But Mr. Rivers's attention lately has been focused farther south, on the White House, where efforts to have the government work more closely with religious organizations to tackle social problems may place him in a more influential position than he ever achieved with his small social services center here.
The training programme, in turn, offers teenagers a chance to assume a more influential position in their communities.
The way forward, he said, is not only to get more women involved in sport as players and coaches, but also into more influential positions in organizations like FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, where their numbers are few.
Some Democratic insiders expect that a President-elect Obama would offer not just a token, lower-level cabinet job to a member of the opposing party, as previous presidents have done, but might install Republicans in a few more influential positions.
Additionally, the people they do know are likely to hold more influential positions.
The grass still seems to be a little greener on the male side of the gender fence, but women in SET are growing in number and seem finally to be taking root in more influential positions.
The more influential your post, the greater your moral responsibility.
Even if salaried workers start off with a relatively low income, they're still more likely to be eligible for promotions that eventually lead to more influential, higher-paying management positions.
As I just said, the fact that there are more women in influential positions means that there is progress, with more role models, and reason to celebrate.
Mr. Wren of Omnicom said he agreed that improving the outlook for women in the industry was "a real and constant challenge," particularly when far more women in influential positions could now be found in clients' executive suites.
Yes, sadly racism is alive in America and we have a long way to go, but conditions for most people of all races have improved and, with more minorities achieving influential positions, it will thankfully continue to do so.
