to enter politics until they have real life experience adds to her

theory. Becker notes that for example, men start holding elected office

in their 30s, and sometimes younger, at the ages before or at the

beginning of starting a family. Women, on the other hand, tend to

be coming in later, in the 40s, and with families already established.

translate well into an area where an advocate needs to balance all

aspects of the big picture. "It’s like playing three-dimensional

tic tac toe," says Becker. "You need to be cognizant of everything

around a particular issue."

to do that is to read the newspaper every day. "You can’t operate

in a vacuum," she says, and reading three or four helps to collect

all the necessary information. Becker admits reading at least three

herself every day.

Becker, a Princeton resident for almost 30 years, has both of her

degrees in English. In 1962 she graduated from the University of Michigan,

and in 1971 she received her master’s at Manhattan College in New

York. Immediately after college she worked at a public interest organization

for four years. In 1977 she started her own firm of lobbying and public

affairs, Nancy Becker Associates. She was one of the first woman lobbyists

in New Jersey, and her firm was the first woman-owned of its kind

in the state.

To take the initiative, Becker has found, will take you further on

the road to success. "Don’t wait for them to woo you," she

warns. Once you have decided that you have a passion for politics,

the next step is getting off your duff and getting involved.

For those just starting in politics, Becker recommends working with

a local legislator as a good way to see the process and get a feel

for the business. Women can volunteer, or start to work on a campaign.

The more women understand about the political process, the more effective

they can work in government relations, says Becker.

Public relations showcases another important quality women possess:

"Women are better communicators," says Becker. They are able

to be clear and direct. Many of them are good writers, an essential

skill. Tied in is the female sex’s famed agility with interpersonal

skills.

Of course, having Christie Todd Whitman sitting in the most powerful

seat in the state has made a huge difference for women in politics,

says Becker. First, it creates an environment for women to open doors

for other women. Second, it makes it acceptable for women to be in

the government and its related fields such as lobbying. And third,

more women are involved in and around the state government since Whitman

took office.

But couldn’t these things be accomplished with a sympathetic male

governor?

"It might happen," says Becker. "But not as clearly."

Any governor is a conspicuous role model and a male role model is

just not as influential as a woman is when it comes to bringing women

into politics.

Today more women are doing lobbying or in politics and government

relations than when Becker started in the 1970s. Where she was once

a rarity, Becker now estimates the field is about 30 to 40 percent

female. The change in numbers stems from a change in attitude on both

sides. "The field is much more open than it used to be," she

says.

Although she does not think anything was lacking before women entered

the scene, the climate has certainly benefited. "Women and minorities

have a different perspective," on issues, says Becker. "And

that helps legislators make better decisions."

— Monika J. Guendner

Top Of Page
Trade Mission to South America

Governor Whitman’s 10-day trade and investment mission

to South America is the largest ever led by a New Jersey governor.

About 100 business leaders from throughout the state are now accompanying

the governor on this trip to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile that will

run through Friday, March 26.

The businesses represent small to mid-sized corporations and Fortune

500 companies including two Princeton area companies, Nedamco North

America Corp., and Summit Bancorp. The companies form a broad variety

of industries including pharmaceuticals, banking, telecommunications,

environmental technology, and medicine.

The Business Owners Institute and Pegnato International will sponsor

a workshop for presidents and CEOs whose companies export goods and

services overseas, on Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m., at the Business

Owners Institute. Call 908-526-1500.

"New Jersey is among the top 10 states in exporting," says

Beverly Pegnato, president of Pegnato International. "However

many export companies don’t cash in on the windfalls offered by the

Federal government or by foreign governments." She adds that there

are many incentives available for companies that sell and export goods

to Europe, Latin America, South America, and Asia. "Governments

are extremely interested in foreign trade and offer incentives,"

says Pegnato. "But you have to apply for them."

"I applied and got accepted," says Eric Converse of

Nedamco, a silicon sealant broker based at Princeton Forrestal Village.

He says that he got involved with the trade mission late and had to

arrange his contacts in Brazil. However, the chamber of commerce arranged

meetings for him in Argentina and Chile. Converse says he is looking

forward to getting an entry into South America.

MERCOSUR, a customs union of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay,

with two associate members, Chile and Bolivia, is the world’s third

largest trading block after the European Union and the North American

Free Trade Agreement. New Jersey’s exports to MERCOSUR exceed $1 billion

and support approximately 14,000 jobs in New Jersey.

