Byline: By danny hakim section: Section B; Column 0; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 1 Length

LENGTH: 1866 words
FOR 10 years Lisa Krizner-George had worked as a draper, making costumes for Broadway shows like ''Wicked,'' ''Hairspray'' and ''Oklahoma!'' She took sketches from designers and turned fantasies into fabric. But becoming a designer herself would have required an extra degree and starting over in the kind of company where she worked.

''It was something I'd always dreamed of,'' said Ms. Krizner-George, 42. ''I really wanted to get back into designing.''

So Vanilla Pink was born, in January 2007, six months after her son, Graeme.

Ms. Krizner-George works in a studio in her garage in Bloomfield, designing custom bridal dresses and evening wear, first fashioning them in muslin, then with real fabric, allowing for several fittings and revisions at the customer's request.

She enjoys being up to her elbows in duchess satin, silk gazar or chiffon, on her own terms, even though her business is not yet profitable.

''I like being in charge of my days, and where I want to take my business, and not having to ask for time off or anything like that,'' she said. ''With a child at home, it's so great.''

Then again, she said: ''The worst is when I'm right in the thick of working on an idea for a dress and then I hear the cry on the baby monitor. Nap time is over!''

For women who want flexible hours, autonomy, and the chance to profit from ideas their corporate bosses often overlook, nap time is very much over.

The New York metropolitan area has more than a half million businesses owned by women, employing 533,437 people. These businesses have brought in $93 million in receipts this year, according to the Center for Women's Business Research, in Washington.

For years, women have been twice as likely as men to start their own businesses. And even though the current economic downturn has made credit even harder to come by for small-business owners, particularly women, since 2002 there has been an 8.9 percent increase in the number of businesses owned by women, a 2.3 percent increase in employees of companies owned by women, and a 16.6 percent increase in receipts at such companies, according to the women's business research center.

For many female entrepreneurs, necessity is the mother of their venture. Take Carla Schneider, 40, of Orange, Conn., whose product, the WubbaNub, a silicon pacifier with a small stuffed animal attached, has been used in neonatal intensive care units and by mothers of fussy babies around the country.

Ms. Schneider invented it during the first family vacation that she and her husband, Bret, took with their son, also Bret, now 9. Bret, 3 months old at the time, would sleep only with a pacifier in his mouth, but it kept falling out. So she sewed it onto a stuffed animal that Bret liked to cling to, and it stayed put.

''I got stopped on the street numerous times for a couple months after that, so I basically kind of took the ball and ran with it,'' said Ms. Schneider, a former special education teacher who followed in the entrepreneurial footsteps of her mother, who runs a nonprofit agency.

Ms. Schneider, who works out of her home, named her product the WubbaNub, after her favorite stuffed dog from childhood. After selling enough WubbaNubs wholesale (they retail for $11.95), her eight-year-old company is now profitable.

''Last year we tripled our revenue, so we are in the six figures, over half a million at this point and climbing,'' she said.

Nationally, more women-owned businesses resemble Ms. Krizner-George's than Ms. Schneider's in scale. According to 2002 census figures, nearly half of companies owned by women have less than $10,000 in annual revenues, compared with one-third of all privately held businesses. But several organizations are trying to address that discrepancy by helping women expand their businesses.

Soon after Stacey Smith and Linda Shapiro, friends on Long Island, had their first babies, they found that their frequent discussions revolved more around what they needed for their start-up businesses than for their little start-up humans. (Ms. Smith had begun creating handmade invitations, and Ms. Shapiro was selling children's clothing and accessories.)

In 2005, they started what became the Hybrid Mom Consulting and Media Group, a service that uses the professional talents of women like themselves to help mompreneurs, as some call them, start new businesses. Their specialists work flexible hours, helping start-ups with Web site development, marketing and public relations.

''I don't have to go work for a corporate environment, with its very rigid time format, where I'm not being able to be home when I'm needed to be, for my kids,'' said Ms. Smith, who is based in St. James and has a son, 6, and a daughter, 3. The business made $350,000 last year, Ms. Smith said.

As Ms. Smith helps other women share their expertise and enjoy the same flexibility she does, she can also speak frankly about the realities of entrepreneurship.

