The Community's Conversation

Public libraries have long been held up as pillars of free speech. They're also getting caught in the crossfire of America’s culture wars. Initiatives to take controversial books off library shelves aren’t new to Ohio, but recent years have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of titles under fire, according to the American Library Association. This expert panel unpacks efforts to preserve intellectual freedom in America’s public libraries.

The panelists are 

Matthew Besser, Principal, Bolek Besser Glesius  

Michelle Francis, Executive Director, Ohio Library Council 

Patrick Losinski, CEO, The Columbus Metropolitan Library 

Felton Thomas Jr., Executive Director and CEO, The Cleveland Public Library 

The host is David Weaver, Executive Director, Ohioana Library Association.

This forum was sponsored by The Columbus Foundation and supported by The Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on July 26, 2023.

De-globalization and the “Made in the U.S.A.” drive is causing a stunning reversal of the long decline of U.S.-based manufacturing. And nowhere is that reversal more visible than here in Central Ohio. The vast scale of the new investment is being called a “manufacturing supercycle.” This week we jump into Ohio’s return to its historic role as a global manufacturing leader and unpack the challenges the state needs to solve to stay there.

The panelists are :

Ryan Augsburger, President, The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association  

Dr. Bill LaFayette, Owner, Regionomics  

Damon Richardson, SVP of Manufacturing, American Nitrile  

Daniela Villaca, Human Resources Director, Acoust-A-Fiber 

The host is Doug Buchanan, Editor in Chief, Columbus Business First

This forum was supported by The Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on July 19, 2023.

Do you like the title of this CMC forum? If so, thank ChatGPT. That's the artificial intelligence "chatbot" we asked to title this CMC forum on the subject of itself. With both human and electronic panelists, we explore the mind-boggling world of artificial intelligence and the profound changes to society that easy access to AI is bringing daily.

The panelists are:

ChatGPT, a Chatbot Powered by Artificial Intelligence

Kevin Lloyd, Chief Operations Officer, ColorCoded Labs, and Co-Founder & CEO, MYLE

Dr. Andrew Perrault, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University

Dr. Padma Sastry, Author and Adjunct Professor, Franklin University

The host is Dr. David Staley, Associate Professor in the Departments of History, Design, and Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, and President of Columbus Futurists 

This forum was sponsored by Regionomics and Accenture, with support from The Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on July 12, 2023.

Franklin County, Ohio, nonprofits are being asked to do more with less than ever before, especially the health and human services sector. Central Ohio health and human-service nonprofits are being inundated with demand for their services while serving as a major economic driver for Franklin County, generating an incredible $2 billion economic impact and employing 18,000 people. This annual forum, one of CMC’s most popular, unpacks the current state of Franklin County nonprofits with a panel of passionate leaders. 

The panelists are:

Mario Basora, Chief Executive Officer, Future Ready Columbus

Michael Corey, Executive Director, Human Service Chamber of Franklin County

Courtney Falato, Vice President and Program Officer, Global Philanthropy, JP Morgan Chase

And Shannon Isom, President and CEO, Community Shelter Board

The host is Dan Sharpe, Vice President for Community Research and Grants Management, The Columbus Foundation.

This forum was sponsored by PNC Bank, Grange Insurance, Columbia Gas, Installed Building Products, The Columbus Foundation, Cramer & Associates, and IFF.

The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on June 28, 2023. 

On August 8, 2023, Ohio voters will be asked to go to the polls to decide on whether or not it should be harder to amend the state’s constitution. Currently Ohio’s founding document can be amended with the approval by a simple majority of voters, but if the proposal passes, it will take 60% of voters to amend the state constitution. This CMC forum discusses the potential enormous implications the change could make down the road for Ohio voters to decide what’s in our state constitution and what isn’t.

Featuring Mike Curtin, Associate Publisher Emeritus, The Columbus Dispatch, and Former Representative, 17th District, Ohio House of Representatives, and Rob McColley, State Senator, District 1, with host Rodney Dunigan, Assistant News Director, WSYX ABC 6.

The forum partner was The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus, with support from The Grange Insurance Audubon Center.  

The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on June 21, 2023. 

Downtown Columbus is being reshaped daily, thanks in part to the vision of developers like Jim Merkel, CEO and Co-Founder of Rockbridge, and the Founder of Makeready, Merkel is spearheading the creation of a new 197-room hotel, The Junto, located just west of COSI, which opened Memorial Day weekend. The new project is more than just another new downtown hotel: it’s intended to be a focal point for the burgeoning Penins ula neighborhood, with an 8th-floor bar overlooking the City’s spectacular Dorrian Green park, a restaurant designed to lure local residents, and even a walk-up poutine window for passers-by craving a snack. This 1:1 conversation with downtown visionary Jim Merkel explores the critical role of placemaking as downtown Columbus reinvents itself.

The speaker is:

Jim Merkel, CEO and Co-Founder, Rockbridge, and Founder, Makeready

The host is Eleanor Kennedy, Assistant Managing Editor, Columbus Business First.

