Building Ideas

Tom Demeropolis serves as Editor-In-Chief of the Cincinnati Business Courier, the premier business media digital and print publication in Greater Cincinnati.    He leads the team in both the print and online editions. He is a University of Cincinnati graduate and has a master’s in journalism from Ball State University. Prior to joining the Courier in 2010, he was a reporter with the Dayton Business Journal, a sister outlet.   He was selected to be a part of Leadership Cincinnati Class 47.

He is a three-time American City Business Journals Eagle award winner.     A proud native of the Queen City, he lives in Cincinnati's Western Hills with his wife Lauren, and children.

Luke Blocher is General Counsel and Chief Strategy Officer for the Cincinnati Development Fund.  The CDF  is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit lending institution that fills a gap not covered by traditional lenders. They provide funding for real estate development in under-served markets in the Greater Cincinnati area. They also offer facilities and equipment funding for nonprofit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati region.

At CDF Luke is responsible for legal and strategy functions, including management of the affordable housing lending and New Markets Tax Credit programs. He oversees compliance, data collection and reporting required by all CDF funders. He joined CDF in 2022.  His previous experience includes working in the Attorney General's office of the State of Ohio, Senior Counsel at Taft Stettinius & Hollister and Deputy City Solicitor, City of Cincinnati.   

A Cincinnati native, he is an alumnus of St Xavier High School, Amherst College and Columbia Law School in New York City.    He resides in Cincinnati's Clifton neighborhood with his wife and family.

LaNae Barnes is the Local Market Executive for Bank of America in Cincinnati and works in partnership with the market President leadership team to help connect businesses, families and individuals to the banking and investment teams that will help improve their financial lives. She deploys Bank of America’s resources in the market to address social and economic concerns and build strong communities. More specifically, LaNae is responsible for the development and execution of the market plan, designed to drive revenue growth, employee engagement and corporate reputation. In addition, she oversees community partnerships, sponsorships and philanthropy in Cincinnati. LaNae is a native of Dallas, and an accomplished full scholarship track & field athlete at Syracuse University, where she was training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.   She and her husband live in Cincinnati with their twin daughters.  

Scott Thompson is the founder of RESLV. He founded the agency in 2016 with a vision for elevating his clients' businesses by producing high-quality content that highlights their unique characteristics.  He has grown the company from its humble roots to an Emmy award-winning agency whose reach extends around the world.     Scott leads his team with a foundational commitment to transparency, creativity, and respect, valuing each team member's expertise and insights as they provide innovative content to their clients.    Scott currently serves as a Chair of the Evanston Business Association in Cincinnati and was recently elected to the NATAS Ohio Valley Board of Governors, the organization that oversees the Emmy awards.  Storyteling is his passion, and he and his team are commited to showcasing the very best of Cincinnati.  

A strong advocate for people, Keizayla Fambro is a seasoned political strategist and community leader with a passion for social justice, policy, and community engagement.   Keizayla, is the Chief of Staff in the office of Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.  She strategically supports and manages the Mayor's administration, while also serving as the Mayor's top advisor.   Prior to this role, Keizayla served as the Senior Political Advisor for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, running one of the country's largest voter registration efforts while strategizing and managing campaigns.  She also was the Political Director for Mayor Aftab's mayoral campaign.  Keizayla resides in Mt. Airy, with her daughter Kylie and dog Bentley!

Damian Hoskins is the Executive Director of Elementz, the premier Hip Hop Cultural Art Center in, Cincinnati. Elementz is committed to fostering talent, igniting potential and inspiring possibilities, particularly for underrepresented youth in the Greater Cincinnati region. Previously, Damian was the Vice President of Arts Impact at ArtsWave, the leading fundraiser and promoter of the arts in Cincinnati. Damian is also a 20 year teaching veteran and teaches a course on Hip Hop Studies at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Damian is also an oil painter, graphic designer and furniture maker. As an educator and artist, Damian firmly believes that his purpose in life is to inform and inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers. 

Damian holds a bachelor’s degree in English education from Central State University and a master’s degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. 

Kate Schroder joined Interact for Health as its fourth President and CEO in January 2022. In this role, she works with Interact for Health’s staff and board to provide leadership, direction, and vision to the organization and to develop strategies to address some of the most pressing health needs in Greater Cincinnati. A native of Cincinnati, Kate has experience leading health initiatives locally and internationally. Prior to joining Interact for Health, she oversaw a regional collaborative effort to increase COVID-19 vaccination throughout 14 counties in Greater Cincinnati and to address disparities in vaccination rates while working at The Health Collaborative.

