The Community's Conversation

Looming federal budget cuts could mean significant reductions in safety-net services for Central Ohio's most vulnerable populations, including immigrants and refugees. How will these changes affect our communities, and how are local nonprofit leaders responding? Our expert panel explores what's at stake and what steps can be taken to mitigate the impact.

Featuring:

Dr. Seleshi Asfaw, President & CEO, Tewahedo Social Services

Elizabeth Brown, President & CEO, YWCA Columbus

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

Shannon Hardin, President, Columbus City Council The host is Dr. Lisa Courtice, President and CEO, The United Way of Central Ohio. This forum was sponsored by Installed Building Products, Mollard Consulting, Nationwide, and The United Way of Central Ohio. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 12, 2025.

While there's growing focus on seniors and the care they need, far less attention is being paid to the family members who provide that care. According to AARP, in 2010, there were more than seven potential family caregivers for every person over 80; by 2030, that ratio will drop to 4:1, and by 2050, it will be less than 3:1.

In Ohio alone, people caring for older relatives provide 1.4 billion hours of care each year—that's $21 billion in unpaid labor. Younger family members, often juggling their own lives, are the ones dispensing medications, preparing meals, driving loved ones to appointments, and sorting out the financial and legal matters of aging parents.

Expanding Medicare to cover in-home care, giving tax credits for caregivers, and setting up a national paid family leave program could all help, but more solutions are needed. In partnership with WOSU Public Media's "Inside Caregiving" initiative, CMC welcomes a panel of leaders and advocates to explore how we'll care for the caregivers that older Central Ohioans will depend on.

Featuring:

Jennifer Carlson, State Director, AARP Ohio

Katie White, Director, Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging

Dr. Kathy D. Wright, Associate Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, The Ohio State University College of Nursing

Chanda Wingo, Director, Franklin County Office on Aging

The moderartor is Anthony Padgett, General Manager, WOSU Public Media.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on February 5, 2025.

Ohio's system of higher education is reinventing itself for a new era in the state's history. Will schools be ready?

Among the challenges, the number of U.S. high school graduates is expected to peak next year at about 3.5 million students before dropping 15% in the next four years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, with profound implications for institutions of higher education.

Additionally, the needs of key Ohio employers are always accelerating, creating growing pressure on schools to produce workers ready to enter an ever-evolving workforce, especially in technology and healthcare-related professions.

Schools are also creating new ways to ensure students stay housed, fed, and that childcare resources are available to keep students with families enrolled and moving toward graduation.

A college education remains a life-changing asset for graduates, with Axios reporting recent grads in 2023 ages 22-27 earned $24,000 more annually than their peers holding just a high school degree. With the help from our expert panelists, we explore how Ohio's higher education institutions are innovating to adapt to a changing educational and workforce landscape.

Featuring panelists:

Dr. John Comerford, President of Otterbein University Dr. David Harrison, President of Columbus State Community College Dr. Morakinyo A.O. Kuti, President of Central State University Dr. James Orr, Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management at The Ohio State University

The host is Sheridan Hendrix, Higher Education Reporter for The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was sponsored by Columbus State Community College, Grange Insurance, The Ohio State University, and Otterbein University. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. It was also supported by The Ellis.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on January 29, 2025.

Central Ohio is growing rapidly, and the region's four major hospital systems are following suit. Each of Columbus' "Big Four" systems – OhioHealth, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Mount Carmel Health System, and Nationwide Children's Hospital – are expanding rapidly, constructing new facilities and scrambling to hire legions of qualified healthcare professionals. With the region's population expected to grow by 30% in the next 25 years, that may translate into 730,000 new residents – all of whom will require access to healthcare. Can Central Ohio's biggest healthcare players keep pace with demand? This forum features an extraordinary panel featuring the CEOs of all four of the region's major hospital systems for an in-depth exploration of the present and future of healthcare in Central Ohio.

Featuring panelists:

Dr. Stephen Markovich, President and Chief Executive Officer, OhioHealth

Timothy Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Nationwide Children's Hospital Dr. John Warner, Chief Executive Officer, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Executive Vice President, The Ohio State University Tauana McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mount Carmel Health System The host is Greg Moody, Director of Professional Development and the State of Ohio Leadership Institute, John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University.

The presenting sponsors of CMC's long-running Optimal Health Series are The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth, and Nationwide Children's Hospital.

This forum was also sponsored by AstraZeneca, Cardinal Health, Fifth Third Bank, The Healthcare Career Collaborative of Central Ohio Powered by Aspyr, Mount Carmel Health System, and CK Construction. The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by Vue Columbus. This forum was recorded before a live audience at Vue Columbus in Columbus, Ohio's historic Brewery District on January 22, 2025.

What was America's most popular housing market in 2024, according to Realtor.com?

Look no further than Columbus, Ohio. Homes for sale in Central Ohio were racking up far more online views than the national average, indicating off-the-charts levels of interest in available properties in the region.

If it's been a few years since you sold a home in Central Ohio, you might be in for a shock the next time you plant a "for sale" sign in your yard, now that new rules have completely reshaped realtor commissions.

If you're on the buying side, you'll need to be just as prepared for a housing market that's undergone profound changes since before the pandemic, with demand outpacing new construction and out-of-state "institutional" buyers with deep pockets outbidding families and snapping up investment properties.

Ths week, we navigate the new realities of buying and selling in Central Ohio's red-hot housing market.

Featuring:

Josh Barkan, Division Vice President, M/I Homes of Central Ohio Jon Melchi, Executive Director, Building Industry Association of Central Ohio Buffie Patterson, President, Columbus REALTORS® Board of Directors

The host is Bonnie Meibers, Commercial Real Estate Reporter, Columbus Business First. This forum was sponsored by The Robert Weiler Company.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was also supported by Vue Columbus.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at Vue Columbus in the Brewery District on January 15, 2025.

