Botstiber Foundation

Annie Rigby

BIAAS: The Botstiber Podcast Episode Three: Andrew Nagorski

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Sigmund Freud left a fascinating legacy of unraveling the mysteries of the human psyche. While his professional exploits are well-known, the dramatic story of this Jewish-Austrian’s escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna has often been overlooked.

In this episode, Andrew Nagorski, author of Saving Freud: The Rescuers Who Brought Him to Freedom, discusses the exhilarating life that Freud led, the engaging stories of his diverse group of rescuers, and the deeply human reasons that led him to remain in Vienna despite months of Nazi harassment following the Anschluss, in 1938.

Do you have an idea for a future podcast episode, or video that supports our transatlantic mission? Please contact Program Officer Luke Morgante at Lmorgante@botstiber.org.

Botstiber: Hiring for PT Multimedia Production Specialist

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About the Organization:

The Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation is a 501(c) (3) private philanthropic foundation located in Media, PA, fulfilling the charitable intentions set forth by the late Dietrich W. Botstiber: to provide scholarships to talented students of good moral character in the fields of science, technology, and commerce; to promote an understanding of the historic relationship between the United States and Austria; and to support programs that prevent cruelty to animals and human beings.  In support of these charitable intentions, the Botstiber Foundation currently operates the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control, Botstiber Institute for Austrian-American Studies and Botstiber World Service.  More information is available www.botstiber.org

Job Summary:

The part-time Multimedia Production Specialist (10-15h/week) produces videos, photos, podcasts, promotional materials, and other digital assets in collaboration with project leads ­­which may include BIAAS and BIWFC Managing Directors, Foundation Administrator and Deputy Administrator.  Work hours are flexible, but must take place at our offices in Media, PA. Some domestic and/or international travel may be required several times per year.  The Multimedia Production Specialist is a self-reliant, experienced content creator who can produce projects from ideation to delivery based on the needs of the Foundation programs.  The Multimedia Production Specialist reports to the Foundation Deputy Administrator.

Duties/Responsibilities:

The Multimedia Production Specialist manages the following media production work for the Foundation, in close collaboration with the Managing Directors or other project leads. The day-to-day focus varies depends on the needs of the programs, but includes:

  • Multimedia Production:
    • Attend single-day and multi-day events, as needed to capture video, audio or photos of lectures, conference presentations, or interviews. 
    • Maintain and manage Foundation-owned equipment and/or coordinate and manage rented equipment as needed.
    • Record and edit remote audio and/or video interviews or presentations via Zoom, Zencastr or other remote conferencing software to produce finished podcasts, webinars, and videos.
    • Produce promotional video materials for conferences and programs.
    • Ensure that the production process goes as smoothly as possible from the ingestion of raw shoots through editing, delivery, and archiving.
    • Create post-production timelines and provide editing for academic focused videos, adding images, sounds, logos, and/or other content to produce short-form (00:30-4:00) as well as longer (15:00-30:00) finished videos.
    • Work with vendors to make purchases necessary (equipment rental, music tracks for videos, etc.)
    • Oversee, communicate with, and manage contractors (additional video crew members, assistants, photographers, designers, etc) when projects require additional outside staffing.
    • Oversee and manage in-house productions (teaching staff members to use basic equipment, monitoring shoots, and cleaning/preparing and/or re-packing equipment when other staff members take the equipment out on trips).
  • Light Graphic Design Work:
    • Modifying PDFs, PowerPoints and content from other sources.
    • Creating simple designs and layouts for cards and flyers.
    • Create or use templates for basic titling and lower thirds in videos.
    • Typesetting text and formatting image content to create finished files for printer.
  • Work closely with project leads on potential projects to conceptualize projects and develop production plans, budgets and schedules.
  • Organize and Manage library of digital assets, with assistance from IT consultant, to ensure assets are safely stored and accessible.
  • Advise Foundation leadership and staff members on multimedia content production best practices and identify opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in developing engaging, informative multimedia content as it pertains to the Foundation mission.
  • Other digital asset creation, as requested.

Required Skills/Abilities:

  • Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (including Premiere, After Effects, Audition, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat).
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
  • Comfort/Willingness to use Windows/PC operating system.
  • Professional experience with Canon or other professional cinema, DSLR and/or mirrorless cameras, Tascam, Audiotechnica and Shure audio equipment, including applying firmware updates, and cleaning and maintaining lenses and camera bodies.
  • Ability to work independently.
  • Ability to travel to shoot locations and manage/pack/clean/transport equipment
  • Current Driver’s License and willingness to drive during travel when necessary.
  • Ability to manage all shoot data and backups during travel shoots with Foundation computers and hard drives.
  • Ability to work well with others and willingness to assist others.
  • Ability to communicate technical information effectively to a nontechnical audience.
  • Qualities of creativity, dedication, integrity, teamwork, flexibility, and accountability
  • Good understanding of and ability to work with historical and science/nature-related topics (preferred).
  • Strong communication skills (preferred).
  • Position requires sitting at a desk, mobility around office and occasionally moving supplies and office equipment, when necessary. 
  • Position requires moving up to 50 lbs. of equipment during photography and video productions.

Required Education and Experience: 

  • Academic training in digital media skills (editing video, audio, and images; graphic design) or comparable professional experience providing media production to academic institutes, corporations or non-profit organizations (minimum 3-5 years in a freelance position or creative department). 
  • Portfolio of previous digital media work required with application submissions.  This may include links to videos produced, created or filmed indicating which level of participation went into the creation of the video.

