PBA in Nashville

No, this is not about the Professional Bowlers Association … it’s about Pro Bono Analytics activities at the Nashville meeting.

If you’re a PBA volunteer, thanks for signing up! We are continuing to grow our client list, so keep an eye out for more Requests for Volunteers coming down the pike. If you’re not yet a volunteer, but are curious, there are a number of opportunities for you to get acquainted with our activities:

• We have a panel session (MC 52) featuring current clients and volunteers. It’s Monday, 1:30 – 3:00 pm, in 214 MCC. I’m looking forward particularly to the volunteer presentations. Without spoiling anything, I know, at least one of them encountered issues in the field that you don’t find in any text books.
• Members of the PBA committee will be holding court at the INFORMS booth (centrally located in Exhibit Hall A, MCC) on Tueday from 9 to 10:30 am. Come meet us, ask questions, bask in our gratitude if you’re already a volunteer, and hopefully sign up to volunteer if not. Not entirely coincidentally, we will be conveniently located with respect to the morning coffee service.
• We will have a poster up in the Tuesday afternoon poster session (12:30 – 2:30 pm, apparently also in Exhibit Hall A). The poster includes information on some recent projects.
• Thanks to the efforts of Rina Schneur and Mary L. (do not ask me to spell her last name), we have our first ever (but hopefully not last) “microvolunteering” opportunity. We are partnering with a Nashville organization, Safe Haven, that assists homeless families. The are two ways to participate. First, there is a PayPal site through which you can donate money to help Safe Haven provide basic supplies for families transititioning from homelessness to new living quarters. Second, we will have a table in the central area of Exhibit Hall A, next to the INFORMS booth, where you can create cards for families, offering holiday greetings or words of encouragement. Please see Rina’s post “A New Tradition of Giving …” on the Connect open forum for details. The Safe Haven table will be open noon to 5 pm on Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm Monday and Tuesday, and 9 am to 3 pm on Wednesday.

I hope to see you at one (or more) of these.