Margot Copeland • Megan & Ed McNamara • Peggy Zone Fisher
Steve Potash • Marc Stefanski • Lee Friedman
since 1845
DEPARTMENTS
2 From the Publisher
54 My Life
64 1000 Words
UPFRONT
4 Hitting the Links
Jack Nicklaus Scholarship Golf Benefit supports Lorain County Community College students.
BY TERRY TROY
8 Loitering Encouraged Loiter Cafe & Marketplace serves as a gathering place for East Cleveland residents.
BY RHONDA CROWDER
COLUMN
12 Lee Fisher
Neither winner of the presidential election will have a mandate and must work to heal the divide.
SCOREBOARD
14 ScoreBoard
Data suggest that Cleveland is facing economic challenges.
BY JAMES TRUTKO
FEATURES
34 Casting a New Net
Northeast Ohio is playing a pivotal role in the development of a statewide Sci/Tech information resource.
BY TERRY TROY
39 Creating a Better Environment
Find out what the Zoo’s new Primate Forest will mean for the community.
BY JILL SELL
40 Smarter Manufacturing
A new Bachelor of Applied Science in Integrated Digital Manufacturing Engineering Technology.
BY JILL SELL
SPECIAL SECTION
60 Women of Distinction
Meet impactful women who are leaders in their fields and whose work can be seen and felt in Northeast Ohio.
42 Finding a Way Forward Ideastream is integrating a community-based method of journalism.
BY BOB SANDRICK
44 Guardians of Justice CSU’s Wrongful Conviction Clinic addresses an important need.
BY JILL SELL
45 Beyond the Numbers HW&Co., Business Volunteers Unlimited and Community Leader reveal partial nonprofit survey results. Webinar to follow.
BY TERRY TROY
49 Flying Across Borders Ohio Aerospace Institute’s collaboration with Quebec will expand opportunities for advanced air mobility.
BY TERRY TROY
50 Lighting Up the Night
Oswald’s new Flats headquarters help build the city’s fabric.
BY JOANNE CAHILL
51 Revitalizing a City Beachwood’s vibrant real estate market is key to its economic development.
BY TERRY TROY
52 Serving Society
The Legal Aid Society uses leadership to help others. BY JILL SELL
53 Building a Better Zoo
The Cleveland Zoological Society raises funds for its mission. BY JILL SELL
Cover Story
BY COLLEEN SMITEK, JILL SELL AND LYNNE THOMPSON
17 Business Hall of Fame
Lee Friedman, Marc Stefanski & Steve Potash
24 Community Leaders of the Year
Margot Copeland, Megan & Ed McNamara & Peggy Zone Fisher
30 Past Inductees
We honor and celebrate the legacies of leaders, mentors and difference makers who impacted Cleveland’s business sector, as well its communities. On the Cover: The 2024 Business Hall of Fame inductees mingled in the lounge at Maker in Hotel Cleveland.
History Is Biography
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote that history is biography. No truer words were ever spoken.
Every November for 28 years I have thought about Emerson’s words when participating in Cleveland Magazine’s Business Hall of Fame/Community Leader of the Year Awards Event. I cannot help thinking how fortunate I have been to meet and hear the stories of over 100 men and women who have helped make Northeast Ohio what it is today.
As I have listened to these inductees and award winners talk about their careers, I have discovered an interesting fact: They talk more about what their community has done for them than what they have done for their community.
Having spent eight years of my career living in another city, I can say from experience that all cities are not alike: In fact, all cities are not communities. Which, by the way, may be our greatest asset. Today, one by one, cities are no longer communities. Cleveland is a community. Akron is a community.
Our history is people knowing and caring about each other. A history worth preserving.
Executive Publisher Lute Harmon Sr.
Executive Editor Terry Troy
Managing Editor Jennifer Bowen Sima
Senior Editor Ann-Marie Vazzano
Managing Art Director Jenny Perdue
Art Directors Tom Abate
Megan Rosta
Stacy Mallardi-Stajcar
Contributing Writers Karen Beis
Joanne Cahill
Rhonda Crowder
Lee Fisher
Bob Sandrick
Jill Sell
Colleen Smitek
Lynne Thompson
Terry Troy
Jim Trutko
Sarah Webb
Contributing Artists Ken Blaze Jeani Brechbill
Thom Sheridan Laura Watilo Blake
Associate Publisher Denise Polverine
Vice President, Advertising Paul Klein
Senior Account Sarah Desmond Executives Tiffany Myroniak
Account Executive Julie Bialowas
Operations Manager Corey Galloway
Traffic Manager Kristen Brickner
Production Manager Alyson Moutz Cowan
Audience and Events Manager Jennifer Roberts
Chief Financial Officer George Sedlak
UPFRONT
BENEFITS // BY TERRY TROY
Hitting the Links
This was the 34th time golfers have hit the links in support of Lorain County Community College (LCCC) students, and the support of participants and sponsors was its largest ever.
When you have held an event this long, it’s not unusual for interest to wane. That’s hardly the case with the recent Jack Nicklaus Scholarship Golf Benefit held at the Elyria Country Club in August.
“This golf outing continues to thrive thanks to the unwavering commitment of our sponsors, guests, volunteers, and the exceptional leadership of our Golf Committee,” says Lisa Brown, CFRE, executive director of the LCCC Foundation on behalf of the Jack Nicklaus Scholarship Benefit Committee. “I think that we
have been so successful across the years because of what the event supports and what it means to our community.
“The Golf Outing provides critical dollars for our students to help them reach their finish line, which is their academic or career goals. And the scholarship funds are flexible in nature so they really help students who are right at the end of their mission and maybe need that last push to get them across the finish line.”
All proceeds from this event directly benefit the Jack Nicklaus Scholarship
LCCC student Braden Hilditch with LCCC President Marcia Ballinger and Brewer Garrett CEO Lou Joseph in the background
LCCC Jack Nicklaus Scholarship Golf Benefit draws record crowds and support.
We Can create real change Together
Legal Aid helps families across Northeast Ohio access the power of the law so they can live safer, healthier, and more financially stable lives.
Legal Aid’s Ripple Effect
With an investment in Legal Aid, you provide our team with the resources we need to reach more people and extend the impact of civil legal counsel across a five-county area.
Your support:
Impacts more families through partnerships
Removes barriers to opportunity Elevates Legal Aid as a catalyst for community change
We’re working together to grow and serve more families.
To learn more about how you can extend justice, visit lasclev.org/TogetherWeCan.
UPFRONT
Allana Zepernick, Avon High School student, took part in the Pin Shot Show
Fund, which has provided over 1,600 scholarships to LCCC and LCCC University Partnership students, totaling nearly $1.3 million since its inception.
This year’s edition attracted some 136 golfers and 41 sponsors, including Brewer-Garrett Co., the presenting sponsor, which has already signed on to be the presenting sponsor of next year’s event to be held on August 11, 2025.
This marks “the first time in our history we have a multi-year presenting sponsor,” says Jon Logue, director of development for the LCCC Foundation. “But in addition to our sponsors, we also had four media partners, who have helped us promote the event into what it is today.”
“We have sponsors who have been with us for the entire 34 years,” says Don Knechtges, LCCC Foundation board member. “And we need to give them a lot of credit. But we also have to recognize Joe Cirigliano, a good friend of Jack Nicklaus who originally imposed upon Jack to use his name for the event, which he did.”
Kent Hageman, event co-chair with Maria Zoli, Susanne Dotson and Hanford Dixon
Don Knechtges and Tim Alcorn at the evening awards reception
Todd Sommer, event co-chair
Matthew Joseph of Brewer-Garrett
Missy Pedulla, part of the Huntington Bank foursome
Dean Lee Fisher
And the Faculty, Staff & Students of Cleveland State University College of Law
Congratulate these Extraordinary Leaders:
2024 Business Hall of Fame Inductees:
Lee Friedman
College Now Greater Cleveland
Steve Potash CSU|LAW ’78
Overdrive
Marc A. Stefanski
Third Federal Savings and Loan
2024 Community Leader of the Year Award
Margot James Copeland
Keybank Foundation
Peggy Zone Fisher
Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio
Ed & Megan McNamara
Prayers from Maria Foundation
UPFRONT
ENTREPRENEURS // BY RHONDA CROWDER
Loitering Encouraged
A unique cafe is seen as a catalyst for East Cleveland revitalization.
East Cleveland was once home to business magnate John D. Rockefeller and thousands of upwardly mobile Northeast Ohioans, both White and Black — but that’s changed. White flight, shady political leaders, disinvestment and a loss of over 50% of its population are among the factors contributing to this suburb transforming into a mere shell of what it used to be — a thriving community.
A few loyal progressive East Clevelanders remain, trying to find ways to help the city return to its former glory.
Ismail Samad and his sister Alima founded the nonprofit that operates the Loiter Cafe & Marketplace, and they are creating a space ontrack to be the catalyst for revitalization in East Cleveland.
Located at the city’s gateway, 12550 Euclid Ave. at Woodlawn, it is housed in the old Mickey’s Rustproofing building, which stood vacant for 20 years. Kamla Lewis, senior housing development and project manager at the
Cuyahoga Land Bank, says after East Cleveland officials completed several studies, it was determined that development should start closest to University Circle, encompassing more than 30 institutions of art, culture, education, entertainment and medicine. They worked with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank to begin the process.
“This building is a gem,” says Lewis, stirring coffee at Loiter’s counter.
It cost $3.5 million to renovate, and about 200 residential lots surround the building, which are slated for development by both the Cuyahoga Land Bank and private developers. She says new
We just wanted to curate a space that allows people to imagine what they can do. We want to inspire people.”
— Ismail Samad
housing in that area will be priced at market rates.
“We’ve been waiting for this development for years,” says Julie Criscione, a 25-year resident of East Cleveland and the Cuyahoga Land Bank owner’s representative and project consultant, overseeing renovations while joining Lewis for coffee. “Having a coffee shop, cafe and marketplace is the cornerstone to the community.”
Criscione also sees Loiter as a catalyst for economic development, hoping it will rejuvenate East Cleveland.
Lewis says that when the Cuyahoga Land Bank began renovating the building, they needed to find out who or what the tenant would be. Samad’s concept met the goals because the community expressed a desire for a good, safe place to gather.
“We just wanted to curate a space that allows people to imagine what they can do,” says Ismail Samad. “We want to inspire people.”
Brewing the Concept
Ismail Samad also always had an interest in food. His mom, being a great cook, put him around food all the time. He got
Loiter Cafe & Marketplace is designed to be a gathering place.
Alima Samad
UPFRONT
his first job at age 14 and worked with a catering company owned by a family friend. He opened his first business, Crust and Crumbs, 23 years ago on Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland. “I’m still having a hard time saying yes to the question of being an entrepreneur,” he says.
He admits to struggling to finish things he starts — he tried his hand at culinary school but didn’t finish. He went to college to pursue environmental studies but didn’t finish. Then, during the economic crash that led to the 2008 recession, he left Cleveland in search of a way to do food ventures that didn’t fit into the usual paradigm.
He worked as an executive chef on the East Coast, connected with the farm-totable movement and studied food systems. As a result of the injustices he witnessed, he became a food provocateur. When COVID-19 hit, he decided to return home. He currently lives next door to his parents, and the family owns six parcels on their street, where they grow mint tea leaves.
Loiter makes its own hot sauce, pickles and kimchi. Tea, chocolate and other things are produced by East Cleveland residents.
“We sell Humble Mornings Coffee, Robert Ivey’s Orange Grits, Fat Boy Donuts, Roaming Biscuits. You can track where the money goes,” he says.
Loiter’s Teeny Tiny Market is a space within Loiter Cafe where local makers can showcase their products. The work of local artists will be displayed on the walls for purchase, and through a collaboration with Benjamin Smith, owner of Splice-Cream Truck, oral histories can be captured in the refurbished phone booth. “[Loiter] is a community wealth hub that supports local makers, growers and vendors,” he says.
Samad’s Reuben sandwich uses Wake Robin Fermented Foods, a business owned by the nonprofit with a mission to support local growers and promote community health. The sandwich’s lacto-fermented pickles have microbiotics in them. Samad also makes his own Thousand Island dressing and kraut.
“It’s a healthy Reuben, and it’s tasty,” he says.
Eight businesses are included on Loiter’s menu, four of which represent East Cleveland. Additionally, Loiter has created four new jobs and has six volunteers, including family.
The Word on the Street
Ross Cockfield has lived in East Cleveland since 1972. He remembers when the Red Barn restaurant existed; it is now a vacant lot. He’s visited Loiter twice.
“I think it’s a great place,” says Cockfield, fiscal officer at East Cleveland Public Library. “It has an enormous amount of upside potential. It’s what East Cleveland needs. And the pastries are good. And the coffee is good, too.”
He credits Samad for stepping way out on a limb to bring Loiter to East
Cleveland, considering what it takes to equip, outfit and furnish a business, though, Cockfield wouldn’t call it a “catalyst.”
“It’s a nice meeting place. A nice place to stop in and sit down and have a cup of coffee. It’s a nice addition. Much needed. I plan to walk down, play chess and look out the window.” Cockfield, who makes chess boards, even plans to donate one to Loiter.
“I do think, once the development takes off, those people can ‘loiter’ in,” Cockfield laughs. “He’ll have business, but I believe he needs more community support now. I encourage everyone to go there and have a cup of coffee.”
Ibrahim Abdullah grew up in East Cleveland and has known Samad for years. Prior to agreeing to join the collaborative, he operated from a truck and also had a brick-and-mortar location on Larchmere before the pandemic.
“I think this place is good for the community,” says Abdullah. “People think, in a neighborhood like this, the [residents] wouldn’t appreciate this space, but maybe they just never had it.”
After six to seven months of designing and outfitting the space on the first floor of that building, Loiter’s grand opening was at the end of September. Samad looks forward to it being a place that showcases culinary talent, hosts meetings, poetry readings in the evenings and financial literacy programming.
“Our community deserves a win,” says Samad. “To show what’s possible in East Cleveland, you have to put a physical manifestation in place. ”
Products from local vendors can be purchased at Loiter Cafe and Teeny Tiny Market.
WE DIDN’T INVENT THE EV.
JUST EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO IT.
PAINT
Sherwin-Williams
PPG
Nippon/NPA Coatings
POWER ELECTRONICS
Eaton
Ford
GREEN STEEL
Cleveland Cliffs EV MANUFACTURING
BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES
Avient Materion Synthomer Nordson
Avery Dennison
Ultium Cells
Rockwell Automation
Aptiv
PUMPS, MOTORS, & FLUIDS
Parker Hannifin
Lubrizol
Swagelok
BRAKING SYSTEMS
Bendix
BRACKETS
Atlantic Tool & Die
AJ Rose
Die-Matic
TIRES
Goodyear
COMMUNITY // BY LEE FISHER
Healing the Divide
America cannot afford a sore loser or an arrogant winner.
