The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

We've all seen the headlines regarding voter turnout in Cleveland. In September 2021, Cleveland's primary election saw voter turnout increase from 2017 numbers, but still ran below a 20% turnout. Voting turnout was also alarmingly low for the latest 2020 Presidential Election. By the time we engage for this forum, Cleveland will have decided on a new mayor for the first time in 16 years-and the turnout will understandably spark more debate over the civic health of Cleveland.\r\n\r\nErika Anthony is the co-founder of Cleveland VOTES and in 2019 became the Executive Director of the Ohio Transformation Fund. Erika has been at the forefront of civic engagement in Northeast Ohio for years. Her most recent work centers around developing relationships with trusted stakeholders that are most proximate to historically disenfranchised and marginalized residents and grounding those relationships in the realities of our social fabric. While some of the election related data may lead us to question whether Cleveland voters are apathic - recently commissioned research actually elevates that Cleveland voters are not apathic. In fact, they care deeply about their community and believe that collective power needs to be amplified and equitably distributed to affect change.\r\n\r\nSo, what exactly is needed in this moment? How might we all reimagine the future of equitable civic engagement and democracy building? And how we collectively work towards increasing voter engagement in future elections and beyond?\r\n\r\nJoin us, in-person at the City Club as Erika Anthony describes how we can create a culture that supports democracy in all Cleveland communities.

At 17 years old, Jarrett Adams was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security prison. He served 10 years before being exonerated with the help of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. Adams would then go on to become a lawyer himself, with the goal of helping those who, like himself, had faced discrimination in the legal system.\r\n\r\nIn August 2016, Jarrett Adams joined the City Club to share this story. In his new book, \"Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System\", Adams outlines the racist tactics used to convict young men of color, the unique challenges facing exonerees once released, and how the lack of equal representation in our courts is a failure not only of empathy but of our collective ability to uncover the truth.\r\n\r\nWhat are the limits, and possibilities, of our country's system of law? And what can we learn from Jarrett Adams' story to work toward a justice system is truly just for all?\r\n\r\nJarrett Adams earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in May 2015 and started a public-interest law fellowship with Ann Claire Williams, judge for the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the same court that reversed his conviction. Jarrett also clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with the late Honorable Deborah Batts. After working for the Innocence Project in New York, he launched the Law Office of Jarrett Adams, PLLC, in 2017, and now practices in both federal and state courts throughout the country.

More than 150 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that it is easier for the public to accept a simple lie rather than a complex truth. With the advent of digital and social media and today's diverse, highly polarized society, it feels as though this adage is being used to quickly dismantle American democracy.\r\n\r\nIn her book, \"How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict\", Nina Jankowicz takes us on a journey through five Western governments\' responses to Russian information warfare tactics - all of which have failed. While America has finally begun to wake up to the threat of online warfare, Ms. Jankowicz, a Global Fellow at The Wilson Center, has spent years in Central and Eastern Europe advising governments on the front lines of the information war.\r\n\r\nJoin us, in-person at the City Club for our 2021 Annual Meeting, where Nina Jankowicz will discuss what is at stake in this moment: the future of civil discourse and democracy, and the value of truth itself.

*This program is not affiliated or endorsed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, creators and managers of the Doomsday Clock.\r\n\r\nThe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as metaphorical gauge alerting humanity to how close it is to global catastrophe. Since 2007, the Bulletin began factoring climate change into discussions about setting the annual time.\r\n\r\nAs a result, at 100 seconds left, the Doomsday Clock is now the closest it's ever been to midnight. Global measures and agreements have been made to combat the effects of climate change - - the Paris Agreement was adopted by nearly 200 countries in December 2015 - - yet many critics of the agreement say the mandates are too little, too late for an issue that has been brewing since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. As mechanical innovation swept the globe, so too did the amount of environmental pollution leading to an increase of 0.14? F per decade since 1880, and an increase of 0.32? F per decade since 1981. These seemingly small changes disrupt the planet's delicate atmospheric balance, of which a mere degree has led to the drastic shifts we see today.\r\n\r\nClimate change isn't coming - - it's here. Nationally, a deadly hurricane season wreaked havoc from New York City to Louisiana, and California battles massive drought leading to the biggest wildfires on record. Locally, the summer of 2021 is on track to be one of the wettest ever on record, and the past several years Lake Erie freezing over was hit or miss.\r\n\r\nWhat does this mean for northeast Ohio? How effective will the proposed changes in the Paris Agreement, as well as local and regional mandates be in combating climate change? Socioeconomically, what does this mean for those live in areas prone to climate-related catastrophe?\r\n\r\nJoin us for a virtual forum at the City Club as a Youth Forum panel discusses the impact of climate change.

