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Chilling out?: Ohio companies examine drug policies in the workplace. PAGE 12 CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I APRIL 5, 2021

The 195-acre former Ford Motor Co. plant property in Brook Park is slated to be redeveloped by a joint venture between Weston Inc., the DiGeronimo Cos. and Scannell Properties.

MICHELLE JARBOE/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

LONG HAUL REAL ESTATE

Makeovers of two former Ford plants could be a $500 million-plus undertaking

BY MICHELLE JARBOE A developer trio set to buy two former Ford Motor Co. plants in

Greater Cleveland says remaking the massive properties could be a $500 million-plus endeavor.

Executives from Weston Inc., the DiGeronimo Cos. and Scannell Properties confirmed in interviews with Crain’s that they’re closing in on the automaker’s shuttered operations in Brook Park and Walton Hills.

Through a joint venture, the developers recently firmed up the 195-acre Brook Park deal, which is set to close in mid-May. They’re still conducting due diligence on the 111acre Walton Hills property, with hopes of consummating that purchase later this year.

The buyers aim to revive the dormant manufacturing sites through a mix of demolition, renovation and new construction. They don’t have tenants in hand yet. But they’re hoping to selectively raze obsolete portions of the Brook Park engine plant, a 1.7 million-square-foot complex, this year — and to move swiftly toward construction of their first speculative building on the surrounding land.

“We are not buying this asset to sit and let deals come to us,” said Kevin

DiGeronimo, a principal with the eponymous, family-owned group of companies based in Independence.

Ford closed its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 2 in Brook Park in 2012.

Production stopped in late 2014 at the 2.1 million-square-foot stamping plant in Walton Hills. The properties hit the market in 2018, with no published price for Brook Park and a $9 million price tag for Walton Hills.

See FORD on Page 17

HEALTH CARE

Navigating the digital divide and vaccine access Health systems are assisting patients without access to email, internet

BY LYDIA COUTRÉ

Shortly after University Hospitals opened online scheduling for the COVID-19 vaccine, hospital operators were fielding calls from patients without email or internet asking, “How am I supposed to schedule a vaccine?”

UH was able to quickly identify this gap thanks to the manager of hospital operators raising the alarm bell, as well as doctors hearing similar questions from their patients, said Dr. Robyn Strosaker, chief operating officer of

NEWSPAPER

VOL. 42, NO. 13 l COPYRIGHT 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

UH Cleveland Medical Center.

“We were actually really grateful for those phone calls to the hospital operators, saying, ‘Hey, you forgot about (those of ) us who can’t access the internet and don’t have email,’ ” Strosaker said. “The last thing we wanted to do was create a barrier to access, so we were happy when somebody pointed out and said, ‘Hey, we can’t access the way you’ve designed; you need another way.’ ” Within 12 hours of launching the preregistration process on its website, UH developed a phone number for patients looking to schedule.

See DIGITAL DIVIDE on Page 19

Mossie Harper is vaccinated on Monday, March 8, at Cleveland Clinic’s community-based vaccination clinic at the Langston Hughes Health and Education Center in Cleveland. | CLEVELAND CLINIC

GOVERNMENT

Reciprocity bill would simplify minority biz certification The vast majority of the state’s minority-owned companies don’t benefit from Ohio program

BY KIM PALMER

Local and county requirements have hampered a state of Ohio program created to increase the flow of business to minority business enterprises, or MBEs. Proposed legislation would remedy that by enforcing a statewide standard.

Fewer than 1% of the more than 122,500 minority-owned businesses in Ohio take advantage of the state’s MBE certification program, according to a 2017 Small Business Administration report and data from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. The MBE program is designed to assist minority-owned businesses in obtaining government contracts by establishing a 15% setaside requirement for state agencies in Ohio. However, business owners who qualify for the certification have said the process is complicated and time-consuming.

Under current law, cities and counties are not required to recognize MBE certificates issued by the state, and in some cases businesses competing for public contracts are forced to file paperwork and pay fees to certify the company’s minority status in various local governments on top of their state certification. The proposed Senate Bill 105 would require all governments within Ohio to recognize the state MBE certification, making it reciprocal in any city or county.

“We had minority businesses that were running into problems and having to get certified over and over again in order to do work in multiple locations,” said state Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, one of the sponsors of SB 105.

The bill, jointly sponsored by Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, simplifies the process for becoming a certified MBE by deeming the ownership requirements outlined in the Ohio Revised Code sufficient for all public programs designed to increase minority participation, representation and inclusion. Local governments would still retain additional requirements, including proof of residency.

Sykes said the bill’s language came out of the newly formed Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee, which was created to help Ohio’s small businesses grow in a post-pandemic economy.

“We are looking at barriers and opportunities that minority businesses experience,” Sykes said.

“This bill is just one of the initiatives that we expect to undertake.”

The bill’s original text applies to MBEs, which are businesses with more than 50% minority (Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-Pacific American or Asian-Indian American) ownership. But supporters of the measure, including Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, are urging that the legislation be extended to include women-owned businesses as well.

Testifying in support of the bill in March, LaRose, who was the driving force behind the creation of the women’s business enterprise certification program as a member of the Senate, said he heard the frustration from business owners who

Disparity in dollars A look at some findings from the Cuyahoga County 2020 Disparity Study, which tracked contracts across several industries, along with the purchases of goods and supplies, from 2014 through 2018:

From 2017-2018, $31.2 million (or 3.1%) of the amount awarded was diversity dollars.

Ethnic breakdown of firms available to work in Cuyahoga County African American

Asian American

Hispanic American

Professional services

Construction

Non-MBE Other services

8.4% 1.8%

14.9%

Arts and entertainment 7.4% 1.8%

1.1%

88.8%

0.7%

1.3%

3.4%

78.8%

4.3%

7.5% 7.5%

2.8% 1.0%

Goods and supplies

89.9%

0.5%

83.7%

94.5%

Gender breakdown of firms available to work in Cuyahoga County Women MBE

Non-MWBE Professional services

Construction 41.2%

58.8%

Other services 19.1%

80.9%

Arts and entertainment 17.2%

82.8%

Goods and supplies 28.1%

71.9%

10.7%

82.3%

NOTE: CONSTRUCTION AND GOODS AND SUPPLIES ALSO HAVE NATIVE AMERICAN BUSINESSES, WHICH TOTAL FEWER THAN 1%.

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

SOURCE: GRIFFIN & STRONG P.C.

“WE HAD MINORITY BUSINESSES THAT WERE RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS AND HAVING TO GET CERTIFIED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN ORDER TO DO WORK IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.” — State Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron

had to repeatedly prove something that by definition is “an immutable fact.”

The majority of minority- and women-owned businesses, LaRose said, are small businesses that do not have the time or staff for extra administrative processes, making going through multiple certifications in different places costly and inconvenient.

“What it does is it makes this program less efficient, and it makes it less positive for businesses to engage in,” he said. “The process of filling out that paperwork, the time and the cost takes time away from actually running the business.

What it does is diminishes the value these programs are intended to create.”

Sykes said he plans to add WBEs and veteran-owned business certifications as amendments to the bill, which is still in committee.

Disparities in minority and women contracting have been an ongoing concern beyond the state level.

Cuyahoga County under Executive Armond Budish’s administration has been grappling with how to increase those numbers since he took office in 2015.

After a 2014 study found significant disparities in Cuyahoga County’s contracting and procurements, the administration in 2016 employed a series of race- and gender-neutral policies, but it was not able to go much further to reach meaningful diversity goals, Budish said.

“Even at the time, our director and others were not confident that this was going to move the needle, and when the most recent study that came out, we realized those efforts didn’t move the needle very much,” Budish said.

The Cuyahoga County 2020 Disparity Study, which tracked contracts across the construction, professional services, other services, architecture and engineering industry and purchases of goods and supplies from 2014 through 2018,

showed little improvement in minority representation using the race gender-neutral approach and opening up the administration’s ability to create more directed programs to reduce the disparity, Budish said.

According to the study, only 4.62% of a total of more than $1.1 billion spent by the county went to certified minority- and women-owned firms. White women-owned businesses accounted for 4.03% of the total minority and women-owned awards, while minority-only contracts made up 0.59% of the total awarded.

In January, Budish announced four executive orders based on recommendations from the 2020 study.

“We are in the process of creating an equity department, which will establish policies programs and monitor what we do, collect data and make sure that all projects are being looked at through an equity lens,” Budish said.

The program under Budish’s executive order means his administration will create contract-by-contract goals tailored to each project, based on the percentage of available minority- and women-owned businesses certified in the county.

The executive orders also require departments to provide outreach to all contractors and vendors to educate them on the county programs;

require the procurement department to propose a compliance program; and include publicly posted forecasts for contracts and purchasing coming up in the next 24 months, Budish said.

Improving and streamlining minority programs is crucial as the certification becomes relevant outside of just contracting and procurement, Sykes said. Funding programs including the Ohio Minority Micro-Enterprise and JobsOhio Inclusion Grant Program use state certification as part of the vetting process, and increasing numbers of private companies use MBE when tracking their own equity and inclusion goals.

Add to that President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion massive infrastructure proposal which includes billions for bridges, roads, airports and ports, which, if realized, could mean thousands of new projects and spending in the state. Budish, Sykes and LaRose all want to see the right programs in place to have those groups who have been left out ready to prosper.

“I’m confident that we will have these program in place to be able to access infrastructure dollars. We will apply the equity lens to determine how to distribute those funds,” Budish said.

Kim Palmer: kpalmer@crain.com, (216) 771-5384, @kimfouroffive

2 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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SOCIAL SERVICES

Spanish American Committee keeping up with growing needs Tragedies in Puerto Rico have meant an influx of families seeking help

BY KIM PALMER

dent of the Hispanic Contractors Association of Northeast Ohio, provides Ramonita Vargas, CEO of the what he calls pre-apprenticeship Spanish American Committee, said training that stresses the benefits of that when the latest U.S. Census data working in a trade union and preis released this September, she ex- pares skilled workers to handle the pects to see a substantial increase to cultural differences Hispanics may the more than 40,000 Hispanics that face when entering the industry.

The impetus for the program came the 2015 Census reported are curafter MetroHealth president and CEO rently living in the city of Cleveland.

A big part of that increase, she said, Akram Boutros announced the health includes the 2,980 families that the care system’s nearly $1 billion main Spanish American Committee pro- campus transformation plan in 2014.

“We realized that there was going to vided social services for in the days and weeks after Hurricane Maria be a whole new footprint in our backdevastated Puerto Rico in 2017. yard. One billion dollars in construc“We never expected something tion was going to happen, but how like that to hit us all of a sudden,” Var- was that going to help the existing surgas said. “People were just coming in rounding community, which is prelarge batches and staying with family dominately Hispanic?” Hoyas asked.

He and other Hispanic leaders members in attics and in basements.”

The agency helped those families were “very aggressive and direct,” with English lessons and other edu- Hoyas said, in working with Metrocational programs, provided child Health and Turner Construction to care, found jobs and helped them lay out a plan for the Hispanic comeventually buy homes in the area. munity to be part of the project. To Just as that influx of families began date, the Latino Construction Proto die down, Puerto Rico was hit with gram has placed 77 workers in local a magnitude-6.4 earthquake in early construction and trade unions and 2020. As a result, the organization was placed about another 25 with other assisting another 450 families who contractors on smaller projects. had relocated to the Cleveland area.

“We have been able to network Helping families adjust to living well with about 17 unions. And we here is nothing new, Vargas said. The have been able to build relationships city’s oldest Hispanic social services with the business agents and let them organization was founded in 1966 know that we have talented workers,” when manufacturers recruited work- Hoyas said.

The program bodes well for Hisers from Puerto Rico to Lorain and Cleveland to work in the factories, panic representation in an industry steel mills and farms. What began as that has traditionally been insular a social club on the city’s West Side and needs to replace its aging workforce with a younger of workers.

“IT CONTINUES TO BE A STRUGGLE TO stock “Right now, our popBE SEEN AND HEARD. WE ARE ALWAYS ulation in Cleveland is growing, and the averSTANDING IN THE BACKGROUND.” age age of Hispanic — Spanish American Committee CEO Ramonita Vargas workers looking for jobs in Cleveland is between evolved into a social services agency 18 and 32 years old,” he said. for the Hispanic community.

Placing more Hispanic workers in “We had the first police trainings long-term construction careers is a conducted in Spanish here,” Vargas win for both employers looking to fill said. “And we had a lot of that kind of gaps as the region experiences a conspecialized job training so that we struction boom and for a community could get our community in different combating high poverty rates. jobs.”

The surge of families over the past One of the organization’s latest few years has strained the resources of work programs, the Latino Construc- the Spanish American Committee but tion Program, was created to place has also, Vargas explained, provided skilled laborers and construction an opportunity to highlight the work workers displaced by Hurricane Ma- of an organization that many Cleveria into local construction jobs. landers do not even know exists.

The program, headed up by Gus “After (Hurricane) Maria and the Hoyas, board president of the Span- families arrived, we were in the meish American Committee and presi- dia more. We received attention and

CEO Ramonita Vargas has been with the Spanish American Committee for 38 years. | CONTRIBUTED

more funding, which has helped us grow,” Vargas said.

The Spanish American Committee is now looking to hire a licensed, bilingual social worker; a certified Housing and Urban Development coordinator; and a director of programs so that the organizations can take advantage of the funding resources like the city’s other social services agencies do.

“We have never had to hire for these positions in the past, but because things have changed so much, we can bring in a director of programs who can oversee all the core programs, 1 OH_PK-12_2021_Crains.qxp_Layout

which will free up more time to be able to go out network with foundations, with other organizations, and bring in those resources,” she said.

A social worker would allow the organization to bill Medicaid for some of the services it provides and bring in more revenue, as 94% of those who seek help make less than $16,000 a year, Vargas pointed out.

And after 38 years of working at or helming the organization, Vargas is also preparing to find new, younger leadership for her job, but she is concerned not has1been done to 3/29/21 2:39enough PM Page

prepare and elevate Hispanics to leadership positions in the community.

“I was part of the Leadership Cleveland class of 2019. There were 68 of us, and I was the only Hispanic who spoke Spanish,” she said. “It continues to be a struggle to be seen and heard. We are always standing in the background. I hope that this new, younger generation will do things differently.”

Kim Palmer: kpalmer@crain.com, (216) 771-5384, @kimfouroffive

Laurel girls today.

L E A D E R S tomorrow.

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Saturday, April 17, 2021 • 10:30 am-12:30 pm Pre-registration is required. Space is limited.

Visit LaurelSchool.org/OpenHouse to learn more and to RSVP.

The Spanish American Committee is headquartered at 4407 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland.

Dream. Dare. Do.

KIM PALMER/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

April 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3

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Colliers vice president Cyndie O’Bryon will run the leasing efforts for the Commerce Park 4 and 5 office buildings. | STAN BULLARD

Beachwood office buildings fall under lender’s control

Miami firm is now in charge of distressed Commerce Park

BY STAN BULLARD

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Fix holes in parking lot. Do massive landscape updating.

Those highly visible items top the list for upgrades at the Commerce Park 4 and 5 office buildings in Beachwood after the 1980s-era structures just became lender-owned.

That is the word from Cyndie O’Bryon, a first vice president at the Colliers Cleveland office as she starts running the leasing effort and the firm begins managing the properties for an affiliate of Rialto Capital Management. Through an affiliate, the Miami-based real estate investment and asset management firm, which serves as a special servicer handling distressed properties for lenders, gained control of the buildings on March 12, according to Cuyahoga County land records.

The transfer, at no disclosed cost, followed a 2019 foreclosure proceeding in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The original lender, referred to as RSS WFRBS2012-C6-OH CP LLC, sought the property to collect on a $14 million loan that had gone into default. The defendants, Commerce Park IV & V Associates, had bitterly opposed the proceeding.

The case was withdrawn March 15, although Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams retained jurisdiction to enforce an out-of-court settlement, according to a journal entry.

In a sign of the challenges and uncertainties facing the office market in the pandemic-bred work-from-home era, Rialto is not immediately putting the properties up for sale as many lenders might.