“In our finest hours ... the soul of the country manifests itself in an inclination to open our arms rather than to clench our fists; to look out rather than to turn inward; to accept rather than to reject.”
— Jon Meacham, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels
Iwrite this column as the November 2024 presidential election fast approaches and before I know the outcome. I have three predictions. Actually, they are certainties.
First, regardless of the margin of victory, neither candidate will have a mandate. For our country to begin to heal and for our next president to succeed, we can ill afford a sore loser or an arrogant winner.
I know something about close elections. In 1990, I was elected Ohio attorney general in the closest statewide election in Ohio history. My margin is easy to remember: 1-2-3-4.
It was 1,234 votes out of 3.5 million votes cast, less than one vote per precinct, earning me the nickname, “Landslide Lee.” Under Ohio law, there was an automatic recount, and six weeks later, I was declared the winner.
While I was sworn in on Jan. 14, 1991, my opponent filed a lawsuit contesting the election. On March 11, 1991, the Ohio Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, ruled unanimously that I could unpack my boxes.
It was a humbling experience. I used to joke that I could walk anywhere in Ohio, talk to any person and know that there was a good chance that person did not vote for me. That election made me appreciate that there is no such thing as a mandate. Whoever wins, regardless of their electoral or popular vote margin, would be well-advised to remember that a very significant number of citizens did not vote for them.
Second, the next president inherits a divided country and a dysfunctional, hyper-partisan Congress.
Today, especially in the U.S. House and Senate, far too many of our elected officials talk past each other, deliberately ignoring points of agreement for fear of losing political advantage and scoring political points with their base supporters rather than trying to find common ground.
It’s too simplistic to label the current division in our country as red vs. blue or liberal vs. conservative. We are divided along demographic and geographic fault lines — race, culture, gender, generation, education, income and rural vs. urban. Too many Americans feel left
out of the growing economic prosperity in many of our cities and metro regions. There is a growing disconnect between older, primarily working-class citizens and our increasingly diverse and globalized country.
Most of us engage in what is called “confirmation bias.” Everything we look for and all that we perceive has a way of proving whatever we believe. That is, we search for and interpret information in a way that confirms our own preconceptions. This tendency to look for people and information that confirms our own views has been accelerated and enhanced by some television opinion channels masquerading as news channels and by internet and social media platforms who use the personal data they collect about us to tailor our online experiences.
Rapidly accelerating technology and globalization, the blurred lines between objective news, biased news, fake news, growing racial and cultural diversity — all these things have the capacity to unite us through hope, dignity, respect and progress or to tear us further apart through anxiety, fear, bigotry and scapegoating.
Third, the president’s single most important responsibility is not rebuilding the economy. It’s rebuilding the human bridges of a divided nation that is coming apart at its seams.
Our next president does not have a mandate to ignore, patronize or stampede the political opposition in order to advance an agenda. The next president must reach out to rivals, critics and skeptics and bring them to their table. Most importantly, our next president must appeal, in President Abraham Lincoln’s words, to “the better angels of our nature.”
Virtually every war, every conflict, every argument, every debate and every divorce comes down to just one thing — not listening. For our country to begin to heal, the president must remind all of us of our common destiny.
Regardless of the outcome, we intend to make the election results a teachable moment at our law school. We seek to be a place where we welcome and
celebrate diverse viewpoints but where we share common values.
Our first-year students took a pledge on their first day of law school to adhere to some core values, among them to conduct themselves with dignity and civility; to treat all people with kindness, courtesy and respect; to support freedom of speech and diversity of thought; and to disagree respectfully, peacefully and with an open mind.
Our mandate transcends elections. It is to educate a new generation of leaders who use these core values as their moral compass and who use their special knowledge and skills to make America a place where we strive to find common ground and work for a better common destiny
Lee Fisher is dean and Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler chair in law at Cleveland State University College of Law. He is the former Ohio attorney general, lieutenant governor, director of the Ohio Department of Development, chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, chair of the Ohio Organized Crime Commission, president/CEO of the Center for Families and Children, president/ CEO of CEOs for Cities, state representative, state senator and chair of the Cuyahoga County state legislative delegation. In 2022, he was inducted in the Cleveland Magazine Business Hall of Fame for his decades of public and nonprofit sector leadership on local, regional and state economic growth and development.
ScoreBoard
By James Trutko
A Rougher Course Ahead?
Data suggest that our city is facing economic challenges.
Aslowing in jobs growth and an erratic stock market are both raising concerns about our national economy. The unreported news from Metropolitan Cleveland is that employment began to slow down in late 2023. After three years of moderate but consistent post- COVID employment growth, the number of jobs contracted in the first half of 2024. This suggests that Metro Cleveland may be facing rough economic conditions.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has data from household surveys that document the change and provide a context for understanding past and current conditions in Metro Cleveland. BLS’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) show that employment in the five-county local area (Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties) dropped by over 140,000 from July 2019 to July 2020 due to COVID. It rebounded by over 80,000 by July 2021 and gradually improved by 15,000-20,000 per year until 2023. Unfortunately, local employment never reached the pre-pandemic level.
There was a significant change in the first half of 2024: Employment contracted at an annual rate of over -9,000 (-1%). At the same time, unemployment began to increase. The reversal in employment-unemployment is an indicator of possible economic challenges.
The contraction is the delayed result of the convergence of a number of unusual post-COVID conditions. Government COVID payments, prolonged
Metro Cleveland Employment – July 2024
Metro Cleveland’s employment in July 2024 was 1,019,300, about 4,000 less than a year ago, but about 27,000 below five years ago.
Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
unemployment payments, special industry subsidies and an expansion of consumer credit supported a narrow economic recovery for consumers, but not a normal recovery of economically productive retail, manufacturing or technological activities, which could have sustained a longer expansion.
As time went on, excessive government spending and consumer credit growth fueled inflation. Consumers faced higher costs for gas and energy, food and housing, which affected consumer demand. At the same time, there was an increase of remote work, an explosion of online retail activity and changing consumer
tastes. These factors reduced consumer demand for existing businesses.
Several societal factors affecting business decision-making may also increase the potential for problems. There is widespread economic uncertainty about business fundamentals such as tax and regulatory policies, energy costs, potential supply chain disruptions and the international environment.
Businesses have found it difficult to hire employees with adequate skills, education and good work habits. Remote workers and a changed work environment are more challenging for businesses to manage. The result is that
Metro Cleveland Employment – 2019-2024
Employment plunged by roughly 200,000 in mid-2020 due to the pandemic but gained back about 100,000 by the start of 2021 before the recovery slowed. The employment recovery continued slowly in 2021, 2022 and 2023 but weakened in 2024. Employment never recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
1,100,000 1,050,000
Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS). Most recent month is prel. Sep. 2020 is est. Employment
Metro Cleveland Employment Long-term Trend – 2007-2024
Twelve-month moving average shows slow recovery from recession and pandemic damage. Employment finally exceeded 1,000,000 in 2019, nearly the level at the start of the 2008-2010 recession. The pandemic caused a sharp drop in employment, and the slow recovery has left employment short of pre-pandemic levels.
Source: BLS, LAUS. Twelve-month moving average 1,050,000 1,000,000
businesses are more likely to seek a long-term technological solution than to rely on hiring additional employees. With the combination of local and national factors working against the area’s economy, it is hard to be optimistic about Metro Cleveland’s employment future. The area lost over 40,000 jobs in the severe 2008-2010 recession, and it took nearly 10 years, until 2019, to gain them back. The potential for an areawide employment contraction is real. Political and community leaders would be wise to prepare for economic challenges and to foster a positive entrepreneurial climate to encourage a strong employment rebound.
James M. Trutko is an economist, market research professional and public policy analyst. He has held positions with The Plain Dealer and Greater Cleveland Growth Association. He writes articles for local publications and counsels entrepreneurs with Business Advisers of Cleveland. He can be reached at jmtrutko@gmail.com. More data on individual industry performance is available at his website, cuyahogascoreboard.com.
honoring leaders committed to our community.
Margot
James Copeland
KeyBank Foundation (Retired)
Our community is strengthened by leaders dedicated to making a difference. Their work inspires and uplifts our neighbors and neighborhoods. KeyBank celebrates their commitment to a better, brighter future for all.
Congratulations to KeyBank’s own, Margot Copeland, for being named one of Cleveland Magazine’s Community Leaders of the Year alongside Ed and Megan McNamara of the Prayers from Maria Foundation and Peggy Zone Fisher of the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio. We also congratulate Business Leader Hall of Fame Inductees Lee Friedman, Marc Stefanski, and Steve Potash.
2024 BUSINESS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES & COMMUNITY LEADERS OF THE YEAR
The Business Hall of Fame inductions began in 1996 as a bicentennial initiative in partnership with the city of Cleveland, aimed at celebrating the achievements of those who have shaped our city. Since then, we have continued to honor the legacies of these remarkable leaders. Our inductees exemplify career success and have made significant contributions as titans in their respective fields, building and supporting our communities along the way.
Equally important, the health of our region relies on the leaders of nonprofit organizations, community programs and ambitious initiatives. These are the perfect complement to our corporate citizens. The Community Leader of the Year Awards recognize those who have made a meaningful impact in areas such as arts, education, public service, diversity and inclusion, the environment and nonprofit organizations or foundations.
This year, we proudly celebrate leaders who have made a difference by making bold decisions, building communities and leading by example.
BUSINESS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Lee Friedman College Now
Steve Potash
OverDrive
Marc Stefanski
Third Federal Bank
COMMUNITY LEADERS OF THE YEAR
Margot Copeland
Key Bank Foundation
Ed & Megan McNamara
Prayers From Maria
Peggy Zone Fisher
LeadDIVERSITY
Head of the Class
As CEO of College Now, Lee Friedman was a driving force for accessible education for Cleveland’s students. | By Jill Sell
Life is changing for Lee Friedman, who will step down as CEO of College Now Greater Cleveland at the end of 2024 after 14 years at the helm.
“I’m not done done,” explains Friedman. “I will probably look at something on a smaller scale. I will know when the time is right for me.”
Friedman’s most recent transition of her professional role has been a deliberate and careful one by choice. Her personal life has been altered as well.
“My husband and I used to go out quite a bit, but now we stay home more now that we have our grandchildren,” says a not-complaining Friedman, who also plans a trip to Africa next year.
No one would deny Friedman a little more time for herself and her family.
For four decades she has dedicated herself to education and Cleveland’s nonprofit sector, leaving each of the organizations she served significantly stronger. As someone said, watching Friedman tackle the concerns of a sometimes-struggling nonprofit was like watching that old television show “Restaurant: Impossible.” She came in, cleaned up the kitchen (so to speak) and made the place and community better and bigger.
Since 2010, Friedman and her College Now staff annually guided more than 35,000 Northeast Ohioans to navigate their postsecondary education with counseling, mentoring and scholarships.
She is pleased at the increased college completion rate for the students College Now has helped. That rate has gone from the mid-50% to the lower 70%, better than the national average.
Friedman was also a driving force in bringing Say Yes to Education to Cleveland. That brought over $100 million in educational scholarships plus additional funds for health and wellbeing services to city students.
But before College Now, the largest comprehensive postsecondary access organization in the United States and one with a current annual budget of $40 million, Friedman was busy putting her stamp on other Cleveland area entities. She has a list of what she calls her “signature projects.”
I’VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE HAD MANY MENTORS, MALE AND FEMALE, WHO LIFTED ME WHEN THERE WERE ALMOST NO WOMEN IN THE CIVIC OR CORPORATE WORLD IN CLEVELAND.”
From 1991 through 1996, Friedman was executive director of CleanLand, Ohio, which became part of LAND Studio. Friedman notes the nonprofit undertook “a major citywide reforestation effort when tens of thousands of trees were planted.”
“The organization had just a little budget and wasn’t in very good shape at all when I took it over,” recalls Friedman. “But Mayor Michael White was a big believer in clean and green, and he helped it grow.”
From 1996 to 2005, Friedman served as president and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Partnership (now Downtown Cleveland Inc.). She considers the organization’s contributions to the redevelopment of the Euclid Corridor
and establishment of the HealthLine bus rapid transit line to have been “a heavy lift.” But the result was vital to the area’s residential and retail recovery and correlating support for Downtown. More than $1 billion in investments were realized in that area.
During Friedman’s six years at the Cleveland Leadership Center, beginning in 2005, she was instrumental in merging and organizing five like-minded organizations to create one financially stable and effective organization.
It was at the Cleveland Leadership Center when Friedman, the inaugural president and CEO, and Eddie Taylor Jr., now president and CEO of Taylor Oswald, developed a strong professional relationship.
“I was the organization’s initial board chair, and witnessed firsthand Lee’s many admirable qualities,” says Taylor. “She has a candor and optimism that accompanies her conversations. She is a civic treasure because of what she brought and delivered over the arc of her career. Lee has made a lasting generational difference for so many people, especially in enhancing a collegegoing culture throughout Northeast Ohio. Cleveland has demonstrated great promise as a top place to live and work for recent college graduates. Of course, you have to matriculate into college and complete the pursuit, and then the community has to compel you to want to remain in the area. Lee has been a committed leader in that respect.”
Taylor also admires Friedman’s positive outlook on life. Friedman herself said she is “not one to look at the downside of things.”
“I don’t have a lot of regrets. Nothing has been perfect, and I certainly have not been perfect,” Friedman says of her career. “But I hope people have respected me because of my really strong ethics and moral code. I am direct and transparent. I deliver what I promise when I can, and if I can’t, I’ll tell you,” says Friedman. “I’ve been fortunate to have had many
mentors, male and female, who lifted me when there were almost no women in the civic or corporate world in Cleveland.”
The common thread throughout Friedman’s career and her leadership, of course, has been her recognition of the importance of education for everyone. Without education, people “cannot get out of poverty or break the cycle of poverty” and employers cannot fulfill the workplace need for skilled individuals, she says.
Education has always been important to Friedman and her family. Her grandparents were immigrants to America, one set from Austria-Hungry, the other from Russia.
“It’s the classic story of Ashkenazi Jews. My grandmother had to escape the czar. She really believed women needed to have their own ability to control their own destinies. My family got here right after World War I, and those who didn’t were killed by Hitler. It’s a common story … But they all put a high premium on education,” says Friedman, who lives in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood. “My own parents were loving and encouraging, but also exacting. You needed to come home with all As. They weren’t punitive, but established a very high bar.”
