Eighth salon: Literacy challenges in the 513

WHEN: Thursday, 31 January, 2008; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp

WHERE: The Waldo, 204 W. 8th Street (corner of 8th & Elm) - map

SPEAKER & TOPIC: Stephanie Dunlap is a familiar name to Cincinnatians after her years as an acclaimed journalist for City Beat. Still a monthly columnist with the paper, Stephanie now works as program manager for The Next Level at Literacy Center West, where she helps new adult GED recipients to find work.

Stephanie will speak with us about the challenges facing high school drop-outs who aspire to get their GEDs, how the established educational system treats them, and what the situation is like here in Cincinnati for the people she helps. Expect to walk away with a good idea of what can be done to make things better in our area.

Holiday hiatus

The Cincinnati Salon is on hiatus until January 2008. We’ll be back after the holidays with our usual schedule of monthly speakers. (Please let me know in the comments or via email - dynamist AT gmail DOT com - if you know of a good potential speaker, or would like to offer yourself.)

Have a great holiday!

Seventh salon: Stop AIDS

WHEN: October 10, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp

WHERE: Park Place at Lytle, 400 Pike Street (next to the Taft Museum of Art at the corner of E. 4th Street) - map

SPEAKERS & TOPIC: Stop AIDS - formerly known as AVOC - was started in 1983 as a response to the very first reported case of HIV in Cincinnati. Since then, the group has worked tirelessly to fight HIV and AIDS in this area. With a staff of 30 and more than 200 volunteers, Stop AIDS is the only full-service organization of its kind in Cincinnati.

The Stop AIDS Gala (note: sound on website) will be held on October 20th at the Duke Energy Center. This dinner and dance - with entertainment - will provide much-needed funds to Stop AIDS and its operations. Gala committee co-chairs Ryan Messer and Chris Seelbach will talk with us about the importance of the work that Stop AIDS does, and how the gala has developed as an annual event that brings together individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life in Cincinnati for a noble cause.

We’re also excited that this salon will offer a peek inside Park Place, one of Cincinnati’s most luxurious residences. Join us to find out more about Stop AIDS and to check out this downtown masterpiece.

Photo by tnarik

Sixth salon: Urban Obsessions in local art

WHEN: September 26, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp.

WHERE: The Courtyard at The Waldo, 204 W. 8th Street (corner of 8th & Elm) - map

SPEAKER & TOPIC: Nicholas Paddock started downtown’s Nicholas Gallery in early 2006, with the aim to bring inspirational art to Cincinnati’s many diverse communities. It’s a dream the UC arts graduate has sacrificed much to bring to fruition: Nicholas still works full-time in addition to running the gallery, curating shows, recruiting artists, holding art fundraisers for local charities, and injecting the local creative scene with fresh perspectives.

At the end of September, the Urban Obsessions exhibition will premiere at Nicholas Gallery. Featuring the work of Brian Joiner, Cedric Cox, and Courtney Cooper, this show will bring a greater diversity to the Cincinnati creative scene in more ways than one. Find out how - and why Nicholas Paddock is willing to go without sleep or great wealth in order to achieve his dream of infusing Cincinnati’s art arena with passion and stimulating, unconventional work - at September’s Cincinnati Salon.

Fifth salon: Being green is easy

WHEN: August 30, 2007; arrive between 7PM - 8PM, talk begins at 8PM sharp - there will also be a $25 gift certificate drawing after the talk!

WHERE: Park + Vine, 1109 Vine Street (corner of Vine and Central Parkway) - map

SPEAKER & TOPIC: If you’re interested in a perspective on why being green is easy - and worthwhile - from someone who is putting his money where his mouth is, look no further than Cincinnati’s own Dan Korman, owner of Park + Vine.

Since graduating from the school of planning at the University of Cincinnati in 1991 and studying preservation planning at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1997, Dan has worked in a variety of nonprofit management positions focused primarily on community-initiated neighborhood improvement in Ohio, Kentucky, New York and Illinois. He has been heavily involved in downtown revitalization in communities across the state of Illinois, as a leader in the Illinois Main Street program. Dan went on to head up membership and communications initiatives for more than 5,000 members at the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Chicago region’s nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization.