Instead, O’Bryon said it plans to retain and stabilize the buildings with new tenants and reinvestment in the structures. She returned messages left at Rialto by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

“We have a great deal of vacancy and a great deal of opportunity,” O’Bryon said. “There is a fair amount of deferred maintenance that Rialto is willing to undertake, although the

Commerce Park 4, left, in Beachwood has 94,000 of its 170,000 square feet available for lease. Half of Commerce Park 5’s 60,000 square feet are vacant. | COSTAR GROUP PHOTOS

specifics (beyond the cosmetics) are still being worked out. We have pretty aggressive leasing plans.”

She declined to enumerate lease offers but noted, “early signers will benefit.”

The eight-story Commerce Park 4 has 94,000 square feet available out of 170,000 square feet. In the fourfloor Commerce Park 5, about 30,000 square feet is empty in a 60,000-square-foot building.

In a reflection of the location’s long, high-profile history, the structures once were part of Commerce Park Square, which consisted of five office buildings at the corner of Chagrin Boulevard and Green Road.

However, the original three buildings, dating from the 1960s and 1970s, were razed in 2013 and replaced by The Vue apartments. Building 4 and Building 5 were constructed, respectively, in 1985 and 1988.

Office experts say a daunting task looms for Colliers and Rialto. Space is available at much newer properties. Vacancy in the east suburbs, the largest regional office market outside downtown Cleveland, is put at 14%

by Newmark’s year-end 2020 office market survey.

Rico Pietro, a principal at Cushman & Wakefield Cresco brokerage in Independence, said lender ownership may not carry much weight in the highly entrepreneurial eastern

suburbs.

“I’m not sure the market is big on the idea of a merchant builder (or lender) owning and flipping a property,” Pietro said in a phone interview. “I think many prospects will question whether they want to sign on where they don’t know who the owners may be in a few years. There are glaring signs the buildings need serious attention. It’s not like you’d be going into a building previously owned and marvelously maintained

by AT&T.” Bob Nosal, an executive vice president in NAI Pleasant Valley’s Independence brokerage office, said he’s no longer certain that the buildings occupy a “prime location as they did back in the day. Now you have new development in Shaker Heights and Orange Village. This sits smack dab between the two. There are parts of the buildings not updated in 25 years.”

Brian Hurtuk, managing director and a principal of Colliers Cleveland, counters that the proposition is simple: “Previously there was not capital to get deals done there. Now there is.

A lot of people can be excited about this much space with the right amount of spit and polish and a veteran broker like (O’Bryon) handling it.”

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

4 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | APRIL 5, 2021

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REAL ESTATE

West Cleveland shopping center redo talks loom New York firm plans to renovate former Kmart building

BY STAN BULLARD

From the volume of comments on the West Park Neighborhood Development Corp. page on Facebook, it’s fair to say the neighborhood on the far western border of Cleveland is abuzz.

The topic is the potential retail remaking of the empty Kmart building and shopping center at 14901 Lorain Ave. and some adjoining properties

by TLM Realty, a New York City-based real estate development and ownership concern that owns the site.

TLM is on the agenda of the city’s Far West Design Review Committee’s meeting on Wednesday, April 7, which says the realty concern wants to redevelop the site, including demolishing all or part of two neighboring structures. The West Park Neighborhood Development Corp. last Wednesday, March 31, announced on its Facebook page that it plans a community meeting April 14 about the proposal via Zoom. The notice drew 79 comments by 8 a.m. Friday, April 2.

Adam Rosen, a partner at the Trzaska Rosen Faller LLC law firm in Cleveland, said he represents TLM as it launches the city approval for the project.

TLM hopes to divide the existing vacant Kmart building to suit as many as

three new retail tenants and add other retail uses in new buildings of varying sizes on the site’s vast parking field.

TLM will ask city planners and the local design review committee to demolish part of a largely empty, multitenant building it owns perpendicular to Lorain on the east side of the Kmart parking lot. TLM also wants to raze a mixeduse building with first floor retail space and apartments above it at 14601 Lorain that Rosen said it also owns.

Those moves would free up space for freestanding retail buildings on the site.

“TLM has talked to the city and neighborhood development group about making the project as accessible to the neighborhood and making it as walkable a development as possible,” Rosen said.

Cleveland City Councilman Charles Slife, whose Ward 17 includes the site, declined to discuss specifics of the proposal before the developer presents its conceptual plans to the City Planning Commission’s local design review panel and the community meeting. That’s out of deference to the planning process, he said.

However, he did add, “This promises to be an exciting and significant development of the property.”

TLM, which describes itself as a re-

development concern on its website, has undertaken other remakes of other former big-box centers that previously housed Chicago-based Sears Holding Corp.

One of its projects was slicing up the former Sears Grand store in Solon as a home for Hobby Lobby and other tenants that opened in 2019.

The West Park Kmart closed in 2017. It has languished in the years since, drawing neighborhood complaints for pop-up parties and unauthorized temporary parking of tractor-trailer trucks. It was constructed in 1982 with support from a federal grant under a Voinovich administration strategy to use the spending of its residents to revive retailing in the city, which had lost ground to newer suburban locations. The far West Side also is more car-centric because it was developed later than neighborhoods close to downtown.

Real estate brokers say it’s a prized site for continued retail use. About 13,000 vehicles pass daily on Lorain, and nearly 18,000 pass daily on West 150th Street.

Keith Hamulak, an associate in CBRE’s Cleveland office, said it’s an “absolutely critical” site to serve the densely populated residential area surrounding it and a scarce site in the

The New York City-based owner of the former Kmart shopping center on Cleveland’s West Side wants to subdivide it to accommodate new tenants as part of a retail updating of the 10-plus-acre site. | STAN BULLARD

area large enough to attract active national retailers.

Tony Visconsi, a managing director-retail in Hanna Commercial’s Cleveland office, said the location is centrally positioned as it sits at West 150th Street, a north-south street with direct highway access. The West 150th Street interchange with I-71 is to its south, and the Warren Road with I-90 is to its north.

Comments on the local development corporation’s website ranged

CRAIN’S EDITORIAL FORUM

RETURN TO OFFICE The Crain’s newsroom along with local experts, will tackle relevant issues as employees start to return to the office.

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from disappointment that the plan is not a more aggressive reuse of the site as a mixed-use center to a note that “sprucing up the place will go a long way.”

Another mourned the loss of the “cool old building” earmarked for demolition for more parking. That three-story brick building at 14601 Lorain dates from 1926.

Stan Bullard: sbullard@crain.com, (216) 771-5228, @CrainRltywriter

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MEDIA

Podcasts pick up steam as crucial tool for firms

Medium can be a valuable platform to reach audiences, tell their story

BY JAY MILLER

want to just do it open-ended where we're going to make a podcast every With U.S. spending topping $1 two weeks from here on?” he said. billion in 2020, podcasting is be- “It's been hard to get a client buy-in, coming an important piece of the quite frankly, on doing that setting marketing marketplace. According up.”

Dix & Eaton, another Cleveland to the most recent IAB Interactive Advertising Bureau Podcast Adver- marketing communications firm tising Revenue Report, podcasts are strongest in public relations, is findnow a regular part of ad spending ing that its clients are eager to get involved in the world of podcasting. for 47% of brands and agencies.

And since, like most things digital, “Podcasts were popular before it isn’t tied to a specific geography, the pandemic, but now even more all facets of the business are growing so, they’re really skyrocketing now,” in Northeast Ohio. The region is said managing director Amy McGahome to podcasters, podcasting han. “And we always work with our producers and studios, podcasting clients to explore different ways distributing networks, and buyers of where they can reach their audiencpodcasting advertising time. es and different channels through Business marketers have a variety which they can tell their story, and of ways to engage with the podcast- podcasts are definitely a viable and ing audience. A company can buy popular one now.”

McGahan said clients appear as advertising spots or can be a sole sponsor of a podcast. And a busi- guests on a variety of podcasts ness can create its own podcasts. sponsored by media organizations, Local businesses, from sports teams and some are thinking about to media businesses, including launching their own podcasts.

“If they have enough content to Crain’s, to Cleveland Clinic and the Barnes & Wendling accounting do it, if they, for example, have blogs that they publish, and their blogs firm, are creating podcasts.

“We definitely have an increase in are constantly being updated and clients inquiring about it,” said Jason getting a lot of traffic, then maybe Therrien, president of thunder::tech, their audience would be interested a Cleveland integrated marketing in another form of communication firm. “Some are dabbling in it, and I like podcasts,” she said.

One issue for marketers and their don't think we have any particular clients is evaluating the return on clients going whole hog on it.”

Among thunder::tech’s Northern their investment. For traditional Ohio clients are retailer Marc’s, the media, and even most digital meCedar Point amusement park and dia, a company will know how many Kichler Lighting. people watched a television show or Adam Zuccaro, executive produc- streamed a video, and for how long er and content strategist at the Ad- they engaged with it. Streamed podcom Group, a Cleveland marketing casts can be measured similarly, but communications firm, said some of many podcasts are simply downhis firm’s clients have expressed in- loaded for later listening, and a business won’t know how many “I THINK THE NO. 1 THING PODCASTERS actually listen to WANT IS TO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH the podcast.

The marketers ADVERTISING, BUT HAVE say a company ADVERTISEMENTS SHOW UP FOR THEM.” can do things like — Eric Hornung, a partner with the Upside podcast network creating a specific landing page terest but are not jumping in quickly. on its website that is mentioned in “It’s honestly surprised me,” he the podcast to gauge interest. Some said. “We've been having the con- companies also pay attention to the versation about podcasting with number of downloads in the first Daimler Trucks North America, day or two after a podcast is pubwhich is one of our clients, and a lished and look for a consistency of couple of their brands — Western downloads from one episode to anStar and Freightliner — we've been other. talking for a year or more.”

Companies may create their own Zuccaro said part of the slowness podcast connected to their own web to commit is finding the right pod- presence, but they may also turn to cast subject (or set of topics) to con- a growing and decentralized podnect with, as a producer or advertis- cast ecosystem that includes major er, and then committing to a media companies such as Apple strategy. and iHeart Media. But because en“Do we want to do a defined try into the podcasting business is thing, where it runs for a season, so low, one-person content creators you know, three months, or do you can run a podcast business from a

Podcasts have become a regular part of ad spending for 47% of brands and agencies, according to a recent study. | GETTY IMAGES

Evergreen Podcasts was founded in 2017 by Joan Dolan Andrews, then the producer of Lake Effect Radio, an internet streaming service affiliated with Lakeland Community College. The company is based in Lakewood. | CONTRIBUTED

dining room table. However, the environment is consolidating rapidly.

Apple, iHeart and Spotify are the leading podcast hosting services at the top of the food chain. Like the others, Spotify sells advertising (and shares a small percentage of the revenue they can attract with podcast creators) and provides data on how many people are downloading a given podcast. It’s a relatively easy process to submit a podcast to join the service. Getting on these networks opens up the opportunity for even the podcaster at the dining room table to link to millions of potential listeners.

Another component of the ecosystem are small companies such as Up Co., whose Upside podcast network operates podcasts in Ohio’s major cities, including Lay of the Land in Cleveland.

Jeffrey Stern, now a product manager of Axuall, a Cleveland startup, said he was doing some soul searching and talking to people in a number of entrepreneurial businesses before he landed at Axuall. At some point, he thought those conversations about what people were working on or what businesses they were building should have been recorded

for others to hear. So he connected with Eric Hornung, a Cleveland native who is a partner in Upside and has put together another podcast, When Pigs Fly, about business in Cincinnati.

Hornung said he sees Upside growing by nurturing podcast ideas like the one Stern was germinating, and buying existing podcasts to create a network that handles the business of finding sponsors and advertisers and connecting the podcasts with the hosting services. Connecting with a network like Upside, which sells advertising and sponsorships for specific podcasts or its own network of podcasts, means more money flows to podcast creators than they would get from the large hosting services.

“I think the No. 1 thing podcasters want is to not have to deal with advertising, but have advertisements show up for them,” Hornung said. “So that's a lot of what we do."

The business that has now grown into Evergreen Podcasts of Lakewood is where Upside may be headed. Evergreen was founded in 2017

by Joan Dolan Andrews, then the producer of Lake Effect Radio, an internet streaming service affiliated

with Lakeland Community College.

Evergreen launched four podcasts during its first year and now produces or distributes more than 75 podcasts. In December, it acquired Five Minute News, created in 2016 and fronted by British broadcast veteran Anthony Davis.

“Evergreen is built upon three pools of content — our own original shows that we produce in a studio in Lakewood; partner podcasts, for independent podcasters who need a home and (we have) essentially, a sales and marketing agreement; and then we get hired to do branded podcasts,” CEO Michael DeAloia said.

DeAloia said Evergreen podcasts had 4.2 million downloads in 2020.

But that’s still not enough to attract the largest advertisers.

“I originally thought the content was going to be the major hurdle for us, but it's been the opposite,” DeAloia said. “We've got more content out in the queue than I could ever possibly thought that we could handle.”

It’s getting the attention of the advertisers “on a more consistent basis to drive revenue” that DeAloia said Evergreen still needs.

Also jumping into the podcast industry are businesses like FCB Entertainment Inc. in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood, whose FCB Radio Network produces multicultural radio shows and now podcasting content.

“I see the future is bright. Podcasting is a growing industry,” said Darvio Morrow, FCB’s CEO. “It's creating more opportunities for people to create their own content and get their voices heard.”

Morrow said his most popular podcast is Just Listen to Yourself with Kira Davis. Davis is a Southern California-based editor at RedState, a conservative website. She chose to have FCB produce her podcast, Morrow said, because she wanted her podcast on a Black-owned network.

Jay Miller: jmiller@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @millerjh

6 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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EDUCATION

Lorain County Community College is one of TechCred’s training providers. | CONTRIBUTED

TechCred program is open for business

BY AMY MORONA

Technology was already shifting how we work before the pandemic hit, and recent findings from the World Economic Forum report it's spurring more companies to accelerate digitatization and automation.

That same report also noted about half of all employees will need to learn new skills by 2025. Tapping into the evolving nature of work is part of Ohio’s upskilling initiative called TechCred. The latest round of applications opens this month.

Approved employers can be reimbursed up to $2,000 for each credential an employee completes at an offsite training partner, such as a local community college or technology center.

“If you have a good employee who shows up every day, works hard, but maybe doesn't have the right kind of technological skills for that higher-level job that exists in your com-

Kushner

Husted

tions aren't producing enough students with the certificates and degrees required for some high-demand technical fields.

“Credentials are the language of business, not the language of academia,” Husted said. “Credentials are business-driven, (and) the education community is adapting (them) into its curriculum. Traditionally, this has worked the other way around.”

Eligible credential offerings must be industry-recognized, focused on technology and able to be completed in less than a year. There's a wide variety of courses, including some in business, robotics, construction and health care. Many courses can be completed online.

That flexibility is important for students, said Cynthia Kushner, Lorain County Community College’s director of “WE’RE FINDING MORE AND MORE school and commuPEOPLE WANT TO WORK AND EARN. ... nity partnerships. is one of TechIT’S DEFINITELY A HUGE SHIFT TOWARD LCCC Cred’s training providers. Kushner said THAT WORK AND LEARN MODEL.” most of the creden— Cynthia Kushner, Lorain Community College’s tials offered are director of school and community partnerships “stackable” and can pany, we’ll help you train them so be built on for advanced degrees.

“We're finding more and more that they have the skills it takes to succeed,” Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted people want to work and earn,” she said. “It's not so much ‘go to college said in an interview with Crain’s.

Husted said Ohio is “ahead of the for two years, four years and then go curve” with the offering. Reskilling to work.’ It's definitely a huge shift tothose already working is important ward that work and learn model.”

Plus, Kushner said the partnership given the rise of new technology and a allows LCCC to build deeper connecdecline of available workers, he said.

Ohio's February unemployment tions with local employers.

