Just after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Ben Smilowitz directly witnessed the failed response, after all safety nets failed, while managing a high-volume Red Cross Client Service Center in Gulfport, Mississippi. With a background in civic engagement and issue campaigns, Ben started the Disaster Accountability Project to confront the root causes of the bungled disaster response.

The Disaster Accountability Project is improving disaster management systems through public accountability, citizen oversight and empowerment, whistle-blower engagement, and policy research and advocacy. In August 2008, Ben and the Disaster Accountability Project received a highly competitive Echoing Green Fellowship, awarded to social entrepreneurs addressing the root causes of societal challenges by starting new, cutting-edge ventures.

www.disasteraccountability.org
www.reliefoversight.org

In the first hour I spoke with Michael Tupper. A 15 year telecommunications veteran, Michael Tupper founded Tubaloo in November 2005 with a vision to integrate the various capabilities native on today’s smartphones – including high speed data networking, GPS and location-based data, along with superior audio and video – to deliver the ultimate communications experience.

Through identifying trends in the high-tech and telecommunications industries, often years before they hit mainstream consciousness, Michael has been able to harness this knowledge to provide the best analysis, counsel, design and implementation to each up-and-coming telecommunication project he’s collaborated on.

Michael’s telecom management experience includes working with carriers around the world, most recently as vice president of carrier sales for Atlas Telecom Network.

www.mobilityblogs.net/tubaloo/

Recognized by El Mercurio newspaper as one of Chile's top 100 young leaders in the year 2004, Tomás Recart was the founder of Enseña Chile, or the Chilean version of Teach for America, a North American NGO whose mission is to contribute to the elimination of inequality in education through the insertion of the country's best professionals in classrooms with the most need.

Tomás is currently the Executive Director of Enseña Chile, which has recently won the Endeavor-Social entrepreneurship 2008 Award as well as the Chilean Bicentennial Seal in the year 2009.

www.enseñachile.cl

What happens now with Chile's election of Sebastian Piñera as President?

In the second hour, I chatted with Dr. Jaime Baeza, Ph.d in Political Science from the University of Essex in the UK and currently a Professor at the Institute for Public Affairs of the University of Chile, about the recent election and what it means for Chile, the region and the rest of the world.

And in the second hour of the A-LO Show, Dr. Robert Funk, Academic Director and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Institute for Public Affairs of the University of Chile, chatted with us about the second round of the Chilean Presidential Elections on Sunday, January 17th and what all of it means for the future of the country.

In the first hour of the January 14th, 2010 show, I talked with Joel Holmes, American jazz pianist holding a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory in Jazz Performance at Johns Hopkins University and visiting Chile this month to participate in the Providencia Jazz Festival.

Joel has studied with Bobby McFerrin, Roy Hargrove, Gary Thomas, and a host of other respected musicians. He is currently Jazz Piano professor at The University of Maryland Baltimore County. He is the director of Jazz at the Baltimore School for the Arts Highschool, and has also taught music and theory at the Rock Junior Academy.

http://joelholmes.com/

NOSSA Group in Maitencillo, Chile!

Our group enjoying the cabin and buena onda in Maitencillo, especially eating machas a la parmesana - atypical chilean seafood dish!!

Laughing all xmas weekend from the beaches of the beautiful central coast..

Xmas fun on the beaches of Maitencillo, Chile with our group of 10 extranjeros!!!

Poor Santa Claus had to endure 30+ C degrees as he passed out gifts to the expecting children and then took time to take a picture with our group at the end of the morning!

Our SUSESO team sang holiday songs to the kids as they ate their treats...

Holiday Xmas party for the kids at this preschool in Santiago!! They put on a great show for us...

Luis Baez from our office brought his twin girls to the preschool xmas party so they could help out with the smaller kids.. I think they really enjoyed themselves!!

Our office staff sponsored the kids in this preschool in a more disadvantaged area of Santiago so they could have the BEST Christmas party ever!!

