Author Archives: Andrea Siedsma

Opinion: The U.S. child-care system fails families, children and businesses. It needs to be rebuilt.

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I ghost-wrote a couple of OpEds for client TOOTRiS, including the one below for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Paulina Mansz, a group fitness instructor, sets up an iPhone as she prepares to record a workout.
Paulina Mansz, a group fitness instructor, sets up an iPhone as she prepares to record a workout session for her clients, while her children Javier and Daniel (R) play, as she continues to instruct from home in Arlington, Virginia on April 30, 2020.
(AFP via Getty Images)
BY ALESSANDRA LEZAMA

Lezama is the founder and CEO of TOOTRiS, a tech-based child-care company. She lives in Scripps Ranch.

There’s a lot of buzz lately about how funding will revive our broken child-care system, but nobody is thinking about how we can advance it to the next level.

The current system — which fails families, children and businesses — needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. Solving the child-care crisis will take more than simply relying on federal, state and local resources and funding. We must be creative and agile in our approach and leverage existing technology. We need a real-time exchange of all the stakeholders.

We must continue to push our local, state and national leaders to adopt a longer lasting strategy, besides funding alone. They have a critical opportunity to consider what innovative solutions are most effective in supporting providers, children and their families in the short and long term, even after the pandemic is long gone.

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Until we have a more robust universal child-care system, working families and early educators will continue to struggle — particularly those in our communities of color. Consider this: Even prior to the pandemic, 60 percent of Californians lived in a child-care desert with limited access to child-care providers, according to the nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center. California has also lost thousands of child-care providers during the pandemic

For many families, high-quality child care is not an option. That’s because there are not enough child-care providers to meet the demand. This particularly affects families of color, families living in rural areas, and children with special needs. We can strengthen our nation’s child-care infrastructure via technology to ensure access to quality care for all families.

It is also extremely difficult for parents who fall into the chasm — they make slightly above poverty levels but don’t qualify for subsidies, and can’t afford child care, and therefore they end up dropping out of the workforce. Just take a look at the millions of mothers who have lost or left their jobs due to child-care burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a modern technology platform for child care is imperative to improve these statistics by supporting parents and their employers with affordable programs for their children and getting women back in the workforce.

As a single mom of color and immigrant, I too struggled with child care during the early part of my career, which prevented me from climbing the ladder as quickly as my male counterparts.

Imagine being a single parent and a new immigrant to this country and trying to navigate the various child-care services available. Fast forward to today, and many parents face the same challenge. A large part of the child-care struggle is understanding what programs are available. On top of that, many child-care resource and referral networks don’t enable parents to access available real-time child-care slots in their regions. These outdated and burdensome programs rely on manual input and phone calls to child-care providers, further causing stress and headaches for parents in desperate need of quality child care.

I sit on the San Diego County Child Care and Development Planning Council and I hear proposal after proposal about how to tackle the issue of supply and demand in our local child-care market. Most of the problems are caused by parents who aren’t aware of where to go or what kind of resources they can tap into. They are completely lost, just like I was when my son was young.

We must remove the red tape in these programs and organizations that have failed our families, providers and children. We need a platform to connect all the existing stakeholders — parents, child-care providers, employers and even subsidy programs. Free access to information in real time can solve the plight parents face over child care, even for temporary slots and drop-ins. Much like the digitization of health-care records, modernizing our child-care system can streamline the process, making real-time access to critical information a reality.

Change can’t happen fast enough. This is an urgent problem. The child-care sector is on the brink of collapse, and unless we step up and solve this with quick action and technology, there will be no real “reset” of the economy. Let’s truly restore our economy by getting parents back to work by providing a resource for them and employers who guarantee safe, reliable and affordable options for child care, all in real time.

 

 

Cue Health to Create Hundreds of Jobs

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As lockdowns throughout the state of California and other parts of the nation and globe continue to fluctuate over a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, scientists and medical researchers are working around the clock on promising vaccines and tests – two vital keys in shifting society back to “normal.”

In fact, the vitally important COVID-19 test kit market could exceed $15 billion this year alone, according to a report from Global Market Insights.

One company that has ramped up its production of COVID-19 tests is San Diego-based Cue Health, Inc. Cue’s tests are in such demand, that it has expanded its operations into Vista, Calif. The company began moving into its 197,000 square-foot Vista facility in October, with plans to be fully operational by this month. The additional facility will be used for the production of Cue COVID-19 Test Cartridges. Cue plans to hire an additional up to 500 employees at its Vista location, with more expected in the future as the company continues to grow in research and manufacturing.

