ProfNet Experts Available on Consumer Debt, Small-Business Finance, More Also in This Edition: Jobs for Writers and Media Industry Blog Posts

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing. To receive these updates by email, send a note to [email protected] with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition. 

If you are in need of additional experts, you can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network. You can filter your request by institution type and geographic location to get the most targeted responses. The best part? It's free! Just fill out the query form to get started.

If you have any questions or need assistance with any aspect of ProfNet, please drop us a note at [email protected].

EXPERT ALERTS

• Consumer Debt Collection
• California CPUC's Energy Storage Mandate
• The Finance Problems of Small Businesses

MEDIA JOBS

• Editor – The Daily Journal (CA)
• International Editions Editor – Hearst Magazines (NY)
• Reporter – Lincoln Journal Star (NE)
  

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Media 411: Journalists Selling Subscriptions?
• Career Tips for Media Professionals
• Spotlight: Grave Lavigne, Journal of Commerce

EXPERT ALERTS:

Consumer Debt Collection
Mark Schiffman
Vice President of Public Affairs
ACA International
"The recovery of rightfully owed consumer debt is vital to America's economic health and maintaining a credit-based economy."
Schiffman is available to discuss consumer debt collection, national and state legislative and regulatory trends pertaining to consumer debt collection, tips for consumers if contacted by a debt collector. He recently wrote ACA's Blueprint for Modernizing Debt Collection, which is a road map to modernize consumer credit and debt collection in America. He is able to connect reporters to other national and state-specific experts to discuss consumer debt collection.
Website: http://www.acainternational.org
Expert Contact: [email protected]

California CPUC's Energy Storage Mandate
Tom Leyden
CEO
Solar Grid Storage
"We applaud the CPUC for unanimously approving an energy storage mandate for California. People are increasingly aware of the vulnerability of our electrical grid, especially as the first anniversary of Superstorm Sandy approaches. Pairing solar and storage will be key to the future for our electrical grid. Combining clean and renewable solar power with energy storage enables a series of new benefits including emergency backup power, peak demand reduction and power balancing on the grid. Simply put, solar plus storage will ensure a more stable, resilient and smarter grid."
Leyden, an industry veteran, is expert on renewable and solar energy and the innovative approach of pairing energy storage with renewable resources such as solar power. An innovator in the energy storage arena, Solar Grid Storage is partnering with solar project developers and utility grid operators on a new energy storage approach that provides grid stability and emergency power backup. They're delivering and maintaining electricity in the event of power interruptions due to extreme weather and other natural disasters. This is crucial to maintaining operations at facilities. And, under normal conditions, Solar Grid Storage continually helps maintain balance on the grid. The company's technology is already being deployed in the 14-state PJM service territory on the East Coast. Solar Grid Storage and partners have deployed their new energy storage approach in several projects, including one inaugurated in Maryland on Oct. 15 by Governor O'Malley and FERC Chairman Wellinghoff.
Media Contact: Susan DeVico, [email protected]

The Finance Problems of Small Businesses
Ramzi Benkraiem, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Audencia Nantes School of Management, France
"Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in fostering growth and employment in many countries. However, despite their importance, they face serious difficulties in satisfying their financing requirements, especially in times of crisis. These problems are often determined by SMEs' needs to finance investment projects without being able to provide sufficient leverage guarantees. Understanding the way in which various macro and micro-economic factors influence the capacity of SMEs to obtain leverage helps corporate managers, financiers and regulators to take better decisions regarding SME financing options."
 Benkraiem is an associate professor at Audencia Nantes School of Management. His current areas of interest concern the financing structure and investment policy of firms with a special focus on small businesses. He published several papers in both French and international professional and scientific journals.
Website: http://www.audencia.com
Media Contact: Andrew Taylor, [email protected]


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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: http://bit.ly/pncjobboard

• Editor – The Daily Journal (CA)
• International Editions Editor – Hearst Magazines (NY)
• Reporter – Lincoln Journal Star (NE)
  

See more listings here.

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• MEDIA 411: JOURNALISTS SELLING SUBSCRIPTIONS? Long gone are the days of the stereotypical trench coat-wearing journalist with a fedora on his head, notepad and pen in hand, making calls to find the big story, creating his magic on a typewriter. The job of a journalist has changed drastically in the 21^st century where one is expected to write, shoot video, edit video, take photos and now -- gasp! -- sell subscriptions? http://bit.ly/H3DZeL
• CAREER TIPS FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS. We recently hosted a #ConnectChat where we discussed career tips for media pros. Our guest was Rebecca Kiki Weingarten, a career, executive and life coach -- among many other things: http://bit.ly/16bokFd
• SPOTLIGHT: GRACE LAVIGNE, JOURNAL OF COMMERCE. Each month we feature a journalist and ProfNet user to share their personal story and insight with you. This month, we highlight Grace M. Lavigne, an associate Web editor at The Journal of Commerce in Newark, N.J. http://bit.ly/Hdu85d

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SOURCE ProfNet