According to C40, a collaboration of 97 great cities of the world, cities occupy only two percent of the world's landmass but consume two-thirds of the world's energy and produce 70% of global CO2 emissions.\r\n\r\nHere in Ohio, many local leaders are seeing clean energy and climate opportunities in their communities and are taking action. They are showing what's possible through comprehensive climate action plans that deliver measurable results.\r\n\r\nCan the global climate challenge be solved city by city?\r\n\r\nJoin the City Club virtually on October 20 to learn how Cincinnati, Warren, and Central Ohio are taking on these challenges from this unique panel of experienced local leaders.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) have been leaders among professional sports leagues in addressing issues of inequality and social justice. Their players have been broadly outspoken on topics ranging from mental health to police brutality to equal pay.\r\n\r\nJoin us as we hear from Oris Stuart, Chief People and Inclusion Officer at the NBA, Bonnie Thurston, Director for WNBA Player Programs and Kevin Clayton, VP of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement at the Cleveland Cavaliers on how the past year has reshaped how both leagues engage athletes and fans alike to become allies for social change.\r\n\r\nThey will also share how the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland will provide opportunities to engage the community in discussion and action around diversity, equity and inclusion locally.

In the final days leading-up to November 2nd general election, The City Club will host one-on-one virtual conversations with the two Cleveland Mayoral candidates.\r\n\r\nKevin J. Kelley was born in Cleveland and received his JD degree from Cleveland State University Marshall College of Law. Kelley was first elected to Cleveland City Council in 2005 representing Ward 13. In 2014, he was elected as President of Council and is chair of the Finance Committee and Rules Committee.\r\n\r\nAs mayor, Kelly plans to forge a new path for every person and neighborhood in Cleveland by promoting public safety, workforce development, addressing the digital equity divide, and more.\r\n\r\nJoin us online on October 14th starting at noon as we learn more about Cleveland mayoral candidate, Kevin J. Kelley. The conversation will be moderated by City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop.

In the final days leading-up to November 2nd general election, The City Club will host one-on-one virtual conversations with the two Cleveland Mayoral candidates.\r\n\r\nJustin M. Bibb is a Cleveland native who grew up in Mt. Pleasant on the southeast side of the city. He currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of Urbanova, a start-up focused on solving the unique challenges faced by midsized cities. He has also worked for KeyBank and Gallup.\r\n\r\nAs mayor, Bibb says he will champion a new generation of leadership to solve Cleveland's oldest problems and prioritize solutions to modernize city government, make our neighborhoods safer, communities healthier, and economy stronger.\r\n\r\nJoin us online on October 13th starting at noon as we learn more about Cleveland mayoral candidate, Justin M. Bibb. The conversation will be moderated by City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop.

After months of campaigning, the results of the September primary elections have narrowed seven candidates down to two. On Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Clevelanders will have a chance to cast their votes for their city\'s next mayor.\r\n\r\nThe City Club of Cleveland, in partnership with Ideastream Public Media, will host the general election debate on Monday, October 11th with Cleveland mayoral candidates: Justin M. Bibb, nonprofit executive, and Kevin J. Kelley, President of Cleveland City Council. The debate will feature the voices of Clevelanders on the issues that matter in their neighborhoods and communities.\r\n\r\nNick Castele, Senior Reporter/Producer at Ideastream Public Media will host the debate. Joining alongside him are a panel of journalists: Lawrence Caswell, Field Coordinator at Cleveland Documenters; and Elizabeth McIntyre, Executive Editor at Crain\'s Cleveland Business.

Businesses in sectors like hospitality and retail are experiencing some of the highest labor shortages in decades. While traditional workforce systems help individuals learn new skills for in-demand jobs, experts are saying that skills alone won't address the challenges before us today or equip us for opportunities that lie ahead. They are calling for new solutions that respond to the demands and expectations from workers and employers and advance the pace of innovation to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.\r\n\r\nWhat can we do to enable learners and workers today to prepare for the future? How can employers partner with workforce systems to ensure greater alignment between worker skills and business needs? Where can public policy be better aligned to support those in the field?\r\n\r\nJoining us in-person at the City Club to discuss this is Tameshia Bridges Mansfield, vice president for workforce innovation at JFF. She oversees workforce development and future-of-work initiatives with an eye toward innovation and system transformation. Before joining JFF, Tameshia was a program officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where she led the workforce development and job access portfolio, addressing barriers that workers face in securing meaningful employment.