Columbus CEO - October 2020 issue

Dwight Smith Mind for business, heart for helping children.

Page 12

Testing gap Cancer diagnoses are down amid the pandemic.

Page 62

Legal Guide A directory of where to find your next attorney.

Page 50

October 2020

11 Moonshot Ideas to Move the Region Forward Special Project

by Future 50 class of 2020

$4.99

October 2020 10

7

25274 77384

C1_CEOCover_Oct2020.indd 1

8

9/17/20 3:43 PM

Learning happens everywhere.

Starting at age three, Columbus Academy students in our Lower School run, play, think and grow, exploring every inch of our 231-acre learning environment. Visit us and see how we teach to the individual child, from our 3-year-olds to our seniors in high school, across all the dimensions of their personalities and learning styles.

Arrange a personal tour.

admissions@columbusacademy.org or 614-509-2220.

columbusacademy.org/inquire

Columbus Academy, 4300 Cherry Bottom Road, Gahanna, Ohio • Age 3–Grade 12, coeducational, independent

C2-C4_CoverAds.indd 2

9/17/20 10:32 AM

001-003_Ads.indd 1

9/17/20 10:29 AM

ADVERTISEMENT

NAVIGATING EMPLOYMENT LAW IN A PANDEMIC: When Your Employees Won’t Come Back to Work

You closed your nonessential business, or you allowed employees to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, you want to return to business as usual—or at least business as usual in the “new normal.� Some employees are reluctant to return to the workplace.

What do you do?

First, start from the presumption that, if the employer is permitted to operate, the employer can require employees to return to work. For those employees

offer of suitable work. “Suitable work� is any work that is consistent with the employee’s prior training and experience and need not be the employee’s pre-pandemic job.

Next, consider whether the employee has “good cause� to remain at home.

Governor DeWine signed an executive order that provides exceptions to the rule that employees may not refuse to return to the workplace following a COVID-19 layoff or work-at-home situation. Employees with “good cause�

Yet, even if an exception applies, employers are free to terminate any employee that refuses to work. The executive order does not require the employer to provide job-protected or paid leave. The executive order only affects the eligibility for unemployment.

Finally, employers should carefully consider the impact of the ADA, FMLA, and FFCRA before taking any adverse employment action, like termination.

the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may be entitled to leave as a reasonable accommodation. For example, an employee with a severe respiratory condition may need to be accommodated with time off during the pandemic due to risk of COVID-19 complications. An employee also may be entitled to up to twelve weeks of FMLA leave for a serious health condition.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave for qualifying COVID-19-related reasons and up to ten additional weeks for COVID-19 daycare and school closures. Each of these laws have anti-retaliation provisions that prevent adverse action, like termination, from being taken against an employee exercising their rights under each law.

001-003_Ads.indd 2

The following are good cause to remain off work: 1.

The employee is age 65+;

2.

The employee has a medical professional’s recommendation that the employee remain at home because the employee falls into a high-risk category for contracting COVID-19, and the employer cannot offer telework;

3.

There is tangible evidence of a health or safety violation that does not allow the employee to practice social distancing, wear protective equipment, or practice appropriate hygiene;

4.

The employee has been potentially exposed to COVID-19 or prescribed quarantine by a healthcare professional; or

5.

The employee is staying home to care for a family member with COVID-19 or subject to a prescribed quarantine by a healthcare professional.

Refusing to work due to childcare issues or living with a high-risk household member are not valid reasons to refuse to work.

9/17/20 10:30 AM

use to

al ation at ee ry for the work;

of a hat ee g, , or ne;

90% of our business comes from personal referrals.

VID-19 ya

This message is for the other 10%.

How we attract new clients speaks volumes.

More than anything, it tells you how we take care of existing clients. If you’re searching

while building trust, you don’t need a referral.

You just need to know how to reach us.

ome r o a

ONE COLUMBUS 10 WEST BROAD STREET SUITE 2100 COLUMBUS, OHIO 43215 614.221.3155 BAILEYCAV.COM

th ber use

PERCEPTIVE. PRACTICAL. PERSONAL.

001-003_Ads.indd 3

9/17/20 10:30 AM

holiday Special Advertising Section

PLANNING GUIDE Creating memorable holiday parties for any size group.

Contact us today to start planning.

310 S. High Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 T +1 614.220.7042

Subscribe to On the field. In the locker room.

On the recruiting trail.

Subscribe or renew your annual subscription to Columbus Monthly for $18.

18 Go to columbusmonthly.com or call 877-688-8009.

Trademarks of The Ohio State University used with permission.

2020 004-007_Contents.indd 4

9/17/20 5:56 PM

y,

ort ces ey ty n and ees y

nd nal

Contents 26

What if we could just change everything?

Some of the Columbus region’s most vibrant thinkers envision what our community could do to advance racial and gender equity, urban design, education, the way we police, the way science is regarded and more—and the crucial role the private sector plays in all of those issues. Special project by the Future 50 class of 2020.

Illustration by Manjul

Departments 09 Editor’s Note The making of the “Moonshot Magazine”

67 Leaderboards Private schools, women-owned businesses

72 Home Office Space: Becca Apfelstadt, Treetree Bright colors and modern design

october 2020 Cover illustration by

Manjul October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

004-007_Contents.indd 5

5

9/17/20 3:15 PM

Insider 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289 Columbus, Ohio 43216 Phone: 614-540-8900 • Fax: 614-461-8746

ColumbusCEO.com

VOLUME 29 / NUMBER 10 Columbus Site Manager

Alan D. Miller

Publisher/General Manager

Ray Paprocki

Associate Publisher/Advertising Director

Rheta Gallagher Editorial EDITOR

Katy Smith

20

11 Breakdown Resilience among companies was evident as the pandemic set in.

12 Profile: Business mind, charitable heart Dwight Smith runs a successful tech business and helps the Federal Reserve keep America’s economy going. But his true passion is supporting children.

12

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jeff Bell, Rebecca Walters Design & Production PRODUCTION/DESIGN DIRECTOR

Craig Rusnak ART DIRECTOR

Colin McGinnis

Yogesh Chaudhary Digital

Dwight Smith

EDITOR

Julanne Hohbach ASSISTANT DIGITAL EDITOR

Brittany Moseley Custom Content PROJECT MANAGER

Emma Frankart Henterly Photography PHOTO EDITOR

Tim Johnson Associate photo editor

Rob Hardin Advertising

Senior Multimedia Sales Executives

Holly Gallucci, Susan Kendall

Renter Mentor aims to simplify life for Section 8 landlords and tenants.

As a preschool amid Covid-19, South Side Early Learning has had to dance through all kinds of new regulations. Its CEO calls it innovation.

17 Briefing

22 Spotlight: Innovation

16 Tech Talk

Accenture’s bold diversity goals, and a story from the turbulent world of PPE.

18 Spotlight: Small Business How Ebony Igwebuike-Tye balances running three very different ventures.

Multimedia Sales Executives

Tia Hardman, Jackie Thiam CLASSIFIED SALES

20 Spotlight: Nonprofit

18

Amy Vidrick

SALES ASSISTANTs

When Radiant Technology lost a beloved colleague and demand for its services dried up, a new path opened up.

24 CEO Corner Tasha Booker, Don DePerro and Tom Feeney share the changes Covid-19 has brought about—changes they just might keep for good.

Veronica Hill, Lori Lester, Heather Smits

In-Depth

Marketing

50 Legal Guide

MARKETING MANAGER

Lauren Reinhard

Our annual directory of Columbus region law firms.

PRESS RELEASES

pressreleases@columbusceo.com

62 Cancer diagnoses down

ADVERTISING

advertise@columbusceo.com Columbus CEO (ISSN 1085-911X) is published monthly by Gannett. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted © Gannett Co., Inc. 2020, all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials. Known address of publication is 62 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43215. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Senzd address changes to Columbus CEO, 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289, Columbus, OH 43216.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The pandemic is to blame for a lower screening incidence, and that’s presumably led to disease going unidentified.

64 Sustainability Ebony Igwebuike-Tye

In a time of single-use everything, businesses founded on reuse and sustainable products remain viable.

Toll Free: 877-688-8009

004-007_Contents.indd 6

9/17/20 5:22 PM

DO JU

Fro yo ha ba Co At Do ca ar pr ex ad

YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE

JENNIFER’S GOAL

Our team of experts equip you with the education you need to take-on your skin care journey with certainty.

was to engage.

With a profession that involved public speaking, Jennifer wanted to be sure that her outward appearance was as put together as her message and delivery.

She came to Timeless looking for subtle ways to polish her look and achieved her goal with a combination of Botox, facial fillers, and regular exfoliating treatments.

healthy skin at every age...

Delivering Expert Medical Solutions For Your Skin + Body Since 2004 Delivering Expert Medical Solutions For Your Skin + Body Since 2004

HISTORIC DUBLIN DON’T TRUST JUST ANYONE From your dentist to your neighbor, everyone has jumped on the bandwagon performing CoolSculpting treatments.

At Timeless, Medical Doctors oversee patient care, and treatments are administered by professionals with experience and advanced training.

004-007_Contents.indd 7

|

NEW ALBANY

T I M E L E S S S K I N SOLUTIO N S .CO M

HISTORIC DUBLIN

|

NEW ALBANY

T I M E L E S S S K I N SOLUTIO N S .CO M

MATTHEW’S GOAL was efficiency.

As a professional photographer, Matthew’s demanding schedule left little time to waste. He was looking for hassle-free scheduling options, quick appointments, and no downtime.

Timeless delivered.

9/17/20 3:15 PM

Â

Â?

Â? Â?

Â?

�  ­ €

 � ‚

ƒ ‚ �

‚ ­ �

008-009_EditorsNote.indd 8

9/17/20 5:26 PM

Editor’s Notes * ksmith@ColumbusCEO.com

Building the “Moonshot Magazine”

W

hen I heard the idea to turn an issue of this magazine over to a group of Columbus innovators, the teenager in me loved it immediately. Let a group of super smart, interesting people do my job for me for a month? Don’t mind if I do.

But the experience co-creating this special issue, 11 Moonshot Ideas to Move the Region Forward, has been meaningful well beyond getting out of having to come up with an idea for the October feature story. It’s been a chance to spend time better getting to know the Future 50 class of 2020—a collection of some of the most incredible, caring people I have come across in my career.

Through many phone calls and Zoom happy hour brainstorms that involved about 25 people, I had the fortune to soak up this group’s desire to use their creativity and their voices to make life in the Columbus region better for all of us, no matter what ZIP code we live in. The 11 writers and the leaders of this effort—Smart Columbus Director Jordan Davis, who came up with the idea for this “Moonshot Magazine”; Storyforge founder Haley Boehning; COSI VP Stephen White; and Improving-Columbus VP Jacquie Bickel—deserve a

Illustration by ManJul

giant round of applause for conceiving of this project and for the many hours of work they put into it.

This issue represents a significant effort, not the least of which was the collaboration Art Director Yogesh Chaudhary did with a nationally recognized cartoonist and illustrator in India, Manjul, who stayed up late nights at his desk in Mumbai making the drawings that bring a wonderful energy and creativity to these pieces.

Indeed, multiple rewrites, collaboration and plenty of consultation with outside sources went into this project. For their piece on policecommunity relations, for example,

John Rush, Kierra Williams and Molly Rampe Thomas did 20 interviews, including going on police ride-alongs and talking to elected officials and people from the activist community.

The product of all that work is an engaging journey of thought leadership on some of the most pressing issues of this singular year—how to boldly reimagine our approaches to education, urban design, science, data and technology, gender equity, civic discourse and more, with an eye toward fighting racism every chance we get.

We’ve got this beautiful chance to make real change. Are we going to take it?

Katy Smith, Editor

Coming up at Columbus CEO • The 2021 class of Future 50 is filled with outstanding innovators in the Columbus community. Their names will be announced at columbusceo.com in late September-early October.

• The deadline for companies to be surveyed for our annual Top Workplaces contest has been extended to Oct. 23. Go to columbusceo.com/nominate to sign up.

• We are proud to introduce Diverse Leaders in Law with its inaugural forum Oct. 6. “New Voices, New Leadership” will feature Liza Kessler, Columbus office partner-in charge, Jones Day; Janica Pierce Tucker, Columbus office partner-in-charge, Taft Stettinius & Hollister; Traci Martinez, deputy managing partner

for the Columbus office of Squire Patton Boggs; Victoria Beckman, member with the Columbus office of sponsor Frost Brown Todd; and Holly Heer, a partner in the Columbus office of lead sponsor Barnes & Thornburg. Visit columbusceo.com/leaders to register.

• Black business owners are invited to a Zoom forum Oct. 20 that is a collaboration of Dispatch Magazines, The Dispatch and Belle Communication. “Building Buzz” will feature tips on connecting with the media from the editors of Columbus CEO, The Dispatch, Columbus Monthly; from Yolanda Harris at WBNS-10TV; and from PR pros Megumi Robinson of Belle and Gayle Saunders of the Saunders Co. Visit columbusceo.com for a registration link.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

008-009_EditorsNote.indd 9

9

9/17/20 5:26 PM

GIVEAWAY

FOR A

PRIZES

Home Electricity

Home Natural Gas Monthly

1-year subscriptions

F Furnace and A AC tune-ups

Columbus Monthly Dispatch Digital

Brought to you by: PRESENTS

202 0

TRUST ASSURED

on demand

ENTERTOWIN!

DispatchHomeAndGardenShow.com See official rules for details.

010-011_Breakdown.indd 10

9/17/20 5:57 PM

Breakdown Compiled by katy smith + Infographic by Yogesh Chaudhary

Pandemic resilience evident early on A survey of Midwest companies indicated resilience coming out of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. While most of the 80 respondents to the survey by the Risk Institute at Ohio State University said they were seeing revenue decline, most of them were not laying off staff. Of the respondents, 42 percent were in the financial services sector. Here’s what the survey found.

Top 5 risks cited by companies:

68%

of firms experienced a revenue decline

1. Liquidity (cash flow) 2. Financial risk due to economic slowdown and volatility 3. Business interruption 4. Cyber risk 5. Regulatory risk

77%

not furloughing

65%

not closing any locations

Source: Covid-19 Pandemic Survey by the Risk Institute May 26-June 15

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

010-011_Breakdown.indd 11

11

9/17/20 5:02 PM

profile

By Tatyana Tandanpolie + Photos by rob hardin

Dwight Smith Chairman and CEO

Sophisticated Systems Age: 63 In position since: 1990 Previous: Branch manager at Software Alternatives; sales and management, IBM Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing,

MBA, Ohio State University

Boards: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus Foundation, Rev1 Ventures, Choice Legal (Tampa, Florida), Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (deputy chair), CTL Engineering and State Auto Mutual Insurance Personal: Smith and his wife, Renee, live in

Dublin. He’s also very close with his siblings Warren, Robin and Jendayi.

Ambassador of kindness He found success in business.

Now, Dwight Smith hopes to do for the world’s children what his mother did for him: Make them feel special.

O

n the soft, yellowy-green wall near Dwight Smith’s desk in his Dublin home, three ornate, wooden picture frames hang over a fully stocked bookshelf. Black and white photos of his maternal grandparents join one depicting his late mother, Ruby Irene, a bright orange shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

Lining the top of the dark, wooden bookshelf are smaller black and brown picture frames: photos of Tanzanian children boasting the brand new e-readers Smith and his

Dwight Smith wife, Renee, donated to them through their Thanks Be To God Foundation.

Propped up beside them are images of Smith with members of a Tanzanian tribe and groups of his colleagues.

On a lower shelf lay stacks of Highlights for Children magazines, some with issue dates from before Smith, 63, was born.

On his desk sits a metal sign that says “Changing the World,” with child-sized bracelets handmade by students at KIPP Columbus dangling from it, their beads spelling family, love and kind—a keepsake from a KIPP event for My Special Word, Smith’s child-affirming movement.

On the office door, at eye level across from his swivel chair, hangs a

sheet of easel pad paper that reads, “Children are the most important people in the world” in bright orange marker.

“I try to keep those things around me because it reminds me how blessed I am,” Smith says of his office decor.

And Smith would admit he’s very blessed. He’s the chairman and CEO of Columbus technology services firm Sophisticated Systems, and he sits on boards for an array of top-tier organizations from the Columbus Foundation to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

But Smith doesn’t want to talk about his success after celebrating 30 years in business; or profit margins

12 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

012-015_Profile_Q&A_DwightSmith.indd 12

9/17/20 11:08 AM

We’re financially blessed, but every day I know that if I can use the business as an asset and a platform to uplift society, then that’s what I’ll do. before and after Covid-19 hit Columbus; or how more than 40 years of experience honed his business sense.

He wants to talk about change and how he hopes to achieve it through loving and caring for the world’s children, nurturing their minds and self-esteems so that they might shape the world into a better place.

“You get to a point where what’s really important is your ability to impact the world and bring change and goodness to those that you love and care about,” Smith says.

••• Raised in Springfield by a single mother, Smith and his three siblings grew up with “so much love in the household,” despite not having much

materially. Though his mother did the bulk of his rearing, he credits his extended family and community in Springfield with shaping him into the man he is today.

His community—once over 80,000 strong, but today closer to 60,000 residents—was close-knit, chock full of neighbors who really knew each other, who cared for each other and who always found time for each other. Smith’s love for Christ, a love his mother introduced him to, transformed into a long-lasting love for his community and giving back to it, he says.

“I carry Springfield with me every day,” he says. Though 50 miles away from his hometown, Smith stays con-

nected to and involved in it, working with the city itself and local organizations like Junior Achievement, the youth program that sparked his interest in business while in high school, the Springfield Foundation and the Springfield City Youth Mission.

While working to combat food insecurity, Smith also advises new Youth Mission Executive Director Tyler Worley, who he met six or seven years ago. “He and Renee have just really befriended me,” Worley says. “They really encourage me. I can bounce stuff off of them. I can call them, and that’s not normal really for somebody that’s traditionally somebody who would be a funder.”

Smith created the Ruby Irene Youth Association Fund, $100,000 meant to support the children of Springfield through the Springfield Foundation, during one of the most difficult times of his life three years ago.

As his mother’s health declined, over 18 months Smith made the 70-mile drive to her Xenia hospice care facility multiple times a week, holding her hand as she neared the end. “Mom, someday, when you’re in heaven, there’s going to be kids in Springfield that are going to get books and groceries and clothes because of what you did,” he told her.

“I knew I wanted to honor children, and I knew I wanted to honor my mother, so what better way to recognize and acknowledge a person, my mother, who poured so much into me?” he says.

••• Over 30 years, Smith and his team at Sophisticated Systems have cultivated a company culture that reads more like a multigenerational family than it does a tech business. He hosts bring-your-dog-to-work days and a company Christmas party where a former employee’s boyfriend proposed after asking Smith for his blessing.

Though childless, Smith cares for his team as though they were his children.

“We get to learn the team, the family members of the teams, the kids, the grandkids, the schools that they’re going to,” says Rick Venson, a senior field engineer. “We all enjoy hearing about the successes of when the kids graduate high school and they go off to college.”

For Venson, Smith has been family since he paid his respects at a Venson October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

012-015_Profile_Q&A_DwightSmith.indd 13

13

9/17/20 4:18 PM

Q&A

Dwight Smith runs Sophisticated Systems like a parent runs a household. In the midst of a pandemic, he puts his employees’ health, safety and peace of mind first.

How has it been running a business in the midst of a pandemic and what challenges have you faced?

It’s probably brought us closer together. I’ll tell you what it demonstrated: how efficient and effective we could be as a team. We talked about the pandemic—I’m going to make up the dates—on a Monday, we made a decision on a Tuesday and we sent everybody home on Wednesday with the exception of a few people. But then because of the business we’re in where we actually run the IT infrastructure for a lot of clients, many of our clients said, “Hey I’ve got 10, 20, 30, 40 employees and next Monday, they need to be working at home. Make it so.” And so I just so much appreciate what our team did, pulling together.

What’s the most memorable moment you and your team had in your 30 years at Sophisticated Systems?

The memories that I treasure the most at SSI are when our employees take care of one another, when they go above and beyond to help one another.

I don’t have that one special moment because there are so many special moments.

You understand and even promote that words matter. If you could sum up your last 40 years in business in three words, what would they be?

