The Community's Conversation

The “Columbus Way” is often touted by Ohio leaders as a unique collaborative process between organizations that delivers big economic wins for Central Ohio. Can “The Columbus Way” keep harnessing the power of partnerships to get things done? 

The speakers are: 

Kenny McDonald, President and CEO, The Columbus Partnership  

Kevin Boyce, Franklin County Board of Commissioners  

Tanny Crane, President and CEO, Crane Group  

The host is Doug Buchanan, Editor, Columbus Business First. 

The forum sponsors were the American Dairy Association Mid-East and Deloitte.     This forum was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.  

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and this week’s CMC forum features leaders working to raise awareness and to implement a strategy to bring an end to Ohio’s tragic suicide epidemic.

The speakers are: 

Dr. John Ackerman, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, The Center for Suicide Prevention and Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital 

Tony Coder, Executive Director, The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation 

fran frazier, Founder, Black Girl Rising 

Doug Wolf, CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio 

The host is Tia Marcel Moretti, President, Ohio Market, Lighthouse Behavioral Health Solutions. 

CMC’s Optimal Health Series partners are The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital. The forum sponsor is Cardinal Health.  

This forum was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.  

Fair and impartial courts are critical to democracy and the rule of law. Can our courts withstand an era when personal attacks on judges and legislative assaults on courts have become frequent? This CMC forum explores the role of courts in preserving American democracy, and the role that civic education can play in protecting a fair and impartial judiciary. 

The panelists are: 

Mike Curtin, former associate publisher of The Columbus Dispatch, and a former Member of Ohio House of Representatives; 

The Honorable Richard Frye, Judge with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas; 

Kathleen Trafford, Counsel to the Firm, Porter Wright, and a Fellow with The American College of Trial Lawyers; 

And The Honorable Michael Watson, Judge with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio; 

The host is Yvette McGee Brown, Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice and currently, a Partner with Jones Day. 

CMC’s Democracy in Crisis series partner is WOSU Public Media.  

This forum was sponsored by The Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer Legacy Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association and by Ulmer and Berne.  

This forum was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.  

Chances are, heritage tourism is again bringing travel dollars to your part of Ohio.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines cultural heritage tourism as “traveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.”

Places like these abound in the Buckeye State, with more than 58 historic sites and museums supported by the Columbus-based Ohio History Connection.

There’s more than just preserving the past at stake: a past study by the Travel Industry Association shows that heritage travelers stay longer at their destinations and spend more money there than other types of travelers.   This CMC forum digs into the impact of heritage tourism in Ohio.

The panelists are: 

Megan Wood, Executive Director and CEO, The Ohio History Connection 

Napoleon Bell, Co-Founder, The Heritage Tours  

The host is Tracy Townsend, News Anchor, WBNS-10TV   

The forum partner was WBNS-10TV.  

This forum was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.  

The Columbus Housing Strategy calls for new investment and policies to help address the deepening housing crisis in Ohio’s capital city. This week’s speakers explore the complex causes of the current housing crisis and an array of interconnected solutions.  

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther provides opening remarks. 

The panelists are: 

Otto Beatty III, President, The Otto Beatty Companies 

Patty McClimon, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Nationwide Children's Hospital 

Erin Prosser, Assistant Director of Housing Strategies, City of Columbus 

The host is Bonnie Meibers, Reporter, Columbus Business First. 

This forum is sponsored by The Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing and Carlile, Patchen, and Murphy. It was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.

Recent electric outages have put Ohio’s power grid in the news, but more challenges await Ohio’s power industry as new factories come to our state, more drivers opt for electric cars, and climate change raises global temperatures. This forum unpacks Ohio's electric future from the perspective of American Electric Power, Ohio's largest energy utility. 

This forum is sponsored by Accenture, Steptoe & Johnson, and The Columbus Partnership.

The panelists are:

Nick Akins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AEP

Marc Reitter, President and Chief Operating Officer, AEP Ohio 

The host is Andy Chow, News Editor, State House News Bureau

This forum was recorded live at The Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. 

Many American cities have earned unfortunate reputations for tearing down historic structures once they’re deemed to be standing in the way of progress.

At this week’s CMC forum, we hear from leaders in Columbus who have dedicated their careers to reverse this trend by saving historic buildings and repurposing them for new uses. Their successes include the historic Lincoln Theater and the newly-opened East Market.

This program is CMC’s annual Charles Y. and Frances N. Lazarus Revisiting Columbus History Forum and was sponsored by Moody Nolan.

The panelists are:

Brad DeHays, Founder, Connect Real Estate

Charissa Durst, President and Principal Historic Architect, Hardlines Design Company

Rebecca Kemper, CEO, Columbus Landmarks

The host is David Meleca, Director of Classical Architecture, Moody Nolan

This week, it’s the second forum in the monthly “Democracy in Crisis” series. Today’s forum looks at how democracy is being challenged by extremism and its sources in the U.S. and abroad. 

The panelists are: 

Dr. Christopher Gelpi, Director of the Mershon Center for International Security Studies and Professor of Political Science, The Ohio State University 

Victoria Gurevich, Graduate Student in Political Science, The Ohio State University  

Dr. Alam Payind, Former Director of the Middle East Studies Center, The Ohio State University 

The host is Mike Thompson, Chief Content Director of News and Public Affairs for WOSU Public Media.   CMC’s “Democracy in Crisis” series partner is WOSU Public Media, with support for this forum from The Columbus Council on World Affairs and The League of Women Voters of Metro Columbus.  

If you haven’t heard of CodeLaunch, think “Shark Tank” for software developers…CodeLaunch pairs up software developers and their big dreams with venture capitalists who have the ability to fund innovative projects. At stake for the CodeLaunch winner is potentially millions in startup funding, and it’s headed to Columbus in August 2022.  

The panelists are: 

Falon Donohue, Partner + Investor, Narya  

Dr. Navin Goyal, Co-Founder & CEO, LOUD Capital 

Steve Lekas, Cofounder & CEO, Branch Insurance  

The host is Josh Harrison, President of Improving - Ohio  

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to reverse its landmark 1973 ruling on abortion is now dramatically restricting access to abortion services in Ohio. This CMC forum reflects on the Court’s decision and unpacks the far-reaching social, legal, and political ramifications.   

This forum was recorded live on July 20, 2022.

The panelists are: 

Michael Gonidakis, President, Ohio Right to Life 

Dan Kobil, Professor, Capital University Law School  

Allison Russo, Ohio House of Representatives Minority Leader, House District 24 

The host is Jessie Balmert, Reporter, USA Today Network Ohio Bureau