“As we all know, tech is everyrate was 5%. The total number of high school graduates in the state is pro- where,” she said. “It's changing at a jected to drop 9% between 2020 and rapid pace. If we're not having that 2037. A 2020 Team NEO report noted close relationship with the business the region's higher education insitu- partners, we're not understanding

their needs.” About 19,800 credentials are set to be earned by Ohioians from more than 1,100 approved employers since the program launched early last year. The DeWine administration’s recent budget proposal includes earmarking a total of $50 million for the program in 2022 and 2023, as well as putting an additional $5 million more toward it for this fiscal year.

Expansion is being proposed at the federal level, too. The bipartisan Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students ( JOBS) Act wants to expand Pell Grant funding to be able to be used for shorter, high-quality credential programs. President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan outlines support for community colleges “to deliver job training programs based on in-demand skills.”

“I think people are looking for solutions that are faster to get people reemployed then what traditionally may have been the case,” said Kyle Albert, an assistant research professor at George Washington University who manages its Non-Degree Credentials Research Network group.

Albert said TechCred seems similar to an initiative in Virginia. But he pointed out that state's program puts more emphasis on institutions to offer in-demand programs and awards grants directly to higher education institutions.

There’s room for all kinds of initiatives in the credential space, Albert said. But he likes TechCred for a few reasons, including the regional economic impact upskilling residents can have and the pipeline of students it may create for partner institutions.

Plus, it goes against what he said is a lingering perception that employers are investing less today in training due to employees changing companies on a more rapid basis.

“It's actually taking away that fear from the employers that they are not going to recoup their investment,” he said.

Applications close at the end of April. Find out more at techcred. ohio.gov.

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Amy Morona: amy.morona@crain. com, (216) 771-5229, @AmyMorona APRIL 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 7

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SMALL BUSINESS

Startups, micro-businesses fill gaps in the economy Entrepreneurs play key role in state

BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY

Like many ideas, The Hanger Valet was born of necessity.

Founder and CEO Erin Toohey Naso was a busy mom of young children trying to get her mornings in order. She would put outfits and accessories out for her kids so they could get ready on their own, using shoe organizers or plastic grocery bags, but she wasn’t satisfied with the options available. She thought she could create a better-looking solution. So she created The Hanger Valet, which is designed to hang up an outfit, offering pockets for socks or accessories.

The idea came years before the product was ready to launch last April.

Naso, whose background is in public relations, had never done anything like it before. She had to stumble through the process of making patterns and sourcing materials and finding manufacturers.

And sticking to local companies was a necessity at first, as a mother with small children and an existing freelance PR business trying to get a new company off the ground. Naso couldn’t spend time traveling the country for suppliers and supply chain partners. But she soon discovered that there were a lot of good options, from product design to prototypes to manufacturing, as well as photography and legal services, in Northeast Ohio.

The product is sold on The Hanger Valet’s website, and products are shipped from Naso’s Brecksville home. Currently, she’s the only employee, though she hopes to expand and hire in the future.

Her story is indicative of the ecosystem of very small businesses and startups in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

“THERE’S A LOT OF CREATIVE PEOPLE IN CLEVELAND.” — SEAM owner Paul Pedaci

Ohio has about 1 million small business enterprises, said Roger Geiger, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business. And almost 800,000 of those are self-employed.

“A huge part of Ohio’s economy is driven by those individuals who work for themselves,” Geiger said.

While the pandemic made 2020 a tough one for many businesses, there were a record number of startups, about 170,000, that got underway in Ohio, Geiger said.

And that makes a certain kind of sense, considering the number of layoffs that took place in 2020. Small businesses often get their start when people are displaced from their jobs, Geiger said. And self-employment can be a way for non-traditional workers to find their way into the workforce, from caregivers splitting time between their business and childcare to senior citizens who aren’t ready to fully retire.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, about 80% of all businesses are “nonemployers,” or businesses without paid employees. And those businesses have been growing faster than employers in recent years. According to a news release, the number of non-

employers grew by 18% from 2000 to 2017; employers declined by 1% during that same time.

In 2017, there were 25.3 million nonemployers, the release stated, citing a new dataset of U.S. Census Bureau figures analyzing nonemployer businesses. About 10.6 million of those businesses were women-owned, and about 8.2 million were minority-owned.

Startups and small businesses have been particularly important to minority communities. For example, in the Black community, individuals had to quickly figure out how to make a living after slavery was finally ended.

“We had to be self-starters,” said Lamont Mackley, chief inclusion and outreach officer at venture development organization JumpStart Inc. in Cleveland.

That’s led to decades of “creativity” across generations, he said.

These super-small businesses support the entrepreneurs who run them, Mackley said, but they also benefit the communities they’re in.

Because they often rely on word-ofmouth marketing, he said, they tend to be very engaged, community-focused businesses.

At Hanger Valet, Naso has made a point of working with not only local companies, but with women-owned businesses.

“You have to support that which you want to be,” Naso said.

The Hanger Valet will be working with SEAM in Cleveland on production.

SEAM — Sewing Experts Assembly Manufacturing Ltd — is a microfactory that runs small batches of production, serving everything from the garment industry to the transportation industry. Owner Paula Pedaci said the business combines her “love of problem-solving and sewing and design.”

SEAM got its start in 2017. It’s run by Pedaci and her husband, though she’s the majority owner, and they employ a part-time sewer.

And she brings on contractors as needed for large orders.

Pedaci has seen demand for her services grow in recent years, noting that business for SEAM tripled last year.

“There’s a lot of creative people in Cleveland,” she said.

Pedaci said her company fills a need for small businesses like The Hanger Valet. Without small-batch factories, those entrepreneurs would either have to look overseas or order a product run of thousands. SEAM, on the other hand, is happy to run five or 10 products, as needed.

Pedaci sees part of her business as educating the customer, as many are new and haven’t been through the process before.

That’s one of those intangibles a small business can offer.

Leah Haynes, owner of HD Apparel Works and Haynes Designs in Medina, likes that she can offer her services in Northeast Ohio, as many customers think that kind of work is only available in big cities like New York or Los Angeles.

Haynes helps clients develop ideas, as well as create patterns and samples and some small-batch production.

She had been doing that work part-

Erin Toohey Naso has worked with local companies to launch The Hanger Valet, a product she created to help people better organize their outfits. | CAITLIN ANTJE

Tanisha Velez runs Cleveland Fresh, a grower of microgreens, with her family. | MARIA SHARP

time prior to the pandemic, but opted to switch to full-time when business slowed at her previous job in the garment industry. Now, she doesn’t think she could go back to working for someone else. Running her own business gives her more freedom and flex-

ibility, she said.

“And then I can pick the projects that I’m really passionate about,” Haynes said. “I can work on things that excite me.”

Or take Cleveland Fresh, a grower of microgreens. For Tanisha Velez, her

company is a chance to show the next generation what’s possible.

Velez started the indoor agricultural business in 2018, growing microgreens in her living room. Today, the company is located in an incubator space in Cleveland.

Velez, the company’s founder, lead instructor and grower, balances Cleveland Fresh with another job.

And she’s still the only employee, but her fiancé and children help out. And that latter part is important to her.

One of the reasons she runs her own business is to show her children and others that it’s possible. It’s a way for her to create “generational wealth,” she said.

“The whole business might not be passed down to my children, but the experience and the time that they’ve put into it and seen us do this? It’s the knowledge that is being gained through the process,” Velez said.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: (216) 771-5379, rmccafferty@crain.com

8 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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Crain’s honors 15 of Cleveland’s most remarkable women leaders

NOMINATIONS

NOW OPEN!

Every year, Crain’s Cleveland Business salutes a group of inspiring women whose dedication and achievements enrich Northeast Ohio, its institutions and its people.

Do you know a female business leader who is enriching our region?

Nancy Mendez

Vice president of community impact, United Way of Greater Cleveland

Renee Singleton President and CEO, Singleton & Partners

Each year, Crain’s Cleveland Business honors a group of women who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to Northeast Ohio. This year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic turmoil, that commitment has been more critical than ever. The members of this year’s class have risen to the occasion, displaying resilience, tenacity, compassion and grace. They have helped execuguide nonprofits as execu tives or board members, busi worked to keep local businesses afloat and jobs intact, searched fed the hungry and for new medical treatments.

These leaders, and others like them or mentored by them or inspired by them, are who will shepherd the region to tu emerge from the current tumult on track toward stability and a resumption of growth, leaving no Ohioan behind.

& PartWhen Renee Singleton decided to move her Singleton the South bought a Nancy Mendez spent the first several years of her life in ners marketing agency out of rented space in 2018, she Bronx area of New York City before her family moved to Cleveland.

Superior Arts District east of the in building -foot 7,000-square be beHer father, a union carpenter, found himself blacklisted downtown Cleveland near Cleveland State University. unable to cause of his skin color and Puerto Rican accent and Part of the strategy behind the move was to create a coworking a space ork, she said. Her mother became the main wage earner find work, space, S&P Work Lab. She has invested $2 million into and for the working-class home. offers creatives, and her staff of eight, the kind of video that cre them creThe youngest of seven, Mendez said that when she reached electronic gear they couldn’t afford themselves to help This apart.” falling “really was system school she the said school, Singleton middle music, videos, podcasts and other content. ate Men Menencouraged counselor a was the backdrop of her life when cowork S&P Work Lab is the first coworkelieves believes fi is Singleton v The dez to apply for a scholarship program a Midwest.

D the in kind its of a space ing The Mendez file omon and walked her through the process. de Ros majob: “Wee have a 3,000-squareR-foot produchaFirst e back` a standout givdo “I always had people that were in the ` Secret skills: can sire to studio in the back where 16, of tion age the t only m- sales associa At A deyou co no io me vis gave st Oh high school right place in my life that kind of an shoot video, She was a very good athlete in you can mona Da calls Northea can You Mall in its heyd ything: iate de anything: Randal intiv oducts e nowPark assoc er of the go na sces, membwe hockey, lacrosse Cargar, now thephotography fieldl Pr that leg up,” Mendez said. a college, and at had dustria Chica al Scien at , (one night) Inplaying nd amba shoot Mc nity the veritable`bra St iceehockey. of Natur attend to va Favorite book: School d Computing r-live,” shemu t a just The scholarship allowed her no tion atand said.

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She wo Food Cleveland Greater 14 join pro year n Ag Hospitals. er s.

University tioed and the um tec Jack her ns son administ 2007 asPro m for co ration in “One of the things that I admire about Nancy is I think a gra spec ial assistant to S&P offers a variety of services, including consulting, strategi McMahon ` Rebecca The and Frank Jackson, then became deputy visua work gives her plenty of reasons to be cynical and skeptical, Walker Minor file planning and buying, public relations, De media b bling pub Bar Association planning, Metropolitanchie f of operations, lic serv hopeful theCleveland title of inte ant. She underst added rim director of she’s neither one,” Thompson said. “She’s optimistic, ` Favorite accomplishment: lessness ions ands how jobevent planning. andeles the communicat and hop Opp`ortu Offi ce CEO of Equal “The African American Yandala Debnity sness affect fambegan and has held the do at The May Co., and most of all committed for the long term.” enga Culture Garden: We The business ged ilies current her to posi you , of public affairs journey dis disth tion and the underem had the land, but we Valley National Parkof chief Cuyahoga Conservancy forfor experienced racism, homophobia the last having that Cu Ida da said ploy only store. ya Mendez Ford 12 had ed,” department year a , flag downtown Clev said the for s. there.

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by Zapis, r. “She station example and take leads his family the ernment, but whe I wanted to work for city govwere from others, but tries to act as a bridge. a, radio when able to get gov in the 1980ss time Singleton the cultural garden up to mee n he talk events whe the t and attend ed about the wor CKU Korwin wan in time re job seek Spooner ante `dRebecca ted “I try to draw on those experiences to remind me again done and Co. for the centennial of May k he The ers at AMY BA event an are held the WZAK, pres owned, them role the federation of ent and see r of athle he had for me as valued citizens. she said. was exac Directorecentl Industrial Statetly — it what IProducts ” purpose and the importance of my voice at that table,” cultural gardens.” immediately,” he recalled wanted to do.” ent of Renee It’s no smallwith “I connected everydepartm , Cas for Most days, she’ space is feat there ensure to to wants con Mendez Befo table, with.” ion vene that work At s out in the com to pleasure part Davis andalla the ` Romona ners and educat smart relevant `and was Favorite across “She ing with munity workalso celeb thecreative Clevelanders at private, public k rve Unive thro Reseeventual one to meaningfully contribute, so she works to mentor“First Lady Hillar rity quote: and philan-ts person, every level, from pic sectorswas station’s special-even Huntington root ootss to Singleton whethethe corporatBank grass y Clinton came to the long, needs and expe e leaders. those groups inte nsales NNE city learn from others. when I was working manager. rtise of “My job is a stra its general MARIAder & rsec to be for the Michael White becoming nge job because to the party; you want un invited “My role, the way t. be just to -fo is gre want 22 “She don’t admin wrote.

“You ple heaPAGE Co Geer ” istrat whe professional, ion and said, ‘Who knew r the title they n peoI describe it, is as is a consummate “Renee ent, Ne goal. my think I do the med diar an inte y,” Walker Min presid Cleve tions,” Wal deliver land had that?’ The m ia relaalways able to choose the music as well,” she said. “And so that’s Partners &rme W or team LLC Singleton at d. ker Min explaine M Krey with and her phrase became a to me work Susanna or said. “I work ` Group “The next so the y that so that repo best my runni do they to poli rt oliccyy side. My on the public ng joke because she to don’t have to repo If I can’t choose music, I’m going ‘actually job is of Cleveland; A Foundation Miller rt to the mayor.” of Charity — Jay navigatin Sisters M The city’s lead legis enjoyed’ Cleveland.” ships betw g the relationROMON lation is een internal Latina that comes up can choose that music.” — Lydia Coutré sid of how she is able System and of Charity Health external partnerVice pre de ships onSisters ANT a prime example to brin som W m

ORUM ADER F E L T H THOUG WORK E : CRAIN’S FUTURE OF WHO W FROM HEAR

s e of the city’s proj g together ` Running for ferent players to busines n f mayor in 2021 ects.” dif Afteerr 14 years, to create a cohesiv a host of dif?

BUSINESS | JUNE 29, 2020 sheCLEVELAND 10 | CRAIN’S “No. When this is done Hunting has a long list process involved ders e strategy. The accompl of significant s lea , IT m ishm want a mul rce TgO ments tiple city dep relaxing envir Ant.NThis alon artments, withan resou onme EW had a hand in the under her belt. Min M or Wal W ■ Hum nongovernm : W job T T is ker s ent A U folks who had creation and succ rney working onr at BO tolead WH stressful.”

A been ing of lead legis the essf W bo ul te O La pass issu ta ■ - brought the ese but were not lation and has their voices hea TO KNity of work ial real having private sector toge worked tirelessl on the city’ mercrd. ent cit s infant mor y munity ben ther on the com inu ■ Com velopm “On tality nals e ofofthe ■ Cont efits agreement mos ent essio n and de t importa P010_P011_CL_20200629.indd 10 initiative. She to prioritize the - workers and firmfic desig nty/things for me of loca velopm s,eand do withpr call labor, in part chnolog helpdedtadeve use rica the position lent de ■ Of to ion te icular minority lop the AfI have an Af eriss to elevate the rceGard Informat and femalee from n America■nWCult es ■are lop ural kfo that ve or e voicde not en. nc being heard. or “Na Nato toya ya is a masterfu ftware kfo featur experie here for. so t rce is what I am /w Tha ployeel strategi speak w paid I have the ation ■ Em ear ofpe lture st and humer educ the in this ne opportunity to cu rts may gh — se or,” Hi ny Kim s rti ■ she Palmer ment ex pa pe said. is trend President an logy ■ Com ustry ex eland. Use th events, techno the ind develop CE ON O, Gre yourd The Greater Clev kplace nies Clevater Cle t current ture of work in TITLE SP ■ Wor abou eland Food Ban Showcase ent Studio – ll compa vel andfu ■ Payro Ohio’s largest k, Northea k uctivity mmunity Cont ting the Food Bank hun ■ Prod The Conserv Crain’s st rtheast Ohio co t issues affec ports more than ger-relief organization t. ,thsup ho supNo en d e nt 1,000 partner agen connect one to ed co al and work an grams across six em cies and git of th di , ity propro rly int ty, running C counties to serv Continu ngside simila The Warzocha ssing pr dents. It has also e hungry resiresi compa grams, as we file built partnerships Whi W le growing region alo rum, en to o address root up ` Recent read: rated fo causes of hunger, with groups stores and rai cha’s parents inst outside Columbus, Warzolly integ ployment, hou including emzoe illed in their two “$2.0 orLiving is is a fu r components. sing and health Them Day: r0 am Prior to bec pass fo dau on ion Almo ghte te care m for st Nothi rs o volu . let Its a ts mission has ng in nteering at chu ica,” was director byity e-news un never been mor Kathr. yn J. Edin and H. crain.cg opAmer rch community. Kris port e critical.

