Thursday, May 31, 2012

Ellen Scharaga’s Executive Leadership at OncoMed Pharmacuetical Services


For the past three years, Ellen Scharaga has served as Senior Vice President of Operations with OncoMed Pharmacuetical Services. Headquartered in Great Neck, New York, OncoMed is well established as a physician preferred, bio-oncology pharmacy, providing targeted biological drugs for cancer treatment. The firm compounds and mixes its pharmaceuticals in a class 5 clean-room environment, packaging drugs in stability-ensured containers that ensure safety and consistent product quality.

Ms. Scharaga’s firm takes pride in customer responsiveness, maintaining a staff of bio-oncology certified pharmacists on-hand day and night to assist patients in determining their ideal prescription plan. OncoMed tailors order fulfillment procedures to physicians’ specific office administrative-ordering and drug administration procedures. Every effort is made to carefully coordinate physicians’ preferred delivery times and methods, with orders accepted via fax, website, email, and phone.

Throughout her time with OncoMed, Ellen Scharaga has taken focused efforts to improve efficiency and quality of services. Responsible for all aspects of pharmacy dispensing and call center operations, she has improved overall prescription processing times by 30 percent. Ms. Scharaga has also led recruiting, hiring, and training programs, expanding staff by 50 percent. She has directed successful efforts to achieve Joint Commission accreditation, a key quality check for health care services providers across the United States.

Ms. Scharaga obtained her B.S. in Pharmacology at St John's University in New York City, gaining New York state registration as a licensed pharmacist. She spent nine years with Group Health Inc. in executive capacities before accepting her current role. Ellen Scharaga is a longstanding member of the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association and the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Learning and Playing Beautiful Music with Chromatik


Learning how to play music is a long and sometimes tedious process, but the result is almost always beautiful music. One company set out to make the process of learning music just as beautiful. 

Chromatik was founded by musician and tech entrepreneur Matt Sandler and software engineer James Wicker. Sandler came up with the idea for Chromatik while teaching through UCLA’s Music Partnership Program. While he thought that there was nothing really wrong with the music education system, he felt that it could still be improved. He then partnered up with Wicker to work on what Entrepreneur.com considers to be one of the 100 Brilliant Companies of 2011. Together, they have developed a system that could revolutionize music education around the world.

The concept of Chromatik is to allow teachers and students to use technology to teach and learn music more efficiently. This cloud based application allows teachers to send sheet music and sample recordings to the student’s computers and mobile devices. The students in turn work on the assignment and record practice sessions which are uploaded to the cloud and sent to the teacher. The teacher then gives feedback and makes annotations which the students can use to improve their playing. Since this whole system is cloud based, teachers and students can access the lessons, recordings and feedback on their mobile devices anywhere they are. 

Cloud based music sharing applications are not really new in today’s market, but one that focuses more on the learning process hasn’t been seen before Chromatik came into the picture. This system was designed to be used by both music institutions and private music teachers alike. Notable users of the Chromatik system include UCLA, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the prestigious The Julliard School. American Idol has also taken advantage of this unique system for its in-house band and performers.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Denny’s Restaurants: A Taste of Americana


The diner has been around for more than half a century and is recognized across the globe as an American icon. A popular watering hole in the 1950s, people still flock to diners and diner-style restaurants nowadays for the food and the friendly service these establishments have been known for all these years.

Denny’s is a restaurant chain that calls itself “America’s Diner.” It began as a donut shop called Danny’s Donuts in 1954, and has since expanded to serve the sandwiches, meal platters and entrees that we now know and love. It changed its name to Denny’s in 1959 and as the cliché goes, the rest is history. Today, Denny’s Restaurants and Denny’s Diners can be found all across America and is considered by Entrepreneur.com as one of 2012’s Top 10 Franchises.
One of the dishes Denny’s is famous for is the Grand Slam Breakfast. It was introduced in 1977 and is still a favorite of many at present.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Ori Tal and the ESO Equity Group Development Approach


With a decade of experience in law and real estate, Ori Tal heads Cocoa Beach, Florida, based ESO Equity Group. He has developed the firm as a holding entity for diverse real estate projects, typically involving residential or commercial rental communities. Mr. Tal’s track record extends over more than 750 condominium unit conversions undertaken over the past seven years, representing in excess of 1 million square feet.

Mr. Tal guides his executive team in initiating transactions, building investment partnerships, and project management. In maximizing the revenue-generation potential of properties, his firm guides extensive exterior and interior unit renovations. Certain properties have jumped dramatically from 20 percent to 80 percent occupancy within a 24-month period.

ESO Equity Group’s website at features a number of representative residential and commercial projects. One of the most notable projects is Executive Tower & Plaza, which was developed from The Galleria in Cocoa Beach. The renovated and built-out property features Mediterranean-style retail plaza with nearly 18,000 square feet of boutique enterprises. In addition, a 25,000 square foot office tower has been completed. This property evolution represents one of the largest office and retail complexes in the greater Cocoa Beach area.

Mr. Tal has also led the successful acquisition and development of numerous residential properties, including the 183-residence Royal Oak Patio Homes in Florida’s scenic central heartland. Residents of the spacious 11.5-acre development enjoy quick access to nearly 75 miles of unspoiled Atlantic coastline and are only a half-an-hour drive from downtown Orlando.