Friedman and her two younger sisters all attended private colleges, which was unusual for many women at the time. (She has a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in New York and a master’s from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.) Many families didn’t think it was important to invest in their daughters’ education, recalls Friedman. But the value of education has remained ingrained in Friedman all her life. She shares that passion and always encourages a path of learning.
Friedman “will most certainly credit her boards and teams” for much of her nonprofits’ work in Cleveland’s successes, especially in education and resulting workforce retention, says Taylor.
“But she has been the one largely responsible,” he says.
Building the Network
OverDrive president and CEO Steve Potash’s force behind the digital world runs deep. | By
Jill Sell
At this very moment, someone in a remote settlement at the Arctic Pole, a lavish hotel in Montreal or a small library in rural America, could be using an electronic device to access a textbook, a romance novel or instructions on how to fix a spacecraft.
They have OverDrive to thank. Headquartered in Cleveland and incorporated in 1986, OverDrive is the world’s leading digital reading platform for ebooks, audiobooks, comic books, films and other digital media for libraries, schools, institutions of higher learning, government agencies and corporations.
The numbers are astonishing. OverDrive serves 115 countries. School and library checkouts in 2022 totaled
555 million, up 10% from 2021. More than 92,000 member institutions, schools and libraries rely on OverDrive.
In the center of this gargantuan network is OverDrive’s founder and CEO, Steve Potash, a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School, The Ohio State University and Cleveland State University’s College of Law. Potash loves Cleveland, his family and playing the accordion. He didn’t start out to be a crusader for literacy and a global information supplier. He’s been a self-proclaimed entrepreneur all his life. Potash had his hand in several enterprises before his ever-active brain focused on the then-fledgling software industry decades ago. (Remember floppy diskettes? Potash provided those, too.)
“We were fortunate enough to survive the early days as a software startup in the ’80s in Cleveland and not having sources of capital. There weren’t a lot of examples of software businesses here that were successful or that looked like good investments,” says Potash, who credits his wife, Loree, as a vital partner in founding the company. “I used to say if I was raising money to set up a strip mall in those days that Cleveland would have been a great town for it. But it was a challenge to start a digital media company that would be taken seriously globally. Everyone thought you had to be in Seattle or Silicon Valley.”
But Potash understood the amazing reach of digital no matter where you are located. And besides, he has deep roots
IT WAS A CHALLENGE TO START A DIGITAL MEDIA COMPANY [ IN THE ’80S IN CLEVELAND ] THAT WOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY GLOBALLY. EVERYONE THOUGHT YOU HAD TO BE IN SEATTLE OR SILICON VALLEY.”
in Cleveland. Potash wasn’t leaving and hasn’t left yet. His mother came to the city as a Holocaust survivor and orphan from Poland. She met Potash’s father here and raised a family. Cleveland, Potash says, gave him and his siblings amazing opportunities and allowed “a young immigrant family to realize the American dream.”
No doubt his family, education and life experiences helped shape Potash’s desire to end illiteracy worldwide. OverDrive fits his mission perfectly.
“What Steve has done is made it easy for libraries to help people everywhere access the books and information they want to read online,” says Felton Thomas Jr., executive director and CEO, Cleveland Public Library. “He
has created a giant library of materials. If you take in all the titles, it’s probably the largest library in the world, except for the Library of Congress.”
Thomas notes OverDrive really is everywhere. Recently he was visiting Tel Aviv and “walking along a strip of beach,” when an OverDrive company vehicle passed by, a sight he could hardly believe.
“Steve is the person who doesn’t drink one cup of coffee in the morning, but the whole pot. You can’t believe his energy level,” says Thomas, who has known Potash for about 15 years. “It’s his vision, persistence and perseverance that allows him to get things done. He doesn’t give up. And he’s always learning things.”
That includes the accordion lessons that Potash began about four years ago and which recently got him invited to play the instrument at a friend’s wedding in Paris.
“It’s not like he has nothing to do. But Steve, even at an older age, likes to challenge himself in different ways. So, it was the accordion,” says Thomas.
But one challenge Potash would like to see eliminated is the devastating effect of illiteracy in both children and adults. (50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level.) Another is the attack on Americans’ right to read.
“Who would have thought we would be spending countless hours and mindshare trying to preserve the freedom to read? Or the right of all readers to go to a library or school and self-select a book? Or learn about things that interest them?” asks Potash. “I get angry. We have to step up and come to the aid of our educators and librarians who have been under attack.”
But Potash believes there is also a “positive flipside” to this concern. Being in the current digital world allows greater access to materials than ever before, he says. Book banning and other restraints are no match for access tools that continue to break down those barriers. Potash also points to several of OverDrive’s lifelong learner apps, including Libby, Sora, Kanopy and TeachingBooks, as tools that help push back against illiteracy and censorship.
“We have to roll up our sleeves and help enlighten some others about what really helps students, in particular, succeed. That’s access to reading. And that’s possible because of our partnerships with schools and community partners,” says Potash.
His passion also spills over to charities and nonprofits. A gift of $7.5 million supports the Steve and Loree Potash Women and Newborn Center at University Hospitals (UH) Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood. He is also an active UH board member, a role of which he is very proud. In addition, Believe in Reading, supported by the Steve and Loree Potash Family Foundation, funds the teaching and encouragement of reading all around the world.
Potash admits that his insatiable curiosity about everything in the world can be both a blessing and a curse. He wants to try everything and anything. But he also has come to recognize the rolling-eyes look his executive board sometime gives him if one of his ideas is a bit too much.
“I had to sign a pledge,” confesses Potash. “They can ask me if I think that what I am suggesting can become the best of its kind in the world. If I honestly can’t say yes, then I have to usually let go. I mean, if you can’t be the best, why bother?"
WHAT STEVE HAS DONE IS MADE IT EASY FOR LIBRARIES TO HELP PEOPLE EVERYWHERE ACCESS THE BOOKS AND INFORMATION THEY WANT TO READ ONLINE." – FELTON THOMAS JR.
Setting an Example
Third
Federal Savings and
Loan
president and CEO Marc
A. Stefanski leads in a way that includes everyone in the company’s success. | By Jill Sell
Fifty some years ago, Marc A. Stefanski (now president, chairman and CEO of Third Federal Savings and Loan) was “just a kid in high school wearing jeans” and playing drums in a rock and roll garage band. That’s a memory of Stefanski held by lifelong friend and fellow band member Robert “Bob” Fiala, now mayor of Willoughby. (Actually, the band practiced in the basement of Stefanski’s childhood home, when his mother sometimes “went to get her hair done,” whether she needed to or not.)
At a noisy practice one day, Fiala commented on Stefanski’s unique drum.
“Marc just very humbly said he made it. His father was already successful in business and certainly could have
afforded to give Marc a drum. But his parents always told him, ‘If you want something, you get it yourself or you make it yourself.’ And that’s kind of who Marc is today,” says Fiala, a member of Third Federal’s board of directors.
Stefanski is head of the savings and mortgage provider that was founded by his parents, Ben and Gerome Stefanski, in 1938 in Cleveland. He joined Third Federal in 1982, was appointed chairman of the board and CEO in 1987 and president in 2000. Stefanski continues his family’s tradition of offering competitive rates to ensure homeownership and financial security to qualified customers.
“Not everyone should own a house. There are many people who are better
off renting in terms of their finances. If they can’t afford it, that just puts them in a foreclosure situation, and that’s the worst-case scenario. And it can ruin neighborhoods,” says Stefanski. “But we try to help most everyone. At times it can seem harder to own a home, depending on interest rates or the economic situation. But Cleveland is still very affordable if you compare it to other places. I, and I think most people, still believe owning a home is the American dream.”
Today Third Federal has 21 fullservice branches in Northeast Ohio, two lending offices in Central and Southern Ohio and 16 full-service branches in Florida. It lends in 27 states and the District of Columbia and
WE DEVELOP OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE PLANS AND PRODUCTS BASED ON OUR VALUE SYSTEM AND EVALUATE OUR PEOPLE WITHIN OUR BUSINESS BASED ON THAT AS WELL.”
has 1,000 associates employees. The company’s assets totaled $17.03 billion as of June 2024.
Financial institutions face a number of challenges today, including what some consider the overreach of the federal government and a regulatory environment. But Stefanski considers the “ups and downs” of his industry and carries on.
“My father had a nice recipe for success and that was having more capital than any other company. We pride ourselves in having a high capital ratio. It is as important as not taking credit risk,” says Stefanski, who considers his and his wife Vanessa’s blended family of seven children and seven grandchildren to be his “pride and joy.”
MARC RUNS HIS COMPANY FAR DIFFERENTLY THAN MANY OTHER BANKERS DO. BUT YOU CAN’T ARGUE WITH 40 YEARS OF SUCCESS. AND HE’S NEVER LOST THAT HUMBLENESS.”
“I like to lead from behind. I don’t need to be the center of attention,” says Stefanski. “That has served me well, and I hope my family learns about modesty and humility from that example.”
The other “secret sauce” that Stefanski identifies as being responsible for Third Federal’s success reflects how customers and his associates (he’s been known to charge someone a dollar if you use the term “employee”) are treated. Company values include love and a general concern for others, trust, commitment to excellence, respect and the ability to have fun, but never at someone’s expense. It appears to be working. The turnover rate at Third Federal is only 3%, as compared to an industry average of 40%.
“We develop our customer service plans and products based on our value system and evaluate our people within our business based on that as well,” says Stefanski, whose personal philosophy is a sincere mix of respect for Eastern religions, the Golden Rule, common sense and kindness. (Stefanski tells his story in a new book, People First: The Third Federal Way to be published January 2025 by Forbes Books.)
Stefanski admits he doesn’t have as much direct contact with customers as he used to. (For one reason, the sheer volume of customers prevents that interaction.) But it’s unusual and somewhat refreshing that both long-time and new customers in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood (the site of Third Federal’s $20 million corporate campus that opened in 1998) associate his name with the savings and loan. They got their first mortgage, their first saving account, “with Third Federal and Marc.” Stefanski’s respect for others also carries over to his board.
“There is a round table in the board room. To Marc that means, ‘I am the
– ROBERT FIALA
leader, but we are all equals.’ It’s a powerful message. He’s always been laser-focused on running the business, and he’s grown the company to be much larger than when he took over from his father. He’s at the point of his career where he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone any longer,” says Fiala. “Marc runs his company far differently than many other bankers do. But you can’t argue with 40 years of success. And he’s never lost that humbleness.”
Or his willingness to help.
“I try to complement our banking services with The Third Federal Foundation where we try to support a lot of people who aren’t as well off as others,” says Stefanski of the foundation that provides charitable grants to nonprofit partners.
Rhonda’s Kiss, a nonprofit organization, was founded by Marc and his children to honor Stefanski’s first wife who died from cancer 10 years ago. Significant annual contributions have benefited the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals of Cleveland and other medical facilities across the country.
In addition, Rhonda’s Kiss Associate Fund and the Once-A-Month-Club band is one way for Stefanski, Fiala and others to reconnect with their love of music and friendship. But it is also an opportunity to show appreciation to Third Federal associates and raise funds for those in the company and their families facing hardships. Stefanski (who has traded his drums for a keyboard) and his band members have played before more than 3,500 people at his charitable events in Ohio and more than 300 in Florida. And they have been doing it for more than 20 years.
Rock and roll, Third Federal mortgages — you know you’re from Cleveland.
Go Boldly
Margot Copeland has a list of accomplishments, honors and awards so long it could fill this entire page, but she doesn’t talk much about any of that.
“A resume only describes what you do,” she says. “A resume does not say who you are.”
So who is Margot Copeland?
“My life has revolved around raising my children and trying to be the best person and contributor I can be,” is how she answers that question.
But, before retiring in 2019, Copeland was also the CEO of the KeyBank Foundation for 18 years — a job that put her in the position to change lives with more than $800 million of grants. Her best work, she says, was funding a Cleveland public school, called KeyBank Classroom for STEM Education at Cleveland State University (MC2 STEM High School). “We really enabled bright and high-performing students in STEM education to spend their 11th and 12th grade years on a college campus,” she says.
Her story really began, however, with her mother’s parents who, although only had a few years of schooling, saw to it that all seven of their kids went to college. “That’s a nugget of who they are,” Copeland says.
Her mother’s first job out of college was a teaching job in a rural community. She was a math teacher who made it her top priority to teach her students, largely the children of sharecroppers, how to tell time and count money so that their families couldn’t be taken advantage of. Her father was a Baptist minister and religious scholar who could answer any question about the Bible she brought to him. They were the kind of people who would open their home to anybody in need.
“Community was the centerpiece and heartbeat of our home,” says Copeland, who moved to Cleveland after college (she earned her bachelor’s degree in physics at Hampton University in Virginia followed by her master’s degree in educational development at The Ohio State University) to take a job as a sales rep for Xerox.
And so that’s the way it was for her, too. While raising her three children and advancing her career, she always found time to give back to her community. Most notably, she was named the Junior League of Cleveland’s first Black president in 1991 and, in 2010, was elected national president of The Links, Inc., an organization of women devoted to strengthening African American communities.
Although she’s retired and her children are grown (her daughter is
an ordained minister, her older son is an orthodontist and her younger son works in the nonprofit community) Copeland says she’s “probably more exhausted now than when I was working for Key.”
That’s because she’s on the board of more than a half dozen major institutions, including the AARP, Cleveland
GO BOLDLY INTO YOUR FUTURE. UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE QUICKLY AND BE YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF.”
Clinic, Cleveland Foundation Banner Bank, Thomas White Foundation, George W. Codrington Foundation and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The downtime that’s left is spent with family and friends — and also mentoring young people. Her advice is the same thing her mother told her as she went off to college.
“Go boldly into your future,” she says. “Understand who you are quickly and be your authentic self. ”
Margot Copeland has spent the last four decades improving the world around her — a mission that didn’t end with her retirement. | By Colleen Smitek
Hope in Bloom
Though cancer was killing her, the little girl thought only of others — a legacy honored by her parents through Prayers From Maria and its sunflower fields. | By Colleen Smitek
There were so many tests and appointments — for bloodwork, for radiation, to meet oncologists. Between them all, 6-year-old Maria would befriend the other children being treated for cancer in the waiting room. She still had her soft chocolate brown hair, but many of the other kids, suffering from leukemia, were bald. So Maria went home at night and prayed for them.
