Our Program

“Making Change: Creating New Networks for our New Economy�

7:30 A.M. – 8:15 A.M

Registration:/Breakfast & Networking

8:15 A.M. - 8:30 A.M.

Targets:
Welcome and target outcomes for the meeting

8:30 A.M. - 9:45 A.M.

Learning:
Seminar on open source economic development

9:45 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.

Break

10:00 A.M. -11:45 A.M.

Applications:

• Creative arts & industries
• Sustainable business development
• Inner city prosperity

Two break out sessions in work groups

12:00 A.M. - 12:45 P.M.

Questions and guidance:

Lunch and panel discussion

12:45 P.M. -1:00 P.M.

Next steps:

Work group reports, wrap-up and next steps

Seminar Speakers:
The
five seminar speakers have been engaged to inspire learning and working
group conversations. These discussions will generate meaningful
questions for the panelists during Lunch and will also set the agenda
for the subsequent Regional Meetings co-hosted by REI and partner
members of the Univeristies Collaborative.

• Ed Morrison
  Economic Development Strategist and Univeristies Collaborative Member
  Ed
  Morrison is the Executive Director of REI@Weatherhead, the Center for
  Regional Economic Issues at the Weatherhead School of Management.
  For
  over eighteen years, Ed has been conducting strategy projects with
  economic developers in the U.S. He has worked on these issues from
  rural counties to the halls of Congress and dozens of places in
  between. He is a professional with muddy boots.
  Here are some highlights of his economic development career:
  
• His work won the first Arthur D. Little Award presented by the American Economic Development Council.
  
• He is the architect of the strategic economic development
  plan for Oklahoma City, Forward Oklahoma City, and he has served as
  economic development consultant to the Chamber since 1994.
  Forward
  Oklahoma City: The New Agenda was launched in 1996 following a $10
  million investment by the business community for an aggressive
  five-year economic development action plan to reposition Oklahoma City
  to the world. The plan's focus was to enhance the economic development
  efforts of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce by creating
  quality jobs, increasing capital investment, retaining existing
  business and improving per capita income through seven initiatives. The
  program generated one of the highest returns on investment ever
  measured by the Economic Strategy Center in Atlanta, GA. (In other
  words, the cost per job created or retained was extremely low, one
  fourth the national average.
  Forward Oklahoma City II
  builds on the momentum of this first program. The business community
  has invested more than $12 million to fund this new program. The
  initiatives of this program are more focused and targeted toward
  meeting specific needs and overcoming obstacles to quality growth.
  Forward Oklahoma City II's main goal is the attraction of higher paying
  jobs to the region, while retaining existing jobs and helping anchor
  firms expand in key clusters.
  Based on his experience
  with workforce development programs in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and
  Louisiana, Ed designed the seminar "Reinventing the Game: Competing in
  the Global Economy". LG&E Energy sponsored this seminar during
  2003.
  Ed is a frequent speaker on workforce
  development issues. Most recently, he has spoken before the Kentucky
  Industrial Development Council, the Indiana Economic Development
  Council, the Virginia Economic Development Association, and the
  Economic Development Council of Maine on workforce issues.
  He
  authored the 1998 report for the Commission on the Future of the South,
  chaired by former Kentucky Governor, Martha Layne Collins. This report
  focused on the importance of "brain power" to the future of economic
  development. Governors in 14 Southern states appoint the Commission
  every six years to chart an economic development course for the South.
  The governors unanimously endorsed the 1998 Commission report, and
  then- Governor Zell Miller of Georgia called it the "best Commission
  report ever written."
  He manages the community
  assessment program for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
  This initiative improves development prospects throughout rural
  Kentucky.
  Ed travels to China frequently. Ed's extensive
  experience in China began in 1986, when the Hong Kong Industry
  Department retained him as a consultant. Since that time he has worked
  for the United Nations Development Program, and for private investors.
  He currently serves as chairman of a joint venture project in Xi'an
  with U.S., Chinese and Japanese investors and as consultant to the
  Xi'an High Technology Development Zone.
  He also worked
  on economic development issues in Washington, first as a legislative
  assistant to a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and, later,
  as staff counsel to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
  Prior
  to starting his economic development work, Ed worked for Telesis, an
  offshoot of the Boston Consulting Group. In this position, he served on
  consulting teams for clients such as Ford Motor Company, Volvo, and
  General Electric. He conducted manufacturing cost studies in the U.S.,
  Japan, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Sweden, and France.
  Ed holds a BA degree from Yale University and MBA and JD degrees from the University of Virginia.
  Link: http:www.edpro.net
  