''A lot of sacrifice goes into it,'' she said. ''The laundry, when it's done, is not folded immediately, and gets very, very wrinkly. Dinner is not necessarily gourmet. You get one-pan wonders and call it a day.''

While many people end work at regular hours, many entrepreneurs don't have that luxury.

''Five p.m. is the end of the day? What, are you kidding me?'' Ms. Smith said. ''Five o'clock is my lunch hour.'' She takes time off to have dinner and to put her children to bed, then goes back to working.

On a national level, a nonprofit provider of online business loans for women called Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence sponsors a competition for entrepreneurs who are women and who want to reach the $1 million annual revenue mark. Count Me In wants one million women to reach that goal by 2010.

In the contest, known as Make Mine a Million $ Business, finalists prepare a three-minute pitch, for an audience of budding entrepreneurs and a panel of judges, in hopes of winning coaching, help with raising capital and networking activities.

In the recent competition in Newark on June 3, Count Me In's founder and chief executive, Nell Merlino, 55, paused to talk about how it can be hard for women to raise capital in the current market.

''I think there's a correction going on,'' said Ms. Merlino, who said that 650 used to be considered a decent credit score, but that banks now want 750. ''Companies got so comfortable with the subprime situation, but I think now they're looking much more carefully at credit scores.''

Julie R. Weeks, 50, president of Womenable, a consulting firm in Empire, Mich., focusing on female entrepreneurs, said the difficulty of securing money particularly hits women-owned businesses that are established and hoping to expand.

''The money is not so scarce for those who are starting their businesses, but it's more so for growth capital,'' she said.

But Ms. Merlino, who worked with the Ms. Foundation to popularize Take Our Daughters to Work Day, is not discouraged about the availability of capital. People who have great ideas and well-developed business plans are generally not being turned down for money, she said.

The day after the conference, when many of the winners were still networking, Elizabeth Perelstein, president of a business called School Choice International, was helping her 20-year-old son, David, move from a dorm to a house. ''He has a 103-degree fever,'' she said. ''It's O.K. to take a day off and help them when they're sick.''

A former deputy principal at a public grade school in Armonk, N.Y., and a former education board member in Rye Neck, Ms. Perelstein, 52, started her business 10 years ago, soon after her family relocated to London. She had enrolled her two children at the American school there, but noticed a need for someone local to counsel expatriates about choosing schools.

Her business, now based in White Plains, has grown to include boarding-school searches and the development of a high school in Manhattan for British expatriates. It employs 90 consultants in 50 locations, including India and China. She won a Make Mine a Million contest in 2006.

''It was pivotal for me,'' she said, explaining how she learned the value of looking regularly at her financial statements, from a woman she met through the program, a plumber turned consultant.

''For a lot of women, it's very awkward for us to think about money, to talk about money, to act as though we are motivated by money,'' said Ms. Perelstein, who anticipates revenue of $1.8 million this year.

Maureen Borzacchiello, chief executive of Creative Display Solutions, which makes displays for trade shows, ''off-ramped,'' as she called it, from a corporate job in the same industry about seven years ago.

''I really wanted to take control over my own destiny, and I wanted flexibility and options,'' said Ms. Borzacchiello, 39, of West Hempstead, N.Y. ''I knew I wanted to start a family at some point in the near future, and I really just decided it was time to create a new path.''

She won a Make Mine a Million award during her company's first year, 2005, reached $1 million in revenue in 2006, and is projecting 2008 revenue of $3 million.

The Newark conference included, for the first time, a seminar for the daughters of women who are entrepreneurs. (There appears to be a genetic marker for starting a business.) Lindsey Pollak, 33, a New York City author who specializes in career advice and women's issues, was the speaker at the Make My Daughters a Million seminar. She recalled having her own business card when she was 9 and helping with her mother's decorative egg and jewelry business.

In introducing herself, one person attending, Melissa Longman, 13, of Frenchtown, said she and her best friend had a five-year-old beading business with ''revenues of $350 so far, I think.'' Melissa, who had a business card and said she kept the e-mail addresses of all her customers, attended the event with her mother, Chrysanthe Longman, 43, who works at a graphics company in Hillsborough.