In South America the governor will meet with presidents and other

heads of state. The members of the trade delegation will participate

in a series of meetings with South American business leaders to discuss

trade and investment opportunities.

Top Of Page
Start-up Studies

Anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit is being encouraged

to participate in the Entrepreneurial Training Institute, sponsored

by the New Jersey Development Authority (NJDA) for Small Businesses,

Minorities, and Women’s Enterprises. Graduates of the program are

prime candidates to qualify for monies from a revolving loan fund

established by the NJDA. More than 350 people have graduated from

the training program in the past six years.

Courses start this month at 10 locations around the state and cover

such topics as business planning, financing, and marketing. In this

area sessions will be conducted at Human Resource Development Institute

at 200 Woolverton Avenue in Trenton, starting Thursday, March 25,

at 6 p.m., and also at the Burlington County High-Tech Incubator on

Route 38 in Mt. Laurel on Wednesday, March 24, at 6 p.m. Other courses

are in Lakewood and Asbury Park. The three-hour classes run for seven

weeks and cost $165 including a textbook, "Business Planning Guide"

by David H. Bangs Jr. Call 609-292-9279 or E-mail to cld@njeda.com.

Though the NJDA operates under the supervision of the NJEDA, the NJDA

has its own funds derived from casino revenues. It offers loans for

start-up and micro businesses to spend on real estate, fixed assets,

and working capital. For fixed assets and working capital, the same

pool can provide loan guarantees.

This year the Entrepreneurial Training Institute has a new curriculum,

devised by Paul Belliveau (908-232-6480) and Ronald Cook

of Rider University. Belliveau has a 20-year-old consulting business,

is an adjunct professor at Rutgers’ Graduate School of Management,

and gives seminars at the Small Business Development Centers of Rutgers

and Kean University. Cook is an associate professor in Rider’s College

of Business Administration, where he teaches courses in entrepreneurship,

venture planning, family business, and small business consulting.

He also directs the Small Business Institute at Rider.

Belliveau and Cook will teach selected classes and work with the instructors

on the program. And yes, there will be a final exam. All students

will develop a business plan, and these plans will be subjected to

a "panel review" by lawyers, bankers, and accountants on the

last night. And in this course, an "A" might represent a start-up

loan of from, say $20,000, all the way up to $100,000.

Top Of Page
PC in the Hand

Road warriors know how important it is to keep in touch

with the home office and clients, but until recently doing so via

E-mail required carrying a laptop to access E-mail accounts. Now various

firms are offering hand-held PCs based on Microsoft’s Windows CE operating

system and capable of connecting to external modems for E-mail access.

One of the newest entrants in the field boasts an even slicker connection

— via a wireless modem. The product is the BlackBerry Mobile E-mail

Solution and it is being marketed in New Jersey by Trellis Network

Services at 105 College Road East, which is hosting a breakfast Tuesday,

March 23, at 7:30 a.m. to demonstrate the new technology and offer

free trials. The breakfast is free. Preregister

at http://www.trellisnet.com/club or call Danny Mooney at 609-987-0660.

Developed about six months ago by Research in Motion (RIM) in Ontario,

Canada (http://www.rim.net), the BlackBerry is "a little bit bigger

than a pack of playing cards," says Michael Cook, product

line specialist at Trellis.

The BlackBerry, a 5-ounce device that is worn on the hip just like

a pager, is "a wireless handheld PC that securely and wirelessly

delivers access to your Microsoft desktop, as well as a few other

E-mail clients," explains Tyler Nelson, a University of

Ottawa graduate, Class of ’88. He notes that it is "wirelessly

enabled," thanks to "the world’s smallest RF two-way modem

and operates on the Bellsouth Intelligence Wireless Network, a packet

data network covering 93 percent of the major urban business population

in the U.S. The handheld device talks to that network, contains security

encryption, and allows you to send E-mail from your desktop so that

this device becomes your Microsoft Exchange/Microsoft Outlook desktop."

Nelson says that for a flat-rate monthly air time cost of only $39.99,

customers receive as much transfer of data as is needed and seamless

roaming throughout the U.S. and Canada. "There are no ceilings

or variability in billing," states Nelson. And beginning in about

eight weeks, a basic paging service will be bundled in that base monthly

charge. "The device will be addressable by a 1-800 number,"

says Nelson. "It’s going to be a value-added feature at no extra

charge."