Caring. Excellence. Appreciation.

Final answer.

Why those three?

Well I’ll do appreciation first. No one gets to where they are by themselves.

So I appreciate the opportunities that I’ve been given and the people that have helped me along the way. Caring– You know that old saying, “People don’t care [what you know] until they know how much you care”? I don’t think that you can be successful in business or in life if you don’t have the ability to genuinely care about others. Excellence—I don’t think we should ever settle. Complacency leads to failure. If we’re going to do it, let’s do it with excellence.

family funeral just two months after Venson started with the company. “I was raised where family and respect are super important, and Dwight showed me such a level of respect that I committed myself to working for Sophisticated Systems,” says Venson. “I’ve been there 20-plus years, and I’m loyal to Dwight because he’s a special person.”

Smith “parents” his team the way he believes any strong leader would, living by the doctrine that his team gets the credit when business is booming, and he takes the fall when it’s not. And in the late 1990s, Smith felt he had a responsibility to protect his “children” from the financial hole the company was in.

He describes SSI in its first few years as an Inc. 5000 rocket ship, shooting up through the tens of thousands of dollars in sales, then the hundreds of thousands, then through the millions and tens of millions—before it plummeted. In its tenth year, the company saw more than a $700,000 loss and accrued $2.1 million in debt, and Smith was scared.

He kept the damage hidden from most of his team, making sure everyone who earned a raise got a raise and taking a salary cut to make up for some of the difference.

Two years later, after the business turned a $300,000 profit and the debt was paid, Smith asked his team during a meeting whether they would have wanted to know that the company was failing. Everyone raised their hands.

From then on, he vowed to keep “the family” in the know, and as the company grew, the team grew closer and the profits grew higher. Smith later implemented an employee stock ownership plan for six years, allowing employees to gain part ownership of SSI. Smith doesn’t buy into the old adage of separating personal and business—he loves his employees, worries about them. “People say, ‘You can’t really get that involved with your employees,’ ” he says. “Of course you can. They’re not employees, they’re people.”

••• Nothing brings Smith more joy than talking about My Special Word. The professional demeanor he projects when he talks business softens into a jubilance and playful-

ness with the mention of his youthtargeted movement.

My Special Word is his passion project, the culmination of all the blessings, light and love he wants to share with the world that aims to teach children that words matter and rewards them by celebrating their positivity. The initiative asks them to choose one word that best describes them and who they want to be and why; how they plan to live out their word every day; and how the program can help them do it.

Smith’s proud to say that the movement’s reception has been positive.

The children he met at KIPP Columbus wore their My Special Word bracelets proudly, some insisting on giving him theirs. My Special Word has expanded internationally, landing in a classroom in Vietnam where children wear their bracelets with their uniforms, and Smith is seeking corporate partners in the Columbus region who can help spread his word.

Ultimately, Smith wants to communicate that words matter, so they should be positive. Calvin Cooper, CEO of Columbus startup Rhove and a decade-long mentee of Smith’s, understands that.

“One thing that I hope people would take away from what Dwight has accomplished is that words matter and kindness matters, and you can extend your light into the business, philanthropic and political realms— starting with you, starting with working on yourself and framing your thoughts and your words in a way that inspire you,” Cooper says.

The word that inspires Smith daily is “sold,” as in “sold out to Christ.”

When he prays over his business each morning, he asks how he can live out his special word not for himself, but for the children in Springfield that his mother’s foundation supports, the “children” at SSI who work with him, and the children all over the globe he hopes to empower with his movement.

“I run a business, which is a blessing, but I do that to allow us to give back to the community,” he says.

“We’re financially blessed, but every day I know that if I can use the business as an asset and a platform to uplift society, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Tatyana Tandanpolie is a freelance writer.

14 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

012-015_Profile_Q&A_DwightSmith.indd 14

9/17/20 11:09 AM

S

B F

s d c m lo b c

c o u le in t m e in

c

ADVERTISEMENT

EXPERT ADVICE

Safety Is the New Currency

By Dr. James Schumer, Ophthalmologist and Founder ReVision LASIK & Cataract Surgery

COVID-19 has altered the way we see the world. With new information developing daily and safety measures continuing to evolve, the past several months have been challenging. As we look to the future, it’s important for businesses to realize safety is the new currency.

“Is it safe?” This is the question consumers ask when considering a trip outside their home to visit a business, undergo medical procedures, or enjoy leisure activities. Customers are seeking reassurance that it is indeed safe to enter businesses. Sending a clear message of safety to prospective and existing customers is vital to maintaining profitability during the pandemic.

Even before Coronavirus, medical practices performed procedures

012-015_Profile_Q&A_DwightSmith.indd 15

under high safety standards. Today, those best practices are enhanced with additional safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is important for medical professionals to share their safety standard expertise with patients.

This conversation helps build patient confidence by providing reassurance that proceeding with routine care visits and having medical procedures is safe - even during a pandemic - and will enhance quality of life.

Businesses experiencing a decrease in profitability can demonstrate their commitment to customer health and wellness through mask wearing, social distancing, and thoroughly disinfecting surfaces. It is equally important to champion safety protocols to employees. This safeguards against transmission of COVID-19 between coworkers which could result in numerous employees being quarantined or a

shutdown of the business.

Use websites and social media to keep the line of communication open to consumers. Provide details about safety measures in place at the business and what visitors should expect upon arrival. As circumstances evolve, remember to update this information regularly. Knowledge provides a solid foundation for the customer to have a comfortable and enjoyable experience.

One thing remains unchanged during these uncertain times, successful businesses rely on customers to purchase goods and services. Businesses that extend their definition of ‘goods and services’ to include safety will restore consumer confidence, receive more on-site visits, and increase profitability. Central Ohio businesses are truly in this together. Let’s unite to show customers it is safe to visit and support local businesses.

9/17/20 11:09 AM

Renter Mentor

Tech talk

Rentermentor.net Founder and CEO: Jerry Valentine

By Cynthia Bent Findlay

Renter Mentor launching testing The tech solution brings together Section 8 landlords, agencies and tenants.

S Photo courtesy RENTER MENTOR

ome tech startups are born when entrepreneurs find applications for intriguing technologies. Affordable housing, though, has no shortage of problems waiting for tech solutions.

Renter Mentor is stepping into that breach with a mission to connect renters, landlords and agencies

serving the homeless and affordable housing community. Founder and CEO Jerry Valentine says Renter Mentor was created to boost efficiency and accountability in the affordable housing market.

The idea behind Rentor Mentor gelled in Valentine’s head as he began working with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority. “The key was for me to come in at the entry level to learn the business,” he says.

“I was on the front line of it all and got to hear the core problems.”

He found a decades-old process involving multiple manual and repetitive steps and in-person visits to agencies and properties, creating potential for missed connections and human error.

Because of a shortage of Section 8-eligible housing, clients often wait years to be issued a voucher and then must race to find available properties within 90 days.

Landlords face a process that still in large part takes place on paper, in person and over the course of months to enroll their properties with HUD and various agencies, with no centralized information resource to explain those steps.

From the renter side, there’s no centralized list of landlords and what tenants they will accept. And housing scams abound—including a prevalent fraud involving scammers breaking into for-sale homes and listing them as available rentals, then taking the unsuspecting tenant’s pay-

Ikove’s SUN Fund outperforms Ikove Capital, the Columbusbased venture developer and startup nursery, reports that its Startup Nursery Fund LP has ranked in the top quartile of 149 venture funds tracked by industry consultants Cambridge Associates.

“This is a really solid start, and showcases the opportunities available in

the Midwest,” says Ikove co-founder Flavio Lobato.

“We are seeing a replication of the successful results we saw from our early company launches, now translating into this new batch of companies we are launching with the backing of the SUN Fund.”

Ikove focuses on very early-stage concept and

seed funding with an emphasis on tech commercialization, mining Midwestern research institutions for promising innovations with a lens on social enterprise. Some of Ikove’s early nursery progeny included Nikola Labs, Cognovi Labs, Circular Wave Drive and ParaGen Technologies.

Business: Software for affordable housing landlords, tenants and agencies Launch date: September 2020 Investment to date: $32,500 in prize and seed funding plus in-kind donations

ment and keeping it.

Valentine says he knew there had to be tech solutions to automate some of the more repetitive processes and forms. In 2018, he took his ideas to GivebackHack Columbus, where they were a hit. He won seed money.

That propelled him through the 14-week SEA Change accelerator, and Renter Mentor as a for-profit social enterprise took shape.

Valentine and his team settled on a strategy of offering consulting services to onboarding property owners into the affordable housing ecosystem and a three-way CRM which manages the relationship between property owners, tenants and agencies that offer rental assistance, utility assistance and other housing services.

The platform features a searchable database of landlords who are Section 8 friendly and further identifies landlords who are eviction-friendly or willing to work with those coming out of the justice system. “When we talk about the affordable housing spectrum, [that’s] who we try to help,” Valentine says.

Landlords will gain the ability to rate tenants through their use history (the reverse is also true), automate processes and auto-populate forms.

Landlords and agencies will support Renter Mentor via subscriptions.

The platform is free to tenants and accessible through mobile devices or desktop computers.

Valentine says Covid-19 has forced many agencies to go remote and become willing to take a look at tech solutions the industry was slow to adopt previously. Renter Mentor is entering an alpha testing phase at the end of September with tentative relationships already in place with a slate of landlords and agencies.

Cynthia Bent Findlay is a freelance writer.

16 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

016_TechTalk.indd 16

9/17/20 6:12 PM

briefing By katy smith

Accenture’s bold goals

C

onsulting firm Accenture is taking steps to support diversity across its 912 employees in Columbus and 500,000 globally.

The company has a goal to have 50 percent of its workforce be women by 2025—it’s at 44 percent now, while 24 percent of its managing directors are women. Nearly half the people it is hiring now are women, and its CEO, Julie Sweet, is a woman.

It also has committed to increase the representation of Black employees to 12 percent from 9 percent, and Latinx people to 13 percent from 9.5 percent, while significantly increasing the number of managing directors from these groups. Now, 2.8 percent of people in those roles are Black, while 3.5 percent are Latinx.

Photo courtesy Accenture

The company has pledged to support Black tech startups and track the creation of a more diverse workforce.

Paula O’Reilly “I think we’ve been very purposeful in working to promote African Americans and Hispanic Americans,” says Paula O’Reilly, an Accenture managing director in Columbus and the leader of its North American women’s employee resource group.

“Better solutions come from a greater diversity of thought and different backgrounds, whether it be gender or ethnic, and our clients benefit from that diversity of thought.”

The company also is launching an initiative to support Black entrepreneurs. The Accenture Ventures pro-

gram will invest in Black technology startup founders and CEOs through the Black Founders Development Fund. It’s an underserved source of innovation: Less than 1 percent of all venture capital funding goes to Black founders, according to a study by RateMyInvestor and VC Diversity.

Accenture is making other moves to support employees as well. It’s offering school-day supervision of children ages 6 to 12 through Bright Horizons, which has centers nationwide, including at least two in Columbus.

L e s s o n s f r o m t h e v o l at i l e w o r l d o f P P E Business partners Darshan Vyas and Ernie Malas created a viable business making hand sanitizer after being burned in their first attempt. Vyas, a co-founder and managing director with Columbus-based Loud Capital, says the scramble for personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic led, unfortunately, to “a lot of fraud and misrepresentation in the space.”

He and Malas were told they could obtain millions of bottles of sanitizer for interested retail clients, but it never materialized.

“At the last minute, when the shipment was supposed to arrive, we were told the

product was not available,” Vyas says. “My partner and I had to scramble to save our relationship and reputation with our retail clients and follow through on our word.”

The two were quickly able to convert a chemical plant in Cambridge in eastern Ohio into a sanitizer factory, making and bottling sanitizer under World Health Organization and FDA-certification guidelines. The new company, which they have named National Health Supplier, has been a success.

“What started as an accident became a full-fledged business doing more than seven figures

in revenue in less than four months,” Vyas says. “We were able to create over 12 full-time and part-time jobs in addition to a network of sales reps Darshan Vyas

Photo courtesy Loud Capital

who have thrived during this downturn.”

National Health Supplier has added other PPE products including masks, gloves, air purifiers and UV lamps to its offerings.

As an investor in other people’s ventures for some time now, Vyas was pleased to prove he still has the chops to create and grow a company of his own.

“Being an entrepreneur again is fun, yet it has its challenges,” he says. “I’m glad I went through the experience because I know I still have it within me. I am hopeful that this business will continue to grow and provide value to the community.”

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

017_Briefings.indd 17

17

9/17/20 6:04 PM

spotlight

By Heather Barr + Photo by rob hardin

Small Business

Balancing priorities Ebony Igwebuike-Tye is running three very different businesses, and flexibility is how she’s hanging on.

E

bony Igwebuike-Tye is no stranger to fixing problems— in fact, her problem-solving nature is one of the reasons she became an entrepreneur in the first place.

“There’s always a lot going on,” Igwebuike-Tye says. “But the crazy thing is I actually love it. I think I like the challenge of handling people’s problems and putting out fires.”

Igwebuike-Tye owns What to Wear, a high-end consignment store in Clintonville, God’s Kidz daycare on the South Side, and Ambassador Home Health Services, which is based in Reynoldsburg. In addition, she’s been in the real estate industry for over 20 years, working with both commercial and residential properties.

Ebony Igwebuike-Tye

Ebony Igwebuike-Tye Entrepreneur and real estate agent Age: 49 Businesses: What to Wear, God’s Kidz Too

Christian Learning Center and Ambassador Home Health Services

Employees: 45 Community involvement: Board

member, Lazarus Arise Community Development Corp.; job coach, Mommies Matter

Education: MBA, Northeastern University; bachelor’s in English, Ohio State University

Her entrepreneurial spirit showed at a young age, says her mother and business partner, Carolyn Warren.

“She’s always had this knack for coming up with creative ways to make money,” Warren says. “If she doesn’t know how to do [something], she figures out a way.”

The pandemic was a problem that none of us was fully prepared for.

“One thing that I’ve learned about being an entrepreneur is that you have to be prepared for surprises,” Igwebuike-Tye says.

Because her ventures are in different fields, Igwebuike-Tye has had to juggle various restrictions and find

new ways to run her businesses in a time where customers’ needs have shifted sometimes drastically. “In some ways, it’s also allowing us to look for opportunities where we can do things better,” she says.

Amid the pandemic, Ambassador Home Health is serving more people. “[The pandemic] caused there to be a spike in people’s needs for our services and even allowed us to extend our services,” she says. For families with at-risk loved ones, Ambassador has added grocery shopping services to avoid unnecessary outside contact.

Her daycare, God’s Kidz, also has been vital to working families

18 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

018-019_Spotlight_SmallBusiness.indd 18

9/17/20 5:24 PM

“We don’t have an end date. We don’t know how much longer this new normal is going to be our new normal.”

Ebony Igwebuike-Tye, entrepreneur

through the pandemic, as it stayed open to serve those working in essential businesses during the height of the lockdown. “We chose to be open for those people so that they could have a safe, quality, affordable option and not have to worry about their kids while they’re away at work,” she says, noting that the choice to stay open came with additional costs in personal protective equipment and additional sanitizing practices.”

As for What to Wear, Igwebuike-Tye opened an online store. She’s noticed shoppers’ habits changing.

“With the shift of more people working from home, they’re not purchasing clothes to wear to work like they used to,” she says. On the other end of the spectrum, some customers want to invest in designer clothing, bags and accessories that hold or increase their value over time.

As she faced the challenges presented by the pandemic in each of her business ventures, Igwebuike-Tye says flexibility has been an important factor in keeping her businesses running.

“We don’t have an end date, you know. We don’t know how much longer this new normal is going to be our new normal,” she says. “That in and of itself is forcing us to continue to be flexible.”

Although the pandemic has sent waves through the economy and the small business community, IgwebuikeTye says having the chance to slow down can be a positive for everyone— a time to shift their focus from themselves to the community.

“I think we have been so busy running around, with everyone kind of doing their own thing … then something hits the entire world where you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, this is not just about me,’ ” she says. “So I think it’s allowed people to take a more community and worldwide view of their surroundings.”

Heather Barr is a freelance writer.

The stories not told anywhere else. columbusalive.com the Arts the Eats the Community and more

@columbusalive Stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

018-019_Spotlight_SmallBusiness.indd 19

19

9/17/20 11:10 AM

spotlight

By Virginia Brown + Photo by rob hardin

Nonprofit

Steward of stability Amid the pandemic, South Side Early Learning is innovating for Franklin County’s preschool community.

C

olin McGinnis knows that, for preschoolers, stability is key. At South Side Early Learning, the “littles,” as the 26-year-old CEO calls them, interact with the same friends and teachers daily. They share meals and visit the same rooms. The comfort is in the routine.

Then came Covid-19, with a whirlwind of uncertainty, fear and constantly changing rules.

From March 22 to May 31, South

“[The pandemic] was disruption on top of disruption. It took away the stability we were providing day in and day out.”

Colin McGinnis, CEO, South Side Early Learning

South Side Early Learning 280 Reeb Ave., Columbus 43207 Mission: To ensure every child benefits

from a holistic, high-quality early education

CEO: Colin McGinnis Employees: 37 Revenue: $1.8 million in 2019 FUNDING: United Way, YMCA, Head Start,

ODJFS, private pay tuition

Colin McGinnis Side had to do something never before done in the center’s 98-year history: It canceled in-person programming—a huge blow to some of Columbus’ most vulnerable families. “This was disruption on top of disruption,” McGinnis says. “It took away the stability we were providing day in and day out.”

Last school year, 90 percent of children enrolled at South Side were from families below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline. These families rely on the center not only for daily child care, but for meals and other necessities.

In-person programming was impossible, but McGinnis didn’t furlough or reduce staff. Instead, he got to work. Staff set up Google Meet classrooms, recorded videos for families to watch from home and generated more online content. With his signature sunshiny outlook, McGinnis encouraged innovation.

Cue the CareKit, a package containing necessities from soap, diapers, wipes and nonperishable food to educational materials. “We needed to be there for our families,” McGinnis says. “In kit format, weekly, our families could come and get the care they needed.” In just over two months, they distributed over 600 kits.

On June 1, when South Side reopened to families, not everyone could return. “We gave priority to families that were working,” McGinnis says. “We had to accept that we weren’t going to please everyone.”

Capacity was cut by 40 percent.

Partitions and barriers went up, and a new configuration took form. Prior to the pandemic, the space could accommodate 18 children and three teachers per classroom, but given the physical restrictions due to concerns about the virus’ spread, that ratio was reduced to nine children and one teacher per room—and even fewer for

20 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

020-021_Spotlight_Nonprofit.indd 20

9/17/20 11:12 AM

the infants and toddlers.

Providing preschoolers stability takes a lot of support. “The pandemic pointed out how critical early learning is for families, children, the economy,” says Shiloh Todorov, South Side’s board president. “We need to think about how we invest in this critical sector and help this industry bloom instead of barely survive.”

With no daytime care, many parents can’t work, sending families into crisis mode. Despite some Ohio initiatives—the state currently allocates $73 million annually to high-quality preschool—McGinnis says the early learning industry is systematically dysfunctional.

“Early learning staffs are made up largely of women of color being paid abysmal wages,” he says. “We need to innovate, think differently and be vocal in the advocacy space.” Though a self-described “natural observer,” McGinnis is undoubtedly taking action.

Before the pandemic, South Side had begun work on Project NUDL (pronounced “noodle”), a social enterprise created to provide early learning professional training and share best practices for centers. “I knew [the pandemic] was an opportunity for South Side to be a leader, and the model that I know we are,” he says.

Partnering with Future Ready Columbus, South Side designed a free, interactive guide to share tips and information with industry peers, so they too could safely reopen their centerbased child care programs.

The Child Care Center Reopen Playbook outlines critical daily operations, from drop-off and pick-up practices to classroom sizes and master schedules.

“The landscape was changing quickly, and the playbook offered practical, grounded counsel,” says Jane Leach, executive director of Future Ready Columbus. “We felt that it was an authentically generated document, so we offered to support the e-distribution.” To date, the playbook has been downloaded over 350 times.