In her nominat Luke tin studied com and in the Shaefer isin oessel@ Center, the the ion of GCFB and English at advert at ast CEO Kristin War John Carroll Univ munications ug. 17 W zocha, Alic president and oessel r this custom A : Her St E pict love of t ersit n ` T Best urin y, always e Arm g a career in gional growth fo y An mstrong, reE DA “Hire advice she’s received: manager for Th m childhood in E act Am pricing She serves on the the nonprofit sector. | ISSU great people and listen Thom LLP, LP, said she m mpson Hine Cont rmation and executive board to them.”

July 17 might highligh tion and ongoi ership Clevelan info of the Leadt War W zocha’s com DATE: mitm m ment to dive ` Most inspired by: E d Center and S mrsity, equity and LO “Growing up C on the Ending Hunger Committ her engaging “My colleagues and ee for Feeding community lead inclusion, or dirty water and our partners.”

America, a national associati ers to guide a capital cam on of food banks. mpaign for “That led to a ` Favorite Cleveland In addition, she sits on the Exec d “However ... our the organization’s future. hangout: utive Committ ronment.” ee of In Counsel world is a diffe “I love Saturday morn with Women Arm mstrong noted. ings rent place,” 0 and at the West Side 202 the Cuyahoga After getting Ami JUNE 29, Market with my husba College Board Community dem mic and economi m d the COVID-19 pan- VELAND BUSINESS | nd and kids.” of Visitor Workfor Miami Universi m c shutdown, ce.

IN’S CLE As chai CRA | r help center rose calls to of the Ohio Associati 20GCFB’s develop an envi from 100 a day on of Foodbanks board, Warzoch to r In norm a play mal time m s, 21,000 volu 2,000 a week. gram at a camp. boosting drive-th DeWine’s dispatch ed a key role in Gov. Mike nteers — man from m school or corp rough pickups ing Ohio National m y selor in college orate groups — and launching Guard perca to sort donation give their time home deliveries sonnel to assist at the state’s m s or work in the child food for ren benefit fr the banks during quarantined clien coronavirus crisi kitchen. In just first week of the s. ts. the Now Ulti pandemic , she aide recalled. mately, it help d by 10 brandnew partners, the m , 1,400 volu celed. Schools ed more than nteers canfood bank is dou clos That led to gra 25,000 addition packs for Kids prog blin shifted to work from ed and corporations shut or al families. “In ram and continui g its Backversity of Michiga m hom our 40-year hist me. At the sam mer. “We know ng it all sumnam me m , a tsumi of layoffs and that summer is ory, I don’t vironmental edu ing help to feed furloughs abruptly time a hungry time for think we’ve ever kids k and families of thousands of them adde seen , selve ” War d tens demand ami s and their families. zocha said, espe Ohioans to the sources. She was Afteerr 20% of like d record unempl cially now, rolls of those need With the food ban this,” Warzocha said. oyment.

- food bank had its partner agencies closed, camping prog k since 2000, War She the but ram to shift to more any zocha was team deflectsly their people skills, praiseknown direct distribution, previously vice president served children from hersfor aren’t elf to her eers .typical “I’m inspired of external “Engin fro suming her pres by them dail pulling of s as busines Yandala amoved ent role in Novemb affairs, asthe in hop y,” are we she e it, reco to said. “I down ion of me is reco it—comes gnit er 2014when . ne spou as a gnit Marian “trai said ion Michael von Glah r to ling goal,” a .” of them accomplish s Executive direct never Engiteam of people togethen thought I’d re or, Cleveland Me Long before Reb nt of Nexus preside vice ve executi and Univ der ecca Ruppert McM ersity ofs Michi tropolitan Bar Ass Corrao, co-foun a career of help busines in 2005 withwrit ociation ing and advocatin ahon made e curriculum fo professionally neering Group LLC, a firm she started . “A key aspect our of and philanthropi g for others, center in the park Herzog confronting bull cally .T partner and longtime colleague Jeff ies in the schoolya , she was e engiTheen .betw two cities th The McMahon ing one of her nicating with and relating to people Yandala said file work is siblings, who was rd for harasslic commu litigator. But the watc atch born hed ed,, from in her the ` Some part.” omething people m the time first post easiest environmental m I was 10, how deaf. “I actually is in law, -univers work may neering not with ity edu was ignored or know job the c demy m sister Ohio attorney about her: ers and links enginehave moc m ked, or how general’snd, what they call she in Clevela was headqu effectivelyartered office, tinely mad she was firm, Theher m e the butt She’s an avid softball a tax collector plishment in her of other people’s rouplayer who once The wor miserable. counk left McM M ahon said care clients throughout. the pitched a no-hitter in jokes,” with signers . “It was without adu lts high tell So schoo me she l. they re moved to Clevin the business of hesitation that became m one of her I aren’t elan park and that it clients bigg Benesch try. “Our ` Read eadin ingg right now: mpions.” in its trial practice d, taking a jobers,” had a with That helped shap est cham group.engine “Deb is best kno e McMahon’s years of com they need But after four “The Edge of Malice: but  Memberships: work and com approach to wn mercial The Marie Grossmanengineering, litigation, she the techmm munity in a care and astre vate pracCorrao Cle Story” by David Mirald theimp ssing of provide found pri- “I enjoy being member er that has take the tice was.also “We her from job: ed First i  m private prac explain not n a men perfect fit. busit, and her tice to general A yearning for th passion jobs at a school tackle grateful store a to am at and Art cou of associate ` needed new If sales nsel Museum ower not 16, of chal age in the legal field... and a regional At the wrote Tina Dar lenges took her nicalvarihorsep ous posts after bank and mul ple board role cy, to p She’ opporm Ben s city. d Hoop our Th beThe tieschbusines a journ s. Now, she serv a treasure , including gen alist or screenwriter/ or capture have suchSear ch, in in cou problem in Randal Park Mall in its heyday: nsel roless at ness her nomina es the Clevelan Met M ropolitan Bar eral Key direct Bank (wh or d rm, done a great fime not surp m Association as the ere sheing keeping its first consult of job rised ering beca engine e whe fem Th executive direc.” tor, a great fit for ale n tunities De deputy general of inclusion toand creati her diverse skill  Favorite book: ` A show Cuyahoga Com , cou show she wishes she nsel Herzog and ) a people for challenge and s, her yearning and Corrao all full to munjust ho with accessible wrote for: which ity College. The conference.” pass “The Marvelous Mrs. ty to began opp ionals, run the CMBA The Bible ni“Gender bias exis ion for helping others.

Maisel” environme came 150 professortu s about teaching and employ “In learning ted when I cam today her driv the past few e for leadership in 2015, and has school 27 year thefedoil, s ago and it exis e out of law work around help yea primar a partily  Best advice she’s received: that long itsaworkand of in trating her soul concen ed to run ts McMahon said ing C business.

Hobbies:  to . “For the vast maj to this day,” on peo holding ies. ple — been easy is industr in Northeaster “(McMa told to calm dow cturing “Making Money hon) manufa I have worked ority of people al and has n, to not chemic projects andn with and for, our orga rovement take nonprofit organiza an incredib ability to lead nization thin Levert) Gerald parta of Home-imp gs personally. gender has not been an issue. as we alecritical it is what’s hard.” (the latethos tionbeen nne has with a for-p When — “Maria But these issues that.keep phot enjoyed rofit approach a skill that e experiences “I always us from exist.” bein Bias is somethin will grow,” Gam- gardening serve thewrote happen, com experience the in thatga associatiEmily g she quashes the Nexus to visit: helping on and the munity local placethey typically invo Favorite  park as a dabble catches a whiff to very like mom would and well ent lve for she men said Jill of it. That may man and opYandala is past who s ystrategy years to com busines are of sunset Snitch,rMcM mean speaking struggling with and directo for other wom sunrise bill, pres at e, ” Park r ide Edgewate ahon up their director ’s counterpart exection. “In en in the field Alliance, a netw “I know what’s own insecuri nomina or just for hers for her utive ork when voices are in advice: the ties Best of  it’s Colu Nexus, at 120 like to be igno and their erations mbus Bar Associati elf tionally, talking over each chairs the board own red intenMcMahon said list: fear that someho belittled in the heralbucket n  Top oftion other.

Eastdoer posi 19%on.in annual “From ‘Workofhard, the ny grew parents: myman boardroom or key to w their 2019, compa authority will be the that 18 | CRAIN’S CLEV coping rem emeemb room mbeerr my plac with ages told bull cally boa park to ELAND BUSINESS over ies specifi world, or other detracto companyrdstores With around e,” McMahon a histthe | JUNE 29, 2020 ory of facing bull shadowed.”

“Her advocacy a major rs is holding youmileground. “I said. “I’ve Traveling andmyhit e hear revenu prisingtime g skill: throug Coast ies, it’s not surfather’s voice in revenu McM the nAmalfi onaho sur Conservanc e.r That  Surprisin spending said. “Hisof envision -plus inmy head,” she y on a nati million ed a career as a $20 ic line stone class ru was, ‘Don’t get mad be a littleona pub- Get “I may tennis. dala even by succeedi , Rebecca rs,. pro- TableYan also serves on team membe hired 55ng.new it ’ ” — Jerem year, P018_P019_CL_20 Cou nty average!” y Nobile above and Cleveland’s 200629.indd 18 and re- incredibly N politan Ministry moted 23 existing team members . — Micha incisafety day of zero

er ht lead a thoug rself as u o y n Positio eld.

K ist Kr s in n Warzzo occh ha a in your fi

Marianne Corrao

, Co-founder and executive vice president Nexus Engineering Group LLC

And More…

NOMINATION DEADLINE: APRIL 12 Rebecca McM

ahon

The Corrao file

The Singleton file

corded its 5,000th dents.” ’s radar until college. At Engineering was not on Corrao enjoyed math and science , she 6/25/2020 12:45: 19 PM Cuyahoga Heights High School major. As a freshman at try chemis a be would she t and though red the engineering curdiscove Cleveland State University, she ering was a better fit. riculum and found that chemical engine Program and landed ion She entered CSU’s Cooperative Educat Oil Co. downtown, where she a co-op position with the Standard Herzog. met her future business partner, Jeff careers, weren’t overrun with STEM Engineering, or any of the said it was still not unusual to women in the mid 1980s, but Corrao engineering departments at see handfuls of women in the various ce at that time was defiCleveland State. “The professional workpla place,” she added. out of felt never I but ed, ominat nitely male-d worked for Standard Corrao career, Over her more than 30-year gh Associates Inc. in CleveOil (BP) at its Lima Refinery, Middou g to Cleveland returnin before Texas, n, Housto land and Praxair in more women studying engito start Nexus. She noted there are the profession long-term. in last don’t they but today, neering ing engineers and said Corrao does her part to support upcom s. “Given my personal experibeing a mentor is one of her passion embraced being always have I me, on had it ence and the impact presents itself,” she said. “I a mentor whenever the opportunity at Nexus Engineering program ntern co-op/i a initiate to was eager year of having the program.”

Group and we are now in our fourth ering advisory boards at Corrao also serves on the engine Toledo. of ity Univers the and Cleveland State to keep the majority of She was happy to report being able -19 pandemic. “Our business Nexus employed during the COVID our original plan for think we but , continues to move forward clients have tightened their 2020 will be reined in a bit as our especially in third spend, project g deferrin budgets and are s will likely pick back up in quarter 2020. Our view is that busines

NOMINATE TODAY: CrainsCleveland.com/Nominate

PERSONAL VIEW

Small businesses play a huge part in economic growth

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

BY KANDIS WILLIAMS AND DANIELLE SYDNOR

EDITORIAL

Spend wisely T

he past year has been rough, but with the federal government’s help, it has not been as brutal on state and local governments’ finances as originally feared. No one who works on a municipal budget feels relaxed, but the doomsday scenario of plummeting tax receipts and massive service cuts hasn’t materialized.

Now, with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, city and state governments are in line to receive billions to assist in the rebuild from the pandemic’s economic damage. The money is allocated under the Community Development Block Grant formula, which means cities like Cleveland, with relatively higher levels of poverty and older housing stock, benefit more than other places. Cleveland will receive an estimated $541 million over two years, the most of any Ohio city. Akron is set to get about $153 million.

ARP opponents argued it was excessive, but the first portion of the money soon will be on the way. It sets a high bar. How, if you’re Cleveland, do you spend a fresh $541 million effectively?

“It’s like hitting the lottery or something,” Mayor Frank Jackson said during a recent virWITH THE $1.9 TRILLION tual town hall. “All of a sudden you’ve got relatives and AMERICAN RESCUE family members and friends that you never knew you PLAN, CITY AND STATE had before. There are a lot of GOVERNMENTS ARE IN people inquiring as to how they can help us spend LINE TO RECEIVE money.”

BILLIONS. The mayor offered few specifics for spending the money, but mentioned offering assistance to people who lost jobs; covering extra city costs (worker overtime, safety upgrades to buildings); helping small businesses and the hospitality and entertainment industries; and bolstering Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

As usual, Jackson is cautious. He’s right to be wary about everyone coming with a hand out. Still, we urge the administration to focus on big goals, not piecemeal investments.

A smart Brookings Institution piece co-authored by Brad Whitehead, senior adviser to the Fund for Our Economic Future, recommended a three-pronged approach for cities to use ARP funds: stabilize, strategize and organize. It sets a template for how

money can “move fast and be deployed smartly and equitably.”

On the final component of priorities — organizing — Whitehead and co-author Joseph Parilla write, “the most effective public officials know that deploying (ARP money) will require a team” and urge the creation of “regional recovery coordinating councils” to “execute strategic investments and monitor impact.” The councils “should be public/private partnerships that include small businesses, neighborhood leaders, social service agencies, philanthropic leaders and corporate heads.” They would be tasked with “setting goals, recommending investments and tracking results.”

That’s a good start for making sure ARP money isn’t wasted. One expert on budgetary and public financial issues, Professor Linda J. Bilmes of the Harvard Kennedy School, noted that studies show the economic multiplier for spending at the local level is 1.3 to 1.5 for every dollar spent — as long as it goes to “investments that generate a return,” in areas such as infrastructure and public health.

Targeted spending and rigorous oversight metrics will be key to spending the funds effectively.

Action!

W

ednesday, April 7, kicks of the 45th Cleveland International Film Festival — the second in a row that’s entirely online due to the pandemic.

This year was to have been CIFF’s debut with Playhouse Square as its home base. But the show must go on, and CIFF — known as CIFF45Streams — has been a leader among film festivals in crafting a smooth, expansive digital experience. There will be 116 feature films and 182 shorts available from April 7-20. The CIFF45 Streams Lobby, hosted on Discord, is an online gathering space for CIFF members to talk with one another and with filmmakers and staff. Using the Remo platform, CIFF will host a karaoke event and a film trivia night that are open to everyone.

Nobody wanted a second year of a virtual event. But there’s a lesson in resilience and creativity here. Festival organizers have done their best in tough circumstances to keep one of Cleveland’s most valuable cultural assets thriving. We wish them the best — and will see them at the theaters in 2022.