“At first, this was very frustrating for me,” says Maria’s dad, Ed McNamara. “How about you pray for you? She was so selfless that it crushed me. It was humbling. And that’s because she was just better than us.”
Ed knew that Maria had something worse than leukemia — a glioma brain tumor, which takes the life of over 97% of its victims within three years. She died on July 14, 2007, a little over a year after being diagnosed. It left Ed and his wife, Megan, in a pit of grief they never imagined climbing out of, but it also left them with a mission.
“We have to do something to help these kids,” Ed remembers saying. “Because Maria told us to.”
That was the start of Prayers From Maria, which has since generated more than $12 million for childhood cancer research while also getting the message out — with the help of cheery sunflower fields — that not nearly enough is being
done to save the one of every 263 children who will get cancer before the age of 20. The outlook for pediatric brain cancer was even more bleak.
“When Maria was first diagnosed there was absolutely nothing being done to help these kids,” says Megan, who serves as the foundation’s unpaid executive director. “Organizations like ours have pushed the needle with government to increase funding for kids. That gives me hope, but we have a huge, long path in front of us.”
With the help of a $200,000 Prayers From Maria grant, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston launched the largest genomic analysis to date of pediatric brain tumors. It’s not a cure, but it’s a start. “They discovered how to attack these tumors,” Megan says.
More has been done in the last five years than the last 50 to combat childhood brain cancer, according to Ed, who expects artificial intelligence and global collaboration to lead to exponentially more advances in treatment in the next five years. “It’s insane what technology is going to be able to do in medical research.”
So, yes, there is hope, but it’s always mixed with sadness — and not just for Maria.
ORGANIZATIONS LIKE OURS HAVE PUSHED THE NEEDLE WITH GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR KIDS. THAT GIVES ME HOPE, BUT WE HAVE A HUGE, LONG PATH IN FRONT OF US.”
MEGAN MCNAMARA
One of the challenges facing Maria was that her tumor could not be biopsied. “They didn’t really understand the beast they were dealing with,” Megan says.
Nearly half a million sunflower seeds are planted every year at Maria’s Field of Hope in Avon and at Cedar Point. Paths cut through the flowers lead to photos of children fighting cancer and also prayer cards that can be filled out and pinned to flowers.
“It’s a solemn place of awesomeness,” says Ed. “Everyone who visits it for the first time comes out saying they were praying.” And that, says Ed and Megan, is exactly what Maria would want.
Visit prayersfrommaria.org for more information of Maria’s Field of Hope and on the nonprofit’s annual fundraisers.
Steve Potash, OverDrive CEO
Congratulations to Steve Potash, OverDrive CEO, and all the 2024 Business Hall of Fame Inductees
Since founding OverDrive in 1986, Steve has been a visionary leader, fostering long-term, trusted relationships with publishers, libraries, and schools around the globe. Under his leadership, OverDrive has empowered communities worldwide with books and films, sparking the joy of curiosity and learning.
Steve’s dedication to innovation and excellence has not only shaped OverDrive, but also enriched countless lives through access to educational and entertaining content.
Thank you for your leadership and guiding us toward new horizons.
Difference Maker
Peggy Zone Fisher wasn’t looking for a job when a friend on the board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews’ (NCCJ) Cleveland chapter suggested she interview for the nonprofit’s president and CEO post. Seven months earlier, in February 2005, she’d sold her Zone Travel Agency — the business her parents, Cleveland city council people Michael and Mary Zone, started — after 30 years of running it. She had agreed to stay on as a principal to onboard corporate clients to the travel company that bought it.
“I never really even knew how to run a nonprofit,” the Cleveland Heights resident says. “I knew how to run a business.”
But Zone Fisher knew of the human rights organization’s work to combat bigotry, racism and bias. And she remembered the discriminatory backlash her family experienced in their all-white neighborhood at West 65th Street and Detroit Avenue for supporting a black man, Carl Stokes, during his 1967 mayoral campaign. Suddenly, their friends’ parents instructed their kids that they weren’t allowed to play with them anymore. The family came home one day to find racist graffiti spraypainted on their new white siding. The Zones were undeterred. They continued to campaign for Stokes.
“[My parents] just taught us through their actions that the world is bigger
YOU NEED TO RESPECT PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE.”
than the intersection of West 65th and Detroit,” she says. “You need to respect people for who they are.” She interviewed for and got the position.
Zone Fisher started her new job by completing the NCCJ chapter’s transition to an independent 501(c)(3) counterpart to keep all the dollars it raised in the community, a task that included changing its name to the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio. During her 18-year tenure, the center has grown from a Shaker Heights office with six employees serving Cuyahoga and Summit counties on an annual budget of $400,000 to a Beachwood-based entity employing 19 people providing services in 11 counties on a yearly budget of over $2 million. She continues to increase funding and expand services — services that in turn build the center’s budget.
Zone Fisher has increased fundraising generated by two signature annual events: the Humanitarian Awards Celebration dinner and the Walk, Rock, Roll & Run. The walk/run, organized a few years
before she arrived at the center, brought in about $250,000 in May, mainly through donations and sponsorships. (Only 5K-run participants pay a fee — those who sign up for the 1- and 3-mile walks donate whatever they can.) Last year the November dinner, first hosted by the NCCJ chapter in 1954, raised approximately $600,000, a number Zone Fisjer attributes to working her many longstanding relationships to sell tickets and tables.
“People don’t give money to an organization unless they believe in the organization, they believe in the cause, and they believe in the leadership and the mission,” she says.
In 2019, Zone Fisher began adding to the annual fundraising tally by trademarking the center’s Lead DIVERSITY professional program she established and licensing it to other nonprofits. One of her proudest recent accomplishments is keeping the center open and staffers working during COVID, a feat that required adapting all in-person diversity, equity, inclusion and leadership-development programming for middle and high schools, businesses and Lead DIVERSITY so it could be delivered virtually.
Zone Fisher’s passion for the work is sustained by a desire to put the center in the best position to continue thriving.
“I’d like [the center] to be around for another hundred years,” she says.
Peggy Zone Fisher reflects on her record of putting human rights first. | By Lynne Thompson
Congratulations to the 2024 Inductees into the Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame and our Chairman and CEO
Marc Stefanski
Thank you, Marc, for your leadership and for making Third Federal a special place to work.
In celebration of the City of Cleveland’s 200th Anniversary, Cleveland Magazine created its Business Hall of Fame, celebrating the achievements of the brave men and women who helped shape our city and society. Each year since, we have honored these unique people, who are blessed with the insight and a pioneering spirit that built the foundations of our economy.
2023
Belkin, Jules – Belkin Productions
Belkin, Myron (Mike) – Belkin Productions
Klonk, Robert – Oswald
2022
Fisher, Lee – Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University
Kaulig, Matt – Kaulig Cos.
Read, Deborah – Thompson Hine LLP
2021
Johnson, Dr. Alex – Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)
Lucarelli, Samuel (posthumously) –MinuteMen Staffing and HR Services
Moreno, Bernie – Bernie Moreno Cos.
2018
Conway, Dan – Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Conway, Pat – Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Perry, Pat – ERC
2017
Berg, Jodi – Vitamix
Humphries, Thomas – Youngstown/Warren
Regional Chamber
Kahl, Jack – ShurTech Brands LLC
Maron, Rick – MRN Ltd.
2015
Fowler, Chuck – Fairmount Minerals
Mooney, Beth – KeyCorp
Nance, Fred – Squire Patton Boggs
Snyder, Barbara – Case Western Reserve University
2014
Dalton, Ray – PartsSource
Howley, Nicholas – TransDigm Group Inc.
Kohl, Stewart – The Riverside Cos.
Morrison, Richard – Molded Fiber Glass Cos.
Proenza, Luis M. – The University of Akron
2013 Lake Erie is Ohio’s
Resource
2012
Church, Roy – Lorain County
Community College
Clark, Paul – PNC Bank
Linsalata, Frank N. – Linsalata Capital Partners
Nottingham, John – Nottingham Spirk
Smith, C. Robert – Spero-Smith
Investments Advisers
Spirk, John – Nottingham Spirk
2011
Briggs, Robert W. – GAR Foundation
Chiricosta, Rick – Medical Mutual of Ohio
Egger, Terrance E. Z. – The Plain Dealer
Hambrick, James L. – The Lubrizol Corp.
Harmon Sr., Lute – Cleveland Magazine
Pianalto, Sandra – Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
2010
Coleman, Lonnie – Coleman Spohn Corp.
Fedeli, Umberto P. – The Fedeli Group
Ratner, Charles – Forest City Enterprises
Strauss, Thomas J. – Summa Health System
Woods, Jacqueline F. – AT&T Ohio
2009
Bishop, Paul – H-P Products Inc.
Considine, William – Akron Children’s Hospital
Conway, Bill – Fairmount Minerals
Siegal, Michael – Olympic Steel
Hyland Sr., Packy (posthumously) –Hyland Software
2008
Keegan, Robert J. – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Shearer, Robert J. – Shearer’s Foods Inc.
Wolstein, Scott A. – Developers Diversified Realty Corp.
Madison, Bob – Robert P. Madison International Inc.
Mahoney, Bob – Diebold Inc.
Meyer, Henry – KeyCorp
Tod, David – Civic leader
2001
Davey, John – The Davey Institute of Tree Surgery
Lennon, Fred – Swagelok
Machaskee, Alex – The Plain Dealer
Nord, Eric – Nordson Corp.
Ong, John – The B.F. Goodrich Co.
Timken, Tim – The Timken Co.
Wean, Raymond John – Wean Engineering Co.
2000
Beeghly, Leon – Standard Slag Co.
Debartolo Sr., Edward J. – DeBartolo Realty
Embry, Wayne – Cavaliers/Gund Arena Co.
Firestone, Harvey – Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.
Flood, Howard – FirstMerit Corp.
Gault, Stan – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Hoover, William Henry – Hoover Co.
Patient, Bill – Cleveland State University
Payiavlas, John – AVI Foodsystems Inc.
Tullis, Dick – Harris Corp./University Circle Inc.
Walters, Farrah – University Hospitals
1999
Daberko, Dave – National City Corp.
Davis, James C. – Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Reavis, Jack – Jones Day
Schey, Ralph – Scott Fetzer Co.
Sullivan, Tom – RPM Inc.
1998
Baker, Richard T. – Ernst & Ernst
Gorman, Joe – TRW Inc.
Hoag, Dave – LTV Corp.
McDonald, C. Bert – McDonald & Co. Investments
Ratner Miller, Ruth – Forest City Enterprises
Walker, Skip – M.A. Hanna Co.
1997
Austin, Samuel – The Austin Co.
Bruening, Joseph M. – Bearings Inc.
Gillespie, Bob – KeyCorp
Harrison, H. Stuart – Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.
McCartan, Pat – Jones Day
Ratner, Albert – Forest City Enterprises
1996
Bell, Jess – Bonne Bell Inc.
Biggar, Jim – Glencairn
Bonda, Alva “Ted” – Cleveland Indians, APCOA
Brandon, Edward B. – National City Corp.
Breen, John G. “Jack” – The Sherwin-Williams Co.
de Windt, E. Mandel – Eaton Corp.
Eaton, Henry F. – Dix & Eaton Inc.
Jacobs, David H. – Richard E. Jacobs Group
Jacobs, Richard E. – Richard E. Jacobs Group
Lewis, Peter – Progressive Corp.
Malley, Adele – Malley’s Chocolates
Malley, Bill – Malley’s Chocolates
Maltz, Milton – Malrite Co.
Mandel, Jack C. – Premier Industrial Corp.
Mandel, Joseph C. – Premier Industrial Corp.
Mandel, Morton L. – Premier Industrial Corp.
McCormack, Mark – IMG
Mixon, A. Malachi – Invacare Corp.
Miller, Samuel H. – Forest City Enterprises Inc.
Pogue, Richard W. – Jones Day
Robinson, Larry – J.B. Robinson Jewelers
Stone, Irving I. – American Greetings Corp.
Strawbridge, Herbert – The Higbee Co.
Wain, Norman – WIXY 1260
HISTORICAL
Andrews, Samuel – Standard Oil Co.
Baker, Newton D. – Baker & Hostetler
Beaumont, Louis D. – May Co.
Boiardi, Hector – Chef Boyardee
Bradley, Alva – Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Co.
Brush, Charles F. – Inventor
Carter, Lorenzo – First Cleveland settler
Case Sr., Leonard – Commercial Bank of Lake Erie
Chisholm, Henry – Cleveland Rolling Mill
Cleaveland, Moses – Founder of Cleveland
Cox, Sr., John D. – Cleveland Twist Drill
Crawford, Frederick C. – Thompson Products Inc.
Doan, Nathaniel – Cleveland’s first industrialist
Eaton, Cyrus S. – Republic Steel Co.
Eaton, Jr., Joseph O. – Eaton Corp.
Ernst, Alwin C. – Ernst & Ernst
Fawick, Thomas L. – Fawick Clutch Co.
Flagler, Henry M. – Standard Oil Co.
Foster, Claud H. – Gabriel Co.
Girdler, Tom M. – Republic Steel Co.
Goff, Frederick H. – The Cleveland Foundation
Grasselli, Caesar A. – Grasselli Chemical Co.
Grdina, Anton – Slovenian Building and Loan Association
Gund II, George – Cleveland Trust Bank
Halle, Samuel H. – Halle Bros.
Halle, Salmon P. – Halle Bros.
Handy, Truman P. – Merchant National Bank
Hanna, Marcus A. – M.A. Hanna Co./ U.S. Senate
Harshaw, Wiliam A. – Harshaw, Fuller & Goodwin Co.
Holden, Liberty E. – The Plain Dealer
Holmes, Allen C. – Jones Day
Humphrey, George M. – U.S. Dept. of Treasury/National Steel Corp.
Jack, William S. – Jack & Heintz Inc.
Johnson, Tom L. – Civic leader
Kelley, Alfred – Civic leader
Lincoln, James – Lincoln Electric
Lincoln, John – Lincoln Electric
Lindseth, Elmer – Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.
Mather, Samuel – Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.
Mather, William G. – Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co./Republic Steel Corp.
Metzenbaum, Howard – Sun Newspapers/ APCOA/U.S. Senate
Morgan, Garrett – Inventor
Myers, George – The Hollenden Barbershop
Otis Jr., Charles A. – Otis & Co.
Parker, Arthur L. – Parker Appliance Co.
Pile, Lionel A. – Hough Bakery
Ratner, Leonard – Forest City Materials Co.
Ratner, Max – Forest City Materials Co.
Richman, Charles L. – Richman Bros.