For now, McGinnis will move the needle from his home office, along with the rest of his administrative staff. “But I’m finding time to go in, because I miss it,” he says. “It’s the reason I took the job—the interaction with the work.”

STRONG WOMEN. STRONG FOUNDATION.

Thursday, October 15, 2020 A Virtual Celebration | 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Join Homeport as we celebrate our 2020 Voice & Vision Award Recipient Sandy Doyle-Ahern Register at Homeportohio.org/VoiceAndVision Suggested Donation: $75

Homeport’s mission is to create strong communities by developing quality, affordable homes on a cornerstone of dignity, security and opportunity.

Media Sponsor

STAY AT HOME

SERIES

Virginia Brown is a freelance writer.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

020-021_Spotlight_Nonprofit.indd 21

21

9/17/20 11:11 AM

spotlight

By Laura Newpoff + Photo by ROB HARDIN

Innovation

Finding a new niche Radiant Technology had to recover from the loss of a colleague and demand for its product all in one year.

I

n July 2019, Radiant Technology experienced what employees call the profound loss of Vice President Jeff Wagner to cancer.

He was the first person Greg Myers hired when he founded the company 19 years ago, and he served as the emotional leader who would jump at the chance to give an employee a pat on the back for a job well done.

As the months following Wagner’s death wore on, the year continued to be difficult for the collaboration solutions business that designs, installs and services audiovisual and digital signage systems. Its pipeline for new business had dried up, which led to a round of layoffs in February of this year. The idea at the time was to regroup and right-size the business for current demand. Those plans lasted about a month.

Covid-19 would prompt a second round of layoffs in March. Myers carried the weight of finding ways to

Radiant Technology

7730 N. Central Drive, Lewis Center 43035 radianttech.net Business: Audiovisual consulting, design,

engineering, installation and managed services for collaboration and digital signage systems

Founder and president: Greg Myers Employees: 60 Revenue: Would not disclose

“We decided to get people together more often to talk about how they were feeling and not just always about business. Our leadership team was instrumental in putting together a communication plan to support our employees.”

Greg Myers, president, Radiant Technology keep the company afloat and communicating to remaining employees about the firm’s future. Myers, who considered himself more reserved and operations-focused, also had to find a way to fill the void created by Wagner’s death.

“We decided to get people together more often to talk about how they were feeling and not just always about business,” Myers says. “Using remote platforms, we did large groups, small groups, one-on-ones.

Our leadership team was instrumental in putting together a communication plan to support our employees.”

Radiant was able to secure a Paycheck Protection Program loan that allowed it to hire back employees that were let go in March. Myers gave his employees a purpose by asking

them, in teams, to come up with solutions he thought clients would need to operate in times of crisis. It gave them hope amid dark days and a diversion from an unending loop of bad news.

Higher education became a priority because schools had limited time to prepare for hybrid classes in August. The “Radiant Innovation” team created a solution called “Front of the Classroom” that’s a remote experience meant to match the inclass experience. Features include the ability to record the class and store it in a “Learning Management System,” AV content sharing and flexible configurations.

By the time summer rolled around, the company was hiring because orders from higher education “in-

22 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

022-023_Spotlight_Innovation.indd 22

9/17/20 11:13 AM

Greg Myers

creased exponentially,” says Marketing Manager Ann Ketron. Radiant hired six new installation technicians to handle the work, and the company still was filling positions in mid-July.

Radiant works with businesses and nonprofits, too, often creating collaboration environments that include web conference capabilities, content and application sharing and training and recording capabilities.

During Covid-19, those crisisfocused teams came up with solutions like streaming and recording suites that allow leaders to communicate to the masses, virtual learning studios, services to help IT staff optimize networks for increased AV traffic, war rooms and network operations centers.

Simon Sweet, director of information technology at behavioral health nonprofit Buckeye Ranch, called on Radiant for help when he realized his audiovisual know-how dated to a time when people popped slide trays into projectors. Radiant helped Buckeye Ranch outfit the conference and training rooms inside a new 80,000-squarefoot headquarters that opened in March in Whitehall.

Radiant designed the rooms to incorporate Microsoft Teams, Office 365 scheduling, projectors, microphones in ceilings and video cameras. It became a critical asset during Covid-19 because “it allows us to continue to hold our required in-person and onpremise staff education events, with most of the presenters, trainers and some staff attending remotely and without overcrowding the training site,” Sweet says. “This gives the onsite attendees the safest environment possible under the circumstances.

“They have technology they’ve built using tools that make it super easy for somebody to walk into a conference room, touch a single button on a screen that says ‘join’ and then the camera turns on and everything happens immediately,” Sweet says.

“Without this, employees would have to bring their laptops, plug in a bunch of equipment and log into a program.

All that has been smoothed out by Radiant. It’s been so well received that I’ve been asked to start linking up all our other sites.”

Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer.

VIRTUAL AWARDS October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

022-023_Spotlight_Innovation.indd 23

23

9/17/20 11:13 AM

Agenda

CEO Corner

Compiled by Katy Smith

UP TO THE CHALLENGE Organizations are facing unprecedented change during the pandemic. What temporary changes have been made in your organization that may become permanent?

Tasha Booker

Don DePerro

Tom Feeney

Executive director, City Year Columbus

CEO, Columbus Chamber of Commerce

CEO, Safelite AutoGlass

City Year Inc. prides itself on being a people-centered organization. The events of 2020 required us to review and adapt our policies to meet the ever-changing realities we are facing. We realized during the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the social unrest that we needed to be even more flexible with time off as our community navigated their own family and personal needs. City Year has provided employees with additional paid time off to care for mental and physical health, instituted four days of paid leave for staff to participate as private citizens in social justice initiatives, and established Juneteenth as an organizational holiday.

Operating a large chamber of commerce remotely certainly poses many challenges.

I can see us producing some events virtually for years to come—especially those with out-of-town speakers.

I can also see us undertaking more member consultations via Zoom, Teams or other virtual ways. We can reach far more members quickly in this manner.

We may also conduct more remote work with our associates, especially if they or family members have existing health conditions.

In some ways, we’ve realized greater efficiencies via remote work as a result of this horrible pandemic. But nothing will ever replace a face-to-face meeting.

There are several smart operational responses that we are temporarily embracing. From providing the necessary tools to work remotely and requiring mask-wearing, social distancing and daily health monitoring at our corporate office, to ensuring our field associates remain safe through contactless customer service and more, our people remain the top priority. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these decisions moving forward. What has become permanent is how we exhibit our caring hearts. We’re showing greater compassion and more strongly communicating throughout the business to support and unite our valued Safelite associates—a win for our customers and us.

24 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

024-025_CEO-Corner.indd 24

9/17/20 11:14 AM

ADVERTISEMENT

®

2020 BBB Spark Award Recipients

Congratulations 2020 Spark Class Finalists

BBB’s Spark Award celebrates entrepreneurs 35 years old and under or businesses operating for less than three years that exemplify the characteristics of Character, Culture and Community. The award is part of BBB’s mission to lift up businesses that intentionally foster trust.

Flavvr Quiet Deviants Pour House Grove City Nutrition Car Pro Auto Body SureImpact Stopwatch Creative Optimize Chiropractic Just Fur the Weekend

To learn more about the BBB Spark Awards visit

bbbsparkaward.com

Cova Cowork

The Milk Mission

Fortuity

Cova Cowork is a coworking space in the heart of Columbus with onsite, professional childcare. They reimagine the work experience by bringing diverse people together in one space and giving them the tools needed to connect, create and thrive. They believe that parents, entrepreneurs and small businesses deserve support and aim to unlock productivity for everyone.

The Milk Mission aims to provide the most accurate and up-to-date breastfeeding education to new and expecting mothers and their families. They believe it is their social responsibility to provide culturally competent breastfeeding education to African American women and make this knowledge accessible to women from all socioeconomic backgrounds with the goal of combating the epidemic of Infant Mortality in Central Ohio.

Fortuity provides high quality, state-of-the-art outsourced customer service, sales support and business outsourcing services to Central Ohio companies. They employ under-utilized inner-city workers and invest heavily in technology, training, retention and advancement so their employees have brighter futures. Fortuity provides extensive support services to their employees and aims to disrupt the generational cycle of poverty.

024-025_CEO-Corner.indd 25

9/17/20 5:56 PM

The 2020 g A special thought leadership project by the inaugural class of Future 50 reimagines our community under bold new ideas. Behold a possible future.

By Jordan Davis Illustrations by Manjul Three years ago, while hosting a visit for dignitaries from the United Arab Emirates who had come to learn about our Smart City work, I was posed a question many people think but very few ask: “When do you decide not to grow so that you can focus on quality of life at the size you are right now?”

If you look at cities like San Francisco and Austin as benchmarks for Columbus, you’d likely envy their population growth and booming tech sectors, but be appalled by their cost of living and growing inequity.

In hindsight, their growth did not concern itself with bringing everyone along, rather it furthered the underlying divides and increased inequity.

Like my fellow Future 50 classmates, I love this community deeply and want to see Columbus fulfill its greatest potential. Central Ohio is the only place I’ve ever called home.

I’ve spent the last decade working to advance the economic growth agenda and build the reputation of the region at the Columbus Partnership. Through my work at Smart Columbus, I have come to strongly believe in our ability

2020 is an opportunity we will get only once in our lifetimes: a chance to rebuild our economy, recalibrate our culture, and reshuffle priorities.

to come together to make the impossible, possible. And one of those seemingly impossible things I believe we can do is improve conditions and opportunities for our most vulnerable residents while also growing our city with new people and businesses.

I was honored to be included in Columbus CEO’s inaugural Future 50 class. In my mind, it was a recognition uniquely different than a list of the young and accomplished. Rather, it was a nod to “the crazy ones.” As Steve Jobs’ famous quote says, “The ones who see things differently … change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

The class is just that. Individuals who quit their corporate jobs to start nonprofits, educators pioneering new ways for young people to learn, researchers convicted to solve cancer, entrepreneurs disrupting their industries, relentless activists calling for change, and government leaders getting things done.

This class has big ideas and big visions for what Columbus can be—and they are making it happen.

Given the ambition and passion of this group, Columbus CEO asked each of us to pitch a joint project. At the first meet and greet event, I was so impressed with the diversity and caliber of the ideas. Mine was a proposal for the class to co-author “Moonshot Magazine,” a takeover of Columbus

CEO dedicated to the big ideas that this class had for making our community better. Sure enough, the class overwhelmingly voted to pursue this project, Editor Katy Smith said yes … ... And then 2020 happened.

What we deemed as normal in January has been almost entirely disrupted. Canceled travel, rescheduled weddings, remote work, facemasks as fashion statements, essential workers for the win, PPP Loans, little to no live entertainment, lines outside retail stores—not for crowds but for maintaining physical distance—virtual school, hybrid school, road trips are cool again, we all want antibodies,

26 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 26

9/17/20 5:42 PM

0 gift home improvement projects, plants, pandemic puppies, Netflix binging, TikTok challenges, Zoom calls, YOU’RE ON MUTE… Whoa, that’s a lot of change all at once… But one more really, really important thing: Black Lives Matter.

Covid-19 and our national awakening to racial injustice has forced us to confront the inequalities that have permeated our culture and its institutions for generations. We’ve had to reckon with this confrontation not just on a national or global scale, but within ourselves, our own homes, neighborhoods, businesses and community.

Acknowledging the heaviness of the time and the need for big ideas, the Future 50 class reconvened this summer and put forth 11 bold concepts with underlying themes of greater empathy in the public discourse, updated expectations for public institutions and services, bigger bets on people and placemaking as economic drivers, and the idea that data will empower a new way of operating in the future.

The question I was asked several years ago by that UAE delegation assumed that for a city to grow, you’d have to sacrifice quality of life and leave people behind. In my experience studying other cities, this is too often the case. I think as you encounter the future envisioned herein, you will see 2020 is an opportunity we will get only once in our lifetimes: a chance to rebuild our economy, recalibrate our culture, and reshuffle priorities.

As Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Let’s go change the world, Columbus!

Jordan Davis is director of Smart Columbus with the Columbus Partnership.

Jordan Davis

Can’t Stop Columbus now 700 volunteers strong What started with a Tweet has become a Columbus hackathon movement to help others amid a global pandemic.

By Laura Newpoff

I

t was the night of March 15 that Gov. Mike DeWine ordered bars and restaurants to close in the hope of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

That dramatic decision made the gravity of the health crisis really sink in for Jordan Davis, the director of Smart Columbus. Knowing businesses, and therefore people, would be impacted by those shutdowns, she decided to put out a call via Tweet for what, at the time, she thought would be a few days of virtual hackathons to come up with solutions for people in need.

A few days turned into what’s now a sixmonths-strong movement known as Can’t Stop Columbus that’s implemented dozens of projects to improve the lives of Central Ohioans.

“Within 24 hours (of the Tweet), the amount of energy and people—it was clear

that one weekend wasn’t going to [be enough],” Davis says. “We had to figure out how to build a virtual community overnight essentially to facilitate collaboration among strangers.”

There are now more than 700 volunteers at Can’t Stop Columbus who work on 56 teams. The group, best known for its Curbside Concerts series to help people dealing with social isolation, has 12 impact areas: the arts; local business; behavioral health; voting and public health information; social services; anti-racism; critical supplies; economic recovery; the digital divide; education and child care; food and hunger; and physical health and wellness.

More than 50 projects have launched, thousands of facemasks have been donated, hundreds of concerts have been performed and more than 22,000 meals have been delivered. Several organizations have lent support, including Nationwide Insurance, COSI, YMCA and the Columbus College of Art & Design. Several members of Columbus CEO magazine’s Future 50 class also are involved in the group and are donating time and talent from their companies to bring projects to fruition.

Brad Griffith, the president of web design firm Buckeye Interactive, connected with Davis through Future 50 and decided to get involved in the group. “She took the initiative to make sure Covid didn’t sideline all the social-good projects that had been planned,” he says.

In addition to the challenges presented

by Covid-19, many people got involved with the group to take part in the anti-racism movement, he says. He’s dedicated one of his interns to Can’t Stop Columbus and says there’s plenty of room for additional support from the business community. “(Companies can) help support an initiative like this with skilled volunteering,” he says. “Traditional volunteer work … those things are beneficial.” More beneficial, he says, is providing developers as volunteers to help design software, apps and websites.

Davis, too, believes there’s a big opportunity for businesses that want to build connections to the community through the group, which she wants to keep going. Its website, in fact, says, “We’re just getting started.”

Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 27

27

9/17/20 5:42 PM

The private sector should fight inequity

We—the private sector—not only have the ability but the responsibility to shape our communities and decide what we want our city to look like. This vision of Columbus can not be achieved without us.

By Matt Miller

With contributions from Haley Boehning, Rehgan Avon, Autumn Glover, Alex Anthony and Kelly Atkinson Inequality, racism and injustice are ills that long have plagued our Central Ohio community, and for just as long, the public sector has sought to make a difference through philanthropic efforts.

But recent events—the challenges of Covid-19, our national awakening to

We suggest a bold collective step: A commitment from every member of the Columbus Partnership to lead the way by taking the “B-Corp” assessment and committing to make the necessary changes to become certified B-corporations by 2025.

systematic racism and the continued generational shift from boomer and Gen X to Millennial—have fundamentally changed expectations of how business can and should be involved in social issues.

What if all business in our community was consciously conducted as a force for social change and justice?

We believe businesses and their leaders, employees and investors are in fact best positioned to address issues like inequality, racism and injustice.

It’s the right thing to do. Despite ever-present attempts to make these issues political, they are not inherently so. Approaching them through a political lens not only robs these ethical and moral issues of the attention they deserve, but it serves to impede and sometimes reverse progress when political tides shift. As the Business Roundtable said in its 2019 updated “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation,” businesses play a vital role in supporting their communities and share a “fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders,” not just shareholders. The concept of “multiple bottom lines” is becoming the new norm as companies are held to a higher standard, judged not only for financial success but for what they do, how they do it, and who they help along the way.

It’s the smart thing to do. More people not only want to see companies do

well financially, but do good for the community. There is an acute awareness that everything we do in the operation of our businesses has either a positive or a negative impact. Being thoughtful about when, how and why businesses deploy their resources and expertise has a direct impact on a company’s ability to recruit and retain

employees, customers and investors.

Our employees and our customers no longer accept neutrality or the notion that business operations are a zerosum game.

It’s the most efficient way to do it. Decades of governmental bureau-

28 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 28

9/17/20 5:42 PM

cracy, along with the unprecedented gridlock and partisanship in today’s political environment, have amplified the role business must play in solving these problems. We can no longer look to local, state or federal government to solve wide-ranging systemic problems, especially when those problems relate to social equity or race. Given our unfettered ability to innovate and implement impactful internal policies not required by government regulation—such as paying a living wage, providing equal access opportunity for employment and advancement, prioritizing the recruitment and retention of persons of color—we hold the key to building communities in which businesses and employees can thrive.

We suggest a bold collective step: A commitment from every member of the Columbus Partnership to lead the way by taking the “B-Corp” assess-

ment and committing to make the necessary changes to become certified B-corporations by 2025.

Certified B Corporations meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

B-Corps harness the power of business to reduce inequality, decrease levels of poverty, create healthier environments, build stronger communities and create more high-quality jobs to fuel them.

We have the opportunity to build a “B-Economy” in Central Ohio made up of B-Corp certified businesses that focus their efforts on being the best for the world as opposed to the “best in the world.” To further support this effort, local government must also adopt policies that give preference to certified B-Corps in contracting and

Creating a B-economy If we create a B-economy, we’ll be in good company. “There are some spectacularly successful companies. Unilever has eight divisions certified,” says John Lowe, CEO of B Corp Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. He drops the name of another B Corp: “Have you heard of Ben & Jerry’s?”

But certification is not a PR campaign. It’s a rigorous process that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance and impact, from supply chain to employee benefits to charitable giving. “We thought it was worth the hassle, pain and money to be given a score— publicly—so people didn’t have to wonder,” Lowe says.

Certification “forced us to look at all of our vendors, from truck drivers to packaging materials,” says Kimmi Wernli, who is CEO of another B Corp, Columbus-based Crazy Richard’s Peanut Butter. Realizing not all partners shared their core values, the company made changes.

Wernli credits this particular change with Crazy Richard’s ability to not only survive but thrive during Covid-19. “[Our suppliers] understood this was not about making a profit, but fulfilling a greater purpose, so we were able to fulfill our orders on time. It was eye-opening and validating.”

Wernli and Lowe advise other CEOs to be humble going into the process of becoming a certified B Corp. “It’s a difficult process with real teeth,” Lowe says. “You might not score as high as you’d expect to start, but setting out to annually improve your score is one great, clear yardstick for your company.” other opportunities to do business with the public sector, and by creating and funding an office that assists local companies seeking B-Corp certification by providing resources and funding to do so.

Our collective vision of a just and equitable Columbus will not be achieved without the full commitment of the private sector. We should stop waiting for others to address these issues and answer our community’s call to action by leading the way.

Matt Miller is an attorney with Ice Miller focused on impact investing.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 29

29

9/17/20 5:42 PM

The digital divide

The gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet and those who do not constitutes a public health crisis. What if a community commission focused on digital equity and strategy was formed to tackle these problems?

By Autumn Glover With contributions from Brad Griffith, Josh Harrison, Matt Miller and Jordan Davis.

A global pandemic forced the shift to an online society.

This shift was uncomfortable, but manageable for some, but for many it was impossible, exposing yet another inequity. The digital divide is the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet and those who do not. Although this might be a public health crisis moment of awakening for some of us, this inequity has been studied for decades and by experts like Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who cites three clear steps Congress can take to increase broadband access to Americans.

Yet, some children stopped learning when Covid-19 froze every household firmly in their economic class. The haves and the have nots grew even more apparent as we scrambled to “light up” parking lots and buses and distribute equipment

The internet is not a luxury in 2020. It’s a utility required for life.

30 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

so kids could keep learning. Local leaders have done much in the way of distributing resources to help. Columbus City Council and Franklin County have used millions of dollars in CARES Act funding to distribute loaned and refurbished equipment to families with school-

aged children. The Columbus Foundation established a $1 million seed fund to further the work that’s been started to identify and respond to gaps and challenges in broadband access throughout neighborhoods in the region. There is hope.