Cote and Francisca's beautiful wedding in the campo outside of Santiago the weekend before Christmas!! Our group had a great time celebrating the couple and dancing the night away!

Celebrating the 82nd Anniversary of the Superintendencia de Seguridad Social (SUSESO) at our Annual Holiday Party at the Centro Español in Santiago... fun times were had by all 200+ people who work in our office!

Celebrating Enrique Jr's 1st Birthday in December with friends and neighbors from Moneda 1541!

And in the second hour, I chatted with Rajiv Maher, who is Lead Researcher in a Project financed by a Canadian University exploring Mining Practices in the III Region of Chile, and is the reason why he is visiting Chile this week. He has been researching and working in Corporate Social Responsibility for the last 4 years in Latin America and is currently an International Finance Corporation (IFC) Consultant in the area of CSR, as well as doing a PhD at Cranfield University's Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility in the UK looking at Embedding CSR in Latin American Firms.

In the first hour, I talked with Mike Zellner, Director of the Southern Andes Conservation Program for The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest non-governmental environmental organization. Based in Santiago, Chile, Zellner leads conservation projects in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.

From Patagonia to the Pacific Ocean, The Nature Conservancy is leading ground-breaking work in climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the Southern Andes. The program’s pioneering work includes the world’s first certified carbon project; Chile’s first land trust; extracting moisture from fog to supply water in the desert, and dynamic sustainability initiatives in the world’s most important wool and fishing centers.

www.tnc.org
www.nature.org

In the second hour on Thursday, December 10th, I chatted with Steve Reifenberg, who has worked for nearly two decades on international educational, negotiation and development issues at Harvard University. From 1996 to 2002, he served as the Executive Director of Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). In 2002, the University asked him to establish Harvard’s first-ever, university-wide office overseas. In August 2002, he moved with his family to Santiago, Chile and set up the DRCLAS Regional Office which manages Harvard’s student programs in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, as well as coordinates Harvard faculty research projects in areas ranging from architecture and archaeology to biology and public health in these countries. The Regional Office has become the model for Harvard initiatives in other parts of Latin America and in Asia.

http://santiagoschildren.wordpress.com/steve/

In the first hour on Thursday, December 10th, I spoke with Mary G. Wilson, the 17th president of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF). A longtime resident of New Mexico, Ms. Wilson has been a League member since 1986.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. The League's enduring vitality and resonance comes from its unique decentralized structure. The League is a grassroots organization, working at the national, state and local levels.

www.lwv.org

Chad Mills, founder and coordinator of the One Mike Stand Benefit Concert.

This year’s benefit concert is for the protection of Chile's breathtaking river systems and coastline. The hard working people of Maule Itata Coastkeeper Program (www.vigilantecostero.cl) perform their grassroots work in the VII Region of Chile protecting the environment and the way of life for many communities in the area. All proceeds from the One Mic will go directly to the protection of this area from the ever-present pulp mill contamination. The folks from the Maule Iata Coastkeeper Program and Josh Berry, of the international organization Save the Waves, will also be showing a short documentary depicting the environmental struggles in the VII Region.

Sebastian Errazuriz (Sebastian E as he prefers to call himself now), an artist and designer born in Chile and raised in London. Sebastian studied industrial design and sculpture in Santiago, Washington, Edinburgh and New York City. His first exhibit was in Geneva, as part of the "Everyday Wonders" exhibition. He has had art exhibits all over the world, been selected as one of the top emerging designers by I.D. magazine, included in Sotheby’s Important 20 Designs, a professor at universities in both Santiago and New York, etc. Quite a resume for someone in their early 30’s - the perfect guest for the A-LO Show!
www.meetsebastian.com

Going to a wedding the end of November with my friend Jose, and insisting that we all do the LIMBO!!! Everyone had a great time... but my back hurt the next day! =)

Playing "Friends" in a Chilean TV commercial that we filmed early Saturday morning... I got to play Monica!! =)

Celebrating the second Thanksgiving Dinner in Santiago, by the hostess with the mostess, Maren!!

