Esther Maria Claros Berlioz, Ph.D., is an integral part of the Latinx community in Cincinnati, welcoming and supporting the immigrant community – especially the children, who she lovingly dotes on. In her work with these children, art has become a communal language, with color and scenes representing unique journeys that are understood through shared humanity, history, and dreams.
Read MoreWith stacks of art supplies, colorful paintings, and children’s drawings decorating the room, the West End Art Gallery’s bright space is reminiscent of the best kind of art classroom. Tia and Michael Brown started the nonprofit art center as a place for the community to find a positive form of expression. The “WE Gallery,” as Tia calls it, began as pop-up workshops in neighborhood buildings. It’s turned into a labor of love for the Browns, with a dedicated space, mobile mural-painting events, two hyper-local coloring books, and art-supply grab bags as COVID-19 restricted in-person workshops.
Read MoreRubina Dosani’s North Star is her Islamic faith, which guides her to help others whenever she can. In following her passion, she has helped people in Cincinnati, throughout the country, and even around the world. She helped establish the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (I.C.G.C.) and was the first leader of the center’s mental health program, normalizing discussions about mental health and developing resources for the community.
Read MoreNahamani Yisrael truly embodies the meaning of her name: compassionate leader. As an entrepreneur, mother, teacher, website designer, and community activist, Nahamani is a woman on a mission to share her spark with the world and to light a spark in others. From balancing being a single mother of two kids to becoming a successful entrepreneur, Nahamani’s story speaks to how far kindness, hard work, and having the courage to make connections and speak your truth can take you in life.
Read MoreFrom the moment you sit down with Dr. Pratima Shanbhag, she’s an old friend and an immediate joy to be around. Dr. Shanbhag’s compassion and empathy is effusive and she channels it toward her passion: advocating for children of abuse and neglect as a pediatrician. And maybe unbeknownst to her, through her example, she’s advocating for everyone she meets to view the world through a lens of compassion.
Read MoreSusan Austin is a creator, community volunteer, and fiber artworks program founder at the Barn in Mariemont. Susan combines artmaking with group activities and holds a communal space for creative expression through fiber artwork: weaving, knitting, sewing, and quilting. She enjoys the creative process of making something out of nothing, embracing mistakes, and appreciating beauty. She says every piece of art is unique, and although ideas and materials may be similar, they are imagined in brave and bold new ways of self-expression.
Read MoreJazzy Sweeties started in 2013. I was working at Children’s Hospital. I was in housekeeping – and I was thinking about what I really wanted to do. I always baked as a child, so it came naturally to me. The first thing I started with was cheesecakes. I did cheesecakes for a holiday, and my mom told our coworker, and then I did an order for her. Before I knew it, I was doing cheesecakes! And then I was like, “Okay, this is a thing, so I need to give it a name.”
Jazzy came from my family. No one ever really called me Jasmine. It was always Jazz, Jazzy, just random names [laughs]. So that’s when I came up with the name Jazzy Sweeties. After that, I started doing pop-up shops, and then I had someone ask me to make a cake. So I tried it, and it took forever to do that cake. By the time I got done with that cake, the party was over. The cake got there, and I was like, “Well, it worked out, I guess, so I’ll try it again.” And then I started doing cakes and cupcakes.
Read MoreThere are many words to describe Cathy Bailey. She is kind and resourceful. She has impeccable fashion taste and she is extremely smart. However, in talking with her over Zoom and in person, it’s easy to see the impetus behind Ms. Bailey’s actions is her fervent dedication to her community. A 28-year veteran of Greater Cincinnati Water Works, she has proven over the years that she is a civil servant to all of Cincinnati. We sat down to learn more about her commitment to her community, her desire to strengthen race relations, and her absolute obsession with Cincinnati water!
Read MoreWhen I logged on to my video chat with Dr. Angelica Hardee, I could feel her energy and enthusiasm – even through video. Dr. Hardee’s mother worked for the Urban League in Cleveland, which instilled in her a lifelong passion for service. When, as an undergraduate, she learned that a career in public health brought together her passions and interests in service, healthcare, and community-based research, she was all in! Dr. Hardee still maintains her youthful enthusiasm for public health. We talked about public health, policy, and her current projects as the V.P. of health strategy for the American Heart Association and president of the local Urban League of Young Professionals.
Read MoreI studied art history as an undergraduate at Boston University, and I kind of fell into architecture. They had a fantastic professor, an architecture historian, who became my mentor, and I studied architectural history and art history and then got the design bug. I love learning the history and theory of these things. What if I used my skills differently? I think I always loved watching buildings go up. Thinking about how we build community and society’s fabric – that’s what led me many years later to design school at the University of Cincinnati.
I wanted architecture to be more than it currently is. I wanted it to imprint more on community and society, and how we think about each other and spaces. Since I’ve graduated, I’ve focused my efforts on thinking about that, changing how I think about teaching. With everything that is going on in the world, I’ve been thinking more deeply about how we need to impact future generations and our earth. I would like to leave more of a legacy, getting my students to think about projects more deeply.
