On Creating Community with Westwood’s Youth: Liz Haradon, Kim Springer, and Cheryl Whiting

When we first walked into the basement of the Third Presbyterian Church, we were greeted by a hallway gallery of framed photographs and newspaper clippings. Photographs of wrestlers, basketball players, and football players hung on the wall – all of whom once came to this church for the same reason children go there today: for guidance, homework help, crafts, cooking, games, and more. It is a space full of life, bustling with kids ranging in age from 5 to 20.

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Nick Erby and Joe Puchala: Building Workplace Equality with MARC

“I think it’s hard for a lot of white men to embrace what we’re trying to do. It’s difficult for them to bring to the surface some of the difficult topics and hard dialogue to have with your peers and superiors in and out of the workplace. I personally feel that it’s very much about owning some of the responsibility. Looking at it as, ‘it’s not my fault that there are inequalities, but it is our responsibility to be a part of helping to resolve some of that.’ You have to do more; you have to take action. We like to joke that watching documentaries on Netflix that’ll inform you ain’t gonna help.”


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Monique Gilliam: ‘I am a beautiful mess.’

Monique Gilliam – mom of four, change-maker, mentor, advocate, and more – requested that we meet her at Findlay Market for our conversation. It was a peaceful Tuesday evening, and the weather was more than agreeable. She arrived with open arms, flashing her bright smile. She was rocking a gray O.T.R. T-shirt that listed the street names that she knows all too well.

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Ask Cincinnati: The Heartbeat Bill

This article – a response to our open-ended group project assignment as Women of Cincy residents – was a complex undertaking, but we find these perspectives are a necessary part of the broader conversation of abortion in America. Abortion is a complicated issue with deeply emotional stakes, and the fate of Roe v. Wade could be determined in our backyard. The recent coverage of this issue has been lacking the voices of Ohioans and we want to change that.

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Reported by Women: From Cycling Fiends to Agents of Change

House gave an overview of Cincinnati’s homeless population and how people can get involved in providing assistance. She closed her presentation with a quote from one of her favorite Batman characters, Commissioner Gordon, “You’re going to make a difference. A lot of times it won’t be huge, it won’t be visible even. But it will matter just the same.”

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Taking Control of My Time: The Power of Productivity Challenge

I work from home with part-time childcare, and had been struggling more and more with balancing my emotional labor (aka “invisible work”) with my professional and personal life. This struggle is certainly not unique to me – many women find it difficult to manage their time as they are constantly bouncing from role to role, task to task.

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Putting Empathy to Work: A Letter from the CEO

Women of Cincy began on a whim on January 20, 2017, to document stories from the Cincinnati Women’s March. Five 20-somethings pulled together a few cameras, recorders, and an Instagram account the morning of the march. We had no idea what we were creating, or just how far it would take us.

This summer, we’re taking a moment to look back at that day and celebrate how far we’ve come, and then to share our vision for this movement going forward.

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Marquicia Jones: The Alpha Mom of the West End

“I’ve never actually wanted to leave my community. Well… Let me take that back. I don’t know if I wanted to leave, but I would have left if there was no change. I knew as I got older and started to raise my family that what was going on in my community was not good for my children. I was trying to protect them from what I grew up with: the hustle and bustle. The crime. The drugs. The violence part of it.”

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Good (Man)ners: Rico Grant on Paloozanoire and Being Black and Excellent

We sat down with “true Cincinnati kid” Ricardo (Rico) Grant to talk about his career in the hair and beauty industry, the inspirational woman in his life, and his upcoming adventure: PALOOZANOIRE, a three-day celebration bringing together over 2,000 men and women of the Black community from across the nation.

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Reported By Women: The 2019 Professional Pretty Conference

The second annual Professional Pretty Conference by Morgan A. Owens, entrepreneur and founder of Curvy Cardio, converged in Cincinnati, May 24-26, 2019. The conference, located at the Kennedy Art Center Annex, opened with a V.I.P. night full of local vendors, energizing music spun by Ms. Ebony J., and plenty of time for impactful mixing and mingling.

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A Conversation with Rhonda Sheakley

“I noticed there was a gap in the volunteer movement. As more women stay in the workforce, there are fewer ‘professional volunteers,’” she says. So she simply hit the pavement and did what she could, kids in tow. Over the years she’s been involved with Lighthouse Youth & Family Services, the Boys and Girls Club, the Cincinnati Ballet, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the now defunct National Council of Jewish Women, just to name a few.

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Julie LeMaster on Advocating for Local Immigrant and Refugee Families

It was a hectic ride in at 9 a.m.: fluorescent buses, playground yells, untied shoelaces, and a handful of teachers guiding school kids towards Roberts Paideia Academy in East Price Hill. The school day was beginning. For many of these kids, this school is a second home, a place to feel safe and to know they are supported. But for some, it’s even more than that.

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Carla Walker: 'Think big; follow through'

Solopreneur strategist and C.E.O. of think BIG strategies, Carla Walker, welcomed us into her downtown office and out of the busy streets and Opening Day crowds. As the hours stretched into the late afternoon, our conversation traveled from harnessing interests in professional life and strengthening international relationships to morning rituals and the moments in life that change everything.

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