Celebrating Lisa's 22nd Birthday at the newly opened California Cantina in mid-town Santiago... Jack shows off his Cantina t-shirt as well!

Cruising through Ha Long Bay in Vietnam on a junk boat in October 2009... and jumping into the water from the second floor of the boat!

More Vietnam pictures, traveling in October 2009.

Meeting the famous Florcita Motuda after his concert!!

http://www.openboxlatino.cl/html/florcita_motuda/biografia.html

Going to Rodrigo and Mariela's wedding on Saturday with my friend, Felipe, in the countryside town of Catemu, outside of Santiago de Chile - November 2009.

In the second hour on Thursday, November 19th, Katty Kauffman and Jacki Torres, former competitive figure skaters themselves in the United States, talked about their community organizing efforts to put on a Christmas ice skating extravaganza in Santiago entitled, "Magia Navideña sobre Hielo" (Christmas Magic on Ice), where the best ice skaters in Chile will be participating alongside Chilean TV stars. This event also marks the official launch of Santiago's second rink, the biggest in Chile so far, and its incorporation into the USFS Basic Skills program for training figure skaters. Compared to neighboring Argentina and many other countries, Chile does not have a long tradition of ice skating (except for a brief period in the early 80s, there weren't even any rinks in Chile until very recently).

www.kattykauffman.com/magia_navidena.htm

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The Thursday, November 19th version of the A-LO Show included Meredith Segal. Hailing from Cumberland, Maine and a recent Bowdoin University graduate, she was the founder and creator of the Facebook Group, "Students for Barack Obama", which in 2006 took on the form of a petition to encourage Obama to become a contender in the 2008 election. This group eventually grew to include more than 250,000 supporters and transformed into the official student section of the Obama campaign. Later on, Meredith was named as National Co-Chair of "Obama for America", serving as one of the youngest national co-chairs ever at 22 years old.

Democrats Abroad Chile jumpstart committee invited Meredith Segal, founder of the Facebok group "Students for Barack Obama", to eat lunch at the local California Cantina with Americans living in Chile. She was brought to Santiago for 3 days to speak at a series of events targeted at students and the power of SNS.

In the first hour on Thursday, November 12th A-LO Show, Joe Willis Jones and Soco Astorga talked about their work fighting to try and save the Maipo River from the PHAM Hydroelectric Project being proposed by the American company AES Gener, and which became public just recently in Chile. The river runs right through their property, Cascada de las Animas ecological tourist center (cascada.net), thus their lives and history are woven tightly with the Maipo river. “Its loss would be the beginning of the end of our business and our way of life.”

And in the second hour on Thursday, November 12th, Pedro Peirano, creator of the children’s television series 31 Minutos, screenwriter for the award-winning Chilean movie, The Maid, comic strip illustrator, journalist, writer and actor in the famous television show, Plan Z, among many other talents, chatted about his very successful career on both a national and international level, as well as what projects are on the horizon.

In the first hour, Julie Gibson, a "Gringa Mom on a Green Mission", spoke about her work in Chile to make communities more safe and healthy by educating as many people as she can about the environmental threats caused by toxins and how we all can live happier and healthier lives by making simple yet effective changes.

She also gave me a non-toxic cleaning kit as a gift to promote her cause, so nice!!

