The Community's Conversation

This week’s CMC forum welcomes former and current editors of The Columbus Dispatch for an in-depth discussion about the past, present, and future of journalism. 

This forum was sponsored by The Columbus Partnership with support from The Columbus Dispatch. It was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House on December 1, 2021.  

The speakers are: 

Mike Curtin, Former Editor and Former Associate Publisher of The Columbus Dispatch 

Luke Feck, Former Editor of The Columbus Dispatch

Ben Marrison, Former Editor of The Columbus Dispatch and current Chief of Staff for the Ohio Attorney General

Alan D. Miller, current Executive Editor of The Columbus Dispatch and Regional Editor for Gannett Ohio

The host is Ann Fisher, a former Columbus Dispatch columnist, state editor, editorial writer, and reporter, and since 2009, the executive producer and host of WOSU Public Media’s All Sides with Ann Fisher. Fisher also covered the Statehouse for nine years for The Toledo Blade.  

The Supreme Court of Ohio decides the state’s most difficult legal cases. This week’s extraordinary CMC forum welcomes four former and current Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio for a behind-the-curtains look at Ohio’s highest court. 

This forum was sponsored by The Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer Legacy Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association, Ice Miller LLP, Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP, and by The Robert Weiler Company.  

This program is CMC’s annual Steve and Vanessa Marks Legacy in Civic Engagement Forum. It was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House on November 17, 2021.  

The speakers are:  

Former Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio Yvette McGee Brown, Herbert Brown, and Mary DeGenaro. 

The host is current Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio Patrick Fischer. 

Columbus, Ohio will soon welcome some 350 Afghan refugees, just part of the many thousands coming to the United States following with withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2021. Hear from leaders working to help these refugees create new homes in Columbus.     This CMC forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on November 10, 2021.  

This forum was sponsored by The United Way of Central Ohio. The forum partner was The Columbus Council on World Affairs. 

The speakers are:  

Noorgul Dada, President, Hidayah Institute, and Senior Engineer, PJM Interconnection 

Nicol Ghazi, Executive Director, Muslim Family Services of Ohio 

Nadia Kasvin, Co-Founder and Director, US Together, Inc. 

Angela Plummer, Executive Director, Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) 

The host is Yilun Cheng, Immigration Reporter for the Columbus Dispatch 

America’s small business creation rate has been dropping for decades. The country’s entrepreneurial spirit seems alive and well, so what’s discouraging entrepreneurs from starting new small businesses?  

With a panel of experts, this CMC forum explores what the future holds for small business entrepreneurs in Central Ohio and unpacks what the region is doing to help entrepreneurs and small businesses start, grow, and thrive. 

This CMC forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on November 3, 2021.  

This forum was sponsored by Steptoe & Johnson. The forum partner was the Central Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce. 

The speakers are:  

Bill LaFayette, Ph.D., Owner of Regionomics® LLC 

Steve Fireman, President and General Counsel for the Economic and Community Development Institute  

Cheryl Turnbull, Senior Director of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship at The Ohio State University  

The host is Susan Post, Editor of TheMetropreneur.com and Associate Editor of ColumbusUnderground.com 

With the results of the latest U.S. census in hand, lawmakers across the country are now redrawing the lines of 429 House districts and over seven thousand legislative districts.   

This CMC forum explores the implications of redistricting on elections in Ohio, and what redrawn legislative maps will mean to Ohio voters.    This forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on October 27, 2021 and was sponsored by Hannah News Service. The forum partner was the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus 

The speakers are:  

Kyle Kondik, Author of The Long Red Thread: How Democratic Dominance Gave Way to Republican Advantage in US House Elections, and Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball  

Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio  

Sam Gresham, Owner and Principal of Samuel Gresham International (SGI), and Chairman of Common Cause Ohio  

Terry Casey, Republican Consultant and former Ohio election official   

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

This week, CMC features Columbus native Wil Haygood. His new book, Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, examines 100 years of Black movies—from Gone with the Wind to Blaxploitation films to Black Panther—using the struggles and triumphs of the artists and their films as a prism to explore Black culture, civil rights, and racism in America.    This CMC forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on October 20, 2021 and was sponsored by Crabbe, Brown, and James, LLP and RAMA Consulting Group   

The speakers are:  

Wil Haygood, Author of Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World 

David Filipi, Director of Film/Video, Wexner Center for the Arts 

The host is Ray Paprocki, Publisher and General Manager, Dispatch Magazines 

Stonewall Columbus was founded in 1981 to increase the visibility and acceptance of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in Columbus. Today’s forum explores Stonewall’s 40-year history and discusses what the future holds for Central Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community.     CMC’s annual Lynn Greer Legacy in Civic Engagement Forum, which celebrates inclusion and equity for the LGBTQ+ community, was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on October 13, 2021.  

This forum was sponsored by AARP Ohio and Ulmer & Berne LLP. The forum partner was PFLAG Columbus.   

Please note this forum includes a use of a term that some listeners may find offensive. 

The speakers are:  

LeeAnn Massucci, Owner and Principal of Massucci Law Group  

Densil Porteous, Executive Director of Stonewall Columbus  

Jose Rodriguez, Director of Community Relations with Equitas Health  

The host is Megan Kilgore, Auditor for the City of Columbus.   Tom Dailey, Chair of the Tom Dailey Foundation and Member of the Columbus Metropolitan Club Board of Trustees, delivered the forum's concluding remarks.

After a nationwide search, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced the selection of Elaine Bryant as the City’s new chief of police on June 2, 2021. Chief Bryant has made history as Columbus’ first chief from outside the division of police and its first African American female Chief. 

This forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on October 6, 2021 and was supported by The Columbus Dispatch. 

The speakers are:  

Elaine Bryant, Chief of Police for the City of Columbus  

The host is Kelly Lecker, Managing Editor with The Columbus Dispatch.  

How can inclusive housing strengthen Columbus? Hear from an expert panel about the myriad ways housing affects a community - from the quality of life, ease of transportation, employment, health care, and access to good schools.    

This CMC forum was sponsored by AARP Ohio, the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation, the Columbus Foundation, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Move to PROSPER, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University, and the United Way of Central Ohio.    This forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on September 29, 2021.  

The speakers are:  

Richard Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation  

Lori Ann Feibel, Council President, City of Bexley  

Calvin Cooper, CEO and Co-Founder of  Rhove  

The host is Dr. Kim M. Campbell, Director of Enrollment Management at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing  

Construction cranes continue to dominate downtown Columbus. Much of this progress is the work of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, a private non-profit with a mission to lead development in the heart of Ohio’s capital. We’ll hear about CDDC’s current projects and learn what lies ahead for downtown Columbus.  

Today’s CMC forum, “Columbus Downtown Development Corporation Review,” was sponsored by GBQ, ICE Miller, and MKSK. This forum was recorded before a live audience following COVID protocols at the Boat House in Columbus, Ohio on September 22, 2021.  

The speakers are:  

Greg Davies, CEO of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation 

Michael Stevens, Director of the City of Columbus Department of Development 

Amy Taylor, President of the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation 

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