A recent study by AECOM reported

PACT Connected Communities

The Columbus Rising Project, an organization preparing to locate communitybased “help desks,” was formed by two of the co-founders of Black Tech Columbus, longtime advocates for broadband expansion and sworn enemies of the digital divide, Kaleem Musa and Doug McCollough.

The Columbus Rising Project will provide members with the opportunity to acquire or borrow devices and gain information and support in obtaining permanent broadband internet access and securing personal information using freely available accounts and services. Musa and McCollough are serious about digital access, equity and inclusion in Columbus neighborhoods at risk for experiencing the growing digital divide, and continuously improving resource recommendations to members, increasing their knowledge, confidence, proficiency, access, and wellness in the use of technology.

“These communities deserve the dignity of these services and to be served with cultural humility,” Musa says. “[This project is] really a focused complement to what happens in libraries.” Locations will be established as walk-up and walk-in facilities where members of a community can seek digital wellness.

One way to solve the digital divide is by focusing on one neighborhood at a time. In early 2020, PACT initiated its Connected Communities strategy to leverage its unique position as place-based “community quarterback” to address the digital divide. Leading with community engagement, PACT has engaged hundreds of residents and partnered with local and national leaders to explore solving the digital divide one neighborhood at a time. Its focus is on giving residents the dignity of access to internet that is affordable and effective for all uses including school, work, telehealth and fun! PACT is committed to ensuring residents have devices to participate that they own and the confidence to use them. Thanks to the support of the Columbus Foundation, a feasibility study for increasing broadband adoption in the PACT 800-acre geography is underway. This could serve as a case study for other neighborhoods to increase household fixed internet.

Finally, PACT is working with partners at Moody Nolan and the Columbus Rising Project to develop a culturally responsive digital literacy resource for residents to increase their proficiency and comfort in using the internet for life.

that even in the lowest income areas of Columbus, there is at least one high-speed internet provider and adequate broadband infrastructure for service. Instead, the study found that gaps in access were largely due to a variety of barriers across different demographics, including economic

challenges, technology literacy and lack of computers or other devices.

As we take a moment of pause to reflect on why we were so woefully unprepared for this, it begs the question, whose job is it anyway?

Digital exclusion comes at a cost we cannot continue to carry if we want to

File photo by Doral Chenoweth

Columbus Rising Project

be a smart, future-thinking community.

Every industry relies on the internet.

Every small business, household, urban and rural community will require affordable and effective internet for our economic future, schooling and health, making solving this problem unavoidable. As technology continues to evolve, closing the divide will only grow more challenging.

The answer? It’s no one’s job.

There are and have been civic leaders interested in the digital divide, but many projects stall without clear vision, funding or decision-making authority. Until now, this issue has felt like the role of municipal and school district officials, or perhaps the libraries could tackle this. While the leadership of our world-class library system and community foundation have shifted our local perspectives, solving the digital divide is now too critical to be a pet pilot.

What if a community commission focused on digital equity and strategy was formed to tackle these problems?

The state of Ohio has done that with Innovate Ohio, chaired by Future 50 inaugural member Falon Donohue, who was involved in discussions about digital equity in Franklinton and on the South Side in recent years.

The formation of a community commission and full-time staff to support solving the digital divide locally doesn’t sound so far-fetched when the opportunity to achieve the American Dream is reliant on the internet.

The internet is not a luxury in 2020.

It’s a utility required for life.

Autumn Glover is president of Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT), a nonprofit working to revitalize the Near East Side neighborhood surrounding Ohio State University East Hospital. The organization was founded in 2010 by Ohio State, the city of Columbus, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and Near East Side stakeholders.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

31

Driving equity by funding women-owned businesses What if Columbus was the home of the largest venture capital fund for womenowned businesses in the world?

By Haley Boehning

With contributions from Alex Anthony, Kelly Atkinson, Kristin Harper and Timothy Wolf Starr.

Columbus has been dubbed a Smart City, the No. 2 city in the nation for hiring, the top rising city for startups, and even the City of the Year. Columbus is poised to be at the center of innovation in so many ways, but that commitment to innovation is not universal, and its benefits are not accessible to everyone.

Not everyone is rising with the tide.

Central Ohio women and girls represent more than 50 percent of the population but are disproportionately (1 in 5) economically insecure, lagging behind in opportunity and outcomes in wages and in wealth. And for women of color specifically, these gaps are even greater.

To be a truly forward-thinking city, our growth and success must positively impact the community as a whole, not just the select group of individuals who already hold the most power and wealth. How can we accelerate true gender equity to ensure that this rising tide floats all boats?

Recent research by the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio identified “accelerators” that help people accumulate wealth and economic

32 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

security at a faster rate, like homeownership, education, employment and entrepreneurship.

Historically, women have lacked equal access to these accelerators, and many of the ideas proposed by our Future 50 colleagues in this issue will certainly improve access in meaningful ways, for women and men.

But gender-specific barriers to wealth require gender-specific solutions.

Business ownership is a primary method of wealth creation in the U.S. Women are starting new businesses at five times the rate of men, and when they succeed the impact is great, building independent wealth for women, improving lives for their families, creating jobs in their communities, generating returns for their investors and contributing to our region’s economic development.

And yet, women lag in critical areas predictive of business success and face unique disadvantages. Women-owned businesses still account for less than half of all

privately held businesses, employ far fewer people, and are based in less profitable industries than their male counterparts. The gender wage and wealth gaps make self-investment and external borrowing harder for women business owners, and a lack of access to capital makes it difficult for women to launch, invest in and grow their businesses.

An infusion of capital at the start of a business is a leading indicator of its long-term success. But with only 4 percent of commercial loan dollars going to women-owned businesses and only 2 percent of venture capital

dollars being secured by women entrepreneurs, women (especially women of color) are starting at a significant disadvantage.

What if Columbus led the nation in closing the wealth gap by funding women-owned businesses more than any other city through the largest venture capital fund of its kind in the world?

Boston Consulting Group reports that while women-owned companies receive far less in startup financing than companies founded by men, they generate more revenue for every dollar invested— more than twice as much as those founded by men. And business success expands as businesses grow if they maintain gender equity.

Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 21 percent more likely to outperform on profitability and 27 percent more likely to have superior value creation.

With the largest venture capital fund of its kind in the world, Columbus could invest in, support and encourage women to launch and grow businesses. And to increase its impact, this fund would put an emphasis on funding and supporting businesses owned and

launched by women of color, social enterprises and B-corporations, and it would require businesses to commit to diversity and pay equity for women, further closing the wage and wealth gap.

Actions for business: Partner with organizations like National Association of Women Business Owners and Women’s Small Business Accelerator to advance women business owners.

Require gender and racial bias training in your own business and make changes as a result—consider Women’s Fund Gender By Us Training and Gender YOUphoria.

Advocate for public policies that support women business owners, remove barriers and address the structural and systemic disadvantages women businesses.

Haley Boehning is founder of Storyforge and chair of Conscious Capitalism Columbus.

Celebrating a more open gender landscape

By Timothy Wolf Starr When growing up, my understanding of gender was boy/girl, man/woman, he/ she. But as I talk to my 5-year-old about the subject, I understand how limited our understanding was. I will admit our son has a diverse set of influences—his Auntie Andrew is the international drag superstar Nina West, my sibling is non-binary, and he has watched some family friends transition. But he is not alone in the evolving conversation on gender inclusion. His peers discuss characters and toys as he, she, and now, they. This is the direction our world is moving. It’s time for us as a community to elevate our gender conversations.

As we were launching Pride Fund 1 in Columbus, the first venture fund focused on supporting the LGBTQ+ community, we knew we needed help to become better gender allies, advocates and true accomplices. So we called Ashton Colby, CEO of Columbus social enterprise Gender YOUphoria, who sheds light on gender and identity conversations by teaching compassionate communication using the same mindfulness-based emotional resilience skills taught to veterans with PTSD. Gender YOUphoria equips workplace leadership, journalists and marketers the tools to recognize the power of stagnant narratives carried around transgender people.

Colby is uniquely positioned to lead this training, having lived for 20 years as a woman, even competing for Miss Ohio USA, before transitioning to male. Colby uses his decade of experience since coming out as transgender to build bridges. “If we want innovative and creative companies, everyone needs to be able to bring their fullest expression to the table,” he says.

An infusion of capital at the start of a business is a leading indicator of its longterm success. But with only 4 percent of commercial loan dollars going to women-owned businesses and only 2 percent of venture capital dollars being secured by women entrepreneurs, women (especially women of color) are starting at a significant disadvantage.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

33

Designing a more equitable region

What if everyone in the Columbus region was able to live within 15 minutes’ walking or biking distance to work, school and everything else they needed in life?

By Kerstin Carr and Kimberly Sharp

With contributions from Jessica Fleming and Jordan Davis.

Many of us understand how city and infrastructure design have historically created racial and social divides between neighborhoods. We know how highways have segregated our communities, and how policy decisions, such as redlining and exclusionary zoning, have resulted in further discrimination and barriers for people of color and people of lower social status to move ahead.

On top of these inequalities, our cities were primarily designed to move cars rather than people. This car-centric development has led to communities full of large parking lots and swaths of asphalt. Some cities estimate that 10 percent of their land is used for parking lots alone.

The consequences are immense: Essential workers can’t easily get to

their jobs because the area where their job is located may not have any housing available at their income level. Parents have to miss doctor’s appointments because there aren’t any health facilities near their homes or jobs. Seniors are stuck in senior living facilities located away from the people they love and things they love to do.

And children spend too much time on a school bus each day because of the lack of safe sidewalks and trails in their neighborhoods.

It is time to design for a more equitable region.

What if our cities were built as 15-minute cities for people?

In 15-minute cities, all residents could meet most of their daily needs, such as getting to school, shopping, the library, park, or doctor’s appointments, within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. Each neighborhood would be designed, built or redeveloped around hubs for high-capacity transit connecting neighborhoods.

The concept of a “15-minute city” is not a new idea. Just look around Europe or some of our favorite older American cities, like Boston or Washington, D.C. The intimate streets and sidewalks that host homes, businesses, plazas, schools and restaurants are the neighborhoods people love. Poor and rich still exist, but the neighborhoods are closely connected for a stronger sense of community.

A recent Bloomberg article pointed out the things that make an urbanite happy: Living in dignity, having decent work, being able to buy their daily goods, feeling like they belong and having easy access to quality education and recreation.

34 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 34

9/17/20 5:43 PM

With holistic neighborhood design, all of these things can be achieved within a 15-minute radius.

To achieve this, we need to do the following: • Understand that each area of a city is a neighborhood—even downtown Columbus. With that definition, zoning should allow for each neighborhood to have an urban fabric where stores mix with homes, bars mix with health centers, and daycares and schools mix with office buildings. Such design will naturally bring people closer to opportunities—housing, shopping, jobs, parks, schools, health care and mobility options. A critical piece to encourage vibrant, diverse, human-centric neighborhoods that are connected by transit, sidewalks and trails is to eliminate parking requirements.

• Connect neighborhoods through mobility options—sidewalks, crosswalks, bike trails and a comprehensive transit system. Bold regional leadership can make the strategic decision to invest in the type of mobility solutions that lead to better regional connections and equitable access for all. This

will mean trade-offs for our region, prioritizing sidewalks, trails and transit over highway and interchange expansions.

• Residents need to be part of the comprehensive planning process for creative solutions and true neighborhood design. Such co-design practices may extend the planning process, but will most likely result in strategies that are centered around people rather than infrastructure. Because they are done with people for people. We need to redefine public engagement by including all residents, not just those who have the loudest voice or are already participating in area commissions.

A truly equitable region commits to every resident having the opportunity for a high quality of life. To do so, we need to build communities that provide opportunities for people to choose where they want to live and how they want to get around—no matter their income, race, age or physical ability.

Kerstin Carr is director of planning and sustainability for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Kimberly Sharp is senior director of development at Central Ohio Transit Authority.

LinkUS Mobility Corridors initiative By 2050, Central Ohio is expected to be a region of 3 million people. Today, most people rely on cars to get to and from their destinations. However, there is an opportunity to improve mobility choices and shape how the region grows in a manner that will increase transportation reliability, manage traffic congestion, support businesses and workers, provide access to housing and improve quality of life.

LinkUS is an initiative created to address the future of key regional transportation and urban development corridors and the communities they serve. It is a bold approach for all residents to have better access to jobs, housing they can afford and quality education.

LinkUS will allow more people to get to their jobs in less time than driving, and they wouldn’t have to bother with parking. It will focus housing development along transit routes that the workforce can afford, and it will connect the region’s neighborhoods to each other in ways we have never experienced before.

Call to action We are asking you, our regional leaders, to come together and use the 15-minute city as an investment strategy for equitable development. To get you started, we ask you to research and get involved in the following initiatives: • 7 rules for creating 15-minute neighborhoods, an article by progressive development advocate Strong Towns • Regional Housing Strategy by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the city of Columbus and regional partners • LinkUs Corridors implementation by the city of Columbus, Central Ohio Transit Authority and MORPC • Regional Trail Vision by MORPC • Insight2050 by MORPC, One Columbus and Urban Land Institute Columbus October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 35

35

9/17/20 5:43 PM

Future is in data

What if Columbus leaders advanced legislation and policies to adopt ethical, datadriven strategies and investments to create a more equitable and prosperous place?

By Sheri Chaney Jones With contributions from Falon Donohue, Alex Frommeyer, Rehgan Avon, Bill Balderaz and Jordan Davis.

Columbus is regarded as one of the best places to live because of its affordability, educated workforce, collaborative public-private partnerships, hightech innovation and corporations.

Yet, many residents watch from the sidelines as the majority experience this prosperity. For example, approximately 27 percent of Franklin County households make less than the annual salary—$35,000—needed to obtain affordable housing. An estimated 101 million meals go missed each year. And the infant mortality rate for Black infants is nearly twice as high as white infants.

Smart Columbus Operating System powers innovation Breaking through barriers to using public data is one of the key challenges the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) had in mind when creating the Smart City Challenge in 2015. The USDOT envisioned a city where transportation and community challenges were addressed by technology and data-driven solutions.

As the winner of the challenge, Columbus created the Smart Columbus Operating

For too long, our society has invested in public policy and nonprofits with our hearts instead of our heads.

As I researched my book, Impact & Excellence, I found less than 25 percent of government programs nationwide are investing in data-driven strategies to solve our complex social problems, such as structural racism and poverty.

Those that use data are significantly more likely to demonstrate more effective use of tax dollars and achieve greater community impact.

It’s a significant missed opportunity: Ethical, transparent, data-driven decision-making creates the foundation for replicable, achievable results within our communities, spurring radical transformation.

What if Columbus public and private leaders working to address some of our most complex social problems were to commit to developing datadriven solutions that allowed our heads to lead where our hearts want to go? Could data from police dispatchers, insurance providers and health care practitioners help predict which patients are most likely to develop opioid or substance use disorders to ensure targeted interventions are available?

The underlying technologies we use daily to order products online or

request a driver are the same technologies that have the potential to solve our community’s greatest problems.

Breakthrough social innovations will be possible only if leaders commit to an investment of data sharing and its strategic use.

Annually, millions of dollars are spent on programs designed to combat poverty. Yet, we don’t have clear evidence of which programs are most effective at achieving lasting economic benefits for program recipients.

When public-sector leaders commit to the ethical use of data, government agencies can identify needs, allocate resources to address those needs and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions. Data platforms and algorithms must be transparent and open to avoid mathematical models claiming to quantify traits such as creditworthiness that actually reinforce inequality. Open data-driven strategies help develop less biased interventions by examining social problems through gender and racial lenses. For example, data-driven strategies are already being used in the Columbus economic development space to identify communities with failing businesses, and with this knowledge, programs and resources were targeted to these strug-

System, an integrated exchange where data can be collected, aggregated, published and used to power new solutions and ideas.

The operating system serves as the data “backbone” for seven mobility projects, serving to collect and transmit data about the projects, and to capture performance data reported to the USDOT and the public.

Public, anonymized data is syndicated via the operating system as open data, accessible to Columbus city agencies, academic researchers, startups and app developers as well as the community at large.

By opening data to the community, Smart Columbus and its partners hope that it may be leveraged within or from outside the

public sector to help residents move more efficiently and safely.

Yet the application of the operating system extends well outside Columbus. The operating system is built in open source code, enabling other cities to “fork” the code for free, unlocking them from costly contracts and providing access to an $11 million system they wouldn’t otherwise have the means to build or access. Without the impetus of the Smart City Challenge, no other city would have had cause or incentive to initiate the development of an open source data management platform for the public good, but this local initiative will serve to democratize cities’ ability to process and leverage data.

36 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 36

9/17/20 5:43 PM

Historically, Columbus has been known as America’s test city for retail and fast food brands.

Striving to create a data-driven community could shepherd in a Test City 2.0 focused on leveraging our resources for the development of a data economy.

gling entrepreneurs.

The Ethical Data Commitment for Public Good We propose that Columbus region business and government leaders use their significant sway to advance legislation and policies to adopt ethical, data-driven strategies, policies and investments to create a more equitable and prosperous place for all. The Ethical Data Commitment would require Columbus leaders to report on how they achieve the following data best practices:

• Be open by default—Invest in open data, transparency and data sharing for public benefit; • Make data-driven decisions—Use ethically sourced data to support all laws and policies that are passed; • Budget for the work—Devote resources to capture, clean, analyze and report public-sector data; • Require impact measurement in investments—Reward social service agencies for using data-driven, innovative strategies; • Integrate data for insights and innovation—Work collaboratively on a regional data exchange to achieve legally sourced data-sharing across multiple agencies and organizations; and • Commit to indicators—Share insights and implement continuous

improvements practices.

Historically, Columbus has been known as America’s test city for retail and fast food brands. Striving to create a data-driven community could shepherd in a Test City 2.0 focused on leveraging our resources for the development of a data economy. A commitment to the ethical use of data would create new jobs, where ordinary citizens could work on behalf of our city and public institutions as a “Citizen Data Brigade” doing the critical work of collecting and scrubbing new data—a key step in discovering powerful, useful insights for social good.

Sheri Chaney Jones is founder of Measurement Resources and SureImpact. She has spent 20 years using data to advance organizations including early education, domestic and juvenile courts, universities, health care, mental health and the aging system.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 37

37

9/18/20 10:26 AM

Customer-centricity in the social sector

Navigating a complex and inefficient web of social service systems can be crippling.

What if social services took its cues from the customer-centric, technologically streamlined world of retail?

By Lacey Picazo

With contributions by Ryan Wilkins, John Rush, Alex Frommeyer, Josh Harrison and Jordan Davis Imagine this.

You’re a single mother of two, working multiple jobs and struggling to make ends meet. You have come to terms that you need support, but where do you go? You are unsure of your eligibility for different social services and feel overwhelmed while navigating the intricacies of assistance for each of your needs—from food insecurity, to housing, to employment, to health care.

Today, this is not an easy process.

Members of our community in need may struggle with keeping a sense of dignity and belonging as they share repeat vulnerability with each new organization. What would it feel like to seek help over and over again?

Would you even start? The barriers in the life of a person who is experiencing hardship are already immense, but the added challenge of navigating a complex and inefficient web of social service systems can be crippling. If our purpose is to uplift and stabilize these individuals so they can quickly become self-sufficient and contribute additionally to our community, social services

must be approachable and humancentered.

Most service agencies and their operations tend to work in a silo, under their own distinct systems which are fragmented from other providers. The understanding of what a person and their family needs is decentralized, often existing only within the individual agency for that one service provided.

If the data exists at all, it is not easily shareable and thus no single provider has a complete picture. This makes it hard to assess the needs of the whole person, where they are already getting help, and how agencies can make the biggest impact on their experiences.

What if social services, rather than feeling siloed, could wrap around a person and put their holistic needs at the center? How does this vision and transparency enable agencies to guide and serve their custom-

ers more intentionally like businesses serve the modern consumer?

