Building Futures with Christie Kuhns of the Urban League

I meet Christie Kuhns in a vacant grass lot in Avondale, surrounded by chain link fencing, toting two beat-up, dusty camping chairs. The setting is incongruous with the location you might assume someone of Christie’s stature – an accomplished professional who has practiced law at both a major law firm and Fortune 500 company, a former Ohio State Representative, and now the President & CEO of the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio – would select for an interview.

And it’s perfect.

Because, while Christie is larger than life, she does not stand on ceremony. She has proven throughout her entire career that she is ready to roll up the sleeves of her well-appointed suit jacket (she has the same suit in multiple colors, they are from Dillard’s, and yes, I did search for them online as soon as the interview ended) and get to work. For her family, for her community, for her children’s futures.

Community engagement is in Christie’s DNA, and here we are sitting at the site of the former Avondale Community Pride Center, chatting in our camping chairs and suits, laughing and creating community, remembering and honoring the history of this neighborhood that Christie has poured so much of her soul into over her lifetime.

Interview by Gina Regan. 
Photography by Angie Lipscomb. 

Tell me your story. How did you get here today? 

I’ve followed what has been a natural path for me. My earliest memory of community engagement was with my family. They were always really active in the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati, which is in the West End. At one point, my uncle put together a group of us to perform in front of the City Council to impress upon them the importance of having the arts in the West End and continuing to fund the program there. We performed in front of the City Council, asking them not to cut the funding. I still remember that dance and that rap. We were dancing, we were singing, asking them not to cut the funding, and that's my earliest memory of community involvement;  it's really stuck with me throughout my whole life. 

I have always been really involved in this community here in Cincinnati, and it just never stopped. It took different twists and turns, and it has looked different, whether it was elected service or being in community relations at UC Health, or practicing law and helping community members navigate the legal system. It took various forms, but it was always consistent involvement in the community. And the most consistent involvement was in Avondale. 

Why did you select this location for your interview, the former site of the Avondale Community Pride Center?

So, we're here at the site of what was the Pride Center. The Pride Center was where the Community Council hosted its meetings. It was big, it was welcoming, it was family. Between my time on the Community Council and my time on the Development Corporation, I spent about 16 years total, heavily involved in Avondale. And the Pride Center, even though it's not here, is probably one of the most significant places and entities in my life. I met my husband while serving on that board. He was running for the school board, and he came to the Community Council to introduce himself. That was my first time actually ever seeing and meeting him. 

What happened to the Pride Center? 

It was purchased to bring potential development here on this site that has not happened yet. The community moved to a building still in Avondale, further down Reading Road, but it's very different from what the Pride Center was. It's a much smaller space. It's just not the same. 

You once stated, “One of my primary motivations for leadership is delivering on behalf of the community.” What does community mean to you? 

Well, you know, as any nonprofit organization, you receive funding to provide services – much-needed services – to the community. For me, that's huge because people come to you at their most critical moments in time. Our organization can be the difference between someone taking the first step to the next level in a positive way, or it could be, “This is the final time that I've tried something and it didn't work,” and so you give up. It's important for me that our team really appreciates the enormous privilege that we have to meet someone at that crossroads. But appreciation isn't enough. We need to actually provide services that help them on their path to generational wealth, which is ultimately what we're trying to do at the Urban League. 

The Urban League's mission is to “end generational poverty through advocacy by empowering individuals to establish careers, become entrepreneurs, build wealth, and develop as leaders.” That's a big mission. 

It is. 

How do you both measure success with something so big and then also maintain hope when you're dealing with such intractable long-term issues like racism, poverty, and public health?

We measure the broader scope of success when we do our official research studies, like the State of Black Cincinnati, where we're looking at, “Are we moving the needle in some of those critical areas?” But with respect to the people that come through our doors, we're measuring success by how our program participants are doing. If we have our 700 Credit Club, do we have individuals who are raising their scores and are able to finance homes or cars, or whatever those financial goals are? 

We've been very pleased that the vast majority of individuals who come through our doors leave reaching the goal that they sought to reach when they decided to come to the Urban League. It's really important for us to do that. Generational poverty is, like you said, it's huge. But those episodes of success are really important to the people who are experiencing them right now. And that's what we focus on to make sure that we're headed in the right direction. I'm very proud of the many, many, many individuals who have had success navigating and participating in our programs. 

