MEET THE NEW QUEEN IN TOWN

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Her arrival looked effortless. A boatload of enthusiastic well wishers greeted Lady Caroline at her new home on the Flats West Bank on May 8. Her owner, Jacobs Entertainment CEO Jeffrey P. Jacobs, and his daughter, Caroline (the boat’s namesake), welcomed their newest vessel with a bottle of christening champagne, while the city of Cleveland Division of Fire rescue boat provided a water welcome. Dignitaries on the dock were all smiles knowing how much having a dining cruise ship on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie means to Clevelanders and tourists.

The 120-foot-long, 15,000-squarefoot, four-deck Lady Caroline had actually arrived during the night in Cleveland a number of hours before the official welcome. But when she did, it was the end of a 25-day, 2,100-nautical-mile journey, and Lady Caroline (and her transit crew) were discreetly tucked (as much as you could do that with a ship that size) into a Cleveland marina slip to rest and freshen up. A lady always wants to look her best, of course.

Lady Caroline’s journey from Chelsea Piers in New York City began November 9, 2022, and was completed in two phases. There were no disasters — no icebergs, no leaks that had to be patched with duct tape, no Bermuda Triangle disappearances. But with some weather complications that caused a three-day sailing delay, additional foggy days, some wildly fluctuating tides and a ton of maritime regulations to obey, the journey was much more complex than most landlubbers realize. To get to the St. Lawrence Seaway and access to Lake Erie and then Cleveland, the boat had to follow an elaborate and involved itinerary.

“It was actually a more challenging journey than going trans-Atlantic because then you just have to follow currents and the weather. This way all sorts of accommodations in the United States and Canada have to be made to make the trip happen,” says Captain Nicole Christie, an independent, multi-licensed and certified ship’s captain from Marysville, Michigan, hired to bring Lady Caroline to Cleveland. This was her fourth St. Lawrence Seaway delivery.

Lady Caroline replaced the 42-yearold Nautica Queen earlier this summer. Its captain, Scott Pearson, helped with the initial preparation for the Lady Caroline’s departure in New York, but returned to northeast Ohio to pilot the Nautica Queen’s last official public cruising days from the Nautica Waterfront District.

Lady Caroline, formerly named Aqua Azul, a luxury rental yacht used for weddings and other New York and New Jersey coastal events, first headed out of the New York Harbor on her way to Ohio. She navigated the Hudson River, the tricky Hell Gate (a narrow tidal strait in the East River), Long Island Sound and arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 11, 2022, where she overwintered. Starting her journey late in the season, Lady Caroline (and other vessels with Great Lakes destinations) had to wait because the St. Lawrence Seaway locks were closed for the winter. She was ready to begin phase two of her journey April 15.

“We struck gold in New Bedford. There is a big maritime industry there with tons of commercial boats with fishermen, lobster men and passenger boats,” says Christie. “Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Before we departed, the marina and townspeople held a blessing ceremony for us and recited a fisherman’s prayer. It was beautiful. Then they played ‘Sweet Caroline’ for us, and we all danced and sang.”

During her passages, Lady Caroline’s log recorded stops in towns that included: Bridgeport, Connecticut; New London, Connecticut; Clayton, New York; and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; and Port Colborne, Ontario. Names on a map became part of the crew’s experience, such as Cape Cod Canal, Welland Canal and the Strait of Canso, a long, straight, very deep channel in Nova Scotia.

The crew saw amazing sites — a pod of endangered North Atlantic Whales, Perce Rock in Quebec (one of the world’s largest natural arches over water near New Brunswick, Canada) and the Wood Island Lighthouse in Maine. They ate fresh seafood, including “amazing” crab from local restaurants and sometimes obtained straight from fishing boats whenever they could.

But this was no Carnival Cruise. Multiple stops for minor repairs, supplies, fuel, pump outs, immigration and custom checks and more were required. The crew did daily routine maintenance and cleaning, meticulous recordkeeping and turns at overnight watch. A few crew members fought a bit of a minor, but unpleasant stomach bug.

The journey was delayed for three days in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, because of inclement weather. But if you are going to be stuck on a ship for a while, it’s not a bad place for that to happen.

“Yarmouth is a friendly fishing town, and everyone who lives there wants to see what boats are in town,” recalls Christie. “The piers are just parades of cars. And so many people stopped to talk with us and even the fisherman came over to meet us. It was another good memory for history of the Lady Caroline.”

In Quebec, Lady Caroline also was subject to a ballast inspection from government officials, even though the boat was built without — and doesn’t need — ballast tanks. The procedure is to “confirm that the vessel was not holding any seawater ballast that would contaminate the seaway by cross contaminating,” according to Christie. (Think invasive species hitching a ride.)

“This was a long trip for this boat,” says Christie. “So every 24 hours we would shut the boat down, check the oil and other things and make sure all the systems were good. My grandmother, Caroline, came over on a boat from Europe. She was the best person to me in my whole life. I couldn’t believe the ship was renamed Caroline. This trip was meant to be for me. Lady Caroline did well, and so did the crew.”

Lady Caroline, built in Palatka, Florida, entered the first of 15 locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway on May 1. She arrived in Cleveland a week later where Cpt. Christie passed the helm to Cpt. Pearson.