The Atlantic Magazine recently awarded the US economy "superstar status" – calling it the "Taylor Swift" of global economies – for its robust sustained performance. Closer to home, Central Ohio's economy also appears to be roaring along, with the region leading the Buckeye State in growth. What's in store for Central Ohio's economy and our region in 2025? Hear what the year ahead looks like for Central Ohio's economy from a panel of leading experts at CMC's first program of 2025 and one of the year's most popular forums.

Featuring:

Dr. Joyce Chen, Professor of Economics in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University

Kathy Bostjancic, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Nationwide Mutual

Dr. Bill LaFayette, Owner, Regionomics

The host is Benjamin Lanka, Business Editor, The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was sponsored by Smoot Construction, Frost Brown Todd, The Columbus Region, Ian Alexander Photography, and PNC.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was supported by Vue Columbus.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at Vue Columbus in the Brewery District on January 8, 2025.

Can downtown retail make a comeback in Columbus? With a panel of downtown leaders and advocates, this forum explores efforts to re-energize retail downtown and examines what lies ahead for Columbus' urban core.

Featuring:

Nicholas J. Bankston, Columbus City Councilmember

Amy Taylor, President, Downtown Columbus, Inc.

Jim Merkel, CEO and Co-Founder, Rockbridge

The host is Jessica Ralston, Anchor of Good Day Columbus on ABC6 and FOX28. This forum was sponsored by The Harrison Smith Legacy in Civic Engagement Fund, Downtown Columbus, Inc., The Edwards Companies, and Rockbridge.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream is The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner is The Columbus Dispatch. This forum was also supported by The Ellis. This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on December 18, 2024.

Ohio's labor market remains incredibly tight, but Central Ohio organizations that are building strong cultures of belonging are attracting top talent from diverse backgrounds. Leading employers know from experience that cultivating a strong and authentic sense of belonging among employees can revolutionize recruitment, engagement, retention, productivity, and ROI, even with remote workers.

Recent criticism around DEI in the workplace has sparked concerns that diversity, equity, and inclusion progress could stall, but many employers are not only not abandoning DEI initiatives but deepening them with strategic efforts to build a sense of belonging among employees. They're also ensuring the definition of diversity remains broad and embraces neurodivergent and physically impaired employees, elevating every voice.

With a panel of passionate leaders, we'll explore the meaning and value of creating a culture of belonging in the contemporary workplace, and how it's helping key Central Ohio employees and employers to stay at the top of their games.

Featuring:

Daniel Juday, Founder + Facilitator, Space Creator LLC

Dr. Tina Pierce, Chief of Strategy and Belonging, The Ohio State University Alumni Association

Jennifer Robinson, Chief Human Resources Officer and Deputy Director, Ohio Department of Veterans Services

The moderator is Margaret Finley, Head of DEI and Corporate Affairs, ADS, and President, Board of Directors, Central Ohio Diversity Consortium.

This forum was sponsored by Advanced Drainage Systems, with additional support from Aspyr and The Central Ohio Workforce Development Network.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch. It was also supported by The Ellis.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on December 11, 2024.

In 2023, Columbus saw nearly 24,000 eviction filings, marking a 12,000-case increase from the previous year. Early 2024 data shows this trend worsening, with evictions reaching a 20-year high in Franklin County.

Across Ohio, landlords initiated almost 108,000 eviction cases in 2023 — the highest since 2015. A major driver behind the surge is sluggish wage growth, which isn't keeping pace with skyrocketing rents. The "housing wage" — what a worker needs to earn per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment — rose 9% since last year. To afford such a home, full-time workers need an hourly wage of at least $20.81. In Columbus, however, this figure climbs even higher to $25.04 per hour.

With a panel of regional leaders, CMC unpacks why evictions are climbing, the impact on communities when families lose their homes, and the strategies that advocates are leveraging to ensure more Central Ohio families stay housed.

Featuring:

Kate McGarvey, Executive Director, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio

Shayla D. Favor, Columbus City Council Member and Franklin County Prosecutor-Elect

Gene Edwards, Director of Legal Research and Magistrate, Franklin County Municipal Court,

The moderator is Danae King, Underserved Communities Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was sponsored by The Community Shelter Board with support from The Columbus Dispatch.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on December 4, 2024.

For the first time since 2019, the all-new Columbus Foundation Community Benchmarking Report has measured how Central Ohio compares to more than 20 peer regions across more than 50 metrics and indices.

Building on a decade of community tracking, this newest research across a range of metrics offers a clear window to understanding how Central Ohio stacks up to comparable metro areas and gives us one of the best snapshots of where our region finds itself on this side of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings dive deeply into five overall categories – population vitality, economic strength, personal prosperity, lifelong learning, and overall community wellbeing. In this second of two forums, we'll dive deep into the study's findings on Personal Prosperity, Lifelong Learning, and Overall Community Wellbeing, and explore what the data says about Central Ohio's future. The complete new report can be downloaded here.

Featuring:

J. Averi Frost, Freedom Equity Inc. and the Central Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Gina Ginn, CEO, Columbus Early Learning Centers

Matt Martin, Director of Community Research, The Columbus Foundation

The moderator is Autumn Glover, Senior Vice President, Provider + Community Partnerships, AndHealth.

The presenting sponsor of this two-part series was The Columbus Foundation.

This forum was sponsored by The American Electric Power Foundation.

The presenting sponsor of the CMC livestream was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. Our livestream partner was The Columbus Dispatch.

This forum was also supported by The Ellis.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at The Ellis in Columbus' historic Italian Village on November 20, 2024.