Ms. Merlino said that while most entrepreneurs in the program start their businesses after they have had children, younger women, especially daughters of entrepreneurs, can benefit from learning business skills early.

''We wanted to tell them, when they're thinking about what they'll be studying in high school and college, to know about the steps to take to start their own businesses, instead of going to work for somebody,'' Ms. Merlino said. ''Many wish they'd started their businesses sooner.''

Take Nadine Vogel, 44, of Mendham, whose convincing pitch tipped the applause meter and made her a winner. She runs a consulting firm that encourages corporations to market products to people with disabled family members and employ people with disabilities

''One day I realized I had been building businesses all along, but they were for my employer,'' Ms. Vogel said. ''I realized too that nobody out there is doing what I do, and somebody needs to work for the long-term benefits and to provide for people like my kids, so they can be seen as consumers and people with money, and employees. And if they're not going to do it, I'm going to.''

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: WOMEN (89%); WOMAN OWNED BUSINESSES (89%); ENTREPRENEURSHIP (89%); SMALL BUSINESS (76%); FLEXTIME (71%); RESEARCH INSTITUTES (61%); ECONOMIC DECLINE (50%); ECONOMIC NEWS (50%)
GEOGRAPHIC: NEW YORK, NY, USA (78%) NEW YORK, USA (79%); NEW JERSEY, USA (79%) UNITED STATES (79%)
LOAD-DATE: June 22, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTOS: BUSINESS LEADERS: Top to bottom: Stacey Smith, the president of Hybrid Mom Consulting and Media Group, works at home in St. James, N.Y., with her daughter, Carly, nearby. Maureen Borzacchiello, the chief executive of Creative Display Solutions, in Garden City, N.Y., with her husband, Frank (at work on a display). Carla Schneider, of Orange, Conn., created the WubbaNub pacifier. Elizabeth Perelstein is president of a business called School Choice International, based in White Plains. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHIL MARINO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

CHESTER HIGGINS JR./THE NEW YORK TIMES

THOMAS McDONALD FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES) (pg. NJ9)

WORK AT HOME: Lisa Krizner-George designs custom bridal dresses and evening wear in her garage studio, left, in Bloomfield. Being near her house helps her care for her toddler son, Graeme. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY LIBRADO ROMERO/THE NEW YORK TIMES) (pg. NJ1)

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

659 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
June 22, 2008 Sunday

Late Edition - Final

Paid Notice: Deaths JORGENSEN, MARION NEWBERT MARION NEWBERT JORGENSEN
SECTION: Section A; Column 0; Classified; Pg. 29
LENGTH: 988 words
JORGENSEN--Marion Newbert Marion Newbert Jorgensen, a civic leader and prominent philanthropist in Los Angeles for five decades, died Wednesday at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. She was 96. Marion Newbert was born on March 18, 1912 to Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Newbert of Chicago, Illinois. In 1913 she moved West with her family by private railroad car and later attended Marlborough School, one of the foremost college-preparatory schools in Los Angeles. A licensed aircraft pilot at the age of 17, she attended the noted liberal arts college Finch College in New York City and returned to Los Angeles. In 1930, she married movie producer Milton Harold Bren, who was the Executive Vice President and Producer at MGM Studios and experienced Hollywood during a time of tremendous growth in the entertainment industry.