And in the second hour, Fernando Nilo, Founder and CEO of RECYCLA, the first social entrepreneur organization in Latin America to develop a sustainable business model to properly recycle the growing amount of electronic waste, spoke about their dedication to the environment through their work on innovative e-waste recycling projects, their prestigious recognitions by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (2008 Global Social Entrepreneur) and The World Economic Forum at Davos (2009 Technology Pioneer, the first from Latin America, among many other topics.

www.recycla.cl

During the first hour on October 29th my guest was Japi Jane (pronounced Happy Jane), entrepreneur and owner of an adult boutique focused on selling products especially designed for women and couples in Chile. Since November 2006, her goal has been to provide a comfortable environment where women and couples can enhance their sex life. She also takes her store on the road with "Tuppersex" parties, Tupperware-style parties, and has met with over 3,000 Chilean women in more than 300 Tuppersex parties.

www.japijane.cl

And in the second hour on Thursday, October 29th, Leslie Wheeling, International Market Analyst at TradeChile, a leader in international consulting services and one of the most important Chilean firms in the international trade and investment field, talked about her work assisting small to medium sized Pennsylvania-based businesses across all industries to break into the Chilean market.

www.tradechile.cl

During the first hour on Thursday, October 22nd, my guest was Helen Huthnance, President of the International Professional Women's Association (IPWA), who shared with us more about her organization's work to inspire and connect professional women in Chile and around the world. IPWA is a non-profit organization of English-speaking women who are interested in professional, personal and cultural development.

http://www.ipwasantiago.org

In the second hour on Thursday, October 22nd, I talked with the Managing Director (CEO) for the Walt Disney Company in the Andean Region, Javier Irarrazaval, about his responsibilities and accomplishments in the last 20 years leading Disney operations in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, as well as his involvement in various national and regional organizations dedicated to the promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility practices in business and society.

Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 2009.

Eating the famous "Bun Cha" dish at an "award-winning" hole in the wall restaurant on the streets of Hanoi... nice and spicy - how I like it!

Experiencing the sights of Vietnam to the fullest!

Pure tourism with our APEC delegation in Hanoi, Vietnam.... checking out the sights!

Halong Bay, Vietnam, october 2009.

One of the many EATING experiences in Vietnam as our group tried an excellent seafood restaurant and joked around with our tour guide.

Touring the sights in Hanoi, Vietnam and listening to their traditional music played by the "Vietnamitas" dressed so beautifully.

Adrien visits the Perfume Pagoda and Yen River in northern Vietnam, October 2009.

Taking small boats up the Yen River to see the Perfume Pagoda, outside of Hanoi, Vietnam in October 2009.

Staying at the beautiful Sofitel Hanoi Plaza during the APEC CSR Symposium in October 2009.

The Chilean Delegation to the APEC CSR Symposium on October 5th and 6th, 2009 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

All the motos on the streets of Hanoi during my visit in October 2009!! It was chaotic, yet orderly at the same time!

Vietnam Trip, October 2009... visiting the pagodgas with members of our APEC Delegation.

A rare view of Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal in the middle of the city.

The A-LO Show on Thursday, October 1st welcomed Steve Martin - Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park in the United States, and Patrick Moore - coordinator of the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Chile, at the US Embassy Radio Studio.

In the second hour, Nathan Young, CEO of NEOS, talked with us about the work his company is doing to lead the development of Open Innovation and Technology Transfer for Latin America. The idea behind NEOS is to take the innovation and research being completed in Chilean universities and seek commercial opportunities in more developed economies with these cutting-edge ideas.

My first hour guest on Thursday, September 24th was Oscar Hahn, nationally and internationally reknowned Chilean poet. Oscar talked with us about his career as a poet and even shared from his latest book, “Ashes in Love”, released just last month in bookstores. Hailed by Mario Vargas Llosa as “magnificent and truly original … the most personal I’ve read in the poetry of our language in a long time."

In the second hour, Project Coordinator for the Zoltner Consulting Group, Claire Buré, talked with us about her work leading projects on the use of SMS technology for low-income people working in the agriculture industry in Chile, and on providing better ICT access and training for people with disabilities in Latin America.

The "golden" pictures taken with President Michelle Bachelet!

Taking pictures in front of the enormous tent constructed for the venue.

Attending the Annual 18 de Septiembre Party sponsored by the Chilean Army and attended by President Michelle Bachelet this year, as well as other Chilean VIPs...

The ladies at the office, as well as the Superintendente, Alvaro Elizalde, all celebrate independence-day activities!!