• Valdis Krebs
  Social Network Analysis
  Valdis is a management consultant and the developer of InFlow?,
  a software based, organization network analysis methodology that maps
  and measures knowledge exchange, information flow, communities of
  practice, networks of alliances and other networks within and between
  organizations. Through eye-opening graphics and revealing measures,
  this technique allows managers to see what was once invisible.
  Clients such as IBM, TRW, Raytheon, Aventis, Cardinal Health, CapitalOne?, Centers for Disease Control [CDC], Lucent Technologies, Hiram Walker, Shell, ACENet?, CWRU-REI, Rubbermaid, Sempra Energy, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Jaakko Poyry, PricewaterhouseCoopers?,
  Booz-Allen & Hamilton, KPMG, University of Michigan Business School
  and many others use his software and services to map and measure
  networks, flows, and relationships in organizations, communities, and
  other complex human systems.
  His work in organizational
  network analysis has been covered in major media including Discover
  Magazine, Business 2.0, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
  CNN, Entrepreneur, First Monday, Optimize Magazine, Training, PC, ZDNet?,
  O'Reilly Network, Knowledge Management, Across the Board, Business
  Week, HR Executive, Personnel Journal, Forbes, FORTUNE, MSNBC.com,
  HR.com, Release 1.0, and several major newspapers around the world.
  Valdis
  has undergraduate degrees in Mathematics & Computer Science, and a
  graduate degree in Organizational Behavior/Human Resources and has
  studied applied Artificial Intelligence. He has given invited talks on
  organizational networks at UCLA Anderson School, Michigan State
  University School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Weatherhead School
  of Management - Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State
  University, University of Michigan Business School, Kellogg School of
  Management - Northwestern University and the University of Latvia.
  Valdis
  has consulted and researched organizational networks since 1988. He
  works from his office in Cleveland, Ohio with a network of colleagues
  in the USA, Canada and Europe.
  Link: http://www.orgnet.com
  
• Laszlo Kozmon
  Collaborative Process
  Laszlo
  Kozmon is a practitioner of the art of business performance
  improvement. Having advised the senior managements of large and small
  companies on business strategy, operations improvement, and information
  technology, Laz also served in temporary executive management roles.
  His industry experience includes diverse capital equipment and
  commercial sectors, telecommunications, electronics, software, consumer
  goods, foods, hospitality, and financial services. Clients included
  companies such as GE, Textron, EDS, General Mills, Dover, NCR, Hilton,
  and the World Bank.
  In working with clients over 20 plus
  years, Laz has always focused on helping client management shape a
  vision and tap into available resources to create and grow economic
  value. He has developed several proprietary models for analyzing the
  impact of activities and operational performance indicators on a
  company’s ability to create customer and shareholder value. He has also
  developed considerable expertise exploiting emerging information
  technologies to create competitive advantage and new business
  opportunities. He is a pioneer in the use of knowledge-based
  engineering solutions to improve dramatically supply chain and
  operating performance in the manufacturing and distribution of complex
  products.
  Laz is a managing consultant at Novomont
  Partners, a firm that designs, guides, and supports critical business
  initiatives that create and improve performance. Having introduced into
  client organizations new collaborative business practices and
  techniques for managing partnerships and alliance networks, Novomont
  continues to innovate and apply leading practices in large-scale
  knowledge management and collaboration.
  In addition to
  his work at Novomont Partners, Laz is leading a software startup effort
  in the financial services industry. Having defined the market need and
  product, Laz’s role is to recruit a highly experienced management team,
  and to establish a high performance company culture.
  Laz has also served in director roles at an investment partnership and a venture-funded telecommunications company.
  An
  experienced investor with a passion for the mountains, he is equally at
  home in front of a computer screen or on a climbing trip. Fluent in
  Hungarian with a working knowledge of German, Laz has worked in Hungary
  and Germany, and lived in Switzerland. Well traveled in Europe, he
  enjoys experiencing new cultures.
  Attaining the rank of
  Eagle Scout, Mr. Kozmon continues to contribute as a Boy Scout leader,
  having learned the value of developing people and good leadership
  skills at an early age.
  He holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from CWRU and an MBA from the University of Dayton.
  