He served in the United States Naval Services during World War II as a Lieutenant Commander. They had two sons, Donald Bren, chairman of The Irvine Company in Newport Beach, CA and Peter Bren, a senior partner with KBS Investors of New York City, NY. While Great Britain was at war in Europe in 1940, Mrs. Jorgensen founded Bundles For Britain, an organization that provided non-military aid to the British people. Women crocheted sweaters and made clothing as Bundles For Britain sent food and clothes overseas from the then-neutral United States. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Bundles For Britain evolved into the United States Naval Aide Auxiliary. Mrs. Jorgensen was the president of this organization that provided aid to service personnel and United States Navy and Marine dependents. After the conclusion of her first marriage in 1947, she met steel entrepreneur Earle M. Jorgensen while doing volunteer work for the Red Cross. They were married in 1953 and their 47-year wonderful union continued until Mr. Jorgensen's passing in 1999. The Jorgensens were among the social elite of Los Angeles. The couple remained close friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for more than 40 years, as Mr. Jorgensen served on Mr. Reagan's ''Kitchen Cabinet'', an informal network of businessmen who advised Mr. Reagan and urged him to run for governor of California in 1966 and later for President. Mr. and Mrs. Reagan celebrated his election to the governorship of California and his election to the presidency of the United States at the Jorgensen's house. ''I was privileged, and blessed, to know Marion Jorgensen as a dear friend for almost fifty years. She was one of the most generous women I have ever known. There isn't a worthwhile cause in this country that hasn't benefited from Marion's generosity. She loved politics, music, education, the arts, and gave liberally to medical research and children's charities in Los Angeles and across the nation,'' said Mrs. Ronald Reagan. ''My love and sympathy goes out to her two children, Don and Peter, and her entire family.'' Mrs. Jorgensen was credited with sparking her husband Earle's interest in philanthropy and they were active in many civic, cultural and charitable causes including the Boy Scouts, the YMCA, several hospitals and the Los Angeles Music Center. ''My mother enjoyed a wonderfully fulfilling life and was a strong inspiration to me,'' said Donald Bren. ''Her commitment to philanthropy and to the communities in which she lived impacted me deeply and formed my passion to give back to the community.'' Mrs. Jorgensen began working with Saint John's in the 1950s and led committees, engaged volunteers and spearheaded legendary evenings such as the Dinner for Prince Charles, the Black and White Ball with Bob Hope, and a series of star-studded evenings, the Bal Rouge and the Crystal Balls, with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake threatened to close the hospital forever, she agreed to serve on the First Step Committee and co-chaired the Campaign Cabinet to lead the Campaign for Saint John's. She served as a leader on many important Foundation committees including Board Affairs and the Executive Committee and allowed the small community hospital to rebuild from the devastation and attain the flagship status Saint John's enjoys today. Last October, Mrs. Jorgensen was presented with the Spirit of Saint John's Award by the Saint John's Health Center Foundation Board of Trustees in recognition of her many contributions. The award honors an individual whose vision, determination and generosity of spirit have advanced the mission of the Health Center. After serving with distinction on the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Mrs. Jorgensen was honored by her peers with election to Life Director. She was the first woman to serve as chairman of the board of overseers of the Huntington Library Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens, and for her service in developing the world famous botanical gardens, she was elected Trustee Emeritus. Mrs. Jorgensen was an Honorary Trustee of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and served on the board of The Colleagues. Included among the other philanthropic endeavors that benefited from Mrs. Jorgensen's support over the years were the Los Angeles Orphanage Guild, the ARCS Foundation, the American Red Cross, Loyola Marymount University and the Prince of Wales Foundation. Additionally, Mrs. Jorgensen served on the President's Blue Ribbon 400 for the Los Angeles Music Center and as director of the Los Angeles Symphony Association, was a Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was a Founding Member of the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress, the first-ever national advisory and support group in its 205year history. She also served as a member of the board of Continental Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Mrs. Jorgensen is survived by her sons, Donald and Peter Bren, four Jorgensen children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: WORLD WAR II (90%); DEATHS & OBITUARIES (90%); PHILANTHROPY (89%); NAVIES (89%); CHARITIES (89%); US STATE GOVERNMENT (77%); HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCE (76%); PRIVATE SCHOOLS (76%); MILITARY DEPENDENTS (76%); MARRIAGE (76%); ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS (75%); POLITICS (74%); WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS (74%); GOVERNORS (73%); ENTREPRENEURSHIP (72%); COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES (71%); RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS (71%); MOVIE INDUSTRY (69%); US PRESIDENTS (69%); VOLUNTEERS (68%); INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE (66%); MUSIC (50%); MEDICAL RESEARCH (73%)
COMPANY: EARLE M JORGENSEN CO (90%); THE IRVINE CO (69%); METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER INC (56%)
INDUSTRY: NAICS332111 IRON & STEEL FORGING (90%); SIC3462 IRON & STEEL FORGING (90%); NAICS512110 MOTION PICTURE & VIDEO PRODUCTION (56%); SIC7812 MOTION PICTURE & VIDEO TAPE PRODUCTION (56%)
PERSON: RONALD REAGAN (81%)
GEOGRAPHIC: LOS ANGELES, CA, USA (94%); NEW YORK, NY, USA (92%); CHICAGO, IL, USA (73%) CALIFORNIA, USA (94%); ILLINOIS, USA (92%); NEW YORK, USA (92%) UNITED STATES (95%); UNITED KINGDOM (92%); EUROPE (79%)
LOAD-DATE: June 22, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
DOCUMENT-TYPE: Paid Death Notice
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