We believe the future of social services is an experience of empowerment, choice and convenience—one where different organizations coordinate and share their collective data to meet people’s needs end-to-end. The future is predictive, where rather than the customer experiencing friction

38 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 38

9/17/20 5:43 PM

from seeking help, that help is proactively presented to them and curated to their unique needs. That means if you are homeless, you don’t have to learn how to navigate each and every system, and there is no wrong place to start your journey. Regardless of the individual’s first touchpoint, that person would be guided to resources where all their needs are met starting with just one interaction. If we can imagine a future for social services like today’s on-demand economy, customers will one day be able to access

Human-centered design for nonprofits Social services are uniquely positioned to improve the human condition, finding increased efficacy when leveraging data and a customer-centric mindset to meet the needs of their communities. In my work developing ZoCo, my digital and user experience design agency, I’ve found nonprofits who use data to understand the people they serve often come to more innovative solutions. It starts with looking outside of your own perspectives and assumptions.

ZoCo’s partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective are especially invested in datadriven insights, and through collaborative efforts, we prototype together to test and learn with their customers. This helps them uncover opportunities, inform design decisions, and launch initiatives that solve

support services as seamlessly and immediately as using Netflix, Teladoc or Doordash.

This all becomes possible when organizations collaborate with one another to build a more holistic, deeper understanding for the people they serve and the problems they face across the social determinants of health. The key is being human-centered. Armed with this knowledge of the customer and their needs, agencies

We call on nonprofit board members and community leaders to prioritize a culture of customer centricity—to reimagine what their customer’s ideal experience could look like, and how collaborating with other agencies to understand the whole person across sectors will help bring this vision to life.

complex problems with clarity and courage.

It’s the first step to reshaping their customer journey.

The Mid-Ohio Food Collective provides enough food for 150,000 meals daily to help stabilize families. The organization supports its customers’ interconnected needs by linking hungry neighbors with wraparound community services, helping them toward economic sufficiency.

Today, Mid-Ohio is exploring and beta testing several new initiatives to prioritize customer needs, choice, and convenience— solutions such as food lockers, “food as health” prescriptions, and on-demand food delivery. The organization also is undertaking efforts in partnership with Smart Columbus, Franklin County, Columbus State and others to develop technology solutions that connect with other social service providers to deliver more seamless and integrated user experiences across social service entities.

will see opportunities emerge to improve how they serve their audiences, and insights will drive the priorities for what they build to meet those objectives. As more organizations build their data capabilities and share what they learn with their peers, predicting future customer needs will proactively improve outcomes and uplift our communities to self-sufficiency.

In Columbus, this shift is already underway. There are multiple forward-facing organizations in our own community working to build this vision—Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Smart Columbus and Columbus State Community College are among them— but there is more work to be done.

We call on nonprofit board members and community leaders to prioritize a culture of customer centricity—to reimagine what their customer’s ideal experience could look like, and how collaborating with other agencies to understand the whole person across sectors will help bring this vision to life. We have to start by seeking to understand the complexities of the human experience, sharing our data and customer research with our peers, and congregating to solve these hairy human challenges together.

Lacey Picazo is founder of ZoCo Design, a digital and user experience design agency.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 39

39

9/17/20 5:43 PM

The need for a civic renaissance

In a time when it seems we can’t even have civil conversations with our neighbors, we must promote actions and institutions that build social trust. What if everyone dedicated a year to civic service?

By Josh Harrison

With contributions from Falon Donohue, Matthew Goldstein, Brad Griffith, Rebecca Hurd and Jacquie Bickel.

Even in a society with unparalleled access to information and connectivity, we struggle to have reasoned debate. Conspiracy theories, propaganda and character assassination liter the public sphere.

Having conversations around big ideas affecting the greater good has become increasingly difficult. Yet, it is needed now more than ever. If we want to overcome the challenges of Covid-19, racial injustice and economic hardship, we must revive the lost art of civility.

That position may sound controversial to some, as civility can be a loaded term. One understanding of the word evokes limiting speech, a way for the established class to maintain the status quo through rigid decorum. The other meaning, and the one with which we are concerned, connotes empathy, mutual respect, and a desire to understand those with whom we disagree.

The first definition is legalistic. The second is concerned with human well-being. Drawing inspiration from the world of sports, it is the essence of maintaining fierce competition

without giving into personal hatred of an opponent.

While biology explains some of our tribal inclinations, the modern media landscape has raised tensions to a new level. Cable news and online social platforms have perfected ways of exploiting cognitive biases. Partisan commentators elevate opinion over fact and outrage over analysis, feeding viewers the red meat of reinforced political ideology. Social media goes a step further with algorithms that place users into echo chambers of likeminded friends sharing misleading memes. The economy of views, likes, and shares incentivizes sensationalist content, crowding out reliable sources.

The current situation may sound discouraging, but it demonstrates that our environment plays a significant role and we can take action to reverse course. As such, we have the ability and responsibility to reverse course.

To do so, we must promote actions and institutions that build social trust.

What if everyone dedicated a year to civic service? We could enact a program akin to a domestic Peace Corps where participants would work on projects contributing to the communal infrastructure of Columbus.

Areas of focus might include education, art, public health, neighborhood development and poverty alleviation.

Such an initiative would connect those from various backgrounds and unite them around a shared purpose.

Imagine what that would do to break down our social bubbles of wealth, status, religion, politics and race.

With high unemployment and a much-needed upgrade to infrastructure, now is the time to consider an option for civic service.

However, we shouldn’t wait for a large-scale program to be mandated

American society needs to return to a more intimate and authentic way of interacting. This means getting out of our comfort zones, growing empathy, engaging in vulnerable conversations, building consensus and serving our communities together.

40 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 40

9/17/20 5:44 PM

before getting involved. On an individual level, we can strengthen our community by shifting how we engage with each other to effect change.

To begin, we need to understand how we dehumanize those with whom we disagree. Shifting paradigms away from good and evil towards valid and invalid is a start—though any binary judgment will be too simplistic. Most real-world conflicts have multiple solutions with messy tradeoffs. When individuals embrace that nuance, conversations become richer and more constructive. Assuming good intentions also helps. Most people, even our opponents, want to make the world better. Though they may have different ways of getting there. Such diversity of perspective leads to healthy debate and avoids the blind spots of groupthink.

Over the past few decades, the move to digital conversation has

paved the way for increasingly contentious interactions. All else being equal, in-person discussion encourages the productive mindsets mentioned above, especially for controversial topics. Fortunately, Columbus already has an organization bringing people together for informed conversation.

The Columbus Metropolitan Club hosts weekly town-hall style forums covering topics relevant to community interests. Most recently, it launched the series, “Racism: Where do we go from here?� to open a dialogue around racial inequality.

Going beyond conversation to action, volunteering is another proven way to grow social bonds. It does so by uniting people from different backgrounds around a common cause.

Secondly, it educates participants by exposing them to realities on the

ground. Those who volunteer understand both intellectually and emotionally the needs of the community.

Exchanging barbs online is easy and addicting, but it achieves nothing. Unfortunately, that approach has become the default mode. As a result, social capital has suffered from deferred maintenance. American society needs to return to a more intimate and authentic way of interacting. This means getting out of our comfort zones, growing empathy, engaging in vulnerable conversations, building consensus and serving our communities together. In short, we must replace passive punditry with active citizenship.

Josh Harrison is president of Improving-Columbus and a member of the board of the Columbus Metropolitan Club.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 41

41

9/17/20 5:44 PM

A radical recalibration of education The global system of preparing people to make meaningful contributions to society while enjoying economic safety does not work. What if we just started from zero and remade education?

By Annalies Corbin and Colin McGinnis With contributions from Chanel Nelson, Stephen White and Nevin Bansal.

What if the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on education isn’t about new modes of instruction, but instead is the realization that our current system is on a path without a relevant destination? Every industry clamors for the arrival of a “new normal.” And yet, we would argue that getting back to a “new normal” is the absolute wrong aspiration. After all, normal in terms of global education was pretty dismal in many parts of the pre-Covid-19 world.

Looking forward to a return to a “new normal?”

Nope—let’s opt for “new.” Let’s rethink our fundamental purpose of Pre K-14 education.

What are we preparing kids for?

A seemingly simple—maybe even downright foolish—question to ask is far more complicated than 50 or even 10 years ago. In a world where our knowledge is augmented with a computer in our pockets, what we need to recall is less important that what we need to understand. In a world where technological innovation is outpacing

human adaptability, the skills we learn when we are young will not keep an individual qualified or employed for a lifetime. How we think about education fundamentally has to change to bring about a future where society can thrive and individuals can live productive and meaningful lives.

Our education system is in need of a radical recalibration. What if…

42 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 42

9/17/20 5:44 PM

Time for change With statistics like this, why go back to education as it was? I nstead, let’s demand a new paradigm.

41% of students in Franklin County start kindergarten with the skills they need to be successful in school.

30% and 35% average math and reading proficiency scores in Columbus City Schools over the past five years 62% and 63% average math and reading proficiency scores in Ohio public schools over the past five years 85% U.S. high school graduation rate, compared with 99% in Finland and 98% in Japan 1 in 10 bachelor’s degree graduates in 2019 expected to actually work 5 years or more in their major fields

Early childhood education was rooted in discovery and the development of democratic life skills—laying the foundation for years to come. From toddlers in early preschool through fifth grade, our classrooms would be a series of experiences where we learned to be part of a group while maintaining individuality; express emotions; solve problems creatively and independently; and embrace the uniqueness of others. Everything from parks to museums become classrooms supported by “community teachers.”

In doing so, education is decoupled from the rote acquisition of knowledge measured by a test, but instead a mastery of skills needed for intelligent and ethical functioning in modern society.

With a successful transition from Pre K-5 to curious, courageous and compassionate citizens, kids entering the 6-8 middle school grades will have the solid foundation necessary to be immersed in radical collaborative problem solving. We historically lose kids in middle school because both the content and learning strate-

gies constantly lack relevance to the learners. Instead of the traditional memorization of facts and content based on upcoming standardized assessments, let’s instead focus middle school kids into small clusters, rotating through rigorous relevant topics every few weeks—all content linked through a specific area of inquiry to allow students to really be explorers of the content and the potential careers encompassed within. Let the kids solve real-world problems through a rotating hands-on exploration of the content necessary to ensure that when students move to high school, they have all the foundational knowledge necessary to make informed content decisions moving forward.

It is harder to consider 9th grade and beyond, as the approach would be beyond the current structure and aspirations we have for high school.

A new high school focus should be on adult and professional education, a “9-14” cluster culminating in a trade vocational or associate degree rather than simply a high school diploma.

This would guarantee every graduate

not only has demonstrated academic proficiency, but has the skill needed for a middle-class career and a solid foundation into a four-year college experience if they choose.

Looking forward to a return to a “new normal?” Nope—let’s opt for “new.” Let’s rethink our fundamental purpose of Pre K-14 education and aim for a system that views Pre K-5 as fully foundational; 6-8 as exploratory; and 9-14 as a chance for students to experience career options with the intent of finding a passion that can be the career that makes the world a better place for them and their future.

Let’s design a system that is agile and can be tailored to all students’ unique learning and career paths. Let’s rethink the school calendar and the way we structure the school “day.” Let’s stop striving to test for facts and instead train to solve complex problems with deep collaboration and diversity as the drivers to ensure we are actually asking ourselves the correct questions that will lead us to a new purpose.

Annalies Corbin is CEO of Past Foundation, an education think tank, and Colin McGinnis is CEO of South Side Early Learning, a nonprofit preschool.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 43

43

9/17/20 5:44 PM

Reimagining community and police relations

What if Columbus created the blueprint for reimagining community and police relations starting with the core elements of what creates community: building trust, communication and understanding.

By John Rush and Kierra Williams

This essay was informed by interviews and ride-alongs with more than 20 individuals on all sides of the issue—police officers, both Black and white; elected officials; and social justice activists. With contributions from Future 50 class members Molly Rampe Thomas and Katie Doellman.

It’s time for us to reimagine community and police relations.

As a nation and a community, we have arrived at an impasse. The truth is, reimagining community and police relations involves complex concepts as old as civilization—justice, fairness, mercy, equity, safety and protecting the ability of all people to thrive.

How we survive and thrive as people living together is something we have wrestled through since the beginning of time. To reimagine requires us to erase our preconceived ideas to make space for new ones, and we are not wired as human beings to question our thoughts or judgments.

In fact, our core beliefs and the experiences that shaped those beliefs are more like a stone etching than marks on a dry erase board—making it incredibly difficult to change. But

Reimagining police-community relations ultimately will require us to redirect our passion and fervor toward an intentional effort to carefully, thoughtfully and constructively build a more just and mercyfilled culture by building trust, communication and understanding for our neighbors.

44 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 44

9/17/20 5:44 PM

what if we tried?

What if Columbus created a new paradigm for community and police relations? Not starting with policy driven by lagging statistics or compliance-driven corrective training. Rather, starting with the core elements of what creates community: building trust, communication and understanding. A study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2008 showed that, “in societies where people tend to trust each other, they have stronger

democracies, richer economies, better health and they suffer less often from any number of social ills.”

What if we offered “Community Workshops” facilitated by police officers and community leaders that focused on building trust? What if local coffee shops pledged to serve as community hubs to facilitate conversations where everyone reflects on and shares what may have shaped their perspectives? Conversations where people could create space for new perspectives.

Instead of police officers and city council members attending training that informs them of things they can’t do based on community outrage, what if community leaders and police officers, side by side, focused on what they can do to build trust, communication and understanding? What if it was their civic responsibility to facilitate at least three workshops a year within their communities?

What if community members who attended these workshops were rewarded with a T-shirt and free perks they could proudly display, showing their commitment to developing empathy and compassion in pursuit of being better neighbors?

What comes to mind when you hear “community and police relations?” Do you automatically think about both sides of the issue? Do you think about why community activists protest with such fervor and determination? Do you think about the fear police officers feel as they race to provide support during the protests?

Do you challenge yourself to imagine what might come to mind for someone with alternative or even directly opposing beliefs on this subject? As easy as it may be to dismiss ideas that differ from our own, what if we sat with those ideas a bit longer? What if we allowed ourselves to provide the space for those ideas to exist in addition to our own?

As we look for a way forward and seek common ground on which to build a reimagined framework for community and police relations, what if the answer to righting the complicated relationship between our communities and the police who serve them isn’t as complicated as we think? What if the answer is simply allowing ourselves to enter into the

pain, the struggle, the perspective and experience of our neighbors?

What if, over a cup of coffee and tea in the same space as someone else, we push pause on our own narrative, turn off the noise and enter into the life of someone who is entirely different than ourselves?

For example: • If you believe the police department should be defunded, suspend your belief for a moment and join an officer for coffee and a ride-along.

• If you believe there isn’t systemic racism in every fabric of our society, foster a relationship with someone who does believe this and learn why they believe it.

• If you believe America was founded as a racist country, read counterarguments from scholars who think differently.

• Be curious. Ask others questions, seeking to understand rather than listening to respond with your opinion.

• Challenge yourself to ask: Have I missed something? Do they see something that I don’t? Do I have all of the information? Where might we agree? What judgments am I making without knowing? What if I had those same experience—Would my beliefs be the same?

It is important to acknowledge that having a cup of coffee and conversation with your neighbors is not a miracle cure to the deeply rooted and systemic disparities in our communities. It is merely a start.

The change we need will require many community conversations, brainstorming sessions, edits and challenges along the way.

It ultimately will require us to redirect our passion and fervor toward an inclusive, intentional effort to carefully, thoughtfully and constructively build a more just and mercy-filled culture by building trust, communication and understanding with our neighbors.

John Rush is a U.S. Marine and founder of CleanTurn and 180 Demo, service companies that give justice system-involved individuals a chance to build new lives. Kierra Williams is senior program talent manager, worldwide operations technology for Amazon.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 45

45

9/17/20 5:44 PM

Ambassadors for science The power of scientific knowledge can serve as the great equalizer for the future. What we do now to prepare our youth who are most at risk of getting left behind will echo for generations to come.

By Stephen White

With contributions from Jessica Fleming, Jacquie Bickel and Katy Smith Our youth are our future, and what we do today to grow science literacy will shape that future. According to Pew Research Center, only 30 percent of Americans seek out scientific news, and on international tests, the U.S. stands, at best, in the middle of the pack on science and math scores.

As John Adams famously stated, “facts are stubborn things,” and the lack of trust in science coupled with our setbacks in preparing the next generation in science-based fields raises an alarm. It illustrates that now is our moment to act for science literacy.

As we navigate this unprecedented moment, the future of Columbus will be defined by our ability—across racial and social divides—to provide our youth with scientific knowledge, enabling us to lead through innovation, technology and societal equity. To echo another historic figure in Wolfgang Mozart, “Be silent if you choose, but when it is necessary, speak and speak in such a way that people will remember it.”

If we do not act now, we may be relegated to second fiddle in the orchestra of other cities across the globe who are stepping forward to sing the chorus of science’s invaluable impact.

46 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 46

9/17/20 5:44 PM

Why is science literacy important for our underserved youth and our future?

Jobs and economy: The population

in Central Ohio is expected to reach 3 million by 2050, and future jobs will be driven by careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM jobs make up a significant part of our economy and are growing 76 percent faster than non-STEM occupations. STEM jobs also have relatively high earnings compared with many non-STEM jobs.

People of color, women, and those

The power of scientific knowledge can serve as the great equalizer for the future and its importance is underscored during this time of crisis and reawakening of societal inequities.

COSI Learning STEM powers Lunchbox initiative the U.S. economy A new model of distance learning was created during the Covid-19 crisis to address education equity and help our families and youth, especially those in the underserved and low-income communities.

This effort harnessed the power of a unique partnership with COSI, Franklin County, Children’s Hunger Alliance, libraries and other community partners. COSI delivered free “learning lunchboxes” as physical science education kits alongside free meal providers to help feed hungry lives and feed hungry minds. Each STEM kit provided the student with a weeks’ worth of free science experiences that was fun and engaging. Each distribution site was converted into a free community Wi-Fi hotspot location to provide digital education resources for those who do not have access to the internet. As thousands of science kits were distributed across the Columbus region, it aimed to inspire countless underserved youth to become our city’s next diverse science generation.

67% of U.S. jobs are supported by STEM

from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, however, only represent a fraction of those in the STEM pipeline. Expanding scientific education and opportunities to these underrepresented groups would provide a pathway to future employment and economic growth.

As we embark on bold local initiatives with global implications, such as confronting climate change, discovering a cure to end cancer, welcoming the era of artificial intelligence, and embracing the coming tech tsunami and digital transformation, our society’s understanding of science and its ability to lift up those living in poverty will be fundamental to our success.

Our people and public health:

Social determinants of health, STEM education and employment are inextricably linked. Delivering science to our underserved youth where they live, learn and lounge will have long-lasting impacts on their health and ability to succeed. Scientific concepts such as the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing and even getting vaccines are crucial to our shared success.

Our global impact: Cultivating a diverse STEM workforce and new science-literate generations of residents can place Columbus on the global stage, while also contributing toward saving our planet. International challenges such as climate change threaten the very nature of our ability to grow.

69% of U.S. GDP is supported by STEM Direct STEM jobs account for 33% of the economy.

850,000 new STEM jobs will need to be filled by 2028.

50% of 150,000 open jobs in Ohio currently use STEM-based skills.

Black and Latinx workers continue to be underrepresented in the STEM workforce.

Blacks make up 11% of the U.S. workforce overall but represent 9% of STEM workers Hispanics comprise 16% of the U.S. workforce but only 7% of all STEM workers Ohio State University engineering graduation rates are: 0% Native American, 2.7% Black, 3.7% Hispanic

What’s the solution? You can act.

Each of us can become science ambassadors and create a science movement from the grassroots to the treetops of the Columbus ecosystem. In fact, what we do now to prepare our youth who are most at risk of getting left behind will echo for generations to come.

The power of scientific knowledge can serve as the great equalizer for the future, and its importance is underscored during this time of crisis and reawakening of societal inequities. We are all in this together, and together we will build a future leveraging science as our foundation.

Stephen White, Esq. is vice president for COSI. October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 47

47

9/17/20 5:45 PM

True work-life balance

Is Covid-19 the watershed moment where we finally learn to balance family, school, work, home, exercise, friends and errands—for everyone?

By Nevin Bansal

With contributions by Alex Anthony, Chanel Nelson, Kierra Williams and Haley Boehning Covid-19 has turned all of our definitions of work and life upside down. Almost instantly, thousands of companies and millions of employees transitioned to working from home, Zoom meetings and unstructured schedules.