“In the future, we envision the production of other Cue tests at our Vista facility as we expand our diagnostic offerings,” said Ayub Khattak, Founder & CEO, Cue Health.

Read the full article here.

Commentary: Two racist cops threw me in jail 13 years ago. Let me tell you what needs to happen now.

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Ghost wrote OpEd for client Ty Smith for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

As the nation examines fundamental changes to American policing, defunding law enforcement agencies is not the best answer. To get to the real root of police brutality against Black Americans, we need to dig deeper into top leadership, or lack thereof.

As a Black male, entrepreneur and retired Navy SEAL, I am appalled by the lack of authentic and forward-leaning leadership in this country across the board. I served 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a military police officer prior to 9/11, and as a Navy SEAL post-9/11.

As an active-duty Navy SEAL, I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan six times and earned various military awards for valorous actions during combat, including the Bronze Star Medal and a Navy Joint Commendation Medal, both with distinguished honors for heroism or valor in combat.

Read the full article here.

EMMES Realty Services of California LLC Announces CPC Strategy Expanding into Three Full Floors at Downtown High-Rise 707 Broadway

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Innovative Companies Continue to Expand Their Urban Footprint
SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwired – October 04, 2017) – As downtown San Diego is becoming synonymous with innovation and entrepreneurship, creative companies continue to expand their urban footprint. One of them is digital marketing and retail solutions firm CPC Strategy, which recently signed a lease to expand onto another full floor at 707 Broadway. CPC Strategy will now occupy three full floors of the high-rise, with a total of 27,445 rentable square feet.”Working downtown has been a huge asset to both our culture and our recruiting initiatives. From a culture perspective, the downtown area offers a variety of offsite team-building options in walking distance,” said Brianne Kennedy, human resources director at CPC Strategy. “Teams can go see a movie at Horton Plaza, catch a game at Petco Park, or easily coordinate a group lunch or happy hour. It’s also close to public transportation, which has been huge when we have team builds like our Day at the Races up in Del Mar. From a talent acquisition perspective, it has greatly contributed to the success of our recruitment marketing and has proved to simplify the interview process for candidates who are considering relocation to San Diego.”CPC, which relocated from Mission Valley to downtown in 2016, currently has 112 employees and plans to add 60 new office seats with the additional floor. About 25% of the company’s staff lives in or around downtown and many employees stay downtown after work to enjoy the different activities and restaurants in the area. CPC employees also frequently take advantage of the 707 gym and the local discounts offered through the EMMES Advantage Program.

Home to many creative companies, the 18-story 707 office building is known as the workplace of the future, with many millennial-attracting amenities, such as a basement game room and fitness center, a “bark park,” a ground floor with an upgraded patio and lobby, a trendy sandwich shop, 30 electric vehicle charging stations, bike storage space in the garage, healthy vending, upgraded conference room, and techno-art murals.

“We are delighted that companies such as CPC are making downtown their home,” said Mark Kuske, EMMES asset manager. “We hope to continue to attract and foster a creative workforce at 707, as well as our other downtown buildings in an effort to fuel the innovation economy.”

About EMMES

EMMES Realty Services of California LLC is a member of The EMMES Group of Companies. Founded in 1992, with offices in New York and California, The EMMES Group of Companies and its affiliates are engaged in principal real estate investments, funds management and real estate services. The downtown San Diego EMMES portfolio is comprised of four high-rise office properties: 1 Columbia Place, 2 Columbia Place, 701 B Street, and 707 Broadway, along with a large parking and retail facility, which was recently rebranded to 6th & A Parking. For more information, visit www.emmesco.com .

EMMES Realty Services Signs Multiple Floor Lease for Growing Video Game Developer Psyonix

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1 Columbia Place — Downtown San Diego’s Innovation Hub Attracting High-Tech Firms

SAN DIEGO, CA— EMMES Realty Services of California LLC announced a multiple floor lease today with a high-tech tenant who will be relocating and expanding to its 1 Columbia Place property in downtown San Diego.

The tenant, highly respected video game development studio Psyonix, will be expanding within the downtown EMMES portfolio from a 9,000 square-foot office space at 707 Broadway to a 40,000 square-foot office at 1 Columbia Place. Psyonix, which was represented by Jordan Williams of Strom Commercial for its new lease, will occupy two contiguous floors in the high-rise section of the 27-story building. Psyonix’s expansion highlights both the flexibility within the downtown EMMES portfolio to accommodate significant tenant growth and downtown San Diego’s continued attractiveness to growing, innovative companies, which are capitalizing on the area’s rich amenity base and deep talent pool.

