc. Dave Jones combines years of experience in
      meteorology, broadcasting, and remote sensing with a vision for the
      future in leading the way to transform the television weathercast
      into an Envirocast®. Dave has been described by NASA as an
      "Applications Futurist" with his ability to identify future earth
      science applications that can address national and local priorities.
      Dave is leading StormCenter Communications, Inc. to provide critical
      environmental information and visuals to the media, government
      agencies and decision-makers and the public.


      Zach Goldstein, is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
      Administration (NOAA) Chief Information Officer and Director, High
      Performance Computing and Communications. In this position, he is
      responsible for implementing statutory requirements regarding the
      acquisition, management, and use of NOAA's information and
      information technology resources, to include NOAA's high performance
      computing and communications infrastructure. Mr. Goldstein is also
      responsible for NOAA’s Homeland Security Program to ensure business
      continuity in event of a terrorist attack, major disaster, or other
      emergency.


      Professor Brant Houston holds the John S. and James L. Knight
      Foundation Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting and
      teaches investigative and advanced reporting in the Department of
      Journalism in the College of Media at Illinois. Houston also is the
      author of four editions of the textbook, "Computer-Assisted
      Reporting: A Practical Guide," and co-author of the fourth edition
      and fifth edition of "The Investigative Reporter's Handbook."
      Currently he is working on projects involving nonprofit journalism,
      ethnic media newsrooms, and new technologies for news-gathering.





      Agenda:





      Introduction: Steven Adler, IBM Open Governance Council





      1. The Business of Weather Data: David Kenny, CEO, The Weather
      Channel





      2. Integrating Weather Data into GIS: Dave Jones, CEO, StormCenter





      3. The Future of Open Weather Data, Zach Goldstein, NOAA CIO





      4. Interactive Q&A Moderated by Professor Brant Houston





Best Regards,

Steve

Motto: "Do First, Think, Do it Again"