Companies have had to learn new ways of doing business, with virtual teams, new technologies and an uncertain economy. Individuals and families have had to learn how to work from home while taking care of kids.

For some, the transition to a flex-

As we get beyond the pandemic, it can be tempting for officebased companies to revert back to more traditional models of work.

But what if we could take the positives from Covid-19 and change the way we do business in the Columbus region?

ible work arrangement has been easier. Two Columbus-based technology companies, Beam Dental and Aware, have made the permanent shift to remote work. “We interviewed our employees and 90 percent wanted to keep working from home on a long-term basis,” says Jeff Schumann, CEO of Aware. Both companies have provided resources to help employees make the shift, and they’ve used technology to maintain team culture and ensure collaboration.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 has highlighted the inequality that exists in the Columbus region and many other cities. While people in white-collar occupations have had the privilege of staying home without much loss of income, individuals and families in low-income ZIP codes don’t have that choice because they depend on service industry jobs that require them to report to a particular location. If they do have occupations that would allow for remote work, families lack the reliable technology to be successful.

As we get beyond the pandemic, it can be tempting for office-based companies to revert back to more traditional models of work. But what if we could take the positives from Covid-19 and change the way we do business in the Columbus region?

What if we could fund a public-

private partnership that allows all citizens to experience their ideal definition of work and life balance? A situation where the government, companies and nonprofits join together to create a community where all individuals, regardless of class or status, can choose their preferred work arrangement—where to work, how to work, when to work.

A few key elements could help establish an effective initiative.

Government funding to support businesses and investments in infrastructure. New devices, col-

Call to action • Interview your employees to understand how they are adapting to the current shift in work and what they care about when it comes to their ideal work structure.

• Seek out companies that have experienced success in shifting to flexible work arrangements to learn best practices.

• Start developing internal performance management practices that help management evaluate performance and results of teams regardless of work arrangement.

48 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 48

9/17/20 5:45 PM

‘Remote-first’ model

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things for Beam Dental. Like many companies, Beam immediately shifted its team to a work-from-home model. After experiencing the shift and listening to employees, the leadership team decided to switch to a “remotefirst” model where all employees will be able to work from wherever they choose.

Founded in 2012, Beam Dental offers dental insurance based on brushing behavior as tracked by its smart toothbrush.

There will still be an office for those who

prefer to come in, and for team meetings and other situations where in-person collaboration is needed. The shift allows Beam to take a leaner approach to its office environment with shared workstations.

The cost savings are being used to invest in its people, by providing dollars to each team member to outfit their home office with better furniture, technology and supplies.

Beam has also used a number of collaboration tools including Google suite, Salesforce and other proprietary software.

Each week, a different leader at Beam is interviewed to connect with the team of

over 225 employees. Beam believes it is important to maintain team camaraderie and will continue making it a priority by holding monthly virtual all-hands meetings, virtual celebrations and other opportunities for employees to share stories with each other.

CEO Alex Frommeyer believes this shift will allow them to attract new talent and create a culture where employees are more valued.

“Beam is compelled to maintain or even grow our high cultural standards while also changing to a more dynamic work environment,” he says. laboration tools and cybersecurity investments that support remote work should be funded through grants and low-interest loans, especially for the smaller businesses that may not have the financial resources to evolve. Investments in infrastructure are needed to ensure all businesses and residents have access to reliable technology.

Create incentives and public policies that encourage businesses to offer flexible work opportunities. In 2013, Vermont passed legislation that protects the rights of employees to request flexible working arrangements.

Employees are permitted to make two requests per year. An employer is permitted to deny a request if not consistent with the business’ operations. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against those who have requested flexible working arrangements. Columbus can expand on this approach to create the guidelines and incentives that encourage flexible work throughout the year.

Establishing this public-private partnership has the potential to reduce traffic congestion, parking and public transportation needs, and lessen pollution, increasing quality of life and freeing up land for added green space.

What if the Columbus region created work choice for all people? What if our innovative position attracted companies to the region that brought well-paying jobs and a progressive social stance that demanded equity?

What if our community was built for the future of work?

Nevin Bansal is CEO of Outreach Promotional Solutions and founder of SmallBizCares.

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

026-049_Feature_Moonshots.indd 49

49

9/17/20 5:45 PM

Columbus Legal Guide Allen Stovall Neuman Fisher & Ashton LLP

Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 5 Practice area(s):

17 S. High Street Suite 1220 Columbus 43215 614-221-8500 asnfa.com Partners: 6 FTE attorneys: 11

Family/juvenile, litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts

Bankruptcy/debtorcreditor, commercial, taxation

Anspach Meeks Ellenberger LLP 175 S. Third St. Suite 285 Columbus 43215 614-745-8350 anspachlaw.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

Terrence T. Wheeler

Bailey Cavalieri LLC 10 W. Broad St. Suite 2100 Columbus 43215 614-221-3155 baileycav.com Partners: 27 FTE attorneys: 51 Practice area(s):

Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, probate/estates/ trusts

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Mediation/arbitration

Robert R. Dunn

Managing Partner:

David Herd

Artz, Dewhirst & Wheeler LLP 560 E. Town St., Columbus 43215 614-221-0944 adwllp.com

BakerHostetler 200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 1200 Columbus 43215 614-228-1541 bakerlaw.com Partners: 30 FTE attorneys: 70

File photo by Fred Squillante

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

50 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 50

9/17/20 5:52 PM

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 51

9/17/20 12:37 PM

614-702-2222 barrjoneslegal.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 5

Columbus Legal Guide Practice area(s):

Healthcare, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Gary Wadman

Barkan Meizlish DeRose Wentz McInerney Peifer LLP 250 E Broad St. 10th Floor Columbus 43215 614-221-4221 barkanmeizlish.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 13 Practice area(s):

Labor/employment, personal injury, workers’ compensation Managing Partner:

Bob DeRose

Barnes & Thornburg LLP 41 S. High St. Suite 3300 Columbus 43215 614-628-0096 btlaw.com/en/ locations/columbus Partners: 13 FTE attorneys: 24 Practice area(s):

Healthcare, litigation/ trial practice, real estate/construction Managing Partner:

Bill Nolan

Barr, Jones & Associates LLP 150 E. Mound St. Suite 200 Columbus 43215

estates/trusts

construction, taxation

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Bob Behal

Charles L. Bluestone

Practice area(s):

Benesch

Bankruptcy/debtorcreditor, criminal, family/juvenile

41 S. High St. Suite 2600 Columbus 43215 440-214-2938 beneschlaw.com Partners: 19 FTE attorneys: 24

Bricker & Eckler LLP

Managing Partners:

Andrew Jones, Jason Barr

Barrett, Easterday, Cunningham & Eselgroth LLP 7259 Sawmill Road Dublin 43016 614-210-1840 ohiocounsel.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 8 Practice area(s):

Alternative dispute resolution, commercial, probate/ estates/trusts Managing Partner:

David C. Barrett Jr.

Becker & Lilly 100 E. Broad St. Suite 2320 Columbus 43215 614-469-4778 beckerlilly.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Commercial, copyright/trademark/ patent, corporate, general practice, labor/employment, probate/estates/ trusts, securities, taxation Managing Partner:

Michael Becker

Behal Law Group LLC

100 S. Third St. Columbus 43215 614-227-8828 bricker.com Partners: 69 FTE attorneys: 121

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Healthcare, litigation/ trial practice, real estate/construction

Education, healthcare, litigation/ trial practice

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Gregg A. Eisenberg

Jim Flynn

Bergman & Yiangou

Bridges, Jillisky, Streng, Weller & Gullifer LLC

3099 Sullivant Ave. Columbus 43004 614-279-8276 byattorneys.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Bankruptcy/ debtor-creditor, family/juvenile, social security disability Managing Partner:

Robert D. Bergman

Bloomfield and Kempf LLC 1880 Mackenzie Drive Columbus 43220 614-224-9221 bloomfieldkempf.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

302 S. Main St. Columbus 43215 937-644-9125 cfbjs.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 5 Practice area(s):

Bankruptcy/ debtor-creditor, criminal, workers’ compensation Managing Partner:

Michael J. Streng

Brosius, Johnson & Griggs LLC

Immigration

1600 Dublin Road Suite 100 Columbus 43215 614-464-3563 bjglaw.net Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 4

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

David Bloomfield

Real Estate/ construction, local government, condo/ HOA/planned community

Practice area(s):

Bluestone Law Group LLC

5012 S. High St., Columbus 43215 614-643-5050 behallaw.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 7

141 E. Town St. Columbus 43215 614-220-5900 bluestonelawgroup. com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Corporate, family/ juvenile, probate/

Probate/estates/ trusts, real estate/

Managing Partner:

Calvin T. Johnson Jr.

Buck & Fish Ltd. 3380 Tremont Road Suite 110 Columbus 43221 614-538-2901

centralohioattorneys. com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Alternative dispute resolution, family/juvenile, probate/estates/ trusts Managing Partner:

Elaine S. Buck

Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP 41 S. High St. Columbus 43215 614-621-7007 calfee.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 22 Practice area(s):

Copyright/trademark/ patent, corporate, litigation/trial practice Managing Partners:

Brent D. Ballard, Leah Pappas Porner

Calig Law Firm 513 E. Rich St. Suite 210 Columbus 43215 614-252-2300 caliglaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2 Practice area(s):

Bankruptcy/debtorcreditor, civil rights, labor/employment Managing Partner:

Derek M. Shaw

Carlie Patchen & Murphy LLP 950 Goodale Blvd.

Suite 200 Columbus 43212 614-228-6135 cpmlaw.com Partners: 14 FTE attorneys: 30 Practice area(s):

Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, probate/estates/ trusts

Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP 280 N. High St. Suite 1300 Columbus 43215 614-365-4100 carpenterlipps.com Partners: 19 FTE attorneys: 38 Practice area(s):

Energy/utilities, litigation/trial practice, public policy Managing Partner:

Michael H. Carpenter

Chappano Wood PLL 1625 Goodale Blvd., Columbus 43212 614-228-4422 cwpll.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 4 Practice area(s):

Copyright/trademark/ patent, corporate, technology/computer Managing Partner:

Perry M. Chappano

Clark, Perdue & List Co. LPA 695 Bryden Road, Columbus 43205 614-460-1604 clarkperdue.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Litigation/trial practice, personal injury, nursing home neglect and abuse Managing Partner:

Andrew List

Colley Shroyer & Abraham Co. LPA 536 S. High St., Columbus 43215 614-228-6453 colley shroyerabraham.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 6 Practice area(s):

Medical malpractice, personal injury

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Bryan Hogue

David I. Shroyer

52 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 52

9/17/20 12:16 PM

Collins & Slagle Co. LPA

litigation/trial practice

351 W. Nationwide Blvd.

Columbus 43215 614-228-1144 collins-slagle.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 4

Managing Partner:

Jeff J. Spangler

Dawsey Co. LPA

Family/juvenile, personal injury, probate/estates/ trusts

533 S. Fifth St. Columbus 43215 614-228-6280 invention-protection. com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Ehren Slagle

Copyright/trademark/ patent

Practice area(s):

Connor, Kimmet & Hafenstein LLP 2000 W. Henderson Road, Suite 460 Columbus 43220 614-779-0678 cehlaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

Personal injury, social security disability, workers’ compensation Managing Partner:

Decker Vonau LLC 620 E. Broad St. Suite 200 Columbus 43215 614-242-4242 deckervonau.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 4 Practice area(s):

Corporate, probate/ estates/trusts, real estate/construction

Crabbe, Brown & James LLP

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote

Corporate, insurance, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Larry H. James

Dagger Law 144 E. Main St. Lancaster 43130 740-653-6464 daggerlaw.com Partners: 7 FTE attorneys: 11 Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile, general practice,

at columbusceo.com.

David Dawsey

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

COMPLIMENTARY SUBSCRIPTION TODAY

Managing Partner:

Kenneth S. Hafenstein

500 S. Front St. Suite 1200 Columbus 43215 614-229-4509 cbjlawyers.com Partners: 7 FTE attorneys: 12

Start your

James M. Vonau

250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 280 Columbus 43215 614-258-6000 dmclaw.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 9 Practice area(s):

Insurance, litigation/trial practice, workers’ compensation

The principals of FRIEDMAN & MIRMAN are fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and are listed in Best Lawyers in America in Family Law. They provide clients with a combination of integrity and compassion, blended with finely-honed legal skills and solid judgment.

Both Denise Mirman and Scott Friedman are active supporters of many non-profit organizations in the Central Ohio community.

Managing Partner:

Joseph J. Golian

Dickinson Wright PLLC 150 E. Gay St. Suite 2400 Columbus 43215 614-744-2570 dickinsonwright.com Partners: 17

It’s all in the Principals.

1320 Dublin Road, Suite 101, Columbus, OH 43215 PH: (614) 221-0090 • FX: (614) 221-7213 www.friedmanmirman.com

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 53

53

9/17/20 6:26 PM

Practice area(s):

Corporate, healthcare, litigation/ trial practice

Columbus Legal Guide FTE attorneys: 33 Practice area(s):

Education, general practice, litigation/ trial practice Managing Partner:

Harlan W. Robins

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP 191 W. Nationwide Blvd., Suite 300 Columbus 43215 614-628-6880 dinsmore.com Partners: 42 FTE attorneys: 82

Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

emenswolperlaw.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 7

Fisher Phillips

Managing Partner:

David A Skrobot

Banking/finance

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

George H. Vincent

Darrell L. Dreher

Donahey Law Firm

Eastman & Smith Ltd.

Corporate, probate/ estates/trusts, oil & gas, pipelines, coal, water, sand, solar

250 West St. Suite 400 Columbus 43215 614-453-7606 fisherphillips.com/ offices-columbus Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 6

495 S. High St. Suite 300 Columbus 43215 614-224-8166 donaheylaw.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 5

100 E. Broad St. Suite 2100 Columbus 43215 614-564-1445 eastmansmith.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 7

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Beatrice Wolper

Labor/employment, litigation/trial practice, workers’ compensation

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Litigation/trial practice, medical malpractice, personal injury

Banking/finance, environmental, labor/ employment

Managing Partner:

Fadi V. Nahhas

7775 Walton Parkway, Suite 200 New Albany 43054 614-221-1216 fisheldowney.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 13

Richard Donahey

Managing Partner:

Dreher Tomkies LLP

Emens & Wolper Law Firm

41 S. High St. Columbus 43215 614-628-8000 dltlaw.com

One Easton Oval Suite 550 Columbus 43219 614-414-0888

Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLP

Practice area(s):

Labor/employment, litigation/trial practice, workers’ compensation Managing Partner:

Daniel T. Downey

Friedman & Mirman Co. LPA 1320 Dublin Road Suite 101 Columbus 43215 614-221-0090 friedmanmirman.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Family/juvenile

Steven Loewengart

Managing Partner:

Fisher, Skrobot & Sheraw LLC 471 E. Broad St. Suite 1810 Columbus 43215 614-233-6950 fisherskrobot.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Banking/finance, commercial, corporate

Denise M. Mirman

Frost Brown Todd LLC 10 W. Broad St. Suite 2300 Columbus 43215 614-559-7277 frostbrowntodd.com Partners: 29 FTE attorneys: 48 Practice area(s):

Labor/employment, litigation/trial

54 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 54

9/17/20 12:16 PM

practice, real estate/ construction Managing Partner:

Noel Shepard

Gallagher, Gams, Tallan, Barnes & Littrell LLP 471 E. Broad St. 19th Floor Columbus 43215 614-228-5151 ggtbl.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 10 Practice area(s):

Insurance, litigation/ trial practice, personal injury Managing Partners:

Belinda Barnes, Mitchell Tallan

Gallagher Kavinsky & Burkhart LPA 8740 Orion Place Suite 200 Columbus 43240

614-885-9022 gkb-law.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Commercial, litigation/trial practice, real estate/construction Managing Partner:

Terence L. Gallagher

Gittes Law Group 723 Oak St. Columbus 43205 614-222-4735 gitteslaw.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 3

Columbus 43205 614-258-1983 golmeizlaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3 Practice area(s):

Corporate, family/juvenile, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Keith E. Golden

Gordon Bibart LLC

rights, labor/employment, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Frederick M. Gittes

Corporate, probate/ estates/trusts, taxation

Golden & Meizlish Co. LPA 923 E. Broad St.,

Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP

522 N. State St. Westerville 43082 614-890-4543 griffithlaw.org Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 3

65 E. State St. Suite 1400 Columbus 43215 614-221-0240 hahnlaw.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 15

Practice area(s):

450 W. Wilson Bridge Road Suite 340 Worthington 43085 614-410-9052 gordonbibart.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 5

Practice area(s): Civil

Griffith Law Offices

Litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts, real estate/construction

litigation/trial practice

Hayes Law Offices Inc. LPA 195 E. Broad Street Pataskala 43062 740-927-2927 hayesoffices.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 5

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Copyright/trademark/ patent, litigation/trial practice, real estate/ construction

Charles R. Griffith

Managing Partner:

Personal injury, probate/estates/ trusts, real estate/ construction

Leslie S. Johnson

Managing Partner:

Grossman Law Offices 32 W. Hoster St. Suite 100 Columbus 43215 614-221-7711 grossmanlawoffices. com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 9

Scott Hayes

Harris, McClellan, Binau & Cox PLL

Hollern & Associates 522 N. State St. Suite A Westerville 43082 614-839-5700 ejhlaw.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partners:

Family/juvenile

37 W. Broad St. Suite 950 Columbus 43215 614-464-2572 hmbc.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 9

John P. Gordon, Richard L. Bibart

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Andrew S. Grossman

Commercial, corporate,

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Criminal, insurance, personal injury

Providing Columbus Our Best We bring our best in class and up-and-coming talent in our Columbus office to the business opportunities and challenges you face – across the street and around the globe.