Celebrating Cote's Birthday at the office in September 2009. Macarena and I each took pictures with the birthday girl...

Riding horses in Calera del Tango area, outside of Santiago, with my friend Alex.

Our "Young Guns" Trivia Team was pumped to be participating in the VE Global Fundraiser event on Saturday, November 7th, 2009. We came in 6th out of 20 or so tables, so not too shabby!

Celebrating 18 de septiembre activities in Chile during the entire month of September. These pictures show all of our office employees dressing up in traditional costume and dancing the "cueca" - even my boss got into it!

Visiting the GABY Mining Operation, which stands for the famous Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral, in September 2009. I think we were the only ones visiting-touring cause there was nobody in sight!

More pictures from my visit to Antofagasta in the north of Chile, mid-September 2009.

In the second hour of The A-LO Show on Thursday, September 17th, Executive Editor of America Economia Magazine, Eduardo Thomson, talked with us about a variety of political issues facing not only Chile, but the entire Latin American region.

Jeanette and I spoke to the top managers of the GABY Mining operation about the ISO 26000 standard and its role in shaping Social Responsibility on a national and international level. Afterwards, we were given a tour around the operations!

Touring the sights of Antofagasta in the north of Chile, Sept 2009.

Visiting Antofagasta, Chile in September 2009.

Speaking at the INN Seminar on the ISO 26000 standard on Social Responsibility in Antofagasta, Chile.

Images from my trip to Antofagasta in the northern part of Chile, the 2nd region to be exact.

Santiago Radio staff meeting on Saturday, September 12th at Dan Brewington's house, or "parcela", in the community of Pirque outside of Santiago, Chile. We had a great time celebrating the great work the radio station does not only in Chile, but around the world!!

Celebrating Muriel by giving her a despedida as she leaves Chile to go work in Mexico... all of our international mix of friends showed up to say goodbye. Thanks to Maren for offering her house and cooking such yummy Mexican food!

Watching the Chile vs. Venezuela soccer game in Monumental Stadium in Santiago, Chile on Saturday, September 5th... as you can see, it was raining cats and dogs outside, but had fun all the same!!!

Speaking with "La Sexperta", Lauren Purcell, on Thursday, September 3rd's A-LO Show on Santiago Radio.cl. Lauren is Clinical Sexologist and expert in Public Health (Sexual Health), as well as specialized in the sexual and reproductive health of women and child sex education.
Her blogsite is: www.100mujer.com

Nicole Etchart-- CEO and co-founder, and Gonzalo San Martín-- Director of Business Development, spoke on the A-LO Show on Thursday, August 27th about their organization, NESsT and its national and global objective to solve critical social problems in emerging market countries by developing and supporting social enterprises that strengthen civil society organizations' financial sustainability and maximize their social impact.

www.nesst.org

Carlos Larrain, President of the opposition political party, Renovación Nacional, was the first hour guest on the A-LO Show on Santiago Radio on Thursday, August 27th, 2009.

Interviewing Carlos Larrain, Presidente de Renovación Nacional, on the A-LO Show on Santiago Radio.cl, Thursday, August 27th, 2009.

And in the second hour of the A-LO Show on Santiago Radio, Thursday, August 20th, Adrien interviewed professional astronomer, Andrew Fox, who is currently employed by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and whose Chilean headquarters are in Santiago. He spoke about the science carried out at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the night skies in Chile being some of the clearest in the world! www.eso.org

Adrien Lopez interviews Peter Murphy Lewis on the A-LO Show on Santiago Radio this past Thursday, August 20th. Peter is Partner and Director of Business and Project Development for La Bicicleta Verde, a bike tour company in Santiago, Chile. www.labicicletaverde.com

Gregorio González - Executive Producer- and Pablo González- Art Director-, for the recently launched Chilean movie, "La Nana" (The Maid) were interviewed on the A-LO Show the same night as the launch of their movie in Chilean theaters!!