“We are thrilled for Psyonix’s success and for its continued growth within the downtown EMMES portfolio,” said Jordan Johnson, vice president of EMMES Realty Services of California LLC. “Downtown San Diego has arrived as a dynamic hub for innovation-oriented companies and EMMES is working hard to design, upgrade and improve our buildings to fit today’s innovation companies’ cultures and needs.”

Johnson added that this includes superior technology infrastructure such as enhanced Wi-Fi coupled with a Building-Wide Fiber Optic Network, as well as amenities such as expansive terraces with hotel-style lounge seating, in-building retail shops and restaurants, banking, multiple state-of-the-art building conference/meeting rooms, an indoor cycling studio, secure tenant bike storage, as well as shower and locker facilities.

Psyonix — best known for the commercial success of its video game, Rocket League®, which has sold more than 8 million copies to date — relocated from North Carolina to San Diego in 2009 and has grown exponentially ever since.

“We have experienced tremendous growth since the launch of Rocket League® in July of 2015. The game’s huge success with more than 22 million players is a big reason why we’re moving into the new office space,” said Dave Hagewood, Psyonix founder, CEO and studio director. “We needed a fantastic modern location like 1 Columbia Place that could better accommodate our increasing team size and loftier goals.”

Hagewood added that the game studio’s prime location downtown will also attract more creative talent to Psyonix.

“The spectacular views, proximity to quality restaurants, and beautiful architecture at 1 Columbia Place are all amazing values for us,” Hagewood said. “San Diego is also an excellent alternative to other large cities in general because of its close proximity to great beaches and family entertainment. There’s definitely a beach vibe all over town, which is perfect for our company culture and mindset.”

About EMMES

EMMES Realty Services of California LLC is a member of The EMMES Group of Companies. Founded in 1992, with offices in New York and California, The EMMES Group of Companies and its affiliates are engaged in principal real estate investments, funds management and real estate services. The downtown San Diego EMMES portfolio is comprised of four high-rise office properties: 1 Columbia Place, 2 Columbia Place, 701 B Street, and 707 Broadway, along with a large parking and retail facility, which was recently rebranded to 6th & A Parking. For more information, visit www.emmesco.com.

About Psyonix

Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading expert in Unreal Engine technology. For more than a decade, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, Unreal Tournament III, Unreal Tournament 2004, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League®. For more information, visit www.psyonix.com.

Trump must not ignore small and mid-sized tech firms

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Co and ghost wrote an OpEd for Kevin Carroll, Executive Director of Tech San Diego for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 18, 2107

During a tech summit meeting in December 2016, President-elect Donald Trump pledged his aid in helping top technology executives continue to innovate. It’s alarming, however, that no one sitting at the table represented the heart of the American tech industry — small and midsized companies. Even Twitter was left out, because the social media trailblazer was deemed “too small.”

While Trump himself promised to do “anything we can” to help the tech industry, he must keep in mind that the core of innovation comes from smaller businesses as well, not just from the Silicon Valley elite. If innovation is truly going to be one of this administration’s key pillars, these innovators must have a voice.

Read the rest here.

Philanthropy’s role in clean energy economy

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Co and ghost-wrote an OpEd piece for Christian Braemer, co-founder of Benefunder for the San Diego Union Tribune, Dec. 4, 2015

America has come a long way in clean energy — thanks in part to government intervention, big risk-taking entrepreneurs, technological advances and early adopters — but we still have far to go. Today only 10 percent of our energy in the United States comes from renewable sources, a far cry from other leading countries like Denmark and Sweden, which are above 40 percent renewable power on their electric grid and moving toward an aggressive 100 percent; and Germany, which produces 30 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.

Read the rest here.

Changing philanthropy landscape to fill innovation deficit

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Co and ghost wrote an OpEd for Benefunder co-founder Christian Braemer for the San Diego Union Tribune, Nov. 29, 2014.

While some nonprofits are working toward a “cure” for many diseases, most of the money donated to these charities does not go toward actual research. Why not create a solution that allows more money to directly flow to researchers and less for overhead and other expenses? Wouldn’t it be more impactful to give that money to a researcher who is working on possible treatments for things like breast cancer, chronic pain, heart failure, strokes, and heart attacks?

Consider this: Over half of all wealth created in the United States since World War II can be directly attributed to university research. Technologies like Internet protocol, MRI, lasers, Google, silicon chips and countless lifesaving medicines were all born out of academic labs.

Today, however, the widening gap between available funding for research and the demand for those funds not only threaten American competitiveness, but also our health, economy, security, and overall well-being. These innovations are crucial to economic growth as new companies and industries are born, creating jobs, cures, and treatments.

Read the rest here.

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