Executive Editor: Elizabeth McIntyre (emcintyre@crain.com) Managing Editor: Scott Suttell (ssuttell@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com

Normal is not good enough. We need to plan for growth, and small businesses play an integral role in Greater Cleveland’s economic prosperity.

They are local job creators. They are innovators of products Williams (left) is vice president of and technologies. economic opportunity for Cleveland And they strengthen Neighborhood Progress and Sydnor our economic com- is CEO and founder of We Win petitiveness and the Strategies Group. vibrancy of our neighborhoods.

However, data collected from Cuyahoga County’s Small Business Stabilization Fund revealed that 37% of firms believe they cannot survive if current economic conditions persist much longer. For minority- and women-owned businesses, the challenge is disproportionately higher. Blackowned businesses shared that they were more likely to rely on personal savings to survive. To advance our post-pandemic rebuilding efforts, we must support the hardest-hit businesses and the entrepreneur service providers who support them.

As practitioners in this field, 37% OF SMALL we want to offer two strategies to support small business re- BUSINESSES BELIEVE covery and growth efforts.

THEY CANNOT

SURVIVE IF CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS PERSIST MUCH LONGER.

Target flexible financial support

A McKinsey report revealed Black-owned businesses are overrepresented in the sectors most negatively affected by COVID-19. They are also 60% less likely to receive the financial support they need.

Yet Black-owned businesses are a consistent source of employment for Black workers and local investment. When their survival is at risk, there are serious ramifications: higher unemployment rates, lower tax revenues, plummeting homeownership rates and hollowed-out business districts.

That’s why the Cuyahoga County’s Small Business Stabilization Fund granted almost $8.7 million to small businesses that had fewer than 25 employees. Among other criteria, priority consideration was given to businesses that experienced 50% or greater revenue loss, industries hardest hit by the pandemic, and businesses located in low-to-moderate income areas. By targeting these grant resources, minority-owned businesses represented 59% of grant recipients.

If more funds become available, we should continue being intentional about targeting businesses needing the most help.

Ensure access to resources, technical assistance In addition to revenue loss, the pandemic has demanded shifts in operations that many small business owners were not prepared, or had the capacity, to take on. This includes revamping operations to meet health and social distancing standards and refocusing sales online.

See WILLIAMS/SYDNOR, on Page 17

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited. Send letters to Crain’s Cleveland Business, 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113, or by emailing ClevEdit@crain.com. Please include your complete name and city from which you are writing, and a telephone number for fact-checking purposes.

Sound off: Send a Personal View for the opinion page to emcintyre@crain.com. Please include a telephone number for verification purposes.

10 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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OPINION Industrial | Office | Retail | Land | Multifamily | Investment | Specialty Property Management | Facility Management | Construction

PERSONAL VIEW

‘Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?’ Leading teams gets assist from chat function

BY SCOTT ALLEN AND MARIA SORIANO YOUNG

can foster participation and quickly gather responses about a topic in real time. A few well-placed questions can promptly amass a wealth of data from the group: their perceptions, observations, opinions and expertise.

Here’s how we are using the chat.

“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of … Anyone? Anyone? … the Great Depression, passed the …

Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot SETTING THE TONE The chat is a fantastic Tariff Act? Which? Anyone?” opportunity to set the tone for the preAs you reflect on leading your sentation or meeting, especially if you team over the last year, we bet you have a lighthearted question ready for have felt, at some point, like Ferris participants to respond to as they sign in Bueller’s economics teacher. You and get ready for the session to begin. asked the team a question, and ...

Asking a question like, “What was your crickets. You repeat the question … first concert?,” “What’s the most intrigucrickets. You even try rephrasing ing show you’ve streamed in recent and repeating the question, and still months?,” or “What is a quote you live nothing. Even the over-sharers and by?” will give attendees a moment to endependable respondents seem to Allen is an associate professor of gage. We would suggest reading these be muted by the power of the online management at John Carroll meeting. It’s a fascinating dynamic. University, and Soriano Young is the contributions aloud to the group — and depending on your style, comment on We may not have the antidote, but writing center director and we perhaps have found a tool that coordinator of teaching for graduate some as they come through. Not only does that acknowledge participants’ alleviates some of the pain. assistants at John Carroll. contributions, but it also highlights reThat tool is the chat function. Just sponses for attendees who are on tablets like anything else, you need to measure your use of the chat. Balance is essential, and you or phones and cannot see or access the chat. People may don’t want to use the chat too often. However, requesting get a laugh, a tip or an insight from the group’s wisdom. responses in the chat box is an excellent way to jar participants out of a lull and back into the conversation. You See ALLEN/YOUNG on Page 17

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Specializing in Standing Seam Only

PERSONAL VIEW

Residents’ calls grow for public comment

BY NORA KELLEY

Nationally, Democrats are fighting unprecedented efforts to undermine democracy, battling voter suppression initiatives across the county. While locally, Democratic leaders of Cleveland City Council are ignoring, fighting or delaying broad-based calls to reform a number of council practices, most importantly allowing for a public comment period at committee and full council meetings.

Our grassroots group, Clevelanders for Council Reform, comprised of residents of all 17 wards, wrote a letter to Council President Kevin Kelley (no relation) on Jan. 29. Our letter called for five specific changes to democratize council, starting, most importantly, with the need for public comment.

To date — two months later — Kelley has not responded to our letter. However, a bevy of local elected officials and office seekers have endorsed our call for public comment. (Go to: cle4publiccomment.com.)

Five of the newer members on Cleveland City Council

have acknowledged the need for the change and are interested in introducing a public comment ordinance for consideration by council. Unfortunately, leadership and longer-serving members are obstructing the effort — saying things like “my research indicates it doesn’t work in other places” and “we need to research this” — despite being provided comKelley, a West prehensive research on public comPark resident, is ment in peer jurisdictions. active in Clevelanders for Council Reform Clevelanders for is part of a larger coalition — CleveCouncil Reform and Clevelanders landers for Public Comment — a group that recognizes the dearth of for Public dynamic, responsive leadership in Comment. this city and its catastrophic results.

Intense poverty and lack of opportunity plague our city.

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440.321.9434

See KELLEY on Page 17

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Lakeland supports proposed JOBS Act As a critical provider of job training for Northeast Ohio, Lakeland Community College offers a variety of short-term education programs leading to industry-recognized credentials and certificates. Our local employers need graduates with these skills who are job-ready and able to enter the workforce immediately.

Under current law, lower income students do not qualify to use federal Pell Grants for these shorter-term job training programs, which can be completed in less than 15 weeks. Lakeland serves many underserved and first-generation students seeking to learn skills to get a good-paying job and improve their lives.

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, have introduced a bipartisan bill that would make high-quality, shorter-term education and training

programs eligible for Pell Grants. The federal Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act, or JOBS Act, would expand Pell Grant eligibility and create affordable training for jobs that are in high demand.

This proposed legislation is absolutely timely for adults to access postsecondary education and training to reskill and re-enter the workforce following the pandemic.

The JOBS Act would benefit both local residents and employers, and I join other community colleges in urging Congress to pass this legislation.

Morris W. Beverage Jr. President Lakeland Community College APRIL 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 11

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DIGITAL MOVE

S

Pandemic prompts some firms to adjust their marketing strategies

LEGAL AFFAIRS

PAGE 14

M th

BY J

L Clev stud abo year & An F thes tion sum tial Ye grea unc wer deci men “Th sitio that “Or sinc rem

CHILLING OUT ON MARIJUANA? Ohio employers quietly grapple with workplace drug policies

“IT EXP LEA

—B Holl

GETTY IMAGES

get t D and dus sum virtu part ing for c tiati Sch typi opp ing A view have

BY JEREMY NOBILE

As laws and attitudes toward marijuana continue to shift, so are company policies for drug testing.

Even pre-pandemic, as the economy hummed along and employers from factories to hotels struggled to fill positions, drug testing for marijuana began to fall by the wayside in a bid to hire capable workers.

This happened as businesses increasingly found themselves turning away qualified applicants who had tested positive in pre-employment screens or failed periodic drug tests because of marijuana consumption, said Jay Medlock, director of compliance services with Safety Controls Technology in Middleburg Heights. The company is a provider of occupational safety and health services, including con-

sulting on workplace safety policies with clients and administering their drug screens.

“We heard people say, ‘We are not going to test because we need the help. We need the workers, and we’re not going to implement any rigorous pre-hire or post-accident policies,’” Medlock said. “It’s just a roadblock. A positive test means they either can’t hire, or they lose a good employee.”

Markets across the country in recent years have faced a comparable challenge, spurring employers to reconsider their stances on marijuana policies, whether state or local statutes protecting employees for marijuana use, medicinal or otherwise, require them to.

New Jersey, New York and West Virginia, for example, plus some 15 others, are among states with marijuana programs that also inhibit

“(EMPLOYERS) UNDERSTAND POLICIES AND ATTITUDES ARE SHIFTING, AND SOMETHING LIKE 70% OF THE PUBLIC WANTS MARIJUANA LEGALIZED.” — Chaz Billington, labor and employment lawyer, Vorys, Sater Seymour and Pease

employers’ actions with regard to hiring or firing qualified medical marijuana users specifically.

Ohio is not part of that group.

“I have some employers now toying around with dropping THC from their panel,” said Chaz Billington, a labor and employment lawyer with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. “They understand policies and attitudes are shifting, and something like 70% of the public wants marijuana legalized.”

According to the latest Gallup

polls, approximately 68% of U.S. adults back federal marijuana legalization. Adults are more likely today to support legalization than in any point in the past 50 years.

Billington said he has seen hiring pools “decimated” by the THC screens. One large manufacturer client estimated they would cull 30% of the people it looked to hire if they had to pass a marijuana drug test.

In conservative Ohio, where medical marijuana has been avail-

able for just more than two years, lobbyists fought to ensure businesses in the employment-at-will Buckeye State retained protections to fire or not hire employees for any federally illicit drug use. It did this as language was drafted for House Bill 523, which established the framework for Ohio’s medical marijuana program when signed by then-Gov. John Kasich in 2016.

“The Ohio Chamber wants employers to have the ability to make employment decisions based on medical marijuana use,” said Kevin Shimp, director of labor and legal affairs with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. “The employer should be able to implement zero-tolerance policy, drug-free workplaces if they feel it’s appropriate for the workforce.”

See MARIJUANA on Page 14

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, l s r d r d l d

e n n l f d s e

FOCUS | LEGAL AFFAIRS

Summer associate plans adapt to pandemic Most firms plan to return to full-length, though altered, programs in 2021

BY JUDY STRINGER

GETTY IMAGES

the process of doing so. Most plan to return to full-length — typically eight or 10-week — programs as well.

Last spring, Hailee Kepchar, a But, they said, with a significant Cleveland-Marshall College of Law portion of professional staff still student, was understandably “thrilled” working at home, it will be another about the prospect of starting her first year before these crucial attorney year as a summer associate at Roetzel feeder programs more closely re& Andress’ Cleveland office. semble their pre-pandemic form.

First-year law students who land “Right now, everybody is reevaluthese competitive, well-paid posiating their workplace methodolotions often saunter into second-year gies, in terms of this work-at-home summer internships with the potenoption and being careful not to force tial for a job offer. anyone to return until they feel comYet, Kepchar’s excitement was fortable. So I’m not sure this year will greatly tempered by COVID-wrought be radically different than 2020 [for uncertainty. Many of her peers summer associates],” said Brian weren’t getting offers as firms delayed Moore, shareholder-in-charge of Rodecisions. She heard summer placeetzel & Andress’ Akron office. ments being scrapped altogether.

“It should involve more face-to“Those of us who had summer poface interaction, and we all have sitions were very nervous and scared equipment that permits us to work that it wouldn’t work out,” she said. anywhere, so that won’t be any dif“Or that we would be fully remote ferent for them,” he said. “We’ll just since school at that point was fully have to work with the expectations, remote, and we might somehow not based on the conditions at the time.”

Brandi Weekley, a “IT WON’T BE A NORMAL partner at Taft StettinEXPERIENCE, BUT I THINK IT’LL BE AT ius & Hollister in Cleveland, agreed.

LEAST BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.” “It won’t be a normal — Brandi Weekley, partner, Taft Stettinius & experience, but I think Hollister, of the 2021 summer associates program it’ll be at least better than last year,” she said.

Moore, Weekley and their colget the full experience.” leagues said mentoring summer asDespite the pandemic, Roetzel sociates and ensuring they got a and many of its Northeast Ohio inglimpse into the organization’s culdustry peers managed to preserve ture was one of the biggest challengsummer associate programs in 2020, es in 2020. virtually or otherwise. Big firms, in While most law students hired at particular, moved forward, accordRoetzel & Andress locations in ing to Alisa O’Brien, assistant dean Cleveland and Akron were coming for career services and strategic iniinto the offices at least part time last tiatives at the University of Akron summer, those offices — like many School of Law. The programs were others — had “skeleton crews,” contypically shortened, she said, and sisting mostly of support staff, said opportunities for in-person mentorDoug Spiker, shareholder-in-charge ing and networking were limited. of Cleveland.

As for 2021, local executives inter“We had to be more intentional viewed in late March confirmed they about making those connections behave secured summer hires or are in

Retire your way Start with a plan

Andy Colón

Brian Moore

tween our attorneys and summers happen,” he said.

Weekley said impromptu opportunities to see a firm’s lawyers in action is one of the reasons these programs work.

“And it’s a lot easier when you’re just going down the hall to a deposition or some sort of negotiation, to just grab a summer and let them observe than when you’re remote and you have to think ahead and make sure they are invited to that Zoom meeting,” she said.

The lack of after-hour, in-person meetings and events also limited student exposure to attorneys and clients.

“We typically sponsor a lot of programs or do events to bring people together, whether it is after work or with members of a particular group.

And none of that happened,” said Andy Colón, chief talent officer of Cleveland-based Thompson Hine.

“We had to become very creative (to) make sure that we had not only a good learning experience for our summer associates, but also a meaningful opportunity to interact with professionals.”

Alisa O’Brien

Doug Spiker

Still, these legal professionals said the summer programs came off better than they expected under the circumstances. O’Brien was particularly impressed how hard firms worked to provide social contact opportunities for interns, such as virtual trivia nights, chocolate tastings and speed networking events.

“I’ve debriefed and received feedback from law firms and law students, and overall people had a really positive experience in 2020,” she said. “They were surprised that they were able to overcome some of those challenges of being virtual.”

One silver lining going into this summer, Colón noted, is that “everyone is a lot more comfortable,” not only that these programs can be valuable whether they are fully in-person, fully remote or something in between, but with virtual meeting platforms themselves. Even new law students, he said, have experience with online schooling preceding their upcoming summer appointments.

Moore said the pandemic and the uncertainty that accompanied it reinforced Roetzel’s move toward

Brandi Weekley

more tailored summer hiring decisions.

In the past, the firm often hired “the best people,” he said, no matter if their professional interest was transactional, for example, rather than litigation. More recently, it has focused on finding the best candidates based on projected talent needs.

“We really, really want to be able to hire (permanently) all of them if they perform at a level that we think hiring is warranted,” Moore said.

Kepchar, now a second year headed back to Roetzel this summer, thinks not having the ability to organically network with attorneys over lunch or at the water cooler forced her to be more proactive.

“It did at times take some reaching out, but I think that that is just being part of a good associate, regardless of COVID or if people are not around because things slow down,” Kepchar said. “You have to reach out to attorneys to make sure that you are busy and to diversifying your experience and exposure.”

Contact Judy Stringer: clbfreelancer@crain.com

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APRIL 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 13

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FOCUS | LEGAL AFFAIRS

A switch to digital efforts points to a hybrid marketing future Some firms will incorporate their pandemic pivot into ongoing strategies

MARIJUANA

From Page 12

Here, forgoing marijuana drug testing is a trend that quietly runs counter to decades of anti-drug messaging that set the tone for zero-tolerance policies.

But a policy that may still seem subversive today may very well become the standard of the future.

Just the fact that employers are increasingly questioning their stances on marijuana is a sign of the times.

For Medlock, conversations about just that were unheard of 10, even five years ago.