• June Holley
  Entrepreneurial Network Development
  June Holley is President and founder of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet),
  a community economic development organization in southeastern Ohio
  committed to building a healthy and sustainable regional economy based
  on economic justice, self-determination, and respect for diversity.
  With the ACEnet
  staff, she has pioneered the implementation of many innovative economic
  development strategies including business networks, sectoral
  incubators, a youth entrepreneurship initiative, and technology-based
  workforce development programs.
  In 1991, she was
  selected by Governor Voinovich to be inducted into the Ohio Women’s
  Hall of Fame. An avid researcher on complexity and organizations, she
  has co-authored over 30 papers and two books on various aspects of
  economic and community networking. She was recently awarded a
  Rockefeller Fellowship at the University of Kentucky, where she will
  work on a Tracking That Makes A Differenceâ„¢ system that will enable
  organizations to increase their scale and impact.
  She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Ohio Magazine, Entrepreneur, In Business and many other publications. http://www.acenetworks.org
  
• Jack Ricchiuto
  
  Organizational Development, Collaborative Technologies
  Jack
  is an independent corporate coach, author, and principal with Smart
  Meeting Design. For over 25 years, he has been serving organizations
  across 20 + industries, from Fortune 500 to start-ups. The focus of his
  work is helping teams and leaders improve their performance through
  better use of their strengths and resources. His client list includes
  Ford, MCI, American Greetings, Parker Hannifin, Phillips/Nuclear
  Division, Viacom, American Institute Of Banking, Doty & Miller
  Architects, and University Hospitals.
  Author of
  Collaborative Creativity, Accidental Conversations, and Project Zen,
  Jack's fourth book, Appreciative Leadership is described below. Jack
  has written for national publications including Projects@Work and local
  publications like Smart Business News and Cool Cleveland. A member of
  the Society of Professional Journalists, Jack also is a writer
  conference seminar presenter and speaker.
  The core of
  Jack's corporate coaching work is coaching executives and project teams
  in performance improvement. His work with Smart Meeting Design is
  coaching organizations and teams in the use of collaboration
  technologies. An early technology adopter, Jack helps client
  organizations with intelligent and agile use of new tools to support
  sustainable growth.
  With an undergraduate degree from
  John Carroll University and master's degree from Goddard College,
  Vermont, Jack continues to teach Executive MBA classes as well as
  design and deliver seminars in personal, team, and leadership
  development across industries.
  November 15th Featured Publication: Appreciative Leadership: Building Sustainable Organizations
  is an invitation to reinvent leadership from a deficiency model to an
  appreciative one. It's a wake-up call for leaders committed to creating
  organizations that inspire passions and engage strengths.
  Based
  on a manifesto of 60 imperatives, author Jack Ricchiuto suggests how
  organizations can transform their communities of work into sustainable
  cultures of authentic appreciation. Addressing topics from a waterfront
  of leadership issues, Jack suggests that organizations become
  sustainable to the degree that they focus more on what's working than
  what's not. It's a revolutionary focus based on the principle that our
  greatest opportunities for improvement and success are our passions and
  strengths rather than our deficiencies and fears.
  According
  to the Gallup Organization, about 20% of 1.7 million employees surveyed
  globally feel that their organizations make good use of their strengths
  in their work. Given this, how might organizations perform if they
  could grow the number of people whose work aligns with their strengths?
  