Richman, Henry C. – Richman Bros.
Richman, Nathan G. – Richman Bros.
Robinson, J. French – East Ohio Gas Co.
Rockefeller, John D. – Standard Oil Co.
Saltzman, Maurice – Bobbie Brooks Inc.
Sapirstein, Jacob – American Greetings Corp.
Sherwin, Henry A. – Sherwin-Williams & Co.
Shulman, Bernie – Revco/Bernie Shulman’s
Smith, A. Kelvin – The Lubrizol Corp.
Smith, Harry C. – The Cleveland Gazette/ civic leader
Smith, Kent H. – The Lubrizol Corp.
Smith, Vincent K. – The Lubrizol Corp.
Squire, Andrew – Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Stone, Amasa – Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad
Stouffer, Vernon – Stouffer’s
Strong Taylor, Sophie – William Taylor & Son Co.
Swasey, Ambrose – Warner & Swasey Co.
Tankersley, Jack –Consolidated
Natural Gas
Taplin, Frank E. – North American Coal Corp.
Taylor, William O. – Taylor Chair Co.
Thompson, Charles E. – Cleveland Cap
Screw Co.
Van Sweringen, Mantis – Real estate and railroad tycoon
Van Sweringen, Orris – Real estate and railroad tycoon
Wade, Jeptha H. – Western Union Telegraph Co.
Warner, Worcester R. – Warner & Swasey Co.
Wellman, Samuel T. – Wellman-SeaverMorgan Co.
Westropp, Clara – Women’s Federal Savings Bank
Westropp, Lillian – Women’s Federal Savings Bank
White, Rollin H. – Cleveland Tractor Co.
White, Thomas H. – White Sewing Machine Co.
Wills, Sr., J. Walter – House of Wills
Winton, Alexander – Winton Motor Carriage Co.
Worthington, George – Cleveland Iron & Nail Works
FEATURES FEATURES CASTING A NEW NET
Northeast Ohio is spearheading a unique information resource. By Terry Troy
Northeast Ohio is playing a pivotal role in the development of a statewide Sci/Tech information resource that could have a major impact on research and development in our area. Earlier this year, OhioNet formed the Ohio Industrial Resource Cooperative (OIRC), an organization that wants to leverage the collective power of industrial, scientific and technological libraries across the state.
But the idea was born right here in Northeast Ohio.
“I used to teach at Miami University of Ohio,” says Jim Clarke, knowledge management specialist at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. “While I was there, we had a vast amount of research materials available to us through OhioLINK, which is a library and information resource that was made available to colleges through the state.”
Just in case you are unfamiliar with it, OhioLINK is a consortium of Ohio’s college and university libraries as well as the State Library of Ohio. It serves more
than 800,000 students, faculty and staff at 88 institutions with 117 libraries, with a membership that includes 16 public universities, 23 community and technical colleges, 48 private colleges and the State Library of Ohio.
“Membership in OhioLINK allowed smaller colleges in Northeast Ohio, like Hiram College or the University of Mount Union, to have access to the same Sci/Tech literature that is available to larger academic institutions like Kent State,” Clarke says.
“My next thought was to create a new consortium, something that could help companies in Northeast Ohio to succeed at getting access to this kind of research and information at a cost that was palatable.”
— JIM CLARKE
and expensive. Right around that same time, I also noticed that my colleagues in other companies in Northeast Ohio were facing similar challenges.”
The first idea Clarke entertained was to see if a company like Goodyear could
“The answer, of course, was no,” says Clarke. “There were licensing issues.”
But there were other issues as well. OhioLINK is a part of the education department of Ohio and is run through The Ohio State University. It
Congratulations
is also academically oriented, and very nonprofit. So there wasn’t a good fit.
“My next thought was to create a new consortium, something that could help companies in Northeast Ohio to succeed at getting access to this kind of research and information at a cost that was palatable,” says Clarke. “I started reaching out to other consortiums. Westerville’s OhioNet had been around for decades, but I was not aware of them.”
Clarke contacted OhioNet about a pilot project.
“When Jim came to me with the idea that corporations could also benefit from working collectively to get the best pricing on their research needs, it was something of a ‘light bulb’ moment,” says Hannah Rosen, MLIS, director of member programs for OhioNet, who now heads up the OIRC. “Many people think that ‘for-profit’ companies have all the money in the
to our 15th National President
(OH) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated
Richelle A. McCoy, President
Co-Founder Prayers From Maria Foundation, CEO Armada Risk Partners
Co-Founder
Prayers From Maria Foundation
world and they can just buy all the research that they want — but that is not true.
“Corporations’ research divisions are vital for innovation. They require access to the latest research, technology or pathology when it comes to biological or medical research,” she adds. “But many of these research divisions are under-funded, because profit margins are slimmer than we think. Research divisions often have limited budgets, but they don’t have anyone to advocate for them.”
Clarke then reached out to the Akron Chamber of Commerce’s Polymer Cluster, which is “how we generated initial interest from other companies that are part of the cluster,” says Clarke. “They listened to our pitch and became members.”
The pilot OIRC program consisted of seven founding members, mostly comprising Fortune 500 companies located in Northeast Ohio, most of which want to remain anonymous.
In what was a first victory for the fledgling service, OhioNet, through OIRC, acquired a subscription to Elsevier ScienceDirect, the world’s largest scientific publisher, which publishes an estimated 630,000 articles per year.
“It’s an extremely important tool for scientists and engineers,” says Clarke. “And [Goodyear] was able to acquire it for much less money than we had prior to being involved with OhioNet and OIRC.”
It would seem, at least on the surface, that a company in the consortium might risk having trade and technology secrets revealed to other members. But there really isn’t any concern given the way the membership is constructed and knowledge accessed.
“Companies don’t have to share their Sci/Tech knowledge with anyone else,” says Clarke. “Bridgestone might know that Goodyear has access to Elsevier ScienceDirect, but they don’t know how we are using it. And we don’t know how they are using it. They only know that we are doing our homework to create the best products that we possibly can.”
Naturally, there are a lot of companies and economic development organizations in Northeast Ohio, (like Bounce in Akron, the Youngstown Business Incubator and JumpStart in Cleveland) that could grow their membership simply by offering access to Sci/Tech subscriptions at a reduced rate.
“We’re hoping that these organizations will provide us the opportunity to expand our membership for 2025,” says Clarke. “Of course, the more members there are in the OIRC, the more benefit it has for Goodyear, because OhioNet will have greater cooperative buying power
HANNAH ROSEN
to negotiate for subscriptions. It will also afford us the opportunity to not only maintain our collection of Sci/Tech literature at lower costs, but will also allow us to expand it — which is very important in the competitive world that we live in.”
It represents a unique opportunity for a nonprofit to help for-profit companies with the very altruistic goal of economic development.
“We are a 501(c)(3),” admits Rosen. “OhioNet is basically a membership organization for libraries. We have been working for libraries across the State of Ohio since the ’70s.”
As far as the OIRC is concerned, it is the first of consortium of its kind in the nation, a transformative development for business in our state. By leveraging collective buying power through
“From a library standpoint, there is nothing like this in the entire world,” says Clarke. “It is unique to our state, unique to our nation and unique to our planet — and it is exciting to be a part of something that is so new.
“We are eager to help smaller companies, especially startups, which have very low access to cutting-edge research,” says Rosen. “In fact, we would like to work with as many small organizations that we can. The more organizations we have, the greater our ability to help them.”
OIRC, even smaller companies can gain access to important research materials and resources that will foster innovation and strengthen their R&D capabilities.
Become a
And there are no limits of how large this initiative might grow. Now that its pilot period has been completed, the OIRC is committed to continued community building and advancing group negotiations to ensure benefits for its members. Participation in the consortium is open
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to for-profit companies in Ohio that become OhioNet members.
The consortium also is looking to expand its relationships with trade organizations such as CincyTech, TechGrowth Ohio and the Youngstown Business Incubator as well as other organizations and establish alliances that advocate and provide resources for for-profit companies around the state. A longer term goal could be supporting the major Tech Hubs in our state.
“I could see this eventually expanding to innovation districts across Ohio, including in Northeast Ohio, Columbus and Cincinnati,” says Clarke.
This summer, OhioNet named Katy B. Mathuews, MLIS, Ph.D. as its new executive director and CEO. With a career spanning 20 years in the library sector and a background in various roles within library and higher education settings, Mathuews brings a wealth of expertise to her new role.
Prior to joining OhioNet, Mathuews served as the senior director of administration at Ohio University Libraries in Athens, where she was a member of the libraries’ executive leadership team. She has also previously held roles in library instruction, circulation, research services, collection management, subject liaison services, assessment, institutional effectiveness, budgeting, grants management and strategic planning.
In addition to her work in libraries and higher education, Mathuews has published over 25 articles and book chapters and delivered over 60 presentations on a variety of topics, including library assessment, makerspaces and strategic planning. Mathuews has also served as a member of the Academic
Library Association of Ohio’s executive board and the Scioto County Public Library board of trustees in Portsmouth, Ohio.
“We are looking forward to Katy joining the OhioNet team,” says Molly Meyers LaBadie, OhioNet board chair and deputy director at Delaware County District Library, in announcing Mathuews appointment last summer. “Her passion for strategic planning and enthusiasm for engaging with the Ohio library community herald an exciting future for OhioNet and our members.”
“As a lifelong Ohio library user, I am thrilled to join the innovative staff at OhioNet in our mission to serve the Ohio library community,” says Mathuews. “I look forward to connecting with members to understand their unique needs and leveraging the talents of the OhioNet team to support our shared success.”
KATY MATHUEWS
CREATING A BETTER ENVIRONMENT
The Primate Forest will “forever change the face of our zoo” by making it more convenient and educational for visitors and more conducive to the well-being of animals.
Construction of a new primate forest began at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo this fall. By Jill Sell
Now under construction, the new Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Primate Forest will be a magnificent space where the natural world with real plants meets technology.
Gorillas, orangutans and hundreds of other animals including birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians will lead lives that mirror their natural habitats. Huge “interactive trees” surrounded by a rotunda of floor-to-ceiling video screens will create an environment that shows forests are vital to animals and humankind.
incredible value in trees. They contribute to the health of animals and people by cleaning air and water, preventing erosion and flooding, providing shade and energy savings and increasing property values. It’s all about a “One Health” approach — healthy people, healthy animals, healthy environment.”
“We are changing the narrative away from being just about rainforests to the importance of trees around the world,” says Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Executive Director Dr. Christopher Kuhar. “That applies to the gorillas in Africa to the orangutans in Borneo to the people in Northeast Ohio. There is an
Primate Forest’s design will also allow visitors a closer look at animal care. Visitors will get a more intimate view of social interactions between people and animals and animals with one another.
The 140,000-square foot $120 million Primate Forest project will expand the zoo’s 30-plus-year-old RainForest’s footprint. Dr. Kuhar calls the complex’s metamorphosis a giant leap for the Zoo, creating a national and even global indoor destination for visitors, as well as animal researchers and caretakers. Zoo officials say Primate Forest will generate an estimated $131 million in economic impact to Northeast Ohio. It will be funded through partnerships, state capital
“I have confidence in the care of all the animals during the transition.”
— KRISTEN LUKAS
funds, zoo capital funds and philanthropic donations. It will be funded primarily by philanthropic donations.
Phase one of the construction is projected to be completed by 2026. It includes a new entrance, a two-story CrossCountry Mortgage Forest Gallery and improvement or creation of some state-of-the art animal habitats, including a new outdoor access area for the orangutans. Phase two is expected to be finished in 2032, and its centerpiece is a new gorilla habitat.
One of the most impressive construction elements of the Primate Forest will be the use of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) roofing material. Currently used on the RainForest dome, the material allows year-round UV light access that benefits animals, plants and humans.
“The biggest challenge is waiting for this to be done,” says Kristen Lukas, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo director of conservation and science, and chair of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, which serves 51 zoos across the country and is concerned about the well-being of all gorillas in zoos and in the wild. “I have confidence in the care of all the animals during the transition. But we also let the gorillas tell us what they need.”
Dr. Kuhar says the Primate Forest will “forever change the face of our zoo,” by making it more convenient and educational for visitors and more conducive to the well-being of animals.
CHRISTOPHER KUHAR
SMARTER MANUFACTURING
This is an historic year for Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Fall semester saw students enroll in Tri-C’s first bachelor’s degree program, aiming for a Bachelor of Applied Science in Integrated Digital Manufacturing Engineering Technology (IDMET). The four-year degree is an appropriate one for Tri-C, which has a mission to serve the community and recognize vital needs.
“Integrated digital manufacturing, or ‘smart manufacturing,’ is the future. It is designed to keep companies and the communities they are in moving
Tri-C keeps companies moving forward in the 21st century.
By Jill Sell
forward into the 21st Century,” says Ray Nejadfard, dean, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering. “We want to make sure our students have the latest and greatest information and technology, while at the same time have the traditional knowledge of manufacturing that is also needed. This gives our students multiple advantages.”
Smart manufacturing embraces ways to improve and invent productivity, safety, efficiency and quality. Tri-C’s IDMET degree combines a number of specialties to meet those goals, including automated systems; electrical, mechanical and
network engineering; industrial information technology; cybersecurity; cloud security; and enterprise security. The need for this training in this Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is imperative.
“The biggest problem for companies who want to embrace smart manufacturing is finding people — someone who understands it and can help implement it,” says Nejadfard, whose experience in manufacturing spans three decades. “There are more than 14,000 manufacturing companies in Ohio, with more than 6,000 in Northeast Ohio in 14 counties. Ohio ranks third in the nation in manufacturing power, only behind California and Texas. It’s important for us to maintain that third ranking or move to second.”
Nejadfard notes that 85% of Tri-C’s graduates remain here and work. These are students who “do not want to be pigeon-holed,” but who want an extensive and broad knowledge of smart manufacturing, he says. Their advantages
will help them be chosen for new positions, as well as those that retiring baby boomers are leaving behind.
“We know that automation is going to be an even bigger issue. But cybersecurity is also a huge concern. Most of these manufacturing companies have more than one place, and as they connect these locations that becomes a problem for cybersecurity, cloud security and other issues connected to the internet. It’s super important that every piece you connect is secure,” says Nejadfard, who says TriC’s multi-disciplinary program teaches ways to approach connectivity problems.
The conversation to create Tri-C’s IDMET bachelor’s degree began in 2019 when the school brought together 32 companies of varying sizes and manufacturing focuses to determine what was needed. Key companies included Lincoln Electric, Rockwell Automation, Swagelok, Parker Hannifin Corp., General Motors and Ford Motor Co., among others.