“I definitely think the tide is starting to shift,” Medlock said.

BY DOUGLAS J. GUTH

Times are changing

Law has never been at the bleeding edge of digital marketing, relying more on traditional efforts such as an in-person seminars, golf outings and client dinners. That’s not to say the industry is completely inexperienced in the online realm.

National firm Littler Mendelson, which has an office in Cleveland, previously leveraged electronic methods to support face-to-face programming.

“Digital marketing was a content delivery stream for us,” said Cheri Husney, Littler’s chief marketing and business development officer who’s based in Atlanta.

“If we hosted a seminar or something in person, we’d double down with that content flow through social or digital channels. We’d share quotes or speaker insights through Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.”

When the pandemic forced a larger pivot toward digital outreach industrywide, Littler hosted internal training sessions for attorneys unaccustomed to working with clients through a screen. Husney and her team — supporting the firm’s labor and employment focus — also posted interactive maps that allowed guests to view each state’s reopening plans.

Over the course of 2020, Littler harnessed employer surveys to determine the shape of future content, a change from the traditional article or white paper that touched on a particular subject.

“We saw a lot of questions dealing with COVID news, like will employers have to require vaccines of their employees,” Husney said. “We knew if we got people answers validated by facts, that would be something that resonated. To create content, the survey angle was the way to do it.”

For Littler and other Cleveland law offices, the ongoing virus crisis spurred creativity and the embrace

Multistate operators facing differing state or local rules related to marijuana are increasingly looking to develop uniform policies, said Ryan Neumeyer, a labor and employment attorney with McDonald Hopkins.

This may mean making the more lenient policy the company standard, as what works in Ohio may not legally apply elsewhere.

There’s also a growing sense of inevitability that marijuana will eventually be legalized, in which case discriminating against a current or prospective employee for using a legal substance outside work won’t fly.

A "green wave" this past fall saw six more states ratify recreational marijuana laws. Ohio might've joined them if a related referedum hadn't failed to make the ballot.

“I think the important thing is employers need to decide if they’re really going to do zero tolerance,” Neumeyer said. “In the future, that’s probably not going to be possible. So maybe is this something we want to explore now and get in front of the issue?”

Except for one business that chose to look the other way when a star employee tested positive for THC — meaning they either have to treat everyone else the same from now on or risk a discrimination lawsuit if they attempt to fire someone else for marijuana use — most of Neumeyer’s clients have opted to stick with familiar zero-tolerance policies.

But he suspects that will change over time.

There are always some exceptions.

In safety-critical positions in health care or ones involving dangerous, heavy machinery, drug screens inclusive of marijuana remain standard. Employers contracted for state work are required to drug test.

But in some cases, Medlock said, company positions on marijuana have boiled down to “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Others are grappling with whether to take a similar tact.

One small Cleveland manufacturer, which asked to remain anonymous, said it doesn’t do unnecessary random or pre-employment drug screens at all, but does provide training on identifying impaired people at work. Marijuana is just not anything they’re concerned about any more than alcohol: If a person is not getting high at work, they just don’t care.

“As long as it’s not affecting their workplace performance,” the CEO said, “if they want to get high at home on their own time, that’s their business.”

A shortcoming with this approach is there is not yet prevalent and reliable technology that shows if a person is high at a present time, like an

Participants take part in a Tucker Ellis workshop called “Consistently Interrupting Systemic Bias in the Workplace.” Top row, from left: Ndubisi Ezeolu, partner, Tucker Ellis; and Valissa Turner Howard, first assistant deputy inspector general and chief diversity officer, Agency of Inspector General, Cuyahoga County. Bottom row: Sanford Watson, partner, Tucker Ellis; and Marquettes Robinson, counsel for the electrical sector, Eaton.

Carrie Clark

Jeanne Hammerstrom

ment at Tucker Ellis. “Our front line is attorneys building relationships with potential clients, and what we’re doing (in marketing) is underscoring those efforts.”

The digital realm

In some respect, Tucker Ellis had prepared itself for a large-scale digital changeover even before last year. During 2019, the firm took a deep dive into its online strategy, implementing a new content relationship management system (CRM) to better direct how clients engaged with content. Detailed customer journey mapping helped staff parse interactions with clients while gaining insight into common pain points.

“We found that people wanted tai“WE WERE ABLE TO EXPOSE OUR lored communication that addressed ATTORNEYS TO HUNDREDS OF NEW their day-to-day conPEOPLE.” cerns,” Clark said.

“Like a pharmaceuti— Carrie Clark, director of marketing and cal client might want business development, Tucker Ellis industry-related topof a methodology not exactly topics rather than getting blasted to a of-mind in years past. The result general list. They wouldn’t want to was a fairly smooth — if occasionalweed through our topics that weren’t relevant to their day-to-day ly anxiety-inducing — online tranlife.” sition that will endure even when Tucker Ellis is also active on the pandemic recedes, firm officials LinkedIn and Twitter, while prosaid.

“We like thinking ahead. We ducing a podcast pondering litigaknow what works and what engages tion around autonomous vehicles clients,” said Carrie Clark, director and other news of the day. Already of marketing and business developahead of the curve on the digital

Cheri Husney

front, the firm increased distribution of client alerts by 162% when COVID-19 struck.

“On our CRM, we had a high delivery and engagement rate,” Clark said.

“We had segmented lists and got alerts to the right industry players.”

Moving in-person programming online served as a truer test of Tucker Ellis’ marketing flexibility. Its InHouse Counsel Summit, an annual event covering a wide range of subjects, moved to a webinar format in autumn 2020 for the first time in its seven-year existence.

Staff began preparing for this possibility in April, having never before hosted the event online.

Though a bit anxious about Zoom fatigue around seven hourlong presentations — covering crisis response, PPP loans and more — the event drew 300 new guests, an uptick from face-to-face programs that attracted about 140 people annually. So good was attendance for the event’s first round, the firm decided to do a second series for a total of 13 sessions.

“We were able to expose our attorneys to hundreds of new people,” Clark said. “So right there that’s something our team wouldn’t have thought possible when we had 140 people showing up.”

Hybrid for 2021 As firms nationwide refined attorney social media profiles and Zoom gatherings, Cleveland-based

Benesch amplified online content through its website and an electronic mailing list.

Meanwhile, Benesch utilized video conferencing to redeploy live entertainment and educational events. B-Sharp, a platform for women corporate counsel, ballooned from 20 guests to nearly 300 following the move online.

Although advertising spend remained at pre-pandemic levels, Benesch’s nine-person marketing crew moved quickly to improve online outreach, chief marketing officer Jeanne Hammerstrom said.

“My team worked harder and faster than they’ve ever had to,” Hammerstrom said. “I think we were a little scared at first — probably me more than anyone. I like that print in my hands, but I learned that digital is just as effective. And we can take that online content and repurpose it into a virtual education event like B-Sharp.”

The pandemic may not have revolutionized how law offices reach the public, but it’s likely that most firms won’t completely return to traditional marketing means in 2021 and beyond.

For Hammerstrom, digital innovation can be part of the mix in disseminating industry-critical information.

“We learned how to use technology better,” she said. “Face-to-face relationships are our business, but we’ll work with clients to make them comfortable.”

If virtual conferences, webinars and video happy hours are here to stay, it’s essential for the industry to keep evolving, said Clark of Tucker Ellis.

“There was lots of nervousness about moving our summit online,” she said. “We weren’t sure we could pull off an online web series without IT crashing. But we’re wired now as a firm to take chances.”

Contact Douglas J. Guth: clbfreelancer@crain.com

14 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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“THE IMPORTANT THING IS EMPLOYERS NEED TO DECIDE IF THEY’RE REALLY GOING TO DO ZERO TOLERANCE. IN THE FUTURE, THAT’S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE.”

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alcohol breathalyzer but for marijuana. THC is tested through urine and hair follicle tests, which show only metabolic traces that could’ve come from off-the-clock medications or activities.

This very reason is both a motivation for some employers to move past

marijuana tests in the workplace, as well as a reason for staying conservative and keeping those tests and surrounding policies in place, Neumeyer said.

Insurance plays only a marginal factor. Employers might receive discounts on general liability policies

for how they conduct drug screens or for having training on identifying impairment at work.

A drug-free workplace policy, which includes a training component, can secure a 4% discount on Bureau of Workers’ Compensation premiums, Medlock said. But to

THE

LAND SCAPE

many, that isn’t enough to care about, especially if an employer is scrambling to fill jobs to meet demand.

Companies that have abandoned marijuana drug tests are reticent to discuss these seemingly progressive workplace drug policies due to concerns with stigmas and how that might be received by the public.

There’s much fear surrounding the idea of being branded as the “pothead employer.” The anonymous Cleveland CEO expressed this.

While there remains skepticism in some crowds about the medicinal benefits of marijuana in particular or legalization's effects on society, as NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) is keen to point out, there are growing levels of peer-reviewed studies that find off-the-job cannabis use is not associated with elevated risk of occupational injuries or accidents.

A 2019 study by Charles Koch-founded libertarian think tank the Cato Institute found there to be no adverse consequences to states with some form of legalized marijuana in line with "dire predictions

CO M

made by some legalization opponents."

Naturally, as an advocacy group, NORML suggests that off-the-wjob marijuana use should be of zero concern to employers and that marijuana policies should largely mirror those related to alcohol use: Just don’t do it on the clock and come to work impaired.

“If Ohio employers want to be able to say they are serious about attracting talent for 21st-century businesses,” said Cleveland-based NORML political director Justin Strekal, “they should not have employment policies rooted in reefer madness of the 20th century.”

Progressive approaches to marijuana in the workplace may actually act as a recruiting tool, advocates say.

“Nationwide, the tide is changing,” Strekal said. “And here in Ohio, it has yet to be determined which employers will have a first-mover advantage as being able to portray themselves as a tolerant workplace that respects their employees’ private lives.”

Jeremy Nobile: jnobile@crain.com, (216) 771-5362, @JeremyNobilew0

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FORD

nonprofit organization that serves as JobsOhio’s Northeast Ohio arm, declined to discuss the Ford deals.

Walton Hills, where the idled stamping plant fronts on Alexander and Northfield roads, proffers job-creation grants for new and expanding companies. So does Brook Park, where new commercial and industrial projects also qualify for 15 years of 100% property tax abatement under a decades-old program.

“We’re certainly going to work with them,” Brook Park Mayor Michael Gammella said of the developers.

“We’re very pro-business in Brook Park. … Obviously, jobs is the name of the game. That’s my biggest priority: getting quality, good-paying jobs for people.”

Vince Adamus, vice president of real estate and business growth services for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, expects the Ford sites to attract strong interest from potential tenants in a tight industrial market. A former Brook Park economic development commissioner, he’s thrilled to see a plan emerge for the darkened engine plant and adjacent land where a Ford casting plant once stood.

“God bless them, it took them long enough to get there, but Ford really wanted to sell to an entity, a group, that did the right thing,” Adamus said.

Real estate broker Howard Lichtig, who marketed the sites for Ford with colleague Michael Toth, was reluctant to discuss the transaction or talk about the buyers.

“It’s not my story to tell,” said Lichtig, a vice president at the CBRE Group Inc. brokerage in Cleveland.

But, he added, “my only regret is that I could only sell each building once. … There’s a ton of demand for these facilities not just in our market but across the country.”

From Page 1

The buyers won’t say what they’re paying. Neither would Timothy Fissinger, the chief financial officer and director of global real estate for Ford Land, the automotive giant’s real estate arm.

“As you can imagine, our idle facilities have a lot of historical significance for Ford and the communities that they operated in,” Fissinger said.

“We’re really interested in seeing that these properties are redeveloped into productive projects.”

Ford fielded dozens of offers on both properties over the last three years. Weston, Scannell and DiGeronimo each pursued one or both of the plants on their own before joining forces.

“I feel like any big development company has looked at trying to take a run at these, over time,” said Tim Elam, a managing director at Scannell, based in Indianapolis.

Scannell brings a national profile, and connections, to the joint venture.

The DiGeronimo family, with a foundation in construction, demolition and environmental work, has been expanding its development business.

Weston, another family-owned company based in Warrensville Heights, owns 22 million square feet of industrial real estate and has longstanding relationships with tenants and local government officials.

“We like Weston a lot because they are a local, Ohio developer,” Fissinger said, adding that some of the most successful revivals of Ford sites have involved hometown buyers.

“The biggest piece … is just making sure we find the right developer who can work with the local community and actually deliver on their development vision,” he added.

T.J. Asher, Weston’s president of ac-

WILLIAMS/SYDNOR From Page 10 To solve these and other challenges, small businesses rely on entrepreneur service providers, which exist to help small businesses thrive. They provide technical assistance to strengthen business operations. They connect businesses with resources

KELLEY

From Page 11

Not surprisingly, in the last presidential election, voter turnout in Cleveland was 53% of registered voters. It was a paltry 12.5% in the last mayoral primary. However, that ignores the disengagement and alienation of the poorest wards in Cleveland, where voter turnout has been historically low for a presidential cycle. Stopping this death spiral of despair calls for leadership that encourages civic participation. Leadership that inspires hope by listening to its residents.

Allowing the public to speak unfiltered to all council members at the same time (with administration officials typically also in attendance) is a threat only to a council member who does not want to be held accountable.

It will put on the public record concerns and suggestions that, absent public comment, might only exist privately — in someone’s mind or an email or letter or phone call to a council member or administration official.

Our proposals have been met with a cool reception from council leaders.

Weston Inc., the DiGeronimo Cos. and Scannell Properties each pursued one or both of the Ford plants before joining forces for a proposed redevelopment of the properties in Brook Park (pictured) and Walton Hills. | MICHELLE JARBOE

quisitions and development, said the joint venture to acquire and remake the Ford sites is an equal partnership between the three companies.

Tenants ultimately will drive the balance between new construction and renovations at both properties.

In Brook Park, it’s possible the developers will preserve much of the old engine plant, particularly the modern, high-ceilinged space at the eastern end of the complex, Asher said. But if the site is cleared, it could support 12 to 15 new buildings, Elam said. The ultimate footprint is likely to exceed 3 million square feet, aimed at tenants in distribution and logistics, light manufacturing, research and development and other industries.

The Walton Hills project could yield roughly 1.5 million square feet, based on preliminary master plans.

“We’re just super excited. And we

hope that we can bring a good business park setting that attracts some great American companies that want to come in and establish either headquarters operations or big manufacturing footprints,” Elam said.

In Twinsburg, Scannell and the DiGeronimos acquired a former Chrysler stamping plant in 2011 and ultimately razed the manufacturing complex. The 167-acre property now is a distribution-heavy business park, home to tenants including Amazon and FedEx. Construction just started on the final speculative building at the project.

Reimagining the Ford properties also might take a decade, Elam said.

If the developers are able to secure financial incentives to assist with demolition, site work and infrastructure improvements, that timeline might be much shorter, particularly

in Brook Park, DiGeronimo said. That property, at 18300 Snow Road, sits east of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, with highway and rail access.

“We’ve all agreed that this is the best industrial land in Ohio. ... That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a bunch of costs,” he said. “We have a ton of investment we need to put into it to get it ready.”

Asher confirmed that the partners have reached out to public officials and JobsOhio, the statewide, private economic development corporation, about incentives. But they haven’t made any formal requests, he said.

JobsOhio offers loans and grants aimed at revitalizing underused land, creating construction-ready sites and supporting speculative development that will make the state more attractive to companies and site selectors. A spokeswoman for Team NEO, the

that meet their needs. And they are uniquely qualified to help minority and women-owned businesses address the issues they face that complicate and compound other challenges.

However, many of these organizations are underfunded and lack capacity to handle the increased demand for their services. Now more than ever, they need support from

foundations, corporate partners, local governments and other funders who understand their mission and depend on their impact.

The road to growth will be long, but we must plan for it now. Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly are already showing leadership by proposing to unify the state’s minority business operations in one department and by investing

additional resources in loans for minority- and women-owned businesses. These are great proposals, and there’s more we can do. From technology and broadband affordability to the need for flexible capital with more lenient underwriting standards, there are many opportunities to help and empower small businesses.