They were the Winner of World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic and World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as well as Official Selection: 2009 New Directors/New Films:

http://variety.com/review/VE1117939461.html?categoryid=2471&cs=1

http://www.movingpicturesmagazine.com/reviews/movies/the-maid

Thomas Maffai, Chile Field Director for the World Teach organization, a Harvard based non-profit that works in 17 different countries and with three programs in Chile, http://www.worldteach.org/index.html.

More colorful pictures from my weekend in Valparaiso celebrating friend John's birthday and enjoying the clean air, seafood and beautiful views of the ocean!

It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day last Sunday in my favorite coastal city of Valparaíso, Chile. The colors of the city are so vibrant that it lifts your mood no matter what!

Eating Chilean "asado" (BBQ) for John's 31st Birthday (gringo-looking guy in the pictures) on the hills of Valparaiso last weekend. Chileans are very proud of their meat, but I still had my fish ready after they were done cooking their cows... =)

Spending a weekend in Valparaiso with friends and riding on the famous elevators of the city --- "Don't look down, Florencia!"

Francisco Aravena, a famous Chilean Reporter, free-lance writer and radio host on www.duna.cl was my guest on the ALO Show Thursday, August 6th from 7-8pm on www.santiagoradio.cl

Interviewing Dante Pesce, The Executive Director of Vincular, an organization dedicated to promoting social responsibility and sustainable development in Chile and around the world, www.vincular.cl.

My pug Ella doesn't like to wake up early in the morning on these cold winter days.... sooo cute!

August 6th, 2009:

Last week a special interest lobbying firm with ties to dirty energy companies was caught sending forged letters to a Democratic congressman's office—urging him to oppose clean energy legislation.

The letters claimed to be from a Hispanic non-profit called Creciendo Juntos and the local chapter of the NAACP. The only problem? Neither group had ever seen the letters, much less sent them.³

Faking letters from ethnic groups to oppose progressive legislation? It's like Karl Rove is back running the show.

This incident could be just the tip of the iceberg—one small part of a coordinated campaign to undermine the president's agenda. The House of Representatives has started to investigate how far this scam goes—but with allegations this serious, this is a federal criminal matter

A lobbying firm hired to fight against clean energy was caught sending forged letters from the NAACP and a Hispanic nonprofit to a Democratic congressman. Please conduct a thorough investigation into whether the firm, Bonner & Associates, committed fraud, and how often they've done this.

The thing is, this isn't the first time this has happened.

The very same firm, Bonner & Associates, was caught in 2002 using an African American charity's name to oppose legislation lowering drug prices—that time on behalf of their clients in the pharmaceutical industry.

Throwing a Baby Shower for our friend Hillary Carpenter (from Seattle, WA) on Sunday, August 2nd... baby boy (she won't tell us the name yet) is on his way in less than two weeks!

Celebrating Hillary and baby boy Carpenter on his way in less than two weeks... we threw her a Baby Shower on Sunday, August 2nd.

The "ALO SHOW" (Adrien Lopez) was launched on Thursday night, July 30th, 2009 from 6-8pm on Santiago Radio, www.santiagoradio.cl. My two guests for the evening were Carlos Cortes, Executive Director of the Natural Gas Distributors Association of Chile (www.agnchile.cl) and Pedro Traverso, Founder and Executive Director of Late (www.late.cl), the first social business created in Chile and which all profits from the sale of a bottle of water go directly to a children's foundation in Chile. Tune in every week!!

Giving a "despedida" (going away party) to our friend Jeff Hayner from Chicago on Wednesday night in Santiago, Chile. He will be missed!!! Best of luck in the future, Jeff!

Enjoying our IPWA (International Professional Women's Association) Winter Dinner 2009 at Ocean's Pacific Restaurant in Barrio Brasil in downtown Santiago, Chile. Trish Flynn (past President) and I were in charge of registering all of our guests for the evening (featured below).