Is there anyone specific who comes to mind who has benefited from your programs? 

You know, there are a couple of people who come to mind, but one of the stories that has stuck with me the most was one of our employees, who talked about what an impact coming to work for the Urban League had on his life and where he was before he came to the League and where he is now. He is one of our most dedicated employees, and I won't say his name because that's his story to tell, but you typically always think about what we do externally, but it was an opportunity to realize that the mission actually happens inside our doors as well with our employees. Having people working on the mission who understand it, who are that closely tied to it, is really important. 

Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. So, you are well-experienced in government, both at the local level, all the way to the Ohio State Assembly. I’ve spoken with many who feel paralyzed right now, given the current political state, or like nothing they do matters. Is there any advice you would give folks who feel that way?

Well, one of the big pieces that you do in any elected role is constituent services. The state has a lot of administrative departments that deliver services for Ohioans every day. So does the city, so does the county. One of the things that is really important that gets lost in the big policy decisions is how much elected offices can help an individual or a business or an organization navigate government. It's very difficult for the average person to navigate all the different departments. “Who do I talk to first? I feel like I'm getting the runaround.” Providing excellent constituent services is something that shouldn't be put on the back burner. I would say focus on the wins for the everyday people. Those things matter just as much, and in some instances even more, to people than policy. 

From a policy perspective, it's interesting because, yes, it is very polarized at all levels right now, but there are still things that you can find that folks can agree on. For instance, we have a very successful expungement program. Governor DeWine was here last year at the Queen City Club, urging our corporate community to engage in second-chance hiring, saying that our economy depends on putting individuals back to work who have made a mistake and are ready to get back into being productive workers. That's an issue that, at face value, you may think would be a brick wall issue, but it's not. There are very conservative individuals who are fans of allowing people who have records back to work. Focus on those issues that can make a profound impact on a person's life, but also could be common ground for someone that you may not otherwise agree with, and see if you can work on those things. It's better to focus on the things that you may be able to get movement on than, for me, to argue with you for an entire legislative session about an issue that you and I are never going to see eye to eye on. 

The Urban League’s expungement work is a great example of what we were talking about earlier: a very actionable step to tackle a big systemic issue. How does the Urban League's work impact women in particular? 

We are very evidence- and research-based, and when we looked at poverty here in Greater Cincinnati, most of the households living in poverty have a single female head of household, and so we know from a research perspective that if we focus on women, we can lift these households out of poverty. Our technology program, run in conjunction with the Cincinnati Regional Chamber and a few other local nonprofits, focuses on women in technology. The tech field is very male-dominated, and so it was a natural fit to help diversify the tech field, but also help these women obtain Google certifications so that they could work without a college degree and, in some cases, come out making a significant amount of money in an IT position with one of our local corporations. Women in Tech has been really popular. I believe that we're about to start a new cohort here soon. And it's another way for someone to lift themselves out of poverty without having to go get a four-year degree and take on college debt. 

That's amazing. Are there other programs that you're running specifically geared towards women, or is it more of a broad approach? 

It's broad; all of our programs are open to everyone. But when the research tells us that there's a group that we need to target that will make the most difference in this region, then we'll target it. So we have a Building Futures program in conjunction with the building trades to help individuals get a career in construction that's open to everyone. We've been looking at a female cohort because construction can be intimidating for women, so if you have a cohort that's all women, that may be attractive. 

We also have our business development and entrepreneurship side of things, and there was a program that we did in conjunction with the City of Cincinnati, our Women of Color: Access to Capital Bootcamp, which was really focused on women entrepreneurs. We just had the first graduation last week, and those ladies were super excited and ready to hit the ground running. Most of them already have ongoing enterprises, and so this was just helping them take it to the next level. 

Our entrepreneurship department helps so many different businesses of all different scales, all different sizes. We're part of the Lincoln and Gilbert Initiative, which is in conjunction with other organizations that do this work in the area: Mortar, the Cincinnati Business Accelerator, Lightship Foundation, which does Black Tech Week, and the Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative (GCMI). So we have, you know, all of those folks around the table and obviously the African American Chamber with Eric Kearney, who was a huge proponent of Lincoln and Gilbert, and actually I would consider the founder of Lincoln and Gilbert. All of those folks have really been aggressively trying to change the landscape of business here in the region. And the Urban League is proud to be a partner with them. 