Let’s make this the moment we in-

It’s not surprising that council leaders are committed to defending the status quo of the static institution they run.

In the past, they could weather individuals here or there who became discouraged with the silence and slow-walking of efforts to address the city’s most pressing challenges, from the lead crisis to the minimum wage to economic development priorities.

This time it is different. Residents no longer accept a council leadership that is uninterested in addressing resident concerns and policy priorities.

As the great Cleveland progressive mayor (1901-1909) Tom Johnson wrote in “My Story,” his biography: “Nothing is so deadly as inertia. The greatest obstacle to overcome in any fight in which fundamental moral issues are involved is not opposition, but indifference.” It is the job of all of us to restore civic engagement, hope and a sense of common purpose to Cleveland. To battle despair and a sense of futility knowing that nothing is more terrifying to unresponsive politicians than people united.

Residents speaking directly to their elected officials as a group is a first step in this accountability project.

ALLEN/YOUNG

From Page 11

THE TASK AND ASK: HEY CARL— SAY MORE! We may need to be a little more directive when leading online, like a conductor of an orchestra who prompts a group of musicians into action.

One professional we interviewed for our book, “Captovation: Online Presentations by Design,” shared that they are more assertive when leading online meetings than in person; we would agree that our teaching styles have shifted a bit with our online classes as well.

When leading sessions online, you can explore a wealth of ideas quickly and then focus those that warrant a little more discussion.

However, you often have to tell instead of ask when you want people to respond. Simply ask a well-designed question and then begin scrolling through and reacting to the feedback. Some ideas may be humorous, others may be wonderfully insightful, and some may need clarification. That’s when

Michelle Jarboe: michelle.jarboe@ crain.com, (216) 771-5437, @mjarboe vest in small businesses. Let’s intentionally invest in the minority- and women-owned businesses who experience the greatest barriers to viability yet carry the biggest burden of creating economic stimulus for their communities. They are our job creators, our innovators and our neighbors.

It is time to bet BIG on small business.

we will say something like: “That’s intriguing — would you unmute and say a little more?” One hundred percent of the time, they will jump in and share. In response, we may ask other participants to react to the individual’s statement by voting with a thumbs-up “reaction” to gauge the group’s energy.

ENCOURAGE REAL-TIME CHATTING A concrete way to maintain engagement is to encourage the team to chat in real time. This approach allows participants to respond to comments, share their own ideas or contribute in other meaningful ways. While this may be a new and different approach, it fuels involvement. As the leader, if you have a “co-pilot” observing the conversation and feeding you thoughts, comments and observations every so often, you will maintain engagement and foster an environment where people feel they can contribute as ideas, thoughts and questions come to mind.

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: CLOSING OUT se chat to end a meeting on a high.

U

Simply saying “OK, see you next Wednesday” is not motivational.

Ask a quick question like, “Who deserves to be acknowledged for their great work this week?” or “What’s something you’re excited about based on what we have discussed?”

These questions leave attendees feeling positive or upbeat instead of feeling like the session was just part of the “routine.” Another simple prompt is, “Please share a oneword reflection in the chat as we wind down the meeting.” It’s often inspiring to see the words that people choose.

Leading meetings, workshops and presentations online means we cannot rely on the same engagement methods that we did before; facilitating that engagement is perhaps one of the most critical topics for discussion. We encourage you to experiment and explore. While we have a different “how,” the “what” when it comes to delivering engaging presentations remains the same — designing and delivering a meeting or workshop experience that is productive, engaging and maybe even a little fun.

April 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 17

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4/2/2021 3:54:42 PM

NOMINATIONS NOMINATION DEADLINE:

MAY 10

This year’s Excellence in HR Awards are designed to honor and highlight the full scope of work done by NEO’s HR professionals, from companies large and small, and from all sectors, including the nonprofit realm. We’re in search of stories of innovation and creativity to celebrate, and case studies from which we all can learn

NOMINATION CATEGORIES:  OVERALL EXCELLENCE – HR EXECUTIVE/TEAM OF THE YEAR  RISING STAR  “ACCIDENTAL” HR LEADER  EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY AWARD  DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUITY AWARD

Winners will be announced in our Aug. 2 issue.

CrainsCleveland.com/Nominate

DIGITAL DIVIDE

texts, and then followed up a day later with a phone call to those who didn’t respond. It was a campaign that was taxing on the system’s resources, said Dr. Michelle Medina, associate chief of clinical operations for Cleveland Clinic community care who is serving as one of the physician leaders for vaccine rollout.

From Page 1

The health care providers, departments and organizations leading the charge to get the community vaccinated don’t have expertise or direct experience in mass vaccination. The process has involved a lot of learning and adjusting on the fly to fill gaps when they were recognized.

The digital divide has become a significant gap in the vaccine rollout.

It’s also a problem others in the community have been pushing to address for years prior to the pandemic, which has exacerbated the disparities in technology access and literacy, as well as given it heightened attention.

Amy Sheon, a digital health equity consultant, has spent eight years urging health systems to be concerned about disparities in their ability to digitally engage with patients. Early last fall, she saw a shift.

“All of the sudden, the health systems that I have been kind of banging on their doors for eight years started calling me,” she said.

After almost a decade directing the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative, she shifted her focus full time to her consulting firm, Public Health Innovators.

Sheon saw an opportunity to make an impact on digital engagement and the health of underserved populations, after years of difficulty gaining attention and traction on the issue.

“People who have been digitally connected 24/7 for five or 10 years cannot fathom themselves living without 24/7 connectivity, and therefore they cannot even envision that everyone else doesn’t have it as well,” she said.

Sheon sees three groups of people being impacted by the digital divide: rural populations with an infrastructure barrier to getting the internet; people with cognitive or physical challenges with adopting the internet; and poor people who cannot afford the internet or live in urban underserved areas where affordable high-speed internet isn’t available.

“The internet service providers have discriminated and not brought high-speed broadband to core urban areas,” Sheon said.

MetroHealth has been doing outreach online, in-person for those walking into the clinic, and via the phone, which has been a huge part of the system’s equity efforts, said Dr. Dave Margolius, division director of general internal medicine at MetroHealth.

“From the beginning, we recognized right away that just given Cleveland’s legacy with redlining, that there are huge swaths of city,

Using ‘every mechanism’

Cleveland Clinic has utilized the Langston Hughes Health and Education Center in Cleveland as a community-based vaccination clinic. | CLEVELAND CLINIC

Dr. Michelle Medina

Dr. Robyn Strosaker

Dr. Dave Margolius

particularly where our patients live, that don’t have access to high-speed internet,” he said. “And so the phone has been a big part of our approach.”

who chairs the digital divide coalition and has been working on this issue for five years. On top of the digital literacy and access barriers, challenges often are compounded by a language barrier, she said.

The current patchwork of ways patients can schedule their vaccinations is not a good system and involves a lot of community leaders and organizations filling gaps, Rivera said, adding that she applauds the work of the nonprofit organizations helping to Band-Aid the system.

“It really is local community organizations, churches, health departments really just trying to do a grassroots effort and really scraping and clawing to figure out how do we get this information out?” Rivera said.

One of these stop gaps is a duo who’s been dubbed the Vaccine Queens. Stacey Bene and Marla

Zwinggi began their efforts separately by each helping their family members and friends — and then friends of friends — navigate vaccine scheduling. Eventually the two were connected and have been spending they estimate 10 to 12 hours a day helping strangers get appointments for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Someone reaching them is usually at their wits’ end, having tried unsuccessfully for days to get booked.

“I have the privilege of time, for sure,” Zwinggi said. “I don’t expect people to do this. People who work in the service industry, they work long hours, it’s not fair to them. Stacey always says if not us, then who is going to do it? We can do it.”

In the initial weeks of the vaccine rollout, Cleveland Clinic sent patients notices through the system’s patient portal, MyChart, as well as emails and

Grassroots effort MetroHealth has been doing targeted phone outreach in neighborhoods it knows have the lowest likelihood of reliable internet access, he said. Also to help determine where to focus outreach, the health system monitors a map that tracks the percentage of patients in particular neighborhoods who are vaccinated, as well as other demographics, to see what populations might be falling behind.

The digital divide disproportionately affects communities of color, said Maggie Rivera, a member of the board for the Hispanic Roundtable

As the eligible population expanded, the Clinic needed to simplify the process, while ensuring there’s a doorway for every patient who wanted to get vaccinated, Medina said.

People can connect via MyChart, a web portal or via phone to help those who don’t have smartphones or access to the internet.

“We will continue to encourage folks to sign up for MyChart — not just because of the vaccine campaign, but really and truly, it’s access to your entire interaction with the medical system,” Medina said, adding that the Clinic wants to facilitate that in any way it can moving forward.

Sheon identifies several tactics and campaigns that could help reach those not digitally connected. For instance, providers with patient portals could have messaged to systematically ask every patient the provider is connected with whether they have any seniors in their family or that they take care of who need a vaccine.

Could that patient be a proxy to setting up a portal and getting the vaccine for that family member?

Another option, Sheon said, could be to partner organizations that already engage with seniors to add vaccine information into any current messaging — for instance, working with utility companies to add messages to bills.

“Everybody should use every mechanism that already exists; we don’t need to set up new mechanisms,” Sheon said, but she hasn’t seen these approaches used systematically.

Rivera believes Cleveland actually had a head start compared to some cities in managing the digital divide, thanks to the work of various community partners and organizations, such as DigitalC’s efforts to build the infrastructure to provide internet service to certain Cleveland neighborhoods.

Still, the problem is one that will take a lot of time and effort to solve.

And for now, leaders are often left to very old-school, traditional ways of distributing information, Rivera said.

“It’s kind of like we’re using horse and buggies while the rest of the world is in a Lamborghini,” Rivera said.

Lydia Coutré: lcoutre@crain.com, (216) 771-5479, @LydiaCoutre

Vaccine doses in Cuyahoga County As the stream of vaccine supply continues to grow, providers in Cuyahoga County have been administering more vaccines each week.

Vaccines administered in Cuyahoga County for each week ending date

Vaccine started

Vaccine completed

70,000

60,700

60,000 50,000 40,000

27,984

30,000 20,000 10,000 0

Dec. 20

Dec. 27

Jan. 3

Jan. 10

Jan. 17

Jan. 24

Jan. 31

Feb. 7

Feb. 14

Feb. 21

NOTE: VACCINE STARTED INDICATES THAT AN INDIVIDUAL HAS RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE VALID DOSE. VACCINE COMPLETED INDICATES THAT AN INDIVIDUAL HAS RECEIVED ALL RECOMMENDED COVID-19 DOSES.

Feb. 28

March 7

March 14

March 21

March 28

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS GRAPHIC

April 5, 2021 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 19

AKRON ENTREPRENEURSHIP

I-Corps prepares entrepreneurs to fill needs in the market Program forces businesses to find out what customers want

BY DAN SHINGLER

Akron continues to get support for its startups from a federal program many people have probably never heard of: the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program, better known to participants as simply I-Corps.

It’s been a sort of boot camp for entrepreneurs affiliated with the University of Akron and Kent State University for nearly eight years.

“We’re able to accommodate about 25 companies per cohort, and we run three cohorts a year,” said local I-Corps instructor Elyse Ball, who is also assistant counsel and project manager at the University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF), which coordinates I-Corps in the region.

Rosenbaum A spring cohort of 24 companies began in March, Ball said, but sign-ups for the next round extend through May 22.

The program might not be what some would expect. While the National Science Foundation (NSF) is all about spurring innovation, I-Corps doesn’t focus on getting scientists or other inventors to think about new technologies, or even what new products they want to make from their existing work. Instead, it focuses on participants’ potential customers and forces program members to engage with them by the hundreds. It’s about making sure entrepreneurs make a product the market wants, even if that’s not what the entrepreneur or inventor initially envisioned.

Think of it as inverse marketing: Instead of creating a perceived need for a product, it’s about finding a need and meeting it.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Ball said.

“The training is all about customer discovery. It’s about talking to customers about, ‘Am I solving a problem for customers?’ and ‘Am I producing something of value to them?’ ” said Ball, who’s been coordinating the program with UARF, University of Akron faculty and others since it came to Akron in 2013.

The process worked for S4 Mobile Laboratories, a company based in Akron’s Bounce Innovation Hub that’s using technology from UA researchers. S4 makes a system that detects chemicals in soil with a probe that bounces light off the soil and then uses a spectrometer to analyze the light that’s reflected back.

One of the things it does is identify human remains in the ground, even if they’ve been there for centuries. It does that by detecting salts left behind when a body decomposes, said S4 CEO Chris Matney.

Matney thought it would be useful with developers seeking to avoid things such as Native American burial sites. But he said he found that many developers only wanted to test places they knew were clean and didn’t really have an interest in finding remains that would slow a project, he said.

“We said, ‘We don’t’ want to walk down that path. We want people who actually want to find things,’ ” Matney said.

Not wanting to make a similar mistake again, Matney said he and his staff went through I-Corps twice, once in Portland as part of a national program in 2019 and again in 2020 via

UARF’s program.

It helped S4 to pivot with its forensic product, Matney said, and the company now is having better luck marketing it to law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Defense Department. He said he’s now negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the DOD to deploy the technology.

I-Corps also helped S4 validate a whole new use for its technology.

Matney said the company found that there’s a need in the market to quickly measure carbon in the soil at a low cost, both to tell farmers whether they need to add fertilizer and for environmentalists working on carbon sequestration to fight climate change.

“Every farmer, every co-op and every environmentalist is going to want to know this,” he said, with an opinion based in part on his I-Corps experience.

It wasn’t easy though, said Matney, who describes I-Corps as an “intense” program in which instructors push participants hard and demand that they talk to as many as 200 customers.

Before the pandemic, the program demanded that all of those meetings took place in person, too, he said.

“Voices were raised — it can be a baptism of fire,” Matney said with a slight chuckle.

Matney said he doesn’t drive his people as hard as the I-Corps instructors did. He believes in more of a work-life balance than they sometimes advocate, he said. But he said the program has been a boon for his company.

“It’s helped all the way through product development, because we come in with a preconceived notion of what we think is important and the customer, very quickly, tells us, ‘That’s

Elyse Ball leads a pre-pandemic class at an I-Corps session in Akron. | CONTRIBUTED

not what’s important to me,’ ” Matney said. “So, the ability to design the product has fundamentally changed because we know what they’re trying to do.”

It’s a selling point when he presents to potential investors, too, he said.

“The investors are interested in knowing that you’ve thought through everything and you understand what you don’t know,” Matney said. “Showing them that we’ve gone through the I-Corps program and talked to 180 customers makes a big difference.”

Ball and others want to bring that same help to other startups, and she said the program has continued to expand ever since it started in Akron.

The program has already expanded to cover most of northern Ohio, with participation by nearly all of the area’s universities — the University of Toledo joined in 2020 — as well as working with Akron's Bounce Innovation Hub, the Youngstown Business Incubator, JumpStart and other organizations that support area entrepreneurs.

“It was started to focus on University (of Akron) research. It expanded to include all universities in Northeast Ohio and now all universities in northern Ohio,” said Barry Rosenbaum, a senior fellow at the UARF. Since COVID struck, the program has gone virtual but has retained its

value, he said.

The program provides participants with some funding to cover expenses, and everyone in the program gets at least $500, and sometimes up to $2,500, thanks to support from the NSF and Hudson’s Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Ball said.

At least three graduates of the local program have raised $1 million or more in startup capital since participating, Ball said. Others have won grants totaling $5.3 million from the NSF. “We know of at least 13 of our graduates that have received” NSF funding, Ball said.

So far, 317 teams have gone through the local program, and the University of Akron, Kent State, the University of Cincinnati and Bowling Green State University all have at least one team signed up for the current spring program, Ball said.

If all goes well, I-Corps will soon return to its pre-COVID home at Bounce, where it held its local classes before the pandemic. In any event, local supporters of I-Corps say it’s bound to keep growing in Akron.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Rosenbaum said. “Satisfying customers is a good thing.”