Regional and local resources, including Team NEO and the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), were also consulted for their economic research.
“It was important to create something that not only helped students get good jobs and make a good living, but that also helped the economy of Ohio,” says Nejadfard, adding that the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association estimates that manufacturing accounts for 17% of the state’s GDP (gross domestic product), with Cuyahoga County home to more than 1,600 companies employing almost 70,000 workers.
Currently 11 students are enrolled in the bachelor’s program, but Tri-C’s goal is to reach 35. The diverse group of students attend mostly in-person
“There are 14,432 manufacturing companies in Ohio, with more than 6,000 in Northeast Ohio in 14 counties.”
— RAY NEJADFARD
classes, but some online courses will also be offered. Classroom labs will be created “so it doesn’t matter what shift someone is working, they will still be able to participate,” according to Nejadfard. Students are taught by faculty who are all certified in the courses they teach. Financial help is also available to qualified students.
“Students get all this at a community college’s affordable tuition, plus career support,” says Nejadfard. “Several of our IDMET students have degrees already. But they are pursing this field because it will give them more opportunities to provide for their families.”
FINDING A WAY FORWARDNT
Sandrick
Journalism is a struggling profession that has been trying to find its way for decades. Ideastream Public Media, which reports local and national news on WKSU-FM and WVIZ-TV, believes it has found one bright path forward.
It’s called “engaged journalism.” Journalists consult with communities
and involve local citizens in reporting the news. They also ask them what news needs covering.
Marlene HarrisTaylor, director of engaged journalism at Ideastream, says engaged journalism is helping to restore trust in the field.
“Public media occupies a unique space because the public still ranks us higher in trust,” Harris-Taylor says. “But even with that, journalism has lost the trust of the public.
“Engaged journalism rebuilds that trust because we are being transparent about our process and bringing the public into the process,” Harris-Taylor says.
Connecting the Dots
In the beginning, Ideastream was practicing engaged journalism before anyone there even heard of the term. In 2020, Ideastream launched a project called Connecting the Dots Between Race and Health. This was shortly after the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County declared racism a public health crisis.
Connecting the Dots examined inequities in health and how race creates the health inequalities. Ideastream invited everyone and anyone in Greater Cleveland to participate, and 16 local community and media organizations, freelance journalists and citizens were selected. Ideastream even shared its funding with them.
Examples included news organizations, like FreshWater Cleveland, that published stories about race and health care on its websites. The Greater
Cleveland Association of Black Journalists organized a townhall discussion on the subject.
Meanwhile, Ideastream produced and aired stories about race and healthcare on WKSU and WVIZ. The content was picked up by National Public Radio.
“Living For We” emerged from the Connecting the Dots project. The podcast discusses quality-of-life challenges Black women face in Cleveland.
Then, Justin Glanville, deputy editor of engaged journalism at Ideastream, began an audio series called “Sound of Us,” in which community members talk about matters important to them.
For example, Ideastream recently partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio in Lorain to identify food bank clients willing to tell their stories of food insecurity.
“Justin spent several months going to community fairs and events asking people what issues they thought we should look into,” Harris-Taylor says.
Ideastream recently hired Richard Cunningham, a producer who worked for the national radio show “Marketplace” by American Public Media. He will be heading up a Community Storytelling project in which he trains non-journalists how to operate a recorder, edit recordings and write copy for their own radio reports.
Listening to Learn
At some point during all this, Ideastream President and CEO Kevin Martin heard that four public radio stations in Southern California, Minnesota, Boston and Chicago had come together to create a movement called engaged journalism. “He said this really is the work we are already doing at Ideastream,” Harris-Taylor says.
“Engaged journalism rebuilds that trust because we are being transparent about our process and bringing the public into the process.”
— MARLENE HARRIS-TAYLOR
In April, Ideastream started working on Connecting the Dots 2.0. This time it’s investigating gun violence. As part of the process, Ideastream hosted Listen and Learn sessions in Cleveland, Lorain, Akron and Canton to hear what residents had to say about the topic.
Ideastream is now preparing stories based on those Listen and Learn sessions and conducting foundational research for “Living For We” Season 2, which will focus on community gun violence.
“We want to stay connected with the people,” Harris-Taylor says.
JUSTICE GUARDIANS OF
CSU’s Wrongful Conviction Clinic fills a vital need. By Jill Sell
In 1895 the U.S. Supreme Court declared “it is better to let the crime of a guilty person go unpunished than to condemn the innocent.” The idea goes back to 1769 beliefs of legendary expert of English law Sir William Blackstone and even further back to Roman law.
The doctrine has been somewhat debatable. But now incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony in Ohio “with claims of actual innocence or manifest injustice” have more hope of walking free.
Launched in 2023 and enrolling students for the first time this year, the Cleveland State University (CSU) College of Law Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic fills a vital need providing pro bono legal assistance to those who qualify. (Terry Gilbert is a 1973 CSU Law graduate and a member of the law school’s Hall of Fame.)
Cuyahoga County has no wrongful conviction program, but the county has accounted for more than one-third of those exonerated in Ohio since 1989 and in the top 10 of most exonerations of any county nationwide, according to Laura Greig, the Wrongful Conviction Clinic’s director. Forty percent of those Ohio exonerations have been in Cuyahoga County.
Brady doctrine violation (suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to a defendant).
CSU College of Law students, under the supervision of Greig and other law professors, review each case submitted to the Clinic, request associated public records, and then learn and develop litigation skills if the case is accepted by the Clinic. Taking the two-semester Wrongful Conviction Clinic course earns six credit hours.
“Criminal defendants who can’t afford a lawyer have the right to be appointed counsel and be appointed a lawyer,” explains Jonathan Witmer-Rich, co-director of CSU’s Criminal Justice Center. “But that ends once they have done their first appeal. So, if they are in prison and there is new evidence or another reason comes up and they want to try to prove they were wrongfully convicted, they no longer have the right to have a lawyer appointed to represent them.”
Greig says individuals in Ohio can bring a challenge to their conviction based on a variety of reasons, including mistaken identity, recantation of a witness’s testimony, not being represented properly by an attorney, being coerced into a false confession or on the basis of a
“This work is very complicated and takes a lot of time. We have heard cases that have taken 20 years to unravel,” says Witmer-Rich. “We are very early into this work, and we don’t have a case yet where we can say, ‘Here’s this person out of prison and we did it.’ But students are making progress in a number of investigations.”
The Wrongful Conviction Clinic is one of three clinics in CSU’s Criminal Justice Center. The others are the Pretrial Justice Clinic headed by Director Robert Triozzi, and the Pardon, Clemency and Reentry Clinic, headed by Director Khalida Sims Jackson and Assistant Director Kate Pruchnicki.
“Our Criminal Justice Center is at the forefront of legal justice issues, from our Wrongful Conviction Clinic to our Pardon, Clemency and Reentry Clinic to our Pretrial Justice Clinic,” says Lee Fisher, dean, CSU College of Law. “Regardless of what field of law our students choose after they graduate, we want all our students to think of themselves not only as future lawyers, but also as future guardians of justice.”
Funding is a critical issue for the success of the Criminal Justice Center. Fisher is hopeful that support will continue.
“Regardless of what field of law our students choose after they graduate, we want all our students to think of themselves not only as future lawyers, but also as future guardians of justice.”
— LEE FISHER
JONATHAN WITMER-RICH
LAURA GREIG
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
The numbers are just the start of the story. You often need to dig deeper to get a better understanding of the forces that impact an industry. Later this month, those numbers should provide a nice benchmark of the nonprofit industry in our area.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon, HW&Co, Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) and Community Leader will be presenting the final webinar for 2024.
“Nonprofits: Beyond the Numbers” will reveal the results of a survey of Northeast Ohio nonprofits, including their thoughts and concerns on a wide variety of topics such as: budgeting; strategic planning, understanding the board and its role, donor engagement; fundraising, funding gaps and more.
You can register for the webinar at https://hwco.cpa/event/beyondthe-numbers-2024/
It’s an interesting portrait of an industry that is constantly in flux. Of the respondents, 59% see revenues increasing, with 14% expecting a decline. However, 82% expect the services nonprofits offer to increase, with only 2% expecting a decline.
According to the survey, 72% believe that their boards understand their role in
the organization, with 55% having faith in the board to provide an appropriate response to emerging market forces. Another 57% believe the board effectively fills its role.
Chief areas of concern for local nonprofits include: funding gaps, donor engagement and fundraising, although only about one-third to 40% of nonprofits are mildly concerned about those topics. When it comes to IT and cybersecurity, two issues many businesses are
other issues. All of these should be included in strategic planning efforts.
However, the survey revealed that almost 20% of nonprofits don’t have a strategic plan, yet 52% of respondents believe that if they don’t do something strategically different, they won’t survive the next three to five years. And almost 79% said their organizations have considered strategic alliances, which many in the industry tout as a possible response to a con -
“A strategic plan is an incredible tool to define priorities, to get everyone focused on working toward the same goals and outcomes. A good strategic plan is something that leadership and the board should put together.”
— ELIZABETH “BIZ” VOUDOURIS
most fearful of these days, three-fourths of nonprofits are mildly concerned or not concerned at all.
Other areas of concern include: reaching a broader segment of the population; lack of visibility in the market; recruiting volunteers; succession planning; retention of volunteers and staff; offering competitive wages and making sure the nonprofit offers a nontoxic work environment, among
traction of funds and an increase in demand for services.
“At the same time there is an increase in demand for services, there is also increasing competition for limited resources,” says Elizabeth “Biz” Voudouris, president and CEO of BVU, an organization that has provided consulting, training and executive coaching services to thousands of nonprofits and businesses in Northeast Ohio. “So every nonprofit, whether
Take a deep dive into the issues driving and sustaining nonprofits. By Terry Troy
Do you have a strategic plan?
they are large and sophisticated or smaller and not as complex, they all need to figure out how to leverage those limited resources — their dollars, their people, their volunteers — to achieve their mission. And they have to remember that they can’t be everything to everyone.
“A strategic plan is an incredible tool to define priorities, to get everyone focused on working toward the same goals and outcomes. A good strategic plan is something that leadership and the board should put together.”
And every member of the staff as well as their work objectives should be tied to the plan.
“The board should be focused on the plan at every board meeting,” adds
If we don’t do something strategically different, we will not be sustainable through the next 3-5 years
Voudouris. “They need to evaluate what progress is being made against the plan and what might need to be changed.”
The plan should have some flexibility, Voudouris cautions.
“Nothing should be set in stone,” she says. “If some of your goals aren’t being met, or some of your programs aren’t working, you should be able to change them to allow you to focus your resources for maximum impact.”
Many nonprofits have a long-range vision, but a strategic plan should be much shorter in duration and may only be good for three to five years, says Voudouris. If a pre-existing plan is working well, there should always be the option of extending it.
We have considered strategic alliances
At the same time, a nonprofit must always understand not only the internal trends within its organization, but also the external trends that could impact future operations.
“Is there anybody else out there providing similar services? Will new legislation have an impact on our operations? Every nonprofit needs to consider those questions and understand how they may change or increase your focus,” says Voudouris. “In addition to having a better understanding of the market, those questions may also give them an idea of who they might collaborate with in terms of delivering goods and services, especially when it comes to a specific program.”
In increasing numbers, nonprofits are creating strategic alliances with similar organizations, which only makes sense given the increased competition for limited resources.
“There have also been a lot of leadership changes in the nonprofit sector,” adds Voudouris. “When an organization is making a leadership change, it is a good time to think about a strategic alliance.”
Strategic alliances can also help a nonprofit achieve its mission more efficiently and affordably — whether the two organizations have similar missions or not — especially if there is a synergy that can be created as a part of the combined strategic vision.
The new, more diverse group can offer numerous new competencies and perspectives to help each organization achieve long-term goals.
There are numerous benefits to creating a strategic alliance, which are becoming increasingly popular after nonprofits
A
felt the full impact of COVID. These include: cost savings; joint planning responsibilities; participation of new or different volunteers and donors; increasing the breadth and scope of services; better brand recognition and community recognition; knowledge transfer and political influence. Strategic alliances often lead to a revitalization of both organizations as well as an overall improvement in fundraising.
of the venture to avoid issues that can be devastating to the overall process.
Budgeting for Success
However, there are also drawbacks. Before creating a strategic alliance, potential problems should be carefully investigated. Outside consultants should be considered to guide the nonprofit through the process, to ensure a successful venture is attained. Partners in the alliance must have a thorough understanding of expectations and obligations as a part
Like a strategic plan, budgeting is very important to overall nonprofit operations. But budgeting also needs to be more flexible than a long-term plan, allowing the organization to react to more immediate needs and challenges, says Helen Weeber, CPA, senior manager, director of HW& Co.’s Nonprofit Advisors Group. HW& Co is a CPA and advisory firm headquartered in Cleveland with numerous clients in the nonprofit sector.
“Nonprofits need to remember budgeting in all of the organization’s operations and projects,” says Weeber. “But the budget should not start and end with the finance department. You really want all those who are responsible for bringing in the dollars and those who are spending the dollars to have a spot at the table.”
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The finance department should almost be a mediator, “or perhaps a better word would be facilitator, providing directions and asking some questions,” says Weeber. “Those who bring in the dollars and those who spend the dollars must be involved, otherwise it removes them for accountability in the budget.
Philanthropic revenue forecast for 2024 v. 2023
“Fund raisers and grant writers are going to know what your chances are of receiving funds or obtaining a grant because they are out there meeting with people almost daily. They know where the funds are coming from,” says Weeber. “The organization also needs to know where the dollars are spent, what things are needed to accomplish your mission.
“That’s why there is no one formula on budgeting. It all depends on your organization, its structure and what you are trying to accomplish. A budget could look very different from one nonprofit to the next. It should not be made according to a standardized format.”
There is also no need for strict governance of the budget.
“In fact, an organization doesn’t even have to do a budget if they don’t want to,” says Weeber. “But a budget makes good business sense. It is a tool to help manage operations. While nonprofits
are not profit motivated, they do need to be financially sustainable, and that is where a budget really helps.”
However, a budget should have a greater degree of flexibility.
“You need the flexibility to adapt,” says Weeber. “So think of your budget as a guide.
The more mature a nonprofit is, the longer it has been in operation, the more comfortable it seems to be operating within the parameters of a budget.
“But the more inexperienced a nonprofit is, the more flexibility you need in your budget, because you still need to find out who you are or you are doing,” says Weeber.
If you would like to know more about going “Beyond the Numbers, follow this link to join the webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon: https://hwco.cpa/event/beyond-the-numbers-2024/
We hope you can attend!