In 2020, Kate was a candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 1st District, running on a platform to expand access to affordable health care and economic mobility. For 12 years before that, she held various leadership roles with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, a 1,400-person organization spanning 35 countries. As a Vice President leading child health programs, she helped reduce drug prices by 40% and increased the number of children receiving correct treatment by 50 million in four focus countries: India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. She led teams with 75 staff members and budgets of more than $80 million.

Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Results from her work to reduce childhood mortality and to strengthen health systems in low-resource settings have been published in several academic journals, including the British Medical Journal and The Lancet.

In 2011, Kate was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, an experience that she says helps fuel her passion for improving health care—knowing firsthand what it feels like when one’s survival is dependent on access to quality care. She remains active in patient advocacy and helping to support research as a member of the Executive Leadership Committee of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Kate and her husband, John Juech, live in Cincinnati with their two children. She is active in community and civic affairs and served on the Cincinnati Board of Health from 2016 to 2022. Outside of the office, she coaches youth soccer and concentrates her service around her passions for health, children, education, and building stronger communities. She serves on the boards for the Cincinnati State Foundation and OneNKY Alliance and the advisory board for the NKU Institute for Health Innovation.

Rob Zimmerman is in his third year as Head of School at his alma mater, Cincinnati Country Day School. He was born in Dallas, lived in Atlanta as a young child, and grew up in Cincinnati since the 3rd grade (residing in Indian Hill, literally across the street from CCDS, where his parents still live and host Sunday family dinners). He is a proud 1998 graduate of Country Day, attended Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate degree (BA, English), and continued his studies at the University of Cincinnati College of Law (JD).

Rob practiced as a commercial litigator at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP for 16 years, handling a wide range of business disputes, including breach of contract, corporate governance, securities, intellectual property, and real estate matters. He served on the board of trustees at CCDS for a number of years and stepped in as Interim Head of School in 2021. Following a national search process, he was appointed as Head of School. To quote Rob, "I feel outrageously lucky to be able to do what I do every day."

Tianay Amat is the President & CEO of Cincinnati Works. She believes in the resiliency of the human spirit and is passionate about eliminating poverty through education and employment.

Ms. Amat also has over two decades in public education.  She has served as an Interim Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Principal and Teacher in both urban and suburban school districts.
 
Ms. Amat was recognized as the Administrator of the year by the Cincinnatus Association, Community Builder of the Year by the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, and received Teacher of the Year by New York City Board of Education.

Ms. Amat holds a Master of Science in Education from the State University of New York at Cortland and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Cincinnati.

Roger David is president and CEO of Gold Star Chili, Inc., an iconic Cincinnati business with two well-known brands in its portfolio of companies – Gold Star and Tom & Chee.

Roger leads a team of dedicated professionals working to continue to build the brand his father and uncles started more than 50 years ago. Since being named president and CEO, Roger has grown Gold Star Chili, Inc. to include Tom & Chee, the famous grilled cheese and soup restaurant chain that rocketed to stardom thanks to an appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” 

Under his leadership, Gold Star has completed strategic updates to all areas of its business in order to drive success and growth for the next 50 years and beyond. A $30 million investment translated into a new restaurant look, menu and guest experience for its 70+ locations throughout Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Roger believes restaurant brands are built tableside and has advanced the companies training and development efforts. The company also made a deliberate investment into facility efficiencies in order to build environmentally-friendly restaurants, which pays off for its franchise owners who are realizing improvements in labor costs, energy usage and employee productivity. Gold Star is in the process of bringing those same strategies to the Tom & Chee brand in order to position it for success for years to come.

Earlier in his career, Roger served as CEO of national sports restaurant franchise Buffalo Wings & Rings; director of brand strategy at Brandimage, a brand design and consultancy serving fortune 500 clients; and vice president of marketing at Gold Star. He has served a member of the Cincinnati Parks Foundation board, President of the Music Resource Center, Vice President of the Council on Child Abuse, and ArtWorks Big Pitch mentor and judge. Roger is currently in Leadership Cincinnati Class 47. 

Roger holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Xavier University. He is married to Ceci and has three children: Liza, Alex and Margo.