  The appreciative approach represents a radical shift
  from a perspective of scarcity to abundance. It is a powerful lens
  revealing a fresh perspective on the kind of leadership we need in a
  complex, dynamic, and connected world.
  Jack is a
  corporate coach, facilitator, speaker, and author of Collaborative
  Creativity(Oakhill Press 1996), Accidental Conversations (DesigningLife? Books 2002), and Project Zen (DesigningLife? Books 2003). For more about Jack visit jack [at] designinglife [dot] com/">http://jack [at] designinglife [dot] com/ or www.AppreciativeLeadership?.org

Panelists

Our Panelists have been asked to join us to provide further insight
from their own experiences in their life work. The small group
discussions will generate meaningful questions for the panelists about
their on-the-ground experiences, common sense approaches and stories
about their own instances of problem solving to challenges. These
stories most probably intersect with one or more of the three topics:
creativity, sustainability and prosperity.

CONNIE ATKINS, Executive Director, Consortium of African American Organizations (CAAO)

CAAO (pronounced K-O) is an umbrella consulting organization for the
black professional organizations of greater Cleveland. CAAO serves as a
conduit and referral source to existing resources for entrepreneurial
development, professional development, and leadership empowerment for
its member organizations.
Ms. Atkins is a seasoned
entrepreneur, a published author, a motivational speaker, a college
professor, and an international business consultant, having served on
many community boards. As an international business consultant, Ms.
Atkins led two trade missions to South Africa and was selected to serve
on a Bi-national Commission as an advisor to Secretary of Commerce
Daley and Vice President Gore on $2.6 billion economic development
budget between the USA and South Africa and participated in developing
the first Trade Initiative Framework Agreement between the U.S. and
South Africa since the end of apartheid with Vice President Gore,
Secretary Daley, and President Thabo Mbeki.
Ms. Atkins
is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of John Carroll University and a Summa
Cum Laude graduate of Cuyahoga Community College and has received
numerous honors and awards. Learn more: http://www.caao.net/

STEVE CENCULA, Partner, FORM

Before joining FORM, Steve was Founder and President of Kaleidoscope
Animations. During his 14 year tenure there, the company grew to serve
clients including Procter & Gamble, Fisher-Price, Diebold,
Rubbermaid, and Parker Hannifin. His work has been recognized by the
ADDYs?,
and he's been named to Crain’s Cleveland’s Who’s Who in Technology two
years running. Currently, Steve's serving a three year term on the
Board of Directors for The Cleveland Institute of Art; he also serves
on the school's Advisory Board for its digital media department,
T.I.M.E. (Technology and Integrated Media Environment)
FORM
is a creative services boutique that blends new technology with world
class visual design to help companies build new kinds of brand
connections and experiences. The firm's offerings include branded
web-based games, training, promotions and contests, as well as virtual
demonstrations and integrated online/offline campaigns.
Steve
attended the Cleveland Institute of Art specializing in industrial
design, sculpture and painting. Learn more: www.theformgroup.com

DAN DAHL, Executive Director, EJ Thomas Hall and the Akron Civic Theatre
Dan
Dahl was honored with the 2003 Governor's Award for the Arts in Ohio,
recognizing his leadership and advocacy in Akron, Ohio. Dahl has been
an innovative leader in integrating arts activities into community,
business, and civic development.
The description of Dan and his work provided by the awards announcement helps set his achievements in context:
Dan
Dahl is a man with extraordinary vision and an active voice in the
community that he regularly uses to advocate for the arts as a tool for
economic development. Dahl has been described as the 'Energizer Bunny'
of Akron. Under Dahl's leadership, attendance at the two facilities
doubled from 1991 to 2001. More than $30 million has been invested in
the theatres in that same period of time. This includes a $22 million
restoration and expansion project at the Akron Civic Theatre which has
played a crucial role in the downtown Akron revitalization plan.
He
has been a leader in the arts community, forging close alliances with
local arts organizations, leading a community-wide planning process
dealing with a major arts development project, helping to found First
Night Akron and serving as president of the Akron Area Arts Alliance.
Dan Dahl is a man that makes things happen and the arts community, the
local economy, and the revitalization of downtown Akron are all
beneficiaries of his talents." Learn more:http://destinationdowntownakron.com/