CMC’s “Developing a Dynamic Downtown” series of forums is presented by the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Capitol South. The series sponsor is Thompson Hine.

This forum was sponsored by Schneider Downs, Fahlgren Mortine, and REALM.

The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

This forum was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on June 14, 2023.

The development of many American cities has been profoundly shaped by “redlining,” a process dating to the 1930s of deliberately dividing urban areas primarily by race. Once a federal policy, redlining produced maps determining which areas of a city were considered “safe” for investment and growth, and which were not, with red lines drawn around those areas deemed to be unsuitable for lending. Redlining was a widely practiced means of ensuring a racially segmented city and placed minorities at a severe disadvantage when trying to obtain banking or insurance services. The effects of the practice led to spiraling urban decay in redlined neighborhoods and are still highly evident in cities like Columbus. Today, the advent of community land trusts, more equitable property tax appraisal practices, and the growth of minority-owned banks are attempting to address the consequences of redlining. Join CMC as we look at the impact of redlining in Columbus and new efforts to heal its deep divisions. The speakers are:

Jordan A. Miller, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Adelphi Bank

Danielle Sydnor, CEO, Rise Together Innovation Institute

Nicole Sutton, Black Heritage Special Collections Librarian, Columbus Metropolitan Library

Monica Moran, Deputy Chief of Staff, Franklin County Auditor’s Office

The host is Tracy Townsend, Anchor, Wake Up CBUS and Face the State, WBNS 10TV

This forum was sponsored by COTA, The United Way of Central Ohio, and The Robert Weiler Company, and was supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on June 7, 2023.

You can learn more about redlining in Columbus and how it has impacted Columbus’ neighborhoods by visiting the “Undesign the Redline” interactive exhibit, on display in Columbus through December 31, 2023. Admission is free. Learn more: https://www.ywcacolumbus.org/get-involved/attend-an-event/aanda/undesign-the-redline-exhibit/

Can a spectacular new piece of public art help to revitalize downtown Columbus? 

This week, we explore the role of public art in Columbus and how a new addition to the city’s public art scene became reality. “Current,” made from 78 miles of twine and bound together with more than a half-million knots, is the city’s largest public art installation ever. It’s the work of sculptor Janet Echelman and now hangs over North High Street in downtown Columbus.

The speakers are:

Marshall Shorts, Creative-N-Chief, Artfluential and Founding Board Member, Maroon Arts Group, who delivers opening remarks.

Sculptor Janet Echelman

Jeff Edwards, President of Edwards Companies and President, CEO, and Chairman of Installed Building Products

The host is Tom Katzenmeyer, President & CEO, Greater Columbus Arts Council.

CMC’s "Developing a Dynamic Downtown" series is presented by the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and Capitol South and sponsored by Thompson Hine. This forum was also sponsored by King Business Interiors and was supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

The livestream was supported by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on May 31, 2023. 

This week’s special evening program is a farewell to CMC’s longtime CEO Jane Scott, who retires at the end of May 2023 after more than nineteen years leading the nonprofit Columbus Metropolitan Club, and a chance to meet CMC’s next leader, incoming President and CEO Sophia Fifner, and learn about her vision for the future. 

The host was Colleen Marshall, anchor with NBC4, and the host of NBC4's The Spectrum. This special forum was supported by King Business Interiors and The Columbus Dispatch, and was hosted by The Columbus Museum of Art. The livestream was presented by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch. 

It was recorded live in Columbus, Ohio on May 24, 2023.

The impact of Intel’s two new massive semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Licking County, Ohio, will go far beyond the $20 billion investment itself. The two new plants – with more likely to follow – will generate tens of thousands of new jobs across Ohio and will in turn draw contractors and other high-profile manufacturers to Central Ohio.

These new employees won’t arrive alone: they’re arrive with families in tow looking to make Central Ohio home. The impact means that Central Ohio’s public infrastructure – transportation, parks, schools, water and sewer lines, and every kind of public service – will need to expand rapidly and to stay ahead of the growth.

Chandler, Arizona, home to another Intel plant, had one high school before Intel moved in. It’s now the second-largest school district in Arizona. Can Central Ohio’s towns keep up with the region’s exciting growth, and even stay ahead? Hear from the mayors of three key regional cities how each is planning for – and embracing – Central Ohio’s high-growth future.

The panelists are:

Donald Barnard, Mayor of Johnstown, OH

Laurie Jadwin, Mayor of Gahanna, OH

Sloan Spalding, Mayor of New Albany, OH 

The host is Keary McCarthy, Executive Director of The Ohio Mayors Alliance and The Ohio Mayors Alliance Foundation

This CMC forum was sponsored by GBQ and Otterbein University with support from the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.

The livestream was supported by The Center for Human Kindness at The Columbus Foundation and The Columbus Dispatch.

It was recorded before a live audience in Columbus, Ohio on May 17, 2023