Ori Tal began his entrepreneurial career in international real estate and corporate law, having earned Law and Economics degrees at Haifa University in Israel. He notably completed an Israeli officer’s training program with honors, accepting a position as Lieutenant in the Navy reserves.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Eventbrite: Making Events Happen


Planning and coordinating events like art exhibits, symposiums, and concerts can be a bane, which is why a lot of people hire event planners to do the dirty work. Unfortunately, hiring a good event organizer isn’t all that hassle-free and at times, can be very expensive. This is why Kevin and Julia Hartz thought of a way to streamline event planning activities and allow people to create, promote and sell tickets for their events on one unique online platform.

Launched in 2006, Eventbrite is a one-stop-shop for events where people can create and plan their own events or search for and buy tickets for events that they would like to attend. The site has all the tools that can turn any average person into an event organizer. These tools allow them to effectively and efficiently plan and promote their events whether it’s a small wine-tasting party or a big concert in a 50,000 seating capacity arena. Event planners can market their events through non-traditional, but very popular platforms such as sending email invites and sharing information on social networking and media sites. 

Since it was founded, Eventbrite has become the go-to site for people who want to ensure the success of their events. Even big events production companies, such as the ones that organized the Black Eyed Peas 2011 concert in NYC’s Central park, have taken notice of this service and are using it to perform some, if not all, of their organizing tasks. The growing number of people and companies using this service has brought the spotlight on the company as it was featured in a number of articles by industry-leading newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. It was also featured in Forbes Magazine’s Names You Need To Know section of their website and was included in Mashable’s 6 Startups to Watch in 2012 even if the service was launched 5 years prior.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Best Buy Delivers the Promise of Technology


Since its inception in 1966, Best Buy has remained committed to bringing the best of consumer electronics innovations to the public. But although the company is strongly associated with technology, they provide more than just your normal day-to-day gadgets. If technology brings in the promise of convenience, Best Buy is there to live up to those promises. 

Like many companies, Best Buy also came from humble beginnings. They have changed their company structure and focus many times, yet remained consistent in providing the market with top of the line consumer electronics. Today, they operate a portfolio of global proportions, with local retail outlets where consumers are empowered to select their equipment of choice.  To assist them are Best Buy’s staff, trained to cater to the needs of any customer. 

Best Buy is among CNN’s most admired companies for 2011. Indeed, the company deserves the recognition for supporting innovation and sharing it to the public.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Why Gustavo Stringel Practices at Westchester Medical Center


Internationally known, oft-honored Gustavo Stringel, M.D., could practice medicine most anywhere in the world, but he has shared his considerable skills at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York for 18 years. Why? The Surgeon in Chief and Director of Pediatric Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the center’s Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, he joins other top physicians treating patients in a 5,000-square-mile area that includes 3.6 million people. Gustavo Stringel and his colleagues work in the area’s designated Trauma and Tertiary/Quaternary Care Center and the New York metropolitan area’s only all-specialty children’s hospital.

Westchester Medical Center began in 1918 as a United States Army hospital set up in county buildings to treat troops during the Spanish influenza epidemic. Returned to the county government in 1920, the facility became known as Grasslands Hospital. The original hospital closed in 1977 to accommodate Westchester Medical Center, a regional academic medical institution that became independent from the county in 1998. The center’s Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, where Dr. Stringel operates (literally), includes a Pediatric Asthma Clinical Research Center, one of only five in the country. The institution’s Transplant Center has performed more than 2,000 procedures.

In addition, the Westchester medical facility is the only comprehensive stroke and critical-care hyperbaric center in the region and the only burn center between New York City and the eastern New York border of Canada. Westchester Medical Center also serves as the region’s only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Recognized by the National Research Corporation in 2011 and 2012 with a Consumer Choice Award for the Highest Quality in the New York metropolitan area, the institution has earned repeated Excellence Awards from HealthGrades, Inc., in cardiac and bariatric surgery and numerous other prestigious awards. In sum, that’s why Gustavo Stringel, M.D., works at Westchester Medical Center.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Caterpillar: Making Sustainable Changes in Society Possible


Construction machines are largely considered as monster machines, not only because of their size but also of their function. Take, for example, a crane, which can lift tons of materials several stories high. With these kinds of equipment, constructing skyscrapers have become possible.
 
One of the leading manufacturers of cranes and other construction equipment is Caterpillar, which has been in the industry for more than 85 years. They are known for their construction and mining equipment, as well as natural gas and diesel engines, diesel-electric locomotives, and gas turbines. 

Caterpillar has been around since 1905, as San Francisco saw the construction of its famed cable car systems. Captured in photos was CAT’s Holt Steam Traction Engine #37, which was basically used to lay new cables as new lines were added to the system. This is the first documented involvement of CAT in sustainable change in the community.

From the cable system, CAT’s equipment were put into significant use when, in 1906, a huge earthquake shook San Francisco.  Once again, the Holt Steam Traction #37 was documented to have helped in cleanup and disaster recovery – the very first construction machine to have done such.

In the succeeding decades, CAT became more involved in helping construction sites address mechanical problems. The company improved their equipment based on the demands of construction jobs, and as such was able to deliver valuable technical improvements in all-steel construction, spring suspension systems, three-speed transmissions, and tractor parts. 

Recently, Caterpillar has taken part in the construction of South Korea’s Saemangeum Seawall, which is the longest earthen seawall in the world; the expansion of the Panama Canal; the construction of the 47-mile long Dubai Arabian Canal, as well as Nafud Desert’s 2,400-kilometer rail line in Saudi Arabia. Because of their contributions in the formation of sustainable change in the society, Caterpillar is recognized as one of the most admired companies in the world.