BILL DOTY, Doty & Miller Architects
Bill
Doty founded Doty & Miller in 1977 with partner, Charles Miller.
Over the past 5 years the firm has been committed to providing a
sustainable design approach to developing high performance green
buildings. Because of the sustainable design of buildings as a growing
worldwide trend, the Federal Government now mandates standards for
buildings. Numerous states and cities also have green building
guidelines for their communities.
Bill is a leading
speaker, presenting on the subject of Green Building Design to the AIA,
ULI, American Institute of Constructors, Shorebank, General Electric,
and IFMA. Doty & Miller Architects demonstrated green solutions in
the renovation of the old Bedford Post Office into offices for their
company, providing a demonstration project model featuring rapidly
renewable, recycled content, salvaged and non-toxic materials and
finishes.
Most
recently Doty & Miller has completed a 3.4 kilowatt,
building-integrated solar system on two awnings shading the south
windows of their building.
Bill serves as in an advisory
capacity to multiple regional and national sustainable development
organizations. Bill Doty received his Bachelor of Architecture from
Kent State University. Learn more: http://www.dotyandmiller.com/

ERNEST JOHNSON, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Economic Development Administrator
Ernest
Johnson has an extensive background in community development, workforce
training, youth leadership and public works programs. New to Cleveland,
Ernest Johnson has spent the last twenty-five years working in New York
City in a variety of leadership roles. In the early 1990’s, Ernest was
Project Director of the Youth Employment Training Program at The Boy
Scouts of New York, Greater New York Councils, Project Director at The
Girls Club of New York and served as Chairman of the New York City
youth Employment Coalition, an organization of 56 Youth Employment
contractors whose task was to develop policy issues with the
administration and local elected officials, creating pilot programs for
youth.
Mr. Johnson served as the Assistant Commissioner
of the New York City Department of Employment, consultant for The
United States Department of Labor, Vice President for Education and
Workforce Development at the South Bronx Overall Economic Development
Corporation creating and implementing occupational skills and education
programs for residents of the South Bronx.
Mr. Johnson
currently develops and oversees wealth creation activities for
residents of CMHA including occupational skills training, job
placement, remediation, GED preparation, savings, home ownership
through individual development accounts and entrepreneurial development
and serves as a member of both the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga
County Workforce Investments Boards. Ernest Johnson is a graduate of
Syracuse University, City University of New York and Columbia
University. Learn more: http://www.cmha.net/

DAVID MOSS, Creative Director, EDR Media

After serving as lead designer for American Greetings with an extensive
background in design, music performance, fine arts and writing, David
joined EDR Media and pared his unique brand of style and energy with
the creative and technical resources of EDR.

David blends savvy for arts and culture with far reaching know how for
the technological applications of new media. His teams have created
award winning visual communications products for print, CD, DVD, kiosk,
narrow cast and broadcast shows.
In
addition, David has been a successful operator for his own design brand
group. He developed a complete packaging line for Bajer Design and
Marketing providing private label packaging for retail giants such as,
Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger, K-mart and Lowes and has produced successful
brand identity packages for retailers, corporations and non-profit
entities.
David continues to pursue arts and cultural
activities in the community. He recently displayed his mixed media
works at Lucky’s Café in Tremont and is active in regional non-profit
arts initiatives. Mr. Moss is a graduate of Purdue University and the
Rochester Institute of Technology. Learn more: http://www.edr.com/

