Katie Nzekwu joined us at Crossroads Church with stories to tell, from her grandmother’s favorite piece of advice to the discovery of personal superpowers. Amid the sounds of children playing and entrepreneurs typing on their laptops, free coffee in hand, we heard more about her experiences as founder of the local nonprofit, Villedge, and how she’s learned to look at herself as an equally important project.
Read MoreSt. Monica’s Recreation Center in Lincoln Heights is quiet. It’s early on Friday afternoon and school hasn’t let out yet, but in just an hour or so, local kids will be filling the halls, starting games of ping-pong, and climbing on the enormous indoor playground that makes us want to put down our cameras and notebooks and just play. But Yvette Simpson, city councilwoman and candidate for mayor, is here to tell us her story. She opens a soda – a “pick-me-up,” she says, after a long day of meetings running over. I tell her we’re excited to get to know Yvette – the woman, not just the candidate – and she laughs. “You mean you’re interested in me?”
Read MoreWest Chester and Liberty Townships are north of Cincinnati, but that doesn’t mean things are slow around here. We met Erin Clemons, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty in her office, where things were still bustling at 5:30 in the evening.
Read MoreWe met Dr. Ashley Jordan at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. She gave us a mini tour of the building and its three floors of exhibits. The Freedom Center’s exhibits examine America’s history of slavery, as well as modern day slavery. On the third floor balcony, we paused next to the Freedom Center’s Eternal Flame and looked down at the glistening Ohio River.
Read MoreOn a drizzly Wednesday afternoon, Women of Cincy met up with Rachelle Caplan, founder of Ladyfest Cincinnati, in her “second living room”: Northside’s The Listing Loon (coincidentally, the same location as Women of Cincy’s first-ever happy hour). We grabbed some beers while Rachelle chatted with other regulars. “It’s like the living room everyone wants in their home,” she comments, looking around at the dark but cozy bar with patrons scattered around the tables and stools. “But, there’s usually more people than you would ever want in your own living room. So this works out.”
Read MoreMegan Park is a producer and storyteller. She’s the founder of Little Sprig Productions, the creator of Putting Women In Their Place, and a board member of Women in Film’s Cincinnati chapter. We interviewed her at her home, where she served fresh fruit and homemade tea on her back porch.
Read MoreAs we step out of our cars in the front circle of Aiken High School, a young woman on the opposite side is belting out the national anthem. Her peers are astonishingly quiet. We pause, and across the way, Tamaya Dennard, candidate for city council and innovation specialist at Design Impact, does the same, leaning against her car to listen. The anthem draws to a close and, just as we’re about to clap, the girl’s friends break up the silence, laughing and yelling along with her, “the home of the brave.” “Aw, guys!” she yells.
We meet Tamaya – red folding chair in tow – and her communications director, Tara Keesling, at the front of the school. “Man, she was killing it,” she says.
Read MoreIn less than three years, Calcagno Cullen has transformed an old Camp Washington building into an art gallery and a thriving, vibrant corner of the neighborhood.
Read MoreRohs Street Café is busy on a Wednesday afternoon. Some are enjoying their final homework-free days, chatting about the Target that just opened down the street and recalling the parties of the past weekend. Others are bent over laptops and notebooks. We wave as Grace Cunningham – clearly a regular here – walks in, and she greets us with a bright smile.
Read MoreIt takes us a few minutes to find the working entrance to the Ensemble Theatre office; construction warnings and orange cones crowd the scenery up and down the 1100 block of Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. The street is quiet, but behind the door, the air fills with the sounds of a $7 million dream being built. The noise of drilling and hammering is slightly dulled as Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers leads us to a fluorescent breakroom. On the table is a pile of programs for the theater’s new 2017-18 season and a bag of mini M&Ms.
Read MoreFormer college professor and current CEO of Untold Content, Katie Taylor joined us for an interview in the sun-soaked back patio of Iris Book Café. Sitting amongst overgrown ivy and midday coffee drinkers, Katie spoke about empowerment through storytelling, balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, and knowledge sharing as an act of love.
Read MoreReggae music plays in the background as we sit down at a table next to Graeter’s Ice Cream downtown. Priya Klocek looks up and smiles at the Fifth Third Bank building on Fountain Square, and says, “This is where it all began.”
Read MoreLiz Wu is a Cincinnati native, musician, teacher, world traveler, and writer. We talked about how she fell into a life of teaching and creative expression at 1801 Mills Avenue in Norwood, a new community meeting space that she is helping to launch.
Read MoreWomen of Cincy caught up with Josie Huang at Cavu Coffee in West Chester on a warm summer evening. We grabbed a comfy couch, sipped on some fruit smoothies, and talked about this inspiring woman's journey from West Coast businesswoman to Queen City yoga teacher, student, and mom.
Read MoreOn a rainy Friday evening, Women of Cincy met up with Emerald Sparks, a financial strategist, at Brick Coffee Company in Norwood. While it was raining cats and dogs outside, we got the chance to learn about her passion for money, travel, education, and much more.
Read MoreWe're feeling ourselves so much we didn't want you to miss our past stories! Welcome to week two of Women of Cincy throwbacks! Since Women of Cincy began in January, we've grown leaps and bounds. We've spent the last two weeks re-releasing some of our earliest stories, just in case you missed them the first time around. Enjoy!
Read MoreSince Women of Cincy began in January, we've highlighted 14 amazing Cincinnati women and expanded our team to include almost 20 writers, photographers, and volunteers. Over the next two weeks, we'll be revisiting some of our very first Women of Cincy.
Read MoreI’m totally in awe the moment I set foot inside the Play Library. The stress I had over a traffic jam just moments before melts away as I gape at the miles of quirky black-and-white drawings on the walls, a perfect backdrop for hundreds of toys, costumes, games, and activities in every color imaginable.
Read MoreTracy Brumfield has stumbled and fallen, but her life is on the rise.
Having landed a People’s Liberty Haile Fellowship, the 50-year-old former heroin addict is creating a monthly newspaper for Cincinnati’s incarcerated population. Called RISE, the newspaper is intended to be a resource and inspiration to people wanting to pick themselves up out of addiction and incarceration.
Read MoreIt's a typical afternoon at Union Hall: Creatives are bent over laptops in this corner and that. We're sitting in the kitchen on the second floor and occasionally someone will traipse down one of the mismatched staircases, wondering if the rain has let up. Miranda Millard pushes aside a stack of notebooks and we start chatting. It doesn't take long for her big laugh to fill the room, and we know we're in for a fun one.
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