Two Brand New Additions

highlights from the bridge Series

HORAN consistently makes an intentional effort to create a positive impact on our community. Since January 2019, J. Ryan Horan, Vice President at HORAN Wealth, has partnered with Kent Wellington, Attorney at Graydon, to host the Bridge Series.

The purpose of this series is to bridge our community together by having a monthly conversation around the impact that local organizations are making. Previous guests included representatives from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, FC Cincinnati, Film Cincinnati, the City of Cincinnati and the Health Collaborative.

In September 2020, the series hosted Mark Godsey, CoFounder and Director of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP), alongside Dean Gillispie, an exoneree as a result of the OIP. The goal of the OIP is to free every innocent person in Ohio who has been convicted of a crime they did not commit. The program has been a part of the University of Cincinnati's College of Law since 2003. With the help of hundreds of students, the OIP has since worked to release 30 innocent Ohioans from prison, who collectively served over 600 years behind bars. While the Innocence Network is international, the OIP is one of the top-performing members of the organization.

Godsey continues to support the exonerees after their freedom. One of the exonerees spent his first Thanksgiving dinner as a freed man with Mark and his family. All of the men and women who have benefited from the OIP have formed their own family as they have found a group who share similar experiences. Dean Gillispie has found comfort in these friendships and now serves on the board of the OIP, so he can continue to fight for the freedom of wrongly convicted men and women in Ohio. The October Bridge series featured Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley; Laura Mitchell, Superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools; and Carolyn Jones, School Board President of Cincinnati Public Schools; to discuss the many positive things going on in the Cincinnati area during the current challenging times.

“Listening to the Mayor and the Cincinnati Public Schools leaders was fascinating. They are dealing with so many issues right now, but they made me feel so proud of Cincinnati and I admire their positive leadership,” said Jen Daly, Relationship Manager at HORAN Wealth.

"The guests for the Bridge Series are always outstanding. I feel like we are getting the “inside scoop” from the guests and every event makes me feel more connected to the community.”

The pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for this event series. As a result of the programming being moved from Graydon’s OTR location to a virtual gathering, more members from our community have been able to attend the event. Since March, monthly registration has increased steadily.

The Bridge Series is held the first Friday of every month. If you are interested in being a part of the conversation, reach out to Chris Huggard, Education & Events Manager at HORAN, at ChrisH@horanassoc.com.