Read MoreNazly Mamedova, immigration attorney, world traveler, and linguaphile, has called Cincinnati home since she moved here as a teenager in 2004. We sat down to chat shortly after the June Supreme Court decision restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an immigration policy that grants recipients who came to the United States as children a renewable, two-year protection from deportation.
At Xavier University’s Brueggeman Center, where she studied as a fellow while earning her undergraduate degree in international affairs, we talked about the best and worst parts of being an immigration attorney, her family history, and her love of travel.
Read MoreWe met Tika Adhikari at the University of Cincinnati a few days after World Refugee Day – a day that provides awareness of the experiences and struggles refugees face around the world. In her community liaison work and social work studies, Tika provides these services for refugee, immigrant, and minority populations and advocates for their representation in the decision-making process in our city. She believes in the power of kindness to build communities – which has inspired her to challenge impossibility and overcome significant obstacles to set and achieve personal and community-oriented goals.
Read MoreWendy Calaway, professor and criminal defense attorney, grew up in Williamsburg, Ohio, just east of Cincinnati. She studied both political science and law at the University of Cincinnati. It’s there, in law school, where she found her passion for justice. We sat down via video conference to learn more about bail reform, overturning wrongful convictions, and what it’s really going to take for everyone to truly receive equal protection under the law.
Read MoreWhen Ciara Staunton popped into our virtual meeting, she seemed excited and energized, but our healthcare-worker readers will know she’s had some exhausting months. Frontline workers of all kinds are donning their P.P.E. and masks and continuing to serve their clients, but there are still so many unanswered questions as our world works to respond wisely to the rise of COVID-19.
Staunton, however, is no stranger to new directions. She created her own private practice, Staunton Primary Care, as a nurse practitioner aiming to offer affordable and approachable family primary care in the Walnut Hills neighborhood. It was a joy to talk to her about her passion for accessibility and comfort in a healthcare setting.
Read MoreSigning on to our video chat with a joyful hello and a sparkly golden background, Reverend Derek Terry has calm but invigorating energy at 9:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night. He’s no stranger to being welcoming; as the head pastor of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Pleasant Ridge, he interacts with people of all backgrounds. The openly gay Black man has been noticed around the country for sharing the journey of discovering his sexuality in the shadow of the church. With the overwhelming uncertainty hanging over our heads due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, we turn to Rev. Terry’s message of hope, acceptance, and equality.
Read MoreI am a comedian, a writer, a playwright, and I also write articles. Really, I think my thing is exploring creativity and conversations in as many different genres as possible. By day, I do a lot of cultural humility and equity training with organizations in Cincinnati and across the country. The work all bleeds into itself, whether it's focused through humor or focused through dialogue. I just started picking up playing a few instruments, so that’s going to be in the mix as well.
Read MoreWhen Jeannette Jones started out in finance in the 1980s, she couldn’t find a workplace that reflected her values or that appreciated her friendly and kind personality. So, she decided to create her own workplace where she could live her values and be her bubbly, lovely self. At the time, the Asset Advisory Group and its people-first attitude were considered unusual. But today, people-centered and value-driven financial planning companies are more and more common. By refusing to compromise on her vision or change her personality to fit the status quo, Jeannette was ahead of the curve.
Read MoreTeaera specializes in cannabinoid medicine – often working with folks who are battling addictions to other substances. She opened Lotus Health when she recognized a need to treat patients holistically and search for the why’s behind their problems. Teaera set out to not only treat her patients as wholly human, but to use science as the backbone of her work as she challenges stereotypes. In everything that comes her way, Teaera never stops asking why.
Read MoreAs a college student at Indiana University, Brooke Van Paris was thriving as a business major, gymnast, and outgoing co-ed. After a car crash left her with two broken hands, she went through years of physical therapy and surgeries. She relied on her dad to help her through domestic tasks, asked friends to help her eat Lunchables before class, wrote papers using voice-to-text software, and graduated as a management major. When she finally got her casts off her hands, she’d experienced depression and claustrophobia – and she didn’t recognize herself as the independent, athletic person she’d been before the accident. She worked for Anheuser-Busch after college as a sales rep, and when a coworker asked her to do an obstacle course race, she agreed, with some hesitance. Brooke became obsessed, completing dozens of races in a year, including the world championships of obstacle course racing. That led to an opportunity to do a reality television show with a fitness angle, then to a new career as a personal trainer.
Read MoreDr. Terri Roth at the Linder Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW ) facility at the Cincinnati Zoo where she leads wildlife conservation efforts. She is a leader, problem-solver, researcher, and scientist who engages local and global communities in conversation to reach a common ground on saving endangered species. Her work and passion for animals link the importance of protecting wildlife to meeting the needs of people for a better world and quality of life.
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