ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cleveland and the World: Civic Forum Summary

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To celebrate its centennial and demonstrate its gratitude to the community that has supported it for the past 100 years, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs convened a civic forum on June 8, 2023, to discuss why global engagement matters for the greater Cleveland area.

Sector leaders in four areas - Arts and Culture; Business and Infrastructure Assets; Wellbeing and Environment; and Human Capital โ€“ led community conversations to gauge views on the value, present level, and future potential of international engagement for greater Cleveland. The result was a sustained dialogue, with speakers and participants alike sharing personal experiences of international engagement, as well as recommendations for how to further Clevelandโ€™s global connectivity.

Those conversations have been summarized and captured in this document: Cleveland and the World: Civic Forum Summary

Opening remarks were made by Mayor Justin Bibb and closing remarks by County Executive Chris Ronayne. Civic sector leaders included:

Arts & Culture: Marcie Goodman, Executive Director, Cleveland International Film Festival; William Griswold, Director and President, Cleveland Museum of Art; Jeremy Johnson, President and CEO, Assembly for the Arts; Tony F. Sias, President and CEO, Karamu House; Sarah Spinner Liska, Managing Director, FRONT International;ย and Jill Paulsen, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, as moderator.

Business & Infrastructure Assets: Joe Cimperman, President, Global Cleveland; William Friedman, President and CEO, Port of Cleveland; Dennis Kramer, Airport Director, Hopkins International Airport; Mindy McLaughlin, Managing Director, Global Business Development, Team NEO; Baiju Shah, President and CEO, Greater Cleveland Partnership;ย and Bethia Burke, President, Fund for Our Economic Future, as moderator.

Human Capital: Ashley Basile Oeken, President, Engage! Cleveland; Dr. Michael Baston, President, Cuyahoga Community College; Eric Gordon, CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Anelize Nader, Deputy Director, Refugee Response;ย and Victor Ruiz, Executive Director, Esperanza, as moderator.

Wellbeing & Environment: Rich Cochran, President and CEO, Western Reserve Land Conservancy; Dr. James Misak, Medical Director, MetroHealth Institute for H.O.P.E.; Joyce Pan Huang, Director of Planning, City of Cleveland; Brian Zimmerman, CEO, Cleveland Metroparks;ย and Grant Goodrich, Executive Director, Great Lakes Energy Institute, CWRU, as moderator.

 

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