Special Consideration:

 The Multimedia Production Specialist position includes a wide range of skills.  This position’s requirements may change based on the Multimedia Production Specialist’s specialization and media background. 

Hours

This is a flexible part-time position, averaging 10-15 hours a week dependent upon work load.

Salary and Benefits

Hourly rate based on qualifications.  Benefits include paid time off, paid holidays, paid medical leave, and a flexible work schedule.  The Foundation has plans to provide retirements accounts to employees this spring of 2023.  

How to Apply 

For consideration please submit your cover letter, résumé, and portfolio of previous work (can be a link) to info@botstiber.org.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

BIWFC: 2022: A Milestone Year!

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As 2022 draws to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on an incredibly productive year and to thank all of you who collaborated with the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control (BIWFC) in pursuing its mission to advance the use of effective, sustainable fertility control methods to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and promote coexistence worldwide.

Our flagship event was the 9th International Conference on Wildlife Fertility Control, held in Colorado Springs, which was attended by an international audience of wildlife professionals and managers, university faculty and students, tech company founders, research scholars and leaders, biologists, veterinarians, non-profit staff and board members, and government officials.

Additionally, BIWFC organized symposia, presented papers, attended, exhibited and/or sponsored at the following gatherings:

  • Pathways 2022: Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conference – Bremerton WA
  • The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare’s annual conference – Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Taking Action for Animals (TAFA) – Washington, D.C.
  • 7th International Conference on Rodent Biology and Management – Arusha, Tanzania
  • 13th International Symposium on Wild Boar and Other Suids – Barcelona, Spain
  • Pathways Europe: Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conference – Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) 12th Annual Meeting – Fort Worth, Texas
  • 4th Free Roaming Equid & Ecosystem Sustainability Summit 2022 – St. George, Utah
  • The 1st International Wildlife Coexistence Conference – Pray, Montana
  • Animal Grantmakers annual conference – Berkeley, California
  • The Wildlife Society’s 29th annual conference – Spokane, Washington

BIWFC staff also were invited to speak as subject matter experts at meetings held in Europe, Africa and Asia to address specific human-wildlife conflicts including:

  • Non-native grey squirrels – the UK
  • Feral cattle – Hong Kong
  • Wild boar – Singapore

We wrapped up an incredibly busy year with two recent webinars:

  • “Black-tailed deer in the city: A scientific approach to population control using immunocontraception” by Dr. Adam Hering, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine; and Dr. Jason Fisher, Adjunct Professor, ACME Lab, University of Victoria, School of Environmental Studies.
  • “Developing an oral contraceptive to manage the UK’s invasive grey squirrel populations” by Kay Haw, Director, the UK Squirrel Accord.

We eagerly look forward to continuing our work in the coming year. We are especially excited about the anticipated publication of a special issue of “Wildlife Research” we are editing with other colleagues which will be devoted exclusively to wildlife fertility control. We also authored a paper that has been accepted for publication in Human Wildlife Interactions (HWI) titled: “Stakeholder acceptance of wild equid fertility control mirrors global shifts in attitudes to wildlife management.”

If you have not yet engaged with BIWFC, we invite you to do so by reaching out to us. You can learn more about our previous and upcoming work by visiting our website.  

We wish you a joyous holiday season and a wonderful 2023!

To learn more, visit the BIWFC website.

BIWFC: Conference Presentations Now Available

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The 9th International Conference on Wildlife Fertility Control featured nearly 40 speakers from 14 countries and 24 U.S. states, along with special guest speaker The Honorable Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado, and opening plenary from Dr. Cheryl Asa, Advisory Board Chair Association for Zoos and Aquariums Reproductive Management Center. Speakers discussed the role of fertility control in mitigating human-wildlife conflicts as well as the development of wildlife fertility control methods.

Click here to watch the presentations.

BIAAS: The Botstiber Podcast Episode Two: Dr. Deborah Cohen

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In the newest episode of The Botstiber Podcast, author of Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War (2022), Dr Deborah Cohen discusses the compelling stories of five American foreign correspondents that were paramount to informing the public during the dramatic interwar period after WWI.

From unimpressed interviews with Hitler to friendly letters with Nehru, listen in to how these reporters balanced high-stakes journalism with their personal lives, all while warning the world of rising dictators and a looming war in Europe.

Professor Reill’s book, The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire (Harvard University Press, 2020), explores the Adriatic port city’s turbulent postwar years spent divided by Great Power politics.

Do you have an idea for a future podcast episode, or video that supports our transatlantic mission? Please contact Program Officer Luke Morgante at Lmorgante@botstiber.org.

BIAAS: The Botstiber Podcast Returns with New Guests and a New Format

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The Botstiber Podcast provides yet another platform upon which stories of the US and former Habsburg lands can be shared. We hope that conversations with past grantees, fellows and more will bring us closer to our mission of strengthening our trans-Atlantic relationships.

Tune into the the first episode of The Botstiber Podcast as Luke sits down with Professor Reill to discuss the crisis city of Fiume, known today as Rijeka, Croatia. Fiume faced immense challenges between 1918-21 after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire left it stateless, leaving room for celebrity poets like Gabriele D’Annunzio to stoke nationalist flames and attempt to benefit from the chaos.

Listen Here

Professor Reill’s book, The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire (Harvard University Press, 2020), explores the Adriatic port city’s turbulent postwar years spent divided by Great Power politics.

Do you have an idea for a future podcast episode, or video that supports our transatlantic mission? Please contact Program Officer Luke Morgante at Lmorgante@botstiber.org.