— Catherine J. Barrier

Top Of Page
Careers:

Clinical Research

When you count the 950 employees at Covance at 206 Carnegie,

more than 14,000 people are employed in 13 pharmaceutical contract

research organizations (CROs) in the Princeton area. CROs shepherd

a drug through its clinical trials. Once a product has proven effective

on animals, it must be tested — with impeccable accuracy in record

keeping — on human beings. People able to do this work are in

short supply.

Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is offering a new certificate

program in Clinical Research and Drug Development. The program has

been designed with the help of Covance. The cost of attending the

program, including books, is approximately $900 per student, and there

are 25 to 30 seats available.

Rose Nini, dean of corporate and community programs at MCCC,

says that the program was a direct response to the industry’s growing

needs. Representatives from major companies like Covance and Bristol-Myers

Squibb, together with the faculty at MCCC, identified the shortage

of trained professionals in this field.

"The pharmaceutical industry is growing 15 percent a year,"

says Raul Valentin, vice president for human resources at Covance,

"and development services organizations are growing 20 to 25 percent

a year."

Of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies, 17 have significant

operations in New Jersey, employing about 60,000 people and generating

$8 billion in economic activity. Covance cut a wide swath in the Princeton

community and achieved a first at the Carnegie Center — its name

on its own building. Covance has more than 7,200 employees in 17 countries

worldwide.

What makes this program unusual, says Nini, is that you have to have

a baccalaureate degree in nursing, chemistry, pharmacy, medical technology

or a related area to be eligible to apply. The college plans to offer

three additional certificates — specializing in Data Management

Information Sciences, Auditing and Monitoring, and Site Management

— for those who complete the program. The earning potential in

these fields is $35,000 to $50,000 annually.

The college will host career nights on Thursday, March 25, and Thursday,

April 8, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Members of the faculty and representatives

from the industry will be present. For more information, call Nini

at 609-890-9624 or E-mail: nini@mccc.edu.

Top Of Page
Douglass & the Scouts

Douglass College at Rutgers University in New Brunswick

and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. aim to expand opportunities for

high school girls across the country interested in careers in science

and technology. On Tuesday, March 23, at 2 p.m. at the Bunting Cobb

Residence Hall, they will unveil a partnership funded by the Toyota

USA foundation. Douglass College has the nation’s first residence

hall exclusively for college women majoring in math, science, and

engineering.

Top Of Page
Year 2000 Kit

Use standard inventory procedures and business-analysis

tasks to help you estimate the size of your Year 2000 challenge, says

Irene Dec. As Prudential’s Year 2000 program manager, she will

speak to the Essex chapter of NJAWBO on Tuesday, March 23, at 6 p.m.

Cost: $40. Call 973-744-5533.

Dec will bring worksheets to the meeting, but anyone can tap this

"Year 2000 Kit for Small Businesses" by linking to Prudential’s website through

http://www.technologynj.org.

Top Of Page
Conference on Learning Disabilities

The Newgrange Educational Outreach Center and Recording

for the Blind and Dyslexic is hosting a full-day conference "The

Implications of Brain Research on Reading and Learning Disabilities"

on Friday, March 19, at 8:30 a.m. at Princeton University’s Richardson

Auditorium. Cost: $75. Call 609-924-6204 for more information.

Barbara Keogh Ph.D., from the University of California at Los

Angeles department of psychiatry, and Maryanne Wolf Ph.D., director

of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University,

will examine the latest brain research on the neurobiology of those

with learning disabilities and the impact of this research in both

school and family settings.

The Newgrange Educational Outreach Center, located in Princeton, offers

workshops, seminars, training, and referral services to educators,

literacy tutors, parents, and others concerned with learning disabilities.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic is a national nonprofit organization

headquartered in Princeton that provides taped and computerized textbooks

for students who cannot read standard print effectively because of

a disability.

Top Of Page
Entrepreneur Awards

Ernst and Young, the Iselin-based entrepreneurial services

firm is seeking nominations for New Jersey based entrepreneurs as

part of its 12th annual New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

Company owners who are primarily responsible for the growth of their

company are eligible for the award.