Congratulations to the 12 Lawyers Recognized as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch D. Rees Alexander

Shennan Harris

Matthew L. Sagone

Joe D’Andrea

Andrew H. King

Robert Ward

Christopher F. Haas

Michele Noble

Kristine M. Woliver

James M. Hafner

Gary L. Pasheilich

Stephanie Zwerner

squirepattonboggs.com

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 55

55

9/17/20 12:16 PM

Johrendt & Holford

trusts, real estate/ construction

kravitzllc.com Partners: 1

250 E. Broad St. Suite 200 Columbus 43215 614-464-0082 Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partner:

John A. Groeber

FTE attorneys: 4 Practice area(s):

Kaman & Cusimano LLC

Criminal, energy/ utilities, litigation/ trial practice

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

8101 N. High St. Suite 370 Columbus 43235 614-882-3100 ohiocondolaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 8

Edwin J. Hollern

Michael J. Johrendt

Practice area(s):

Hrabcak & Company LPA

Jones Day

Practice area(s):

Litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts, taxation

67 E. Wilson Bridge Road, Suite 100 Worthington 43085 614-781-1400 hrabcaklaw.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 5

325 John H. McConnell Blvd.

Suite 600 Columbus 43215 614-469-3939 jonesday.com Partners: 14 FTE attorneys: 58

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, real estate

Corporate, healthcare, litigation/ trial practice

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Michael Hrabcak

Elizabeth Kessler

Ice Miller LLP

Joseph & Joseph Co. LPA

250 West St., Columbus 43215 614-462-2700 icemiller.com Partners: 33 FTE attorneys: 69 Practice area(s):

Corporate, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Michael S. Jordan

Isaac Wiles 2 Miranova Place Suite 700 Columbus 43215 614-221-2121 isaacwiles.com Partners: 40 FTE attorneys: 52

155 W. Main St. Suite 200 Columbus 43209 614-449-8282 josephandjoseph.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 5

Managing Partner:

Jeffrey E. Kaman

Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter 65 E. State St. Suite 1800 Columbus 43215 614-462-5400 keglerbrown.com Partners: 42 FTE attorneys: 70 Practice area(s):

Corporate, litigation/ trial practice Managing Partner:

Chris Weber

Knisley Law Offices

Managing Partner:

1111 Dublin Road Columbus 43215 614-486-9503 ohiobwclawyers.com/ Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 5

Courtney Hanna

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Corporate, family/ juvenile, real estate/ construction

Kagay Albert Diehl Acklin & Groeber LLC

Corporate, litigation/trial practice, estate planning & family law

141 E. Town St. Suite 101 Columbus 43215 614-228-3895 kadglaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Mark Landes

Probate/estates/

Practice area(s):

Bankruptcy/debtorcreditor, real estate/ construction, condominium/ homeowners’ associations

Personal injury, Social Security disability, workers’ compensation

Michael D. Dortch

Lane Alton 2 Miranova Place, Suite 220, Columbus 43215 614-228-6885 lanealton.com Partners: 19 FTE attorneys: 20 Practice area(s):

Banking/finance, litigation/trial practice, real estate/ construction

Practice area(s):

Corporate, family/ juvenile, probate/ estates/trusts

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Linda Lawrence

Leeseberg & Valentine 175 S. Third St. Penthouse One Columbus 43215 614-221-2223 leesebergvalentine. com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 4

Administrative, alcohol beverage law David Raber

Mac Murray & Shuster LLP 6525 W. Campus Oval, Suite 210 New Albany 43054 614-939-9955 mslawgroup.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 11 Practice area(s):

Consumer protection law, privacy/data security, advertising law

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Michele Shuster

Managing Partner:

Litigation/trial practice, medical malpractice, personal injury

Gregory D. Rankin

Managing Partner:

39 E. Whittier St., Columbus 43215 614-228-5600 madisonrosan.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 4

Larrimer and Larrimer 165 N. High St., Columbus 43215 614-221-7548 larrimer.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 5 Practice area(s):

Administrative, labor/employment, workers’ compensation Managing Partner:

John Larrimer

Lawrence Law Office 496 S. Third St., Columbus 43215 614-228-3664 lawrencelawoffice. com

Gerald Leeseberg

Littler 21 East State St., 16th Floor Columbus 43215 614-463-4201 littler.com Partners: 11 FTE attorneys: 16

Madison & Rosan LLP

Practice area(s):

Corporate, litigation/trial practice, real estate/ construction

Practice area(s):

Managing Partners:

Labor/employment

Timothy G. Madison, Kristin E. Rosan

Managing Partner:

Kevin E. Griffith

Lumpe, Raber & Evans

Maguire Schneider Hassay LLP

37 W. Broad St. Suite 1140 Columbus 43215 614-221-5212 ohioliquorlaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2

1650 Lake Shore Drive, Suite 150 Columbus 43204 614-224-1222 msh-lawfirm.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 17

Managing Partner:

Doug Knisley

Kravitz, Brown & Dortch LLC 65 E. State St. Suite 200 Columbus 43215 614-464-2000

File photo by Rob Hardin

Columbus Legal Guide

Managing Partner:

Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

56 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 56

9/17/20 5:07 PM

Practice area(s):

Criminal, general practice, personal injury Managing Partner:

Wayne Hassay

Manos, Martin & Pergram Co, LPA 50 N. Sandusky St., Delaware 43015 740-363-1313 mmpdlaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 5 Practice area(s):

Corporate, probate/ estates/trusts, real estate/construction Managing Partner:

Stephen D. Martin

Marshall and Forman LLC 250 Civic Center Drive Suite 480 Columbus 43215 614-463-9790

marshallforman.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 6 Civil rights, constitutional, labor/ employment

Practice area(s):

216-348-5400 mcdonaldhopkins. com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 6

Family/juvenile

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

LeeAnn M. Massucci

Energy/utilities, litigation/trial practice, real estate/ construction

Practice area(s):

John S. Marshall

Mason Law Firm Co. LPA P.O. Box 398 Dublin 43017 614-734-9451 maslawfirm.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2

massuccilawgroup. com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 5

Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder Co. LPA 175 S. Third St. Suite 1000 Columbus 43215 614.228.5931 mrrlaw.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 8

Managing Partner:

Shawn M. Riley

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Labor/employment, litigation/trial practice

Practice area(s): Civil

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

21 E. State St. 17th Floor Columbus 43215 717-237-5224 mcneeslaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 6

Ronald L. Mason

Doug Holthus

Practice area(s):

Massucci Law Group LLC

McDonald Hopkins LLC

250 Civic Center Drive Columbus 43215 614-358-4477

250 West St. Suite 550 Columbus 43215

Copyright/trademark/ patent, energy/ utilities, litigation/ trial practice

Practice area(s):

rights, insurance, labor/employment

Managing Partner:

Brian Jackson

Morgan & Justice Co. LPA 906 E. Broad St. Columbus 43205 614-258-1133 morganandjustice. com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partner:

Judith E. Galeano

Mularski, Bonham, Dittmer, Phillips & Steele LLC

Managing Partner:

107 W. Johnstown Road, Gahanna 43230 614-800-2400 mbdplaw.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 4

Tom Morgan

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Social Security disability, workers’ compensation

Mowery Youell & Galeano Ltd. 485 Metro Place South, Suite 220 Dublin 43017 614-764-1444 myglaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile, labor/employment, litigation/trial practice

Family/juvenile, personal injury, probate/ estates/trusts

Newhouse, Prophater, Kolman & Hogan LLC 3366 Riverside Drive Suite 103 Columbus 43221 614-255-5441 npkhlaw.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 5

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 57

57

9/17/20 12:16 PM

You’re not alone with us on your side.

Dennis E. Horvath Attorney Barry H. Wolinetz Attorney

THE FACES OF FAMILY LAW

WOLINETZ & HORVATH LLC 250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 220, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 341-7775 • wolinetzlaw.com

Columbus Legal Guide Practice area(s):

Corporate, family/ juvenile, litigation/ trial practice

Tour Our Convenient Location

AmeriCenter of Dublin 5650 Blazer Parkway Dublin, Ohio 43017 (800) 446-4444 www.americenters.com

Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2 Practice area(s):

Corporate, criminal, litigation/trial Practice

Family/juvenile

Petroff Law Offices LLC

R. F. Meyer & Associates

140 E. Town St. Suite 1070 Columbus 43215 614-222-4288 petrofflawoffices.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 5

450 W. Wilson Bridge Road, Suite 380 Worthington 43085 614-407-7900 elderlaw.us Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partner:

R. Chris Harbold

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile

William H. Prophater Jr.

Managing Partner:

Probate/estates/ trusts, elder law, estate planning

Onda LaBuhn Rankin & Boggs Co. LPA 35 N. Fourth St. Suite 100 Columbus 43215 614-716-0500 olrblaw.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 10 Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, real estate/construction Managing Partner:

Robert J. Onda

Ronald R. Petroff

Plunkett Cooney 300 E. Broad St., Suite 590 Columbus 43215 614-629-3018 plunkettcooney.com Partners: 6 FTE attorneys: 7 Practice area(s):

Banking/finance, labor/employment, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Christina Corl

FTE attorneys: 2 Practice area(s): Fam-

ily/juvenile, general practice, litigation/ trial practice

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Work safer with an AmeriCenters fully-furnished, fully-serviced workspace.

Ideal for small businesses, entrepenuers, remote-working professionals and enterprise organizations.

Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 9 Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Richard F. Meyer

Reminger Co. LPA 200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 800 Columbus 43215 614-228-1311 reminger.com Partners: 18 FTE attorneys: 24 Practice area(s):

Commercial, litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts

Perez & Morris LLC

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

8000 Ravine’s Edge Court, Suite 300 Columbus 43235 614-431-1500 perez-morris.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 13

41 S. High St. Suite 2800-3200, Columbus 43215 614-227-2000 porterwright.com Partners: 63 FTE attorneys: 121

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Commercial, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice

Corporate, labor/employment, litigation/ trial practice

Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Juan Jose (John) Perez

Robert J. Tannous

Jeffrey A. Rich

Peterson Conners LLP

R. Chris Harbold & Associates

Robert A. Bracco

545 Metro Place South, Suite 435 Dublin 43017 614-745-8844 petersonconners.com

500 S. Front St. Suite 1140 Columbus 43215 614-255-1140 harboldlaw.com

Managing Partner:

Ronald Fresco

Rich & Gillis Law Group LLC 6400 Riverside Drive D100, Dublin 43017 614-228-5822 richgillislawgroup.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 6 Administrative, education, taxation

1170 Old Henderson Road, Suite 109 Columbus 43220 614-442-1953 braccolawoffice.com Partners: 1

Robert A. Bracco

Robert D. Erney and Associates Co. LPA 1654 E. Broad St., Columbus 43213 614-258-6100 ohioinjurylaw.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2 Practice area(s):

Insurance, litigation/ trial practice, personal injury Managing Partner:

Robert D. Erney

Roetzel & Andress LPA 41 S. High St. 21st Floor Columbus 43215 614-463-9770 ralaw.com Partners: 11 FTE attorneys: 23 Practice area(s): Liti-

gation/trial practice, probate/estates/ trusts, public law / governmental affairs Managing Partner:

Erica Haupt

Saia & Piatt Inc. 713 S. Front St., Columbus 43206 614-444-3036 splaws.com Partners: 3 FTE attorneys: 8 Practice area(s):

Criminal, family/ juvenile, litigation/ trial practice Managing Partner:

Jon J. Saia

Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP 41 S. High St. Suite 2400

58 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 58

9/17/20 12:17 PM

Columbus 43215 614-463-9441 shumaker.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 11 Practice area(s):

Energy/utilities, environmental, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Michael Snyder

Sowald, Sowald, Anderson, Hawley & Johnson 400 S. Fifth St. Suite 101 Columbus 43215 614-464-1877 sowaldlaw.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 6 Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile, probate/estates/ trusts

Stebelton Snider LPA 109 N. Broad St. Suite 200 Lancaster 43130 740-654-4141 stebelton.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 13 Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile, litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts Managing Partner:

Todd D. Pechar

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC 41 S. High St. Suite 2200 Columbus 43215 304-933-8000 steptoe-johnson.com Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 13 Practice area(s):

Managing Partner:

Corporate, energy/ utilities, labor/ employment

Heather G. Sowald

Managing Partner:

Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP 41 S. High St., Columbus 43215 614-365-2700 squirepattonboggs. com Partners: 35 FTE attorneys: 73 Practice area(s):

Corporate, environmental, litigation/trial practice Managing Partner:

Alex Shumate

Standley Law Group LLP 6300 Riverside Drive, Dublin 43017 614-792-5555 standleyllp.com Partners: 7 FTE attorneys: 10

BANKRUPTCY & INSOLVENCY BUSINESS REPRESENTATION CIVIL LITIGATION PROBATE • REAL ESTATE ESTATE PLANNING • FAMILY LAW

Offices in German Village and Dublin www.columbuslawyer.net 614.228.6345

Strip Hoppers Leithart McGrath & Terlecky LPC 575 S. Third St., Columbus 43215 614-228-6345 columbuslawyer.net Partners: 8 FTE attorneys: 13 Practice area(s):

Bankruptcy/debtorcreditor, litigation/ trial practice, probate/estates/ trusts Managing Partner:

John Hoppers

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Managing Partner:

Jeffrey S. Standley

Practice area(s):

Copyright/trademark/ patent

A.C. STRIP JOHN WM. HOPPERS PAUL W. LEITHART, II TIMOTHY J. MCGRATH MYRON N. TERLECKY NELSON E. GENSHAFT KENNETH R. GOLDBERG JOEL R. CAMPBELL AARON C. FIRSTENBERGER KRISTIE A. CAMPBELL JOHN W. KENNEDY ANTHONY C. CHAMBERS CHAD A. FOISSET GARY PAUL PRICE

J. Kevin West

65 E. State St. Suite 1000 Columbus 43215 614-221-2838 taftlaw.com Partners: 24 FTE attorneys: 38

Practice area(s):

Providing Central Ohio with Professional Legal Advice for more than 60 years

Lawyers who

Discover the modern law firm.

Taftlaw.com

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 59

59

9/17/20 12:17 PM

trial practice, securities Managing Partner:

Michael V. Wible

Ulmer & Berne LLP

Columbus Legal Guide Corporate, healthcare, litigation/ trial practice Managing Partner:

Janica Pierce Tucker

Thompson Hine LLP

65 E. State St. Suite 1100 Columbus 43215 614-229-0000 ulmer.com Partners: 6 FTE attorneys: 12 Practice area(s):

Copyright/trademark/ patent, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice Managing Partners:

41 S. High St. Suite 1700 Columbus 43215 614-469-3364 thompsonhine.com Partners: 16 FTE attorneys: 35

Scott P. Kadish, Alexander M. Andrews

Practice area(s):

52 E. Gay St. Columbus, 43215

Corporate, litigation/

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

614-545-6707 vorys.com Partners: 96

Suite 2400 Columbus 43215 614-280-0200 westonhurd.com Partners: 5 FTE attorneys: 7

FTE attorneys: 168 Practice area(s):

Corporate, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice

Practice area(s):

Insurance, litigation/trial practice, real estate/ construction

Managing Partner:

Michael D. Martz

Walter | Haverfield 175 S. Third St. Suite 290 Columbus 43215 614-246-2150 walterhav.com Partners: 4 FTE attorneys: 8

Wolinetz | Horvath

Wrightsel & Wrightsel

250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 220 Columbus 43215 614-341-7775 wolinetzlaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 4

3300 Riverside Drive Upper Arlington 43221 614-255-3388 wrightsellaw.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 3

Practice area(s):

Practice area(s):

Family/juvenile

Probate/estates/ trusts, real estate/ construction

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Kevin R. Bush

Dennis E. Horvath

William L. Geary Co. LPA

Wright & Noble LLC 7662 Slate Ridge Blvd.

Reynoldsburg 43068 614-626-6323 mgwlawfirm.com Partners: 2 FTE attorneys: 2

Managing Partner:

Bradley B. Wrightsel

Yavitch & Palmer Co. LPA

Corporate, education, taxation

155 W. Main St. Columbus 43215 614-228-1968 columbusfamily lawyer.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 3

Managing Partner:

Practice area(s):

Ralph E. Cascarilla

Family/juvenile, litigation/trial practice

Family/juvenile, general practice, litigation/trial practice

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

Managing Partner:

William L. Geary

Scott Wright

Stephen E. Palmer

Practice area(s):

Weston Hurd LLP 10 W. Broad St.

Practice area(s):

511 S. High St. Columbus 43215 614-224-6142 ohiolegaldefense.com Partners: 1 FTE attorneys: 2 Practice area(s):

Criminal, DUI/OVI/ traffic

A

FOR A

P a

w

L.A Catering is a proud division of LifeCare Alliance, with all proceeds going directly to the Agency’s nutrition programs. Let your next small group gathering or event help your central Ohio neighbors by choosing L.A. Catering! Please call us to today to book you next catering! #InThisTogetherOhio

60 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 60

9/17/20 3:22 PM

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

MY BENESCH MY TEAM

www.eastmansmith.com

Eastman & Smith takes pride in its client satisfaction, reliability, innovation and creative approach to problem-solving,

41 South High Street, Suite 2600 Columbus, OH 43215-6164 (614) 223-9300 | www.beneschlaw.com

all designed to exceed the high expectations of its clients.

Columbus | Detroit | Findlay | Toledo 100 E. Broad Street, Suite 2100, Columbus, OH 43215 614.564.1445

Start your

A Smarter Way to Work – Predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. www.ThompsonHine.com/SmartPath

050-061_LegalGuide_2020.indd 61

COMPLIMENTARY SUBSCRIPTION TODAY at columbusceo.com.

9/17/20 2:55 PM

Health Watch: Radiology

Missing the signs Diagnoses of cancer and other illnesses have been delayed for many people because of the pandemic.

By Laurie Allen + Photo by rob hardin

A

precipitous drop in mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventive screenings is among the many repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, but local imaging experts say the tide is turning. The benefit of having test procedures, they agree, far outweighs the risk.

“It’s incumbent on us to let people know it is safe to be back in our system,” says Dr. David Cohn, chief medical officer at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “It’s critical that business leaders know that we understand what needs to be done for the safety of our patients, and we encourage them to have their employees get in for testing.”

When the pandemic headed toward Central Ohio early this year, The James and other hospitals quickly reallocated resources to prepare for incoming patients. Health care systems postponed elective surgeries

“It’s critical that business leaders know that we understand what needs to be done for the safety of our patients, and we encourage them to have their employees get in for testing.”

Dr. David Cohn, chief medical officer at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–The James

Dr. David Cohn and outpatient procedures, including non-emergency imaging tests. “We did such a good job that even after we were back to levels where we could accommodate patients, patients didn’t come in,” Cohn says.

Imaging providers throughout the Columbus area curtailed a significant portion of their services and saw the resulting drop in volume and revenue. Radiology Inc., which provides imaging services for Mount Carmel Health System, saw a 57 percent decline in April, which translated to a 50 percent revenue loss, says President Dr. Gerald Smidebush. “That was a big hit,” he acknowledges.

Jason Guagenti, vice president and executive director of Riverside Radiology and Interventional Associates, the contracted radiologists for OhioHealth, says practice volumes were 40 percent of what they were pre-Covid.

Financial implications are but one part of the picture, experts say. Postponed tests pose a concern about time lost in diagnosing serious illness.

At Ohio State University Wexner

Medical Center, lung cancer diagnoses fell 50 percent during the first half of 2020, which likely is due to fewer screenings, says Dr. Mark King, interim chairman of the department of radiology.

The declines mirror national and global trends suggesting that cancers went undiagnosed during the pandemic’s peak. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association said weekly diagnoses of breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, esophageal and gastric cancers were 46 percent lower in March and April than they were in the period from January 2019 to February 2020.

Figures from the United Kingdom were more stark, with the UK reporting a 75 percent drop in weekly referrals for suspected cancer.

In an editorial published in Science, National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Norman Sharpless warned that an additional 10,000 people in the U.S. will die of breast and colorectal cancers in the next decade as a result of delays in screening and diagnosis during Covid.

62 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

062-063_SS_Healthwatch_Radiology.indd 62

9/17/20 3:24 PM

Locally, radiology experts are encouraged by the rebound in testing that’s occurred over the past few months, but there is lingering concern about the long-term ramifications of missed testing earlier this year.

Despite vigorous efforts to re-engage and reschedule patients, the reality is that some may not return in a timely fashion, or at all.

Cohn and others say a delay of three to six months isn’t likely to change the course of someone’s illness, but waiting a year or until symptoms appear is worrisome. “Our biggest fear is that people who delay are pushing out their diagnosis date, when the cancer is harder to treat,” Cohn says.

Riverside Radiology’s Guagenti adds, “We feel that people are in more danger of not having the imaging test. The risk is very low, and the benefit is tremendous.”

Standard practice at most imaging sites includes pre-procedure screenings, temperature checks and masks.

Waiting areas have been reconfigured or eliminated to make sure patients remain at safe distances, and changes in scheduling have reduced the num-

ber of patients in an imaging facility at any given time. Additionally, providers have made increasing use of telemedicine for video visits and remote radiology interpretation. Radiology practices, health care systems and in some cases, individual physicians have invested capital to expand infrastructure and enable more services to be delivered off-site.

Certain procedures, such as colonoscopies, now require a Covid test prior to the visit. Time between procedures also is longer to allow for thorough cleaning of equipment.

The Covid test itself may cause people to avoid imaging exams such as colonoscopies. King’s two daughters had to have the tests for their jobs, and he tells others what they told them: “It’s a very small episode of pain to get really important answers.”

Mobile mammography units, which also were sidelined, are getting back into service. The James unit allows only two patients on the coach at a time and encourages them not to arrive early for their appointments.

Staff are screened every day and wear masks and protective eyewear.

Mount Carmel’s mobile unit will resume in October after being a Covid testing site. “I’m really encouraged about how things are coming back,” Smidebush says. “There is hope.”

In King’s view, Covid has changed the medical profession. Ordered tests will receive far closer scrutiny than in the past as providers work to minimize exposure while maximizing clinical benefit, he believes.

The Covid-related death of OSUMC’s director of imaging services (which manages radiology technologists) galvanized efforts to combat the coronavirus earlier this year, King says. Jeannie Danker died in late March from what her family said were complications from Covid. “If the director of imaging could lose her life, it underscored how serious this is.”

With the new procedures and protocols now in place, he says coming back to the healthcare environment is safe. “I feel safer going to a hospital than a restaurant. You will not see people violating mask or distancing requirements.”