LAURA ORKIN, President, Beachwood Chamber of Commerce and Chief Operations Officer, Envision Radio Networks, Inc.
Laura
Orkin is following a legacy of community service begun by her father,
Louis Orkin, past president of the Heights Area Chamber of Commerce and
founding member of The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce.
Her
experience includes the Macy’s Executive Training program in New Jersey
and served as the Business Manager for Allan Raider Studio in Union,
New Jersey. In 1993, Ms. Orkin and her husband Daniel Wolkoff, returned
to Beachwood where she worked for Office Placements in Beachwood.
Realizing
the need for a consistent form of weekly business communications, Laura
formed the Beachwood Business Fax, an ongoing company provider for the
Beachwood community in 1994. In 2004, Ms. Orkin sold Beachwood Business
Fax and was named Chief Operations Officer of Envision Radio Networks.
Laura
Orkin participated on the Beachwood Recreation Board from 1997-1999,
serving as President in 1999. In addition to her COO role at Envision,
Laura volunteers at Hilltop, Bryden and Beachwood Middle School and
coached the March 2004 second grade Destination Imagination team. Laura
Orkin is a graduate from Miami University in Oxford with a Bachelor of
Science, in Business Marketing. Learn more: http://www.envisionradio.com/

EILEEN PARMELEE, Principal, Chagrin Falls Middle School
Eileen
Parmelee has been a teacher in the Chagrin School district for 33 years
serving as a Math Department Chair, Athletic Director, and Assistant
High School Principal and is presently the Middle School Principal.
Eileen’s
professional experience involved designing individual mathematical
programs for grades 5 – 8; presenter at multiple annual conferences of
the National Middle School Association; President of the Chagrin Falls
Education Association; Chief Contract Negotiator for Teachers and a
member of the Chagrin Falls Middle School Leadership Team.
Eileen
Parmelee has also served on several educational advisory committees and
is a certified Mentor Trainer. Her special area of interest is
developing new solutions to engage female students in new technology
platforms. She was named to the Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers,
Chagrin Falls Schools Teacher of the Year and the Jennings Foundation
Mathematics Award for Individualized Mathematics Program.
Miss Parmelee is a graduate of Ursuline College and Ohio University.Learn more: http://www.chagrin-falls.k12.oh.us/cfms/cfms.htm

JASON J. THERRIEN, President, Thunder::Tech
Jason
Therrien, a Cleveland native founded Thunder::Tech six years ago in a
dorm at John Carroll University. The company started as a web design
firm and quickly grew into a web and database group as clients required
more interaction with their site and had the need for easier
communications internally.
Expanded design services were
added early on to take the online themes we created, offline into print
materials for our clients. Continued growth in this area led into
expansion into more in-depth marketing and advertising services for our
clients.
Thunder::tech employs ten team members and has
recruited several from out-of-state and out-of-region, proving our
disbelief in Cleveland's brain drain. We employ database experts,
application programmers, web designers, print designers, marketers,
copywriters and administrators.

Today, thunder::tech is blazing its own path in creating a new model of
marketing combining data and design to create more effective and
measurable presences for our clients.
Jason
volunteers for the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club as their PR
Director and member of its Marketing Committee. Jason is also the Chair
of the Emerging Leaders Group, part of the Cleveland Roundtable.
Jason is a graduate of John Carroll University.Learn more: http://www.thundertech.com/

Our Universities Collaborative

The Universities Collaborative is a newly formed coalitian of
regional Northeast Ohio colleges and universities commited to working
togther in an appreciative and collaborative style.

The Universities Collaborative and REI will co-host small
regional business meetings subsequent to the Making Change meeting,
Nov. 15th in support of the collective ideas and vision created by the
meeting participants.

Members include:

• Cleveland State University
  
• The University of Akron
  
• Kent State University
  
• Case
  
• Lorain County Community College
  
• Youngstown State University
  

Check back for the January 2005 schedule!