FLYING ACROSS BORDERS
Ohio Aerospace Institute’s collaboration with Quebec will expand opportunities for advanced air mobility. By
Terry Troy
What started as helping a company find funding for the research and development of unique, new hydrogen fuel technology has grown into an international collaboration between Ohio and the Province of Quebec. That collaboration could further grow to establish Ontario, Quebec, and seven states surrounding the Great Lakes into an international hub for the advanced air mobility (AAM) and drone industries.
Parallax Advanced Research of Beavercreek, Ohio, an affiliate of Ohio Aerospace Institute, through funded programs that it manages, such as the Academic Partnership Engagement Experiment (APEX) on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Air Force, helped NEOEx Systems Inc., a company headquartered in Amherst, in Northeast Ohio, develop a technology that will enable a revolution in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It will provide on-board energy and power for extreme long-duration, long-range operations.
The NEOEx system can generate small quantities of liquid hydrogen to the drone, where another on-board system stores the liquid and directs it to a fuel cell. In turn, that fuel cell produces electricity that powers drone flight. Water and heat are emitted as byproducts,
making liquid hydrogen a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels or batteries.
“I started NEOEx in 2015 with the idea of using my cryogenic hydrogen background to enable small and large drones to increase their endurance and range,” says Mark Haberbusch, founder of NEOEx. “As a part of that process, I pretty much talked to everybody in the State of Ohio, trying to find funding opportunities. Then came Bob [Tanner] of Parallax, who suggested I work through the APEX program.”
APEX has the mission to connect universities, businesses and the government; build collaborations between these sectors; identify their transformational operational defense solutions and capabilities; and advance defense technology development for the Department of the Air Force. APEX is a partnership intermediary agreement between Parallax and the Department of the Air Force.
“We put together a really good pitch on what we were trying to do with liquid hydrogen and drones and solving the problem of how to use small quantities of liquid hydrogen as fuel,” says Haberbusch.
It wasn’t long before NEOEx landed a multi-million-dollar defense contract to develop systems that fuel drones for the military.
Drones, outfitted with NEOEx’s onboard storage and power system, are capable of flying up to 20 hours or 1,000 miles. The best news is that the technology is scalable.
“Mark continues to do great, innovative work here in the U.S.,” says Bob Tanner, who serves as executive director of Aerospace Partnerships for Parallax Advanced Research. “They ultimately got a second military contract.”
But the story is far from over.
This past summer, Parallax and OAI were invited to the International Aerospace Innovation Forum hosted by Aero Montreal. Haberbusch from NEOEx attended the innovation forum as well.
“Aero Montreal is something of a sister organization to Parallax and the OAI, only it’s in Canada,” says Jarrod Morley, senior director of Strategy and Innovation for the organization.
Aero Montreal joined something called GLASTA (the Great Lakes Aviation and Space Technology Alliance, “and the goal is to showcase the capability, capacity and resiliency of the Great Lakes region as an aerospace hub in North America and the world, even though currently it’s just Quebec and Ohio that are a part of the process,” says Morley.
“What we are trying to do is play matchmaker between Mark’s technology and our drone manufacturers, to see what we can do to further commercialized drone usage on a scalable size.
“What we are bringing to the table is not only the drone but also an environment and infrastructure that will support the engineering, certification and business validation between Ohio and Quebec — to validate Mark’s work as well as his business proposition.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to expand our alliance to include the seven other U.S. states surrounding the Great Lakes as well as Quebec and Ontario,” adds Morley. “We need to demonstrate the capacity and capabilities of an international collaboration to make that happen.”
BOB TANNER
Mark Haberbusch
LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT
Oswald moves into its new Flats headquarters. By Joanne Cahill
Alongstanding Cleveland corporate headquarters is lighting up a new space in the Downtown skyline.
Cleveland-based Oswald Companies moved into the former Ernst & Young Tower on the east bank of the Flats in October. Three floors of the building, now called Oswald Tower, are occupied by the insurance and risk management brokerage that has called Cleveland its headquarters for over 130 years. Ernst & Young moved to the North Point Tower at East Ninth Street and Lakeside Avenue last year.
Known for being an employee-owned company, Oswald is one of nation’s largest independent insurance brokerage and risk management firms. Several hundred of the company’s employees were moved from the previous space at 1100 Superior Ave. to offices on floors 14, 15 and 18 of the new Flats location. Their space also includes a large firstfloor conference center.
Robert J. Klonk, chairman and CEO, says that the move underscores the company’s commitment to the city of Cleveland.
“Oswald has been in Cleveland for over 130 years,” says Klonk. “We are among a very small group of companies that are still here after all those years. We are proud to be in the city and to start this exciting new chapter.”
The company’s search for the new space included significant input from its employee owners. Jessica Jung, president, explains that their priorities ranged from workspace needs to life-quality amenities.
“We went on a mission asking our team what they were looking for in a space,” she says. “The priorities ranged from wanting more collaborative spaces, including a bigger conference room, to easy access to workout facilities and coffee shops. The conference center allows us more space and gives our employees the collaborative space they deserve to be in.”
Oswald’s large first-floor conference center is a hub for staff and clients. It includes a coffee bar and an outdoor patio. As part of Oswald’s commitment to the community, the space also is available for use by nonprofit organizations free of charge. This service was offered in the Superior Avenue space, as well.
Employees also can use the new Browns Fit gym, which Jung says was a big draw.
“Our new location has so many amenities,” she adds. “The area is upbeat and energetic. Every side of the building has great views and is so bright. It even has a rooftop space for our employees.”
Klonk says that the new space may be a factor for some employees to choose
to spend more time in the office. A recent study by Downtown Cleveland illustrates the growing in-office trend. It showed an increasing return-to-office rate in August of 70% of workers and office space occupancy rising to 81.9%.
Oswald is in line with this with its hybrid work environment and designated in-office collaboration days.
“It creates a workspace that is inviting and in a great area,” adds Klonk. “Employees are going to want to come to the area and have a great workspace, too.
“We have the best talent in the industry, and the new facility helps us to continue to attract new talent to our team,” he says. “All this ultimately benefits our clients.”
Oswald partnered with longtime Flats developer, the Wolstein Group, on the move.
“This is a good example of two Cleveland-based organizations coming together for the greater good of our region,” says Klonk.
“The move is good for the city and good for our employees. We are thriving and are ready to continue to do what we can to help the city grow.”
“Oswald has been in Cleveland for over 130 years. We are among a very small group of companies that are still here after all those years. We are proud to be in the city and to start this exciting new chapter.”
— BOB KLONK
REVITALIZING A CITY
Beachwood’s commitment to optimizing older real estate pays dividends. By Terry Troy
Creating a vibrant real estate market is key to economic development. The revitalization of older existing properties attracts new companies and new jobs, which in turn attracts even more investment in the community.
That’s been the mantra of the City of Beachwood for decades, but it’s a citywide initiative that also seems to be picking up steam — and for good reason, if you ask the companies growing within and relocating there.
“Our city has had a strategy for optimizing under-used sites and buildings that has resulted in several projects that are now transforming the landscape of Beachwood,” says Catherine Bieterman, economic development director for the City of Beachwood. “Revitalization has an impact on future real estate values, not only at those sites, but also the surrounding sites. And in many cases, these revitalization projects act as a catalyst for improvement of surrounding properties.”
But you don’t have to take Bieterman’s word for it.
“Beachwood is doing a phenomenal job of attracting good companies that also bring in good-paying jobs to the community,” says Austin Semarjian, executive vice president of Industrial Commercial
Properties (ICP), a redevelopment company that breathes new life into former multi-tenant commercial or industrial buildings. “We find opportunities to make investments to former retail centers or business parks, to bring something new to the market, which in turn brings new jobs and development to an area.”
One of ICP’s most recent projects was a significant investment in a revitalization in Beachwood’s Commerce Park.
“It was a major financial investment on our part,” says Semarjian. “We completely cleared out the interior of the building, taking out mezzanine space and tearing down walls. We added a new roof and put in a new sprinkler system. Then we ripped off the whole façade, adding new glass and redid the parking lot. Then we put in a new epoxy floor throughout the interior space.”
But the City of Beachwood was with them all the way.
“We brought them in and they brought along their whole economic development team from the Mayor on down,” says Semarjian. “They were able to sell Millennium Controls (the new tenant) on the City of Beachwood itself, while also offering incentives to the company to help them move to Beachwood.”
As a part of another new revitalization project, a blighted Tudor-style office building was taken down to make room for Class A office space, which will be home to Skoda Gordon Dentistry, a full-service dental practice.
“We provide a comfortable and enjoyable dental experience for the little ones to the mature adults,” says Dr. Britni Skoda. “We are excited to open our brand-new Chagrin Boulevard office location with cutting-edge technologies and a luxurious atmosphere to better serve our patients. We look forward to opening the new office in January 2025 and are accepting new patients.
“The city has been incredible in facilitating this new construction,” adds Dr. Skoda. “Working with the Office of Economic Development, I was able to apply for and receive a tax abatement that allows me to invest more into my amazing new space.
“My architect and I had a great experience working with various city departments to receive approval for our new construction plans. The city has been very supportive of revitalizing an underutilized area of Beachwood. I am excited to be able to expand my office to serve more patients.” Add these two new projects to the building of a new Porsche dealership that is a part of automotive giant Penske Automotive. There have been other smaller projects as well, including Trailhead Bio-Systems, Retina Eye Centers, Chagrin Richmond Plaza, PDC Building and Sika.
AUSTIN SEMARJIAN
DR. BRITNI SKODA
SERVING SOCIETY
Sell
Quo Vadis Cobb, president of the board of directors for the Legal Aid Society, is the oldest of 11 children and grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania. Cobb describes her late father as “a giant in the community and a gifted scholar,” who, along with her mother, “spent their lives caring for those on the fringe of the community.”
“Those were the people who were battling drug addictions, piecing their lives back together after being evicted from their homes or acclimating after being incarcerated. Some had gone through domestic abuse, trauma or things that happen from systemic racism or poverty,” says Cobb, who moved to Cleveland in 2010 to become in-house counsel at Rockwell Automation, a position she held for 10 years.
“My parents offered them love and hope and opened the doors of our home to them. As the first child, I had a frontrow seat as well as responsibilities associated with their mission.”
Her “life-shaping” childhood became the foundation of Cobb’s passion for her belief in servant leadership.
Below (l to r): Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase, Quo Vadis Cobb, Taras (“Terry”) Szmagala Jr., executive vice president and chief legal officer for Eaton, and April Miller Boise, executive vice president and chief legal officer at Intel Corporation at Legal Aid’s Annual Meeting in 2023.
That philosophy of leadership also strongly complements her role at Legal Aid and how she views staff, volunteers and clients. The belief fits well with the nonprofit’s purpose and most recent strategic plan.
“Being a servant leader is not about looking out for yourself, but looking out for others, especially the nameless, the voiceless, the faceless,” says Cobb, echoing Legal Aid’s mission “to secure justice, equity and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes through passionate legal representation and advocacy for systemic change.”
Cobb knows Legal Aid “can’t take every case and solve every problem” it encounters. But she is proud that the organization has continued to network and strengthen its partnerships with organizations and individuals who share an intense desire to improve the community for everyone. For example, she points to a new partnership with the Cleveland Foundation, thanks to a $2.5 million gift in 2023 from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
“Being a servant leader is not about looking out for yourself, but looking out for others, especially the nameless, the voiceless, the faceless.”
— QUO VADIS COBB
Working with the well-established and respected Cleveland Foundation allows Legal Aid to make further inroads into the community, according to Cobb. Many people associate Legal Aid with just specific court cases, but its influence and ability to
“I am a firm believer that when the needs of every community member are met, the entire community is stronger,” says Cobb, now vice president, internal audit for Jacobs, a global solutions and engineering company headquartered in Dallas that has an office in Cleveland. “When my neighbor is safe and secure, I am safe and secure.”
Legal Aid addresses community issues that include health and safety (domestic violence, access to health care, healthy homes and more); economic security and education; stable and decent housing; and accountability and accessibility of the justice system and government entities. Actions can include helping renters secure or retain affordable and acceptable housing, increasing children’s access to effective schools or decreasing financial barriers to the courts.
Cobb notes that supporting Legal Aid builds bridges to diverse community partnerships that support its mission. Plus, the reach of Legal Aid — and the benefits that occur — are greatly increased.
In many ways, the act of servant leadership has been practiced by Legal Aid since its founding in 1905.
Cobb credits the leadership style for bringing her joy in her professional life when she interacts successfully with peers and clients.
And in her personal life? Cobb’s happiness is supplied in abundance by 10 nieces and nephews under the age of seven.
“Their little eyes light up when they see me and hug me. They really sustain me in this season of my life,” says Cobb.
Legal Aid Society’s leadership is all about looking out for others. By Jill
(l to r) Quo Vadis Cobb; Legal Aid partners from Cleveland Public Library Pastor Anthony Parker and Jamie Declet; Felton Thomas; and Legal Aid volunteer Clarissa Smith
ZOO BUILDING A BETTER
The Cleveland Zoological Society raises funds for constant improvement. By Jill
“We’re a pretty scrappy organization, like our donors,” says Sarah Crupi, who is celebrating her fifth year as chief executive officer of the Cleveland Zoological Society (CZS).
If “scrappy” is defined as “determined” and maybe somewhat unconventional, then that is an accurate description. Of course, the CZS can count on many of Cleveland’s most wellknown philanthropists. But Crupi says the “bread and butter” of the nonprofit’s donors are “those who have experienced something special at the zoo at some point in their lives.”
The CZS is the advancement partner of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. According to the CZS’s 2023 Annual Report, the organization provided $4.4 million last year in total support to the zoo. Since 2000, the CZS has provided $55 million in funding for the zoo’s capital improvement projects.
The organization, founded in 1957, is now focused on providing significant funding for the zoo’s $120 million Primate Forest, which broke ground in September and is scheduled for completion in 2032.
Zoo supporters have expressed confidence in the CZS to help with this game-changing project for the zoo, as well as Crupi’s ability to lead the fundraising. The most recent major projects supported by the CZS under Crupi’s watch include
Sell
the Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve in 2020 and Susie’s Bear Hollow in 2023.
“We are no longer party-throwers. We are major fundraisers. We are now donor-centric. We raise millions for the zoo,” explains Christine Myeroff, CZS board of directors’ chair. “We are fortunate to have Sarah. She’s passionate about the mission of the zoo, including conservation, research, education and animal care, and she cares about donors whether they give $5 or $5 million.”