Who are you when you're not at work? 

I'm a big family person. I spend most of the time when I'm not working or in community with my kids and my husband. My kids go to School of Creative and Performing Arts, and I'm a soccer mom… gymnastics, flag football; all the things. I'm very active at their school, so I do the field trips and the volunteering, and, you know, things like that. 

My husband and I love to travel, and we typically travel to see Bengals games. We're huge fans and season ticket holders, and I had an opportunity to announce the second round draft pick for the Bengals last year.

I didn't know you got to do that!

I got to do that! There was a partnership between the National Urban League and the National Football League around expungement, and since my team did a phenomenal job with the expungement work it was highlighted during the draft. That gave me an opportunity to announce our pick, which was really cool and took my Bengals obsession to the next stratosphere. I'm just, I'm a huge fan. 

Do you have an orange suit for Bengals games? 

[Laughing] I do not have an orange suit. No, no, no, you gotta balance being a fan with professionalism. Now my husband says that I add professionalism to things that professionalism does not go with, which is true. 

[Laughs] That's called living the mission.

Right! When we went to the Super Bowl, I bought the official NFL blazer. Yeah, so I wore my official Bengals blazer. That's my “professional” Bengals attire. 

Okay, so what's something that you are passionate about that has nothing to do with your day job? 

The Bengals [laughs]. But seriously, I love sports in general. I am a huge sports fan. I love our Reds, FC Cincinnati; we go to those games. We go to Reds games. We go to the Bengals games. We are just a huge sports family. We're a huge Cincinnati family in general, to be honest. We travel to see our teams outside of the region and support them here. And I just think that's important. Sports are so stressful, so to say it's a stress outlet is hilarious, but it's one of the things that I just truly enjoy. I love to cook and so that's something that I do a lot of. I am a huge family person, and so I host a lot of family events at my home. I really love and enjoy time with my family. 

Being a big Cincinnati family, what do you say to people who get down on Cincinnati?

You know I never apologize for loving my hometown. It's home, just like you wouldn't apologize for loving your family. Cincinnati is home for me. Cincinnati is family, and so just like you could have a family member that's imperfect, you love them anyway. I know that my city is not perfect, but I love it anyway. And just like I would try to help that family member on their path to change whatever is not working for them, instead of complaining about my city and putting it down, I have tried since I was a teenager to contribute to making the city better. I put personal blood, sweat and tears into this region, so you won't hear me put it down. I'm a cheerleader for Cincinnati, and I am rooting for us to win. I am rooting for us to make a difference in the areas where we need to make a difference, but I love my hometown and I think there's a lot to love about it. 

Looking back 20, 30, 50 years from now, what do you want your legacy to be?

I want people to really feel like I dedicated my all to Cincinnati. My true legacy is all about raising kind children who will be productive, but I tell them the most important thing that they can be in this world is kind, and I think that will go a long way. If my children are happy, and they are able to do what they want to do, instead of what they have to do. It is a privilege, and a lot of times, particularly people of color, when you go to college and you get jobs, because of generational poverty, the pressure is on you to make money. You need to make money, and sometimes making money doesn't align with your passion. I want my children to be in a position where they can choose what they want to do, what they love, what makes them happy, what makes them smile, and not have to choose because of money and finances. I took that stress on to build a legacy for them so that they don't have to take that stress on. 

That's really beautiful. Okay, last question, can you please tell us about an influential woman in your life? 

My mom will be the first one for many, many reasons. She made sure that my sisters and I had every opportunity. She made sure that we had every opportunity (and my dad, of course). My mom was a social worker by trade, and so she was the one who really exposed me to the community and this struggle that folks have. Watching that has made me more human. My relationship with my mother has made me just a more compassionate person. 

From a business perspective, Barbara Turner. She's my board chair, she's a mentor. She leads with strength, but also kindness. And that's something that, like I said, is important to me and watching her do it at such a high level has been just incredible to watch, and to have her as a boss and as a friend is invaluable. 

I know this is Women of Cincy, but I wouldn't feel right without saying that my husband is just an incredible supporter. In my stage of life with him, I wouldn't be who I am without his strength. He supports every single thing that I do, and my father as well, and so not that women need a man – that's not what I'm saying – but I do have to say that I owe a lot of who I am as a woman to my dad and to my husband.