Laurie Allen is a freelance writer.

© 2020 Medical Mutual of Ohio

The official health insurer of

entrepreneurs

You put everything you have into your business. And we put everything into offering high-quality health insurance plans for you and your employees. Our plans include access to the doctors and hospitals you know and trust. Plus, prescription drug coverage and wellness programs.

Bundle your health plan with our dental, vision or life plans for a fully integrated benefits package.

We are here for you, today and every day.

Call your broker | MedMutual.com/Entrepreneurs

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

062-063_SS_Healthwatch_Radiology.indd 63

63

9/17/20 11:15 AM

Sustainability

Earth concern As single-use everything reigns during the pandemic, demand for ecofriendly products persists.

By Alexis Florence + Photo by rob hardin

T

he word “sustainability” has different—and sometimes conflicting—definitions, especially in the business world. However, Ray Leard, who calls himself the chief composter at his Columbus-based business Compost Exchange, describes sustainability as less of a concrete concept and more of an awareness. It’s one he feels people are becoming more in tune with as an unexpected result of the global crisis.

“We see sustainability as an awareness of what we do individually and how it impacts our neighbors. Like Covid-19, we’re all in this together,” Leard says.

While 2020 was once heralded as the “Year of Sustainable Business” in Forbes magazine, the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly swept into every aspect of life and corporate decision-making; environmental sustainability is clearly no exception.

In May, as states across the country began weighing plans to reopen their economies, one Wall Street Journal columnist forecast a pandemic pause

“I do wonder how many of us are actually trying to think of our current impact with the pandemic and all the single-use items that we’re going through.”

SHEILA SALEMME, founding designer, Kuma Vida

Ray Leard on businesses’ sustainability efforts in an article titled, “Sustainability Was Corporate America’s Buzzword.

This Crisis Changes That.”

Central Ohio consumers have experienced changes like not being able to bring reusable cups to their favorite cafe or bags to grocers such as Lucky’s Market, Whole Foods and Giant Eagle.

Nevertheless, Leard says city dwellers especially are looking for eco-friendly alternatives in various aspects of their lives.

Desire for green replacements for single-use items in personal hygiene routines and household supplies is a trend that Adria Hall, co-owner of Koko the Shop, which opened in the Hilltop neighborhood in July, has seen in interactions with customers during the pandemic.

“People are spending more time in their houses. They have more time

to think about their routines and their homes,” Hall says. “And so that leaves a lot of time to think about your impact and your choices.”

Hall and other sustainability-based business owners have had to change how they interact with customers, but the demand for their products did not disappear. Both Hall and Angie Scheu, owner of Westerville home furnishings shop Green Haven Living, expanded their online capabilities. “We launched a new online store within a week of closing [due to a state mandate] and began loading every product we could think of that our customers needed to stay safe,” Scheu says.

Scheu, while recognizing a need to prioritize health in this moment, still worries about a widespread lack of knowledge for more sustainable options. “I’m not going to tell you it’s not disappointing to see the

64 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

064-065_SS_Sustainability.indd 64

9/17/20 11:17 AM

single-use masks littering our streets and multiple recalls of sanitizers due to toxic ingredients,” Scheu says. “It is disappointing.”

Sheila Salemme, the Columbusbased designer of the sustainable fashion brand Kuma Vida, shares Scheu’s concerns that while some seek green alternatives, such as her line of handmade clothing and accessories, the pandemic has necessitated use of more single-use products, generating more waste. “I do wonder how many of us are actually trying to think of our current impact with the pandemic and all the single-use items that we’re going through,” she says.

People turn to products viewed as safer in times of a public health crisis, says Rebecca Reczek, a researcher focusing on consumers’ ethical decision-making at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. In many cases this aversion to

sustainable products is due to perception, she says.

In a paper published in September 2010 by the Journal of Marketing, Reczek and fellow researchers found that during the H1N1 pandemic, consumers had a strong connection between eco-friendly products and gentleness, meaning they might avoid these products when looking for strength– such as effective hand sanitizers and cleaning agents—in the face of a public health crisis. “It doesn’t really necessarily matter whether that’s true or not; people’s perceptions are what’s guiding their choice,” Reczek says.

Another negative perception about green products is cost. Regardless of the truth for various products, ecofriendly products are seen as pricey, and that might further deter consumers, many of whom are dealing with layoffs and bleak job prospects as a result of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

Perceptions can be overcome with strategic marketing that acknowledges consumers’ preconceived notions, Reczek says. She sees the demand for green products continuing to increase after the Covid-19 pandemic as people feel more secure in their personal safety and financial health.

“When someone is in a mode where they are concerned about securing their and their family’s personal safety, it is hard to think about higher-order needs like saving the planet,” Reczek says. “But hopefully, as the U.S. comes out of the pandemic [and] people are less concerned with their day-to-day safety, that might allow them to think more about these other needs.”

When imagining what a postcoronavirus crisis world looks like in terms of sustainable business practices, Bhavik Bakshi, an OSU researcher and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering who has participated in the United Nations Environment Program efforts for sustainable development, says there is a larger problem businesses will be forced to confront: climate change.

“If we really want to address these kinds of issues, we need to respect nature and protect it and take care of it,” Bakshi says. “If we don’t do that then this pandemic is small potatoes.”

Alexis Florence is an intern for Dispatch Magazines.

DECEMBER 2020 CEO of the Year Awards Senior Living Featured in Columbus CEO’s December issue is the Senior Living Directory for aging parents and family members.

Some retirement communities offer accommodations that include assistance with daily living essentials and meals.

CEO Leaderboards Colleges & Universities Credit Unions Office Furniture Companies Space Closing: October 30

Giving: Guide to Personal & Corporate Philanthropy In partnership with the Columbus Foundation, Columbus Monthly and Columbus CEO will jointly publish Central Ohio’s annual Giving magazine that highlights the generosity of the Columbus community. Bonus distribution with The Columbus Dispatch.

Giving Issue Closing: October 16

For advertising information, call 614-540-8900 today or email advertise@columbusceo.com October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

064-065_SS_Sustainability.indd 65

65

9/17/20 2:56 PM

1

2

3

Wellington is wherever you are.

4

5

6

7

SMALL-BY-DESIGN CLASSES • INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PATHS • FLEXIBLE TECHNOLOGY • HYFLEX PROGRAMMING WITH ON-CAMPUS AND AT-HOME OPTIONS

8

9 Now more than ever, our approach to learning and discovery is preparing students in preschool through grade 12 to be inquisitive, innovative, and resilient wherever they are.

The first independent co-ed school in Columbus.

Helping students find their purpose and realize their potential for tomorrow’s world.

066-067_Leaderboard_PrivateSchool.indd 66

10

Schedule a personalized campus tour or virtual tour experience at wellington.org.

9/17/20 11:18 AM

Central Ohio Private Schools Ranked by 2020-21 total enrollment ENROLLMENT

SCHOOL 1 Columbus Academy

4300 Cherry Bottom Road Gahanna 43230 • 614-475-2311 columbusacademy.org

TOTAL ENROLLMENT

1,157

AVERAGE STUDENTFULL-TIME TEACHER RATIO

K-8

Number of teachers

Grade 9-12

Full-time

Other

Part-time

8:1

646 430 81

147 10

11:1

na 947 na

54 11

17:1

na 895 na

60 10

13:1

558 332 na

55 6

18:1

750 na 50

43 1

15:1

525 183 54

88 54

14:1

474 276 na

60 5

16:1

na 715 na

47 0

8:1

377 233 54

140 8

14:1

550 na 100

40 10

2 Bishop Watterson High School

99 E. Cooke Road, Columbus 43214 614-268-8671 bishopwatterson.com

947

3 St. Francis DeSales High School

4212 Karl Road, Columbus 43224 614-267-7808 • sfdstallions.org

895

4 Worthington

Christian School

6675 Worthington Galena Road, Worthington 43085 • 614-431-8215 worthingtonchristian.com

890

5 St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School

61 Moss Road, Westerville 43082 614-882-2710 • stpaulk-8.org

800

6 Tree of Life Christian Schools

3655 Maize Road, Columbus 43224 614-784-2795 • tolcs.org

762

7 Harvest Preparatory School

4595 Gender Road, Canal Winchester 43110 • 614-382-1111 harvestprep.org

750

8 Bishop Hartley High School

1285 Zettler Road, Columbus 43227 614-237-5421 • bishop-hartley.org

9 Wellington School

3650 Reed Road, Columbus 43220 614-457-7883 wellington.org

10 St. Brigid of Kildare

7175 Avery Road, Dublin 43017 614-718-5825 stbrigidofkildare.com

715 664 650

The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The January Leaderboards will feature

Central Ohio MBA programs. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is Nov. 1. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Columbus CEO at rwalters@columbusCEO.com Information included in this survey was provided by schools listed and was not independently verified.

066-067_Leaderboard_PrivateSchool.indd 67

Year founded full-year tuItion

1911 $12,500$29,800

1954 $10,175

1960 $9,995

1973 $5,100$11,000

1958 $5,400$6,900

1974 $4,990$10,105

1986 $4,100$6,700

1957 $8,050$9,950

1982 $12,850$26,800

1996 $6,300

FEATURES AND PROGRAMS From nature- and projectbased learning to advanced placement classes, Columbus Academy provides opportunities for children to explore and flourish on a spacious 231-acre campus.

College preparatory including AP, CCP and honors courses, business classrooms and a medical center classroom, 26 sports programs, 38 clubs, plus performing arts.

Dedicated campus ministry, 17 advanced placement courses, Office of Diversity and Student Equity and 80 co-curricular opportunities.

35 interscholastic athletic programs, internship academy, award-winning fine and performing arts program, National Blue Ribbon Award-winning elementary and middle schools.

Catholic sacraments and faith formation, 2020 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, statedesignated STEAM school, Chromebook distribution, renovated campus.

Student-centered collegeprep education with four campuses. Christ-centered, inter-denominational, fine arts and athletics programming.

Academics, athletics, arts, leadership, chapels and community service, STEM and robotics.

Robust curriculum and course offerings, including honors-level, advanced placement and dual enrollment with local colleges and universities.

Small classes, individualized learning, deep-dive seminars, hands-on makerspace and research lab, and athletics and visual and performing arts.

Catholic faith formation, athletics, after-school learning programs, Spanish, service programs, STEM lab, academic excellence, two-time Blue Ribbon School.

HEAD OF SCHOOL ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR Melissa Soderberg John Wuorinen Chris Campbell Mary Kate Campbell Daniel Garrick Julie Barber

Troy McIntosh Lisa Raikes

Carol Walsh Carol Walsh

Todd Marrah Carol Tanner Kenneth Grunden Brenda Langston Michael Winters Heather Rush Jeff Terwin Maryline Kulewicz Kathy O’Reilly Megan Wachalec

wnd = would not disclose na = not applicable Source: Survey of private schools

Compiled by JULANNE HOHBACH

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

67

9/17/20 3:25 PM

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

068-069_Leaderboards_WomenOwnedBiz.indd 68

9/17/20 11:20 AM

women-owned businesses

Ranked by 2019 total revenue and for ties, by local revenue and employees

company 1 Kokosing Group 6235 Westerville Road, Westerville 43081 614-212-5700 kokosing.biz

2 Team Fishel 1366 Dublin Road Columbus 43215 614-274-8100 teamfishel.com

3 Crown Services 2800 Corporate Exchange Drive, Suite 120, Columbus 43231 • 614-844-5429 crownservices.com

4 Bob Caldwell Automotive 1888 Morse Road, Columbus 43229 614-888-2331 caldwellchrysler.com

5 King Business Interiors 1400 Goodale Blvd., Suite 102 Columbus 43212 • 614-430-0020 kbiinc.com

6 Capital Resin 324 Dering Ave., Columbus 43207 614-445-7177 capitalresin.com

7 Acloche 1800 Watermark Drive, Suite 430 Columbus 43215 • 614-824-3700 acloche.com

8 Velvet Ice Cream 11324 Mount Vernon Road, Utica 43055 740-892-3921 velveticecream.com

9 Uniglobe Travel Designers 480 S. 3rd St., Columbus 43215 614-237-4488 uniglobetraveldesigners.com

10 Lightwell 565 Metro Place South, Suite 220 Dublin 43017 • 614-310-2700 lightwellinc.com

2019 Revenue Total Central Ohio

Number of employees

Central Ohio Total

Total NUMBER OF OFFICES

$1.6 b $455 m

507 3,792

$540 m $54 m

449 2,583

$121 m $2 m

22 175

$110 m $110 m

120 120

$49 m $49 m

75 75

$42 m $42 m

95 95

$42 m $42 m

69 69

13

$38 m $38 m

120 170

$38 m $38 m

21 28

$38 m $12 m

91 183

Primary Owner DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

59

Commercial, industrial, marine and transportation contractors and aggregate and asphalt supplier

1976

34

National utility engineering, construction and network installation contractor

1936

55

Staffing company specializing in light industrial, warehouse, office/professional and health care

1968 1967

3

Commercial flooring, furniture, design and storage company serving Central Ohio and nationwide

1998

1

Chemical manufacturing

1976

Customized workforce solutions including contingent staff, direct-hire professionals, medical staffing, project labor and temporary employees

1968

8

A 106-year-old, family-owned ice cream manufacturer and distributor

1914

2

Travel management company specializing in corporate and leisure travel services

1981

3

Technology services and solutions including APIs and integration, cloud, data analytics, order management, supply chain and B2B collaboration and strategic IT staffing and consulting

1998

2

Information included in this survey was provided by companies listed and was not independently verified.

CENTRAL OHIO TOP OFFICER Burgett family Brett Burgett, Bryce Burgett, Lori Gillett Diane Fishel Keeler John Phillips Carol Countiss, Spencer Countiss and Deborah Lindsay Jay Hodge

Car dealership for new Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram sales, preowned vehicles, service and parts

The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The January Leaderboards will feature Central Ohio MBA programs. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is Nov. 1. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Columbus CEO at rwalters@ columbusCEO.com.

068-069_Leaderboards_WomenOwnedBiz.indd 69

Year founded

Connie Caldwell, Sondra Caldwell, Karin Caldwell Justin Harmon Darla King Darla King

Judie Wensinger Jamie Bull Ruch Corp.

Kimberly Shoemaker Luconda Dager Luconda Dager Elizabeth Blount McCormick Elizabeth Blount McCormick Michelle Kerr Michelle Kerr

m = million, b = billion Source: Survey of women-owned businesses Information compiled by Rebecca Walters

October 2020 l ColumbusCEO

69

9/17/20 3:27 PM

M S C

Le A (9 w

R T C

Jo P (6 w re

RE M GE VI

Al (6 al re

C R E

N (6 ne

070-071_ExLiv.indd 70

9/17/20 10:31 AM

Wouldn’t you like to be looking at your home?

Ask your Realtor to market your home in the Executive Living section of Columbus CEO Magazine!

East of I-71 call Telana Veil at (614) 469-6106 or e-mail at tveil@dispatch.com West of I-71 call Amy Vidrick at (614) 461-5153 or e-mail at avidrick@dispatch.com

MICHAEL SAUNDERS & COMPANY

LEPI & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE

Leslie Emery & Aaron Corr (941) 400-9710 www.beach2barn.com

Roberta “Bobbi” Lepi (740) 891-1068 blepi@ lepirealestate.com

MUSKINGUM COUNTY! - 150 Acres! A private retreat away from the office and city!

Less than 1 hour from Cols. Located in Muskingum County where you can enjoy golf, hunting or ATV’s. Custom hearthstone log home w/ ADDITIONAL hearthstone party barn including 3 car garage AND studio apt! Plenty of room to host guests for the weekend, and offer a luxury place to stay. Visit www.1250perinelotm.com for more details.

From sand to sunsets and live oaks to acreage, Florida is calling to you.

Team Beach2Barn is your Buckeye connection to your new Florida dream home and lifestyle! Our passion for hands-on service provides you a knowledgeable and trustworthy experience, before and after closing. For new construction or re-sale, we look forward to working with you.

RE/MAX TOWN CENTER

KEY REALTY

Joe and Patty Evans (614) 975-7355 www.joeandpattyevans. realestate

Donna Westhoven (740) 704-1150 dlwrealtor@yahoo.com

325 MORGAN LANE, GAHANNA - Stately custom built home in gated Founders Ridge 5BR, 4.5BA, 6012 SF, huge 1st flr master suite. 2 Story Great Rm, Huge Walk out Lower Level.

Ravine lot w/ steam view. Conveniently located close to Easton, 270/670, airport & downtown. 3 car side load garage. $899,900

7970 GINGER PLACE, DUBLIN - Custom built by Copper Tree with over 6100 sq ft of usable finished space. Located in the Oaks subdivision, with mature pine trees surrounding the large yard. Custom finishes on the interior include an incredible kitchen, office, dining room & lots of open spaces. View our video of this home at JOEANDPATTYEVANS.REALESTATE

RE/MAX METRO PLUS GERMAN VILLAGE

RE/MAX METRO PLUS GERMAN VILLAGE

Al Waddell (614) 832-4079 al.waddell@ remax.net

Al Waddell (614) 832-4079 al.waddell@ remax.net

60 MIAMI AVENUE – Elegnt home w/ leaded glass entry opens to a vestibule that opens to a center hall foyer. Home office and magnificent staircase, working FP flanked by two wood trimmed arched doorways into the FDR. Coffered ceilings, stained glass, updated kitchen w/ center island & new pro-style appls. 2nd floor has 4 BRs & 2 full baths + sunroom. Owner’s BR adjoins full bath & 2nd BR to create a lavishly lg owner’s suite. $624,900

39 N OHIO AVENUE - American 4SQ with every update imaginable! The 30’ center hall leads to a stunning, original 3 story staircase. 2 sets of dbl pocket doors open to a Music Rm & Liv. Rm (each w/ FP), LR opens to banquet-sized FDR. A large island centers the kitchen w Quarts counters. 2nd flr has 2 en-suite BRs, custom dressing room & 4th BR (or home office). The 3rd flr is a private owner’s suite, with vaulted ceilings, sitting area & luxurious bath. $659,900

CUTLER REAL ESTATE

FAULKNER REALTY GROUP

Neil Mathias (614) 580-1662 neil@themathiasteam.com

JP Faulkner (614) 419-5757 JP@faulkner realty.com

8945 TARTAN FIELDS - Nothing but beautiful architectural details w/high-end finishes in this home. Grand staircase that wraps around the entry and travertine floors flow throughout this home. Large 1st-floor master w/luxurious ensuite w/ marble counters, Jacuzzi tub, walk-in shower, & 2 lg walk-in closets. Outside views pour in the many windows in each room, catching your eye at every turn. $1,095,000

070-071_ExLiv.indd 71

BROOKS AND CODINGTON - Bauhaus Usonian commissioned in 1958, completed in 1961. This 5000+ sq ft residence sits on 1.5 pastoral acres and offers vaulted ceilings, walls of glass, clerestory windows, Quonset Four-season room in a Koi pond, stunning modern kitchen with rolling island, cocktail bar, palatial owner’s suite, media room, 4 car garage and the list goes on!

9/17/20 10:31 AM

Office Space WFH edition By laura newpoff + Photos by Rob Hardin

Becca Apfelstadt Dublin treetreeagency.com

The CEO of creative agency Treetree brings the flair of Madison Avenue to her home office in Dublin.

Bold colors set off modern decor

Apfelstadt worked with Cheryl Stauffer of Crimson Design Group in Columbus to make her first-floor office unlike any other room in her home. The agency chief and mother of two welcomes visits from Anderson, her sixmonth-old St. Bernard.

Visit columbusCEO.com for a full article on the space.

72 ColumbusCEO l October 2020

072_OfficeSpace.indd 72

9/17/20 11:21 AM

Encova Insurance can provide you with custom-tailored insurance to meet your unique needs. Our auto, home, life and business insurance, including workers’ compensation, ensure you are protected when you need it most.

BUSINESS • AUTO • HOME • LIFE

encova.com

C2-C4_CoverAds.indd 3

9/17/20 10:32 AM

­ ­ ­

•

­

C2-C4_CoverAds.indd 4

9/17/20 2:56 PM