Before his position as captain of the Nautica Queen, and now Lady Caroline, Pearson was a ship captain for the Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Co. in Michigan, a position he began in 2022. He has been a yacht pilot since 1986 and became a licensed yacht captain in 1989, piloting ships in the Caribbean, Key West, East Coast, Mexico and the Midwest. He now lives in Westlake with his family.

“There aren’t really any navigation challenges here with the Lady Caroline,” says Pearson, who also has experience in yacht repair. “We don’t travel more than a mile from shore and we stay within the harbor. Also, the Cuyahoga River is wide. Compared to what I’ve experienced, piloting her is a walk in the park.”

The ship went into service in mid-June after about $250,000 in renovations, including new paint, signage, HVAC systems and a sound system, as well as interior design and galley changes, according to the boat’s director of operations, Ellen Kelley. It will also receive other accessible changes to make her more code compliant. Kelley describes the boat as “light and bright with big windows.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing all the smiles on people’s faces when they first walk on board,” says Pearson.

More than ever, women are not only in the mix of what’s going on in our communities — they are leading the charge. They are making big decisions and they are doing the hard work to make things happen every day. But they are also our mentors, cheerleaders and confidants. From the front office to the front lines to the family front, they inspire us. Read on to learn more about some of the women who are making their own marks at business and at home. Their impact has and will mean better things for Northeast Ohio, and we can’t wait to see how they keep leading the pack.

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells has a deep commitment to the public sector and making sure public services work for the public, whatever those public services may be. “In my case it happens to be wastewater treatment and stormwater management, but ensuring that those systems provide comprehensive public services, that’s one of my touchstones,” she says. “My leadership philosophy is that you need to keep things moving forward so other people can do their work. This means making decisions and being clear in your thinking, your leadership and your strategy, and having a sense of urgency to your work.”

Assistant Superintendent, Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Naturally inclined to fix things, solve puzzles and troubleshoot, Kate Rybarczyk was drawn to the skilled trades and eventually became the district’s first female mehanical maintenance manager before being promoted to assistant superintendent. “I lead with more of a coaching style,” she says. “It’s very important to get consensus and buy-in from your team, especially if you want to implement any initiative.”

Assistant

Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Enterprise Biosolids and Residuals Superintendent

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Kathryn Crestani says the most important thing in her daily work is fostering and supporting a team environment and ensuring her team has the resources it needs to do the work in the fast-paced, high-automation specialty of incineration and power generation. “The team is stronger than just one. You can have some star performers, but a star performer can only do so much.”

Making it a priority to spend time with interns and entrylevel employees, Cathy Glisic embraces a servantstyle leadership listening and learning about her team members. “I value their input. I encourage everyone to give their opinions and then we all collaborate amongst ourselves here at the plant, and then also with other departments in our organization. I’m committed to helping my team members grow professionally”

CARRIEANNE

Superintendent, Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

CarrieAnne McConnell worked her way up through the wastewater industry from her early days picking up gravel with her brother when they went to work with their father, who was the superintendent of the wastewater plant in Wellington. “I have a really holistic view of wastewater, of what we do protecting this jewel that we have up here on the North Coast. I have fantastic people who work here with me so I focus on providing them the resources and space to do all the things they can do.”

Leading a thriving solo dental practice and heading a household as a single mom with four active children, Dr. Niki Cochran not only sets the bar high, she’s able to balance it, too. A native of Cleveland who has spent 23 years in the profession, Cochran knew she wanted to be a dentist since she was 10. “I’ve always been interested in people’s smiles, making people smile and making people comfortable,” she says. “It’s a little bit more of a challenge because most people have a lot of anxiety when coming to us, but with our calm attitude and compassion we are able to really exceed in our patient care.”

President

A first-generation college graduate from her working-class family, Melissa Gallop attended commencement from Youngstown State University on a Saturday, punched in for her last day at Starbucks and started at a Big Four accounting firm within days of each other. This hard-driving, down-to-earth approach is what she offers when mentoring her colleagues and advising her clients. “When I’m giving somebody advice, I’m giving them advice for them. It’s not about how it’s benefiting me or benefiting the firm. I believe if the advice that is being given has their best interest in heart, that it’s going to be best for everybody.”

Always strong in math, it wasn’t until Michelle O’Gara encountered the accounting professors at Bellarmine University that she got excited about the profession, the influence she could have, and all the strategy and analysis behind the numbers. After graduating, she spent 10 formative years at a firm in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, before moving to Cleveland to marry her husband and blend their family of five boys ranging in age from 8 to 15. “I’ve

Karin Spoerke was in middle school when her career aptitude test predicted her professional future as either a teacher or an accountant. As a director in the Assurance Services Group, Spoerke melds both. “Working for a public accounting firm is the best of both worlds. It’s a collaborative environment where everyone works together to provide the best advice to our clients. It allows me to utilize my accounting and teaching skills daily being a dedicated advisor to our clients and when developing and mentoring our staff,” says Spoerke, who has been at the firm for almost 24 years — since she was an intern. “Building long lasting relationships with clients and my colleagues as well as providing exceptional client service is what it’s all about for me.”