660 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
June 21, 2008 Saturday

Late Edition - Final

Dealer Accused of Selling Banned Munitions to Army
BYLINE: By ERIC SCHMITT
SECTION: Section A; Column 0; Foreign Desk; Pg. 8
LENGTH: 684 words
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The 22-year-old president of a Miami Beach arms-dealing company and three other people were charged Friday with selling prohibited Chinese ammunition to the Pentagon to supply Afghan security forces, federal officials said.

A federal grand jury in Miami indicted the munitions dealer, Efraim E. Diveroli, president of AEY Inc., as well as two former employees and a business associate, on charges of fraud and conspiring to misrepresent the types of ammunition they sold to the Defense Department as part of a $298 million Army contract.

According to the indictment, Mr. Diveroli, his colleagues and the company sought ''to unjustly enrich themselves'' by shipping aged Chinese rifle cartridges to Afghanistan after claiming they were made in Albania. The Army contract and American law prohibit trading in Chinese arms.

A lawyer for Mr. Diveroli in Miami, Howard Srebnick, disputed the accusations in an e-mail message, saying that the American ban applies only to Chinese arms bought after 1989, in response to the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, and that AEY bought ammunition from Albania that was manufactured in China in the 1960s and 1970s.

The charges cap a federal criminal investigation that began last year into the dealings of the fledgling company and its group of 20-something executives. The American military relied on them to be a principal supplier of ammunition to the Afghan security forces.

In March, the Army suspended Mr. Diveroli and the company from future federal contracts, contending that he sent a different shipment of Chinese cartridges to Afghanistan after certifying that they were made in Hungary. A month later, the State Department suspended the company's international export activities, blocking its other business.

''This is a sobering development,'' Representative Henry A. Waxman, a California Democrat who leads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a statement on Friday. ''The more we learn about AEY, the more questions we have.''

Before the charges were announced, the committee had said it would hold a hearing next Tuesday on AEY's activities.

In addition to Mr. Diveroli, the indictment on Friday named David Packouz, a licensed massage therapist who is AEY's former vice president; Alexander Podrizki, the company's former representative in Albania; and Ralph Merrill, a business associate of Mr. Diveroli in Utah who gave the company financial and managerial assistance.

A lawyer for Mr. Packouz, Ken Kukec, declined to comment on the charges. Mr. Merrill did not return telephone calls, and Mr. Podrizki could not be reached for comment by late Friday.

In January 2007, the Army awarded AEY a contract, potentially worth $298 million, that made it the primary munitions supplier for Afghan security forces in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

According to the indictment, the contract required AEY to certify that it was providing ''serviceable and safe ammunition.'' The Army contract also banned supplying ammunition acquired ''directly or indirectly from a Communist Chinese military company.''

But the charges accuse the AEY employees and the associate of providing ''instructions and guidance'' on how to remove Chinese markings from the ammunition, to conceal its origins. With each shipment to Afghanistan, the charges say, Mr. Diveroli falsely certified that the Chinese rifle and machine-gun cartridges were manufactured in Albania.

Federal authorities said that based on these false submissions, the Army paid AEY about $10.3 million for 35 shipments of Chinese ammunition.

An examination by The New York Times earlier this year uncovered documents from Albania that showed that AEY bought more than 100 million Chinese cartridges that had been stored for decades in former cold war stockpiles. Mr. Diveroli then arranged to have them repacked in cardboard boxes, many of which split or decomposed after shipment to the war zones. Different lots or types of ammunition were mixed. In some cases the ammunition was dirty, corroded or covered with a film.