Crupi admits that eliminating a few CZS-sponsored events raised some eyebrows. But she claims to have done so based on attendance and results.
“I’m never afraid to say something is not working or that we need to try something else. I love pushing boundaries and taking risks,” says Crupi, who is responsible for hiring 50% of the current 25 CZS employees. It is the largest staff in the nonprofit’s history and is needed because of its ambitious goals. “I have full support of the board, but I think I earned it by presenting supporting data about the timing of gifts and donor information.”
Myeroff says Crupi is a “very inspiring leader” for her staff and respects their work/life balance. She also credits Crupi for enhancing CZS’s positive working relationship with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
“We are two separate organizations, but one team,” explains Myeroff. In addition, Myeroff believes Crupi’s
transparency with the board of directors has allowed members to be more engaged than ever.
“We even have a long waiting list of people who want to be on the board,” says Myeroff, a familiar name associated with some of the most prestigious boards in Northeast Ohio.
Crupi’s leadership qualities and her cooperation with major players of the zoo have created a dynamic environment that eventually benefits donors, zoo members and the zoo, according to Myeroff.
Crupi, who creates “an environment of high energy,” also has plans to launch a new luxury travel program that will include conservation and educational safaris to Africa and other locations. The idea will be another innovative path for CZS fundraising. She also wants to create public fundraising events that will include the community.
“We want everyone to become involved in the creation of the Primate Forest. I want kids to see that they can donate $1 to help gorillas or a community member to know $30 can help an orangutan,” says Crupi.
(Tails + Cocktails, a CZS fundraising event that features experts from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, is 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7 at the zoo. Discussions include topics impacting animal welfare, wildlife conservation and science education at the zoo and abroad. Reservations required. Information: clevelandzoosociety.org.)
Pictured above (l to r): Christine Myeroff and Sarah Crupi
My Life
By Lynne Thompson
My Food
Spicing up Holiday Dinners
Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most anticipated meals of the year.
Karen Small, proprietor of the Ohio City breakfast-andlunch spot Juneberry, has felt the frustration that demand generates in a creative cook. She recommends alleviating it with quick, simple additions that won’t cause a mass revolt in the dining room.
For the green salad: Toss sour-sweet pomegranate seeds, feta cheese and pistachios
into a mix dressed with a vinaigrette or oil and vinegar. “It makes it festive and just a little different,” Small observes.
For the mashed potatoes: Peel and chop up a couple of parsnips, then boil and mash them with the spuds. “It adds kind of a crisp, just sort of a brighter taste,” she says of the trick, which she employed at her now-shuttered restaurant the Flying Fig.
For the gravy: Incorporate button mushrooms caramelized in butter and a little bit of olive oil (to keep the butter from burning) and thyme. “You could put the mushrooms on the side, too,” Small suggests. “People could add them before they pour the gravy over their stuff.”
For the rolls: Serve with apple butter, either homemade or purchased at a local farmers market. “It would be awful tasty on a nice, soft dinner roll with some butter,” she says.
For the pumpkin pie: Make a caramel sauce (or buy a premium counterpart), add a tablespoon or two of bourbon, and drizzle over whipped-cream-topped slices. “Bourbon is so American, and it’s Thanksgiving,” Small declares. “So there should be some bourbon there somewhere.”
Holiday Travel Tips
Changes in time zones, schedules and diet, along with illness, can turn a holiday trip into an experience you’d like to forget.
Dr. Matthew Badgett, a primary care physician and lifestyle-medicine consultant at the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Peter Pronovost, chief quality and clinical transformation officer at University Hospitals Cleveland, offer these strategies to help.
Vaccinate. Dr. Pronovost suggests checking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, cdc.gov, for the vaccines needed for travel outside the United States.
Children 6 months to 1 year old traveling to Europe, Dr. Badgett adds, should get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine before the usual 12 to 15 months of age.
“Measles is more common in Europe than in the United States,” he says.
Adjust to destination time. “We can really only move our
[body’s] clock about one hour a day,” Dr. Badgett explains. “So to move five hours over, it’s going to take five days.”
Dr. Badgett advises resisting the urge to sleep after deplaning from a sleepless overnight flight east. He and Dr. Pronovost recommend getting out in the early morning sunlight and exercising, perhaps by taking a walk. Dr. Badgett adds drinking a caffeinated beverage and engaging in social interaction.
“Try to make it until 6 or 7 p.m. and then crash,” he says.
Eat healthy. “Circadian-rhythm disruption affects bowel movements,” Dr. Badgett says. “You’re doing a lot of digestion when you’re sleeping.
Dr. Badgett avoids exacerbating the problem with airport and roadside fast food by packing fiber-rich nonperishable items — nuts, seeds and dried fruits, for example. Dr. Pronovost ensures he remains hydrated by carrying a water bottle he fills before boarding a flight.
Once you’ve arrived at your destination, get on a regular dining schedule. “Timing breakfast at breakfast time is the most helpful,” Dr. Badgett says. “It helps anchor your rhythm to the morning.” And try to approximate what you normally eat. A good start, Dr. Pronovost says, is ordering steamed or roasted vegetables with meals.
Dr. Matthew Badgett
Dr. Peter Pronovost
Karen Small
My Health
Properly Decking the Halls
Broken ornaments, wreaths missing more than a couple of decorations, worn accent pillows, hopelessly stained table linens — they’re the unmistakable signs that your holiday dcor needs to be refreshed or replaced. Jane Marquard, co-owner, vice president and lead designer at Maison Maison Interiors in Rocky River, and Carley Porter, marketing manager for W Design in
Chagrin Falls, note a few of this year’s trends to consider when decking your own halls. Eggplant, slate blue, olive and tobacco. Marquard found the deep, rich colors seen at Fall 2024 fashion shows employed separately in ribbon and faux flowers and combined in throws and upholstery sporting an oldis-new-again pattern: plaid. She’s combined them with natural materials and themes — hunter-jumpers embroidered on cocktail napkins, table runners sporting a stirrup print — to create a luxurious-yet-understated look she calls “western-European high country.”
Porter describes a more traditional variant of burgundy and hunter green with touches of black rendered in plaids and buffalo checks. “In Hunting Valley, Gates Mills, it’s very equestrian,” she says. “So we always love to incorporate a cognac leather.”
Velvet. The go-to fabric for cold-weather holiday dressing is being stitched into table runners, accent pillows and upholstery. “It gives a certain richness to a tabletop or to … furniture,” Marquard says.
embroidered or printed onto upholstery, applied to napkin rings, and even embedded in the glass of votives and vases.
Mid-century retro. According to Porter, the feathering of Holiday 2024 is evidenced in the trend’s feather tree. She describes other characteristics such as soft, muted pastels, rose gold, tinsel and jolly, rosy-cheeked Santas. “It could come off as kitschy,” she says. “But we’re doing it in a very tasteful, understated way.”
Feathers. Marquard reports that feathers in shades of gray, brown and white that look like they could have been picked up from a forest floor are being tucked into wreaths, floral arrangements and Christmas trees,
If the trend can’t be incorporated in the home’s main tree, Porter suggests using it to decorate a small tree in an unexpected place such as a powder room.
Jane Marquard Carley Porter
Recycling Large Household Items
I’ve got to get rid of some of this stuff!
It’s the thought that passes through the minds of so many people as they retrieve seasonal decorations from the clutter filling closets, attics, basements, garages and spare rooms. One of the most convenient ways to keep those items out of a landfill is to drop them off at a Goodwill donation center.
There are some things, however, that even Goodwill does not accept. Colleen Porter, director of marketing
for Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland & East Central Ohio, gives a few examples of those larger, harder-to-haul items. We add suggestions for recycling offered on the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District’s website, cuyahogarecycles.org.
Tube TVs. It’s one of the few electronics Porter says Goodwill won’t take. According to the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District website, “televisions are very difficult and expensive to recycle because of the heavy metals and glass.”
How to recycle: The Cuyahoga County Solid
CLEVE LAND
Waste District hosts seasonal events for Cuyahoga County residents to recycle TVs. For more information, log onto cuyahogarecycles.org. Best Buy recycles tube TVs 31 inches and smaller in store for $29.99 per item. (Limit two TVs per household per day.) Log onto bestbuy.com for more information.
Large appliances. Goodwill stores do not sell appliances larger than a microwave or dorm-size refrigerator — “a stove or a full-size refrigerator, a dishwasher or things like that,” Porter says.
How to recycle: Check with your community about setting out a large appliance for recycling during bulky waste collection — or pay the fee charged by the store delivering a new appliance to have the old one removed. If the appliance is still working, consult one of the charities listed on the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District website’s “Appliances” tab about donating it.
Mattresses and sleeper sofas. “It’s against the law to resell mattresses,” Porter explains. How to recycle: There are currently no local recycling options for mattresses. However, the Cleveland Furniture Bank will accept used mattresses in good condition for reuse. Call 216-459-2265 for more information.
My Earth
Colleen Porter
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Women are increasingly taking the lead in our communities, driving change and making significant decisions every day. They are not only leading initiatives but also serving as mentors, cheerleaders and confidants. From corporate offices to community engagement and family life, their inspiration is felt everywhere. Read on to discover more about the remarkable women who are making their mark in both business and the lives of those around them. Their contributions are shaping a brighter future for Northeast Ohio, and we’re excited to see how they continue to lead the way.
PHOTOS BY JEANI BRECHBILL
“ Women should feel confident knowing that they can be the experts.”
To gain a sense of who Tanya Andolsen is, look at the name of the company she started in 2019: Argosy Risk Specialists, a wholesale broker specializing in environmental insurance.
Owned by the same parent company, her previous employer, retail broker Armada Risk Partners name signifies a fleet of ships. When deciding on a name for the wholesale brokerage, it only seemed fitting to choose a name that complemented its mission. Argosy is defined as a large merchant ship typically carrying rich cargo.
“The name signifies that Argosy is a wealth of information or a rich supply of knowledge,” Andolsen says.
Andolsen, born and raised in Cleveland, also touts this sentiment by encouraging women in the workforce to build on their experience, focus on what they are good at and to not hesitate in becoming a specialist.
“Sharing your knowledge and helping others when you are good at something is a way to gain respect and make a name for yourself,” Andolsen says.
Despite her current success, the president of Argosy Risk Specialists didn’t study environmental science or insurance.
After graduating from John Carroll University with a bachelor’s in logistics and marketing followed by a master’s from Baldwin Wallace in international business, Andolsen was set for the logistics route.
But, like ships often change course, so did Andolsen when she joined AIG’s professional associate training program in 1994, where she learned the basis of underwriting environmental insurance. She worked there for nine years and then made the switch to a broker role as a national environmental resource for the following 13 years before joining Armada Risk Partners in 2016. Three years later she was presented with the opportunity to start Argosy to showcase her expertise and share her knowledge in a more suitable capacity.
After 28 years, what ultimately keeps her focused on environmental insurance is the ability to be creative and structure solutions that are rarely “off the shelf.” Andolsen uses her experience to bridge the gap of communication between a client, the retail broker and the carrier.
“It’s important that the insured’s stories are being relayed to the carrier accurately and that everyone is on the same page with regard to the end goal,” Andolsen says.
Outside of work, Andolsen likes to spend time with her two teenage boys and husband, being active in the community and supporting Avon Lake and Cleveland sports teams.
TANYA ANDOLSEN
Argosy Risk Specialists President
“ Sometimes women are not vocal about their ambitions, but you have to go after them and let others know what you want to accomplish.”
At 16 years old, Kate Protsenko-Blake came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a high school exchange student.
She later attended Myers University on a full academic scholarship and decided to go into public accounting after realizing how challenging tax returns could be upon filing one of her own.
“I started doing my own research, filed amendments, got everything straightened out and thought, ‘I could do this,’” Protsenko-Blake says.
She’s worked at several firms, attaining her CPA license in the meanwhile, before starting at Meaden & Moore in 2023.
“I immigrated to the United States alone at a young age with very few resources, so securing a leadership position at a CPA firm and being able to help my family amid the ongoing war in Ukraine has been a significant accomplishment,” Protsenko-Blake says.
SMRDEL Director of Operations
“ I appreciated the foundation’s mission statement, their plans to support the crew and the opportunity to advance their goals. I love connecting the ship to all neighborhoods, people and age groups.”
Courtney Smrdel initially joined the Navy to help fund her college education, but she stayed for the camaraderie and deep sense of belonging. After retiring from service, she sought to continue serving her community and pursued a role in the nonprofit sector. This led her to become the Director of Operations for the USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation (USSCLF), which is dedicated to commissioning the USS Cleveland (LCS 31) in early Fall, 2025, and supporting the sailors and ship throughout its service life and beyond.
Under Courtney’s leadership, the USSCLF has been instrumental in significant projects such as the unveiling of Cleveland’s Lone Sailor statue, now proudly standing at The Lone Sailor Plaza along the waterfront in Voinovich Bicentennial Park.
KATE PROTSENKO-BLAKE
Vice President-Principal, Tax Services
Meaden & Moore
COURTNEY
USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation
“ Especially for young black women, don’t give up, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
A certified public accountant, Kendra Philon took accounting classes in high school, but a weeklong program through the Ohio Society of CPAs for minority high school students solidified her interest.
From there, she attained her accounting degree at the University of Akron and started at Meaden & Moore 20 years ago.
She commends the firm’s family atmosphere, particularly when she was a new employee dealing with her father’s leukemia diagnosis.
“They wanted me to take time to be with my family,” Philon says.
Having risen through the ranks at Meaden & Moore, Philon credits her ability to focus on her strengths of listening, assessing situations and being kind.
“I also pushed myself to live in my uncomfortableness of meeting new people and developed soft skills through my volunteer work,” Philon says.
President and CEO
“ We are all part of the amazing story of life on Earth. It’s how we tell that story that makes a difference.”
Sonia Winner’s father was in the United States Armed Forces, and she moved 14 times before high school. The president and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History credits these experiences with her ability to adapt to many different situations.
“I believe those who adapt are those who survive,” says Winner, who attained her bachelor’s at Bowling Green State University, her law degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, and additional schooling at Harvard Business School.
Winner chose to work at the museum beginning in 2017, in part, because it played an important role in her family’s experience.
“I aspire to have every family have that same magic at the museum,” Winner says. “It’s not just static exhibits — it’s a community trailhead where everyone feels welcome.”
SONIA WINNER
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
KENDRA PHILON
Vice President, Assurance Services
Meaden & Moore
The Cleveland Metroparks glow with Fall colors.
Photo by Thom Sheridan
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