The companies must have been operating for at least two years and

if the company is publicly-held, the founder must be an active member

in top management. Nominations must be received by April 9. The award

recipients will be announced on Thursday, June 17, at the Hilton East

Brunswick and Towers, and will be eligible to compete for one of several

national award categories, including the 1999 National Entrepreneur

of the Year. For nomination firms call Ted Gullo at 732-906-3431

or go to http://www.ey.-com/entrepreneur.eoy.

Previous nominees include Alain and Katherine Kornhauser of

ALK Associates on Herrontown Road, Herbert M. Greenberg of Caliper,

and Thomas Gray Jr., founder of the former Carnegie Bank (now

Sovereign). Martin D. Levine of MarketSource Corporation at

Exit 8A won an award in 1997 and was a judge in 1998. Past national

award winners include Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation,

Steve Case of America Online, and Howard Schultz of Starbucks

Coffee.

Top Of Page
Risking Disaster

Think of the worst: a fire, a flood in the building,

a burst pipe, or damage to your hard drive. If your company depends

on research, and you lose your R&D data, you have lost your crown

jewels.

Richard Allen Maloy Jr. will help present a New Jersey Technology

Council seminar on "what can go wrong, what can we do about it

so that it doesn’t go wrong, and how do we pay for it if it does go

wrong." Entitled "Risk Management and Environmental Issues"

the seminar will be Thursday, March 25, at 5 p.m. at the Forrestal

Hotel and Conference. Maloy Insurance and St. Paul Fire and Marine

Insurance are co-sponsors. Cost: $50. Call 609-452-1010.

Other speakers will be Ken Zuerbliss, CFO of Enzon; Richard

Sheldon, director of industrial facilities and risk management

of Kemper Environmental; and Frank Jankowski, president of Corporate

Environmental Services Inc. They will give tips on dealing with disasters

and recovery to chief financial officers and risk managers of various

industry groups, including medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical

companies.

"We will be looking at how do you recover data and what happens

if it does go down," says Maloy, vice president of Maloy Insurance

at 228 Alexander Street and a board member of the New Jersey Technology

Council. "Also, if you have a major facility with expensive lab

equipment and the entire facility has a fire and burns all of the

lab equipment plus all of the data that’s there, how do you get it

back? Do have a contingency plan? Have you put in some disaster recovery

methods?

"We want people to be thinking about what can go wrong, how it

can be fixed, and how to plan for a disaster recovery team." Before

a disaster occurs:

data should be in some type of disk format. Make sure that it’s documented,

backed up, and in multiple copies. Also make sure the system is backed

up every night and that you have off-site storage of tapes and the

backups, so if data is destroyed it can be replaced easily.

Identify a company or companies where — in the event of disaster

— computers can be rented in order to get back up and running

right away.

equipment that could take months to duplicate. Compile a list of manufacturers

or distributors that make it. They, in turn, may know businesses that

can get companies operational again.

no worn parts. Bring in thermography cameras that look at all the

machinery and equipment in the plant. The camera will pick up hot

spots in the machinery that will tell companies when a part could

break down or cause fire and loss.

animals away from flammable areas and well cared for.

The companies should issue complete rules on laboratory procedures.

If it is a larger company with a major product, the FDA requires it.

However, some of the younger companies may not have stringent rules

on something as simple as wearing protective eyewear when working

around chemicals.

is contaminated by chemicals. Smaller companies way not feel that

they are able to do it, but they may be out of compliance with FDA

regulations.

a lease for a space. Be sure the space will allow you to be in compliance.

Because they are driven by computer chips, you need to install surge

protectors. Also set up a telephone service plan that can reroute

calls in the event of a disaster.

with a plain vanilla insurance policy (as opposed to a policy from

a specialty insurer) but instead lost money when it had a contamination

disaster.

"The refrigeration unit with bio material inside was damaged and

contamination leaked out the door and into ground water. The contamination

leak was not found for about a month, and it was just seeping out

into a creek. The EPA got wind of it, and they came down and put the

clamps on them.

"The EPA wanted the company to do a full cleanup, but the policy

they had purchased was very limited for pollution clean-up coverage.

They had this huge loss, and they wound up paying about $300,000 out

of pocket because they had to do a full remediation."

"Had we had the pollution clean-up policy, or had gone in with

the thermography camera, we could have seen the hot spots and the

potential damage. We could have restructured the policy correctly

so at least they would have had better protection," says Maloy.

"We might have been able to prevent that loss all the way around.

— Ernie Johnston

Corrections or additions?

— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.