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler

MANUFACTURING

Strong foam insulation market spurs growth, move for SprayWorks

BY JUDY STRINGER

When COVID put a major kink in supply chains last year, the team at SprayWorks Equipment Group did what they do best, according to marketing director Jennifer Hristovski.

“We started manufacturing some of the pieces we needed ourselves,” she said.

SprayWorks assembles and sells equipment for the application of spray foam insulation and other polyurethane coatings used widely in residential, industrial and infrastructure construction. It also provides training, technical assistance and maintenance to spray foam contractors and companies.

Late last month, the growing business moved from a 10,000-square-foot Canton facility to a 28,000-square-foot building in Kent, providing more space for in-house fabrication, Hristovski said, along with a dedicated training classroom, a ventilated “spray room” and larger bay areas for assembling, maintaining and showcasing its porta-

“THIS MARCH ALONE WAS OUR BEST MONTH IN THE COMPANY’S HISTORY.” — Jennifer Hristovski, marketing director, SprayWorks

ble and mobile spray rigs.

Deborah Davidson, who launched SprayWorks in 2008 with her husband, Jim, said calling upon creativity and craftsmanship to make hardto-come-by parts during the pandemic was natural given Jim’s inventiveness and deep roots in the field. Jim’s dad, Dave Davidson, she said, recognized the future value of polyurethane foam for roofing and insulation back in the 1960s, becoming one of the country’s first spray foam contactors and equipment distributors in the country.

“Jim has been on roofs since he was 12 years old, working with his dad when he was just a kid,” Deborah Davidson said.

Jim Davidson himself has designed

spray foam equipment and has two patents, including one for an automated “spraybot.”

“Instead of manually spraying a surface with somebody holding the hose and hopefully trying to get the right thickness down,” Deborah Davidson explained, “his machine does it for you, with the perfect amount of uniform thickness.”

SprayWorks has 18 employees; five of them were hired in the past year. The executives said revenue is in the $4 million to $5 million range and has grown consistently year over year.

“The past year was a bit challenging, I think, for everybody. But despite that we’ve definitely seen a lot of growth,” Hristovski said. “This March alone was our best month in the company’s history.”

Hristovski credits much of SprayWorks’ growth to the escalating popularity of spray foam insulation. Spray foam is a better insulator than traditional materials like fiberglass, she said, increasing the energy efficiency of homes and commercial buildings.

“It is a lot of the residential contractors, for example, that are already doing fiberglass insulation work for homeowners and are also introducing spray foam, and the demand is becoming higher for open and closed cell spray foam because it has a longer lifespan and higher R-value,” she said.

(R-value is the measure of thermal resistance.)

Dallas-based market research Lucintel projects the global spray foam insulation market will reclaim its pre-pandemic annual growth rates of 5% to 7% in 2021 and reach an estimated $2.1 billion by 2025. The report authors cite “a focus on energy conservation and sustainable building practices” as a major driver of the rebound.

Deborah Davidson said SprayWorks’ customers range from sole proprietors getting a start in the spray foam business to large companies bringing those capabilities in-house.

“We’ve built rigs for SpaceX and worked with NASA and the military,” she said. “We have one customer

we’ve built eight rigs for. He just keeps growing and upgrading and replacing his equipment.”

Along with insulating buildings, the company’s equipment is used to apply protective coatings on bridges, roads, rail infrastructure and pipelines and in a variety of manufacturing spray applications.

Hristovski thinks the expanded training and testing capabilities at the Kent location are key to continuing the company’s growth as it partners not only with contractors using the equipment, but manufacturing companies looking to optimize applications of foams and coatings that are integral to their products and markets.

“In the previous building, we were mostly doing training for residential spray foam companies,” she said. “The spray room in particular will allow us to expand that and leverage our expertise to explore some new research and training opportunities.”

Contact Judy Stringer: clbfreelancer@crain.com

20 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | April 5, 2021

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4/2/2021 2:27:54 PM

AKRON REAL ESTATE

Good Park housing development plans fall groundbreaking $20 million project secures financing, plans a mix of townhouses and single-family homes

BY DAN SHINGLER

bring in a builder for single-family homes, Fuller said.

“All of the infrastructure is being put in at one time, and we’ll coordinate that using city lending resources. Then we’ll do the middle section and sell the lots,” Fuller said.

The project, which city officials have generally applauded and say will help Akron meet Mayor Dan Horrigan’s objective of increasing population, only has been waiting for financing to be completed.

“We’ve got a lot of the preliminary engineering and architectural work done, but we were holding off on doing more until we had the financing in place,” Fuller said. “We will release the architects (Cleveland-based City Architecture) and engineers to do the infrastructure work soon. That’s the next phase.”

Alpha Phi Alpha has not settled on which builder or builders it will use, but Fuller said it plans to hire a builder for the townhouses, enter into a partnership with a homebuilder for the central lots, and then numerous home builders will likely build the custom homes.

“We’ve talked to a lot of them, and they’re very “WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE anxious to participate in PRIVATE FINANCING. I BELIEVE the program,” Fuller said.

While some townhoTHAT’S BEHIND US NOW.” mes are expected to be — Tom Fuller, executive director, available next year, the Alpha Phi Alpha Homes entire project could take up to five years to build are to be built behind those, between out, Fuller said. Though it will likely Mull Avenue and Good Park Golf happen faster if homes in the project Course. And then 25 lots will be sold to sell quickly, he said.

While that might have been wishhomebuilders for custom homes along the golf course, Fuller said. ful thinking even when planning for Prices are expected to range from this project began, it’s certainly not about $195,000 for some of the town- now, say those involved with the homes to $279,000 for single-family project and residential real estate. homes in the interior of the develop- That’s because there’s a severe shortment. Custom homes will be priced age of houses on the market, which has caused Akron’s residential maras built, Fuller said.

Alpha Phi Alpha will build the town- ket, like others in the area, to heat up.

“It’s been described as hot, actually,” homes first as it works on infrastructure for the rest of the site, Fuller said. The said Fuller, who said he’s seen ample city, which has agreed to sell the com- evidence of that in his own neighborpany the land for $1 once private con- hood of Highland Square. “They’re takstruction financing is in place, will fi- ing some of the infill lots and putting nance much of the infrastructure via a new homes in there. A lot of the interest loan and work with Alpha Phi Alpha to is because of the tax abatement — that’s In the midst of a red-hot market for residential real estate, another Akron housing development is preparing to break ground this year.

The Residences at Good Park, an 82-unit development that Akron’s Alpha Phi Alpha Homes has been planning since 2018, should break ground this fall, said the company’s executive director, Tom Fuller.

“We’ve been working on the private financing. I believe that’s behind us now,” said Fuller, who said he’s about to sign loan papers with a local bank for the more than $20 million project.

He said he’ll make the name of the lender public when the deal is signed.

“They do a number of Ryan Homes-type development loans, and they’re local people who are interested and enthusiastic about the project,” Fuller said.

Assuming no glitches pop up at the last minute, Alpha Phi Alpha probably will begin construction of the project in the fall, Fuller said.

The total development calls for the construction of 34 townhouses along Mull Avenue on land that formerly housed Perkins Middle School. Another 23 single-family, detached homes

been a real motivator and something Akron has not had before.”

That abatement, which Fuller said also helped Alpha Phi Alpha with its financing, is a 100%, 15-year property tax abatement that Akron is offering to all new housing and for any increases in home values from home improvements.

Several developers have cited the abatement as one reason they want to do projects in Akron now.

But they are also drawn by a shortage of available houses to sell, especially houses in good condition. That shortage is what has set Akron’s housing market on fire, said Catherine Haller, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Cuyahoga Falls who works with Akron properties.

“It’s been just unbelievable. I’ve been licensed for 15 years and investing for 20 years, and I’ve never seen a market like this,” Haller said.

“We’ve seen 12 offers on a house, 25 offers on a house, just in a matter of days — and all in Akron.”

Right now, the market is a mix of existing residents looking to become homeowners or to move into a new house, as well as out-of-state buyers.

“There are a lot of people moving here because it’s affordable and they can work remotely,” Haller said. “So why stay where they are? And for a lot of people, it’s a homecoming. We’ve had a lot of people coming in from out of state, and they’re competing with our local buyers. And those (outof-state purchasers) are cash buyers.”

If Alpha Phi Alpha can get its homes on the market while the market is like this, or even a bit more tepid, it will find plenty of buyers, especially new homes they don’t have to fix up, Haller said.

“If it was on the market now, it would fly, I think,” she said. “We have buyers who can’t find houses. … I think this product is best suited for the millennials and the new buyers coming here.”

The city, which had been hoping to

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A rendering of the Residences at Good Park development slated to begin construction in Akron along Mull Avenue this fall. | CITY ARCHITECHTURE

repurpose the Perkins school site for residential use even years before Alpha Phi Alpha agreed to develop it, is happy to see the project approach a start date, said Jason Segedy, Akron’s planning and urban development director.

“The city thought for a very long time if that school ever became vacant, it would be a nice site for housing,” Segedy said. “It’s kind of a great example that these things do take some time.”

But Segedy said the city found a good partner in Alpha Phi Alpha — which has developed more than 2,400 units of housing before this

project, Fuller said — and has a good project in the works.

“I really like their concept of having some townhomes along Mull and then transitioning to medium-sized family homes in the middle of the development, and then larger single-family homes close to the golf course,” Segedy said. “I think it’s going to be a great new neighborhood, and existing residents will have a chance to live there as well as it will attract new residents from outside of the city.”

Dan Shingler: dshingler@crain.com, (216) 771-5290, @DanShingler

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THE WEEK THIS COMPUTES: Cleveland Clinic and IBM announced a 10-year partnership to establish a joint center, dubbed the Discovery Accelerator, to advance the pace of discovery in health care and life sciences through the use of high performance computing on the hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing technologies. By combining the Clinic’s expertise in health care with IBM’s technologies, the two organizations aim to build research and clinical infrastructure to empower big data medical research, discoveries for patient care and novel approaches to public health threats like the COVID-19 pandemic. IBM plans to install its first private sector on-premises IBM Quantum System One in the United States at the Clinic. The rest of IBM’s such systems in the U.S. are in its own facilities. Location and cost of the facility that would house this technology in Cleveland haven’t been finalized.

Additionally, IBM plans to install the first of its next-generation 1,000+ qubit quantum systems at a client facility, also in Cleveland, in the coming years. Along with its onsite quantum system, the Clinic will have access via the cloud to IBM’s fleet of more than 20 quantum systems.

IN THE MONEY: If you’re a customer of Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Co. or Toledo Edison, you probably will get a credit on your electric bill. Akron’s FirstEnergy Corp. announced March 31 that it’s returning to Ohio ratepayers $26 million in revenue that it collected through a controversial mechanism known as decoupling. Part of the now-disgraced House Bill 6 energy law from 2019 — which federal prosecutors have since alleged was passed by a $60 million bribery scheme orchestrated by former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder — decoupling is a mechanism that would guarantee FirstEnergy’s revenues. It would enable the utility to collect extra money from customers so that its revenue did not fall below the level it achieved in 2018. Decoupling became unpalatable to many after the scandal broke last year, including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has worked to block the company from collecting what Yost said would have been an extra $102 million this year alone in extra decoupling charges. On Feb. 1, Yost announced he had reached an agreement with FirstEnergy under which the company would abandon decoupling and stop collecting the revenue from ratepayers in Ohio.

ON THE MOVE: AML RightSource LLC won approval from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority for a tax credit aimed at assisting an expansion to create more than 270 full-time positions and about $18.7 million in new annual payroll — and a move to new space in downtown Cleveland. The tax credit authority on March 29 approved a nine-year, 1.949% credit for AML RightSource, a Cleveland company that provides outsourced anti-money-laundering services and consulting. According to information provided by the tax credit authority, AML RightSource “expects to create 273 full-time equivalent employees generating $18,684,605 in new annual payroll and to retain $30,501,134 in existing payroll” by the end of 2024 as a re-

form, marking a milestone for the Cleveland-based financial services company. Branded as Laurel Road for Doctors and focused exclusively on serving doctors, dentists and physician assistants at onset, the digital bank is a first for Key’s parent company KeyCorp, whose roots date back 190 years. Offerings provided through the digital bank will be made accessible across the United States, providing many opportunities for consumer banking relationships in a niche area — health care — outside its 15-state footprint. Laurel Road was acquired by Key two years ago as one of many bids by the company in the fintech space. Its legacy service is student loan refinancing for individuals in the health care field. The launch of the digital bank is a long-anticipated expansion of that platform.

IBM plans to install the first of its next-generation 1,000+ qubit quantum systems at a client facility — to be located in Cleveland — in the coming years. It will be housed by a super fridge, shown in IBM’s research headquarters in Yorktown, N.Y. | IBM

Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron | GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO.

Key Tower in downtown Cleveland | KEYBANK

sult of its planned expansion. AML RightSource said it has signed a lease to move to 43,000 square feet on the second and third floors of the AECOM Building, 1300 E. Ninth St. downtown, which will “accommodate up to 350-375 employees” in client services and corporate and administrative staff. AML RightSource’s current corporate headquarters are on the 31st floor of 200 Public Square, where the company occupies 31,000 square feet. The company did not provide a timeframe for the downtown move.

LEGAL MANEUVERS: The organizer of a major trade show uprooted last year when the I-X Center closed is taking

the extraordinary step of trying to wrest control of the business from its longtime operator — or to force that operator to make good on event contracts that extend into 2024. The Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, the group behind the Progressive Cleveland Boat Show and Fishing Expo, asked a Cuyahoga County judge to put a receiver in charge of I-X Center Corp., the private company that controls the publicly owned facility. In court filings, the boat show’s producer claimed that I-X Center Corp. is using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to escape its trade show contracts. Citing the public health crisis and state restrictions that sidelined conventions for

most of 2020, I-X Center Corp. announced in September that it was cutting most of its staff and shutting down the massive event space next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. In December, three trade show organizers sued in an attempt to force the venue to honor contracts for the Cleveland Auto Show, the Great Big Home and Garden Show, the Cleveland Home and Remodeling Show, and the Ohio RV Supershow. In January, attorneys for I-X Center Corp. sued the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, which was considering jumping into the fray. The four lawsuits have been consolidated in front of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Russo. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 13.

A NEW ROUTE: KeyBank on March 30 launched a digital affinity bank for doctors via its Laurel Road plat-

TAKING A TURN: Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s $2.8 billion takeover of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. of Findlay will now have to overcome a trio of legal challenges recently filed in two states. Three Cooper shareholders question the financial information released relating to Goodyear’s planned acquisition in lawsuits filed in both Delaware and New Jersey. Both companies, however, do not think the lawsuits hold water. “Goodyear and Cooper Tire believe that the allegations in the stockholder actions are without merit,” reads a March 31 filing Goodyear made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All three lawsuits involve information Cooper filed with the SEC providing information about the proposed deal. The document that recommends shareholder approval for the transaction “omits and/or misrepresents material information” regarding Cooper’s and Goodyear’s financial projections, potential conflicts of interest involving Cooper’s financial adviser Goldman Sachs & Co., and the sales process.

PROMISING YOUNG TECHNOLOGY: A drug development startup in Seattle that was founded by two researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, along with a third partner, has been sold to publicly traded biopharmaceutical company Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Amgen announced it will acquire all shares outstanding of the startup, Rodeo Therapeutics Corp., for $55 million upfront, plus “future contingent milestone payments potentially worth up to an additional $666 million in cash.”

Rodeo develops “orally available modulators of prostaglandin biology that play an important role in tissue regeneration and repair,” Amgen saide. The company said Rodeo’s technology has “generated compelling data in extensive preclinical studies and have clinical potential in multiple indications,” including colitis. CWRU said Rodeo was created based on discoveries published in the peer-reviewed journal Science by three founders: Sanford Markowitz, the Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics and Distinguished University Professor at CWRU; Stanton Gerson, interim dean of the CWRU medical school and director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Joseph Ready, a biochemistry professor at the University of Texas Southwestern.

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