In addition, Dan is a big architecture buff, urban explorer, believer in supporting local economies, and steward for the environment and animals. He is nurturing these passions through volunteer work and his new business, Park + Vine, Cincinnati’s green general store. Come along on August 30 and listen as Dan shares his enthusiasm and ideas for greener living with ease, for fun, and for life.

Photo courtesy Blake Fox

Fourth salon: Revolution for beginners

WHEN: July 20, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp (more details here)

WHERE: Sycamore Place (Sycamore & 7th), 2H (map) - scroll to the name Danicki on security system to connect for entry

SPEAKER & TOPIC: Adriana Lukas was born behind the Iron Curtain, the daughter of dissidents. Life under totalitarian rule came to an end in 1989, but the destruction wrought by the régime did not stop then. The tragic legacy of oppression continues to unfold.

Luckily, Adriana escaped to the west. She now resides in London, from where she will be travelling to join us in Cincinnati on July 20.

The first person from her country to go to Oxford University (she graduated from its Balliol College in politics, philosophy, and economics), Adriana discovered the online world in the midst of a fast-paced career that included working for a Big Five firm (”I was a management consultant…and then I got better,” she laughs), as a Lloyds broker, and as a risk analyst. She immediately took to the web, especially blogging, and eventually chucked in the “respectable” career to found the world’s first blogging and social media consultancy, the Big Blog Company, in early 2003.

Adriana quickly became an in-demand authority on all things internet-related, advising some of the world’s largest companies and speaking to audiences in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia about the online revolution that is changing everything. Yes, everything.

In her Cincinnati Salon talk, Adriana will discuss how today’s online world offers us the means to circumvent political power currently held in such dangerous hands, overthrow the corporate power many of us thanklessly toil for, and forge for ourselves unprecedented levels of freedom.

The explosion of the online world is probably the best chance we have of breaking all kinds of oppressive chains from our collective ankles. Come along to find out how you can get in on the mayhem and fun.

Third salon: Community-driven design

WHEN: June 26, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp (more details here)

WHERE: Sycamore Place (Sycamore & 7th), 2H (map) - scroll to the name Danicki on security system to connect for entry

SPEAKER & TOPIC: Ken Cunningham is a renowned, award-winning innovator in the field of urban design and architecture who has called Cincinnati home for many years. A former professor at Miami University and longtime local business owner (Ken Cunningham & Associates, Inc. and favorite of yesteryear, Liberty’s restaurant), Ken has spearheaded community improvement efforts such as the revitalization of Northern Row Park in Over-the-Rhine and the Over-the-Rhine Comprehensive Plan enhancement area studies. A dedicated urbanist, Ken will talk on the topic of community-driven design. Of course, there will be a Cincinnati-centric tilt to the discussion.

Second salon: Community edition

WHEN: May 31, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp (more details here)

WHERE: Sycamore Place (Sycamore & 7th), 2H (map)

SPEAKER & TOPIC: As a best-selling author and consultant, Peter Block’s life work often deals with what he calls “the reconciliation of community”. For clients and communities across the United States, Peter helps to create workplaces and communities that work for everyone, with an emphasis on change through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force. As a citizen of Cincinnati, Peter has brought his expertise and care to organizations such as Xavier University, A Small Group, Cincinnati Classical Public, Radio, Elementz, and InkTank. For our second Cincinnati Salon, Peter will be sharing with us on what makes up the fabric of a community and how best to handle that fabric.

BIO: Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.

Peter is the author of several best-selling books. The most widely known are Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used (1st edition 1980, 2nd edition 1999); Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (1993) and The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work (1987). Peter is the recipient of the first place 2004 Members’ Choice Award by the Organization Development Network, which recognized Flawless Consulting as the most influential book for OD practitioners over the past 40 years.

He has also authored Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion: A Guide to Understanding Your Expertise (2000). The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (Berrett-Koehler, 2002) won the 2002 Independent Book Publisher Book Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year. Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World was co-authored with consultant and philosopher Peter Koestenbaum (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001).

Peter is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books. He received a Masters Degree in Industrial Administration from Yale University in 1963; he performed his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas.

Peter serves on the Boards of Directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio, Elementz and InkTank. He is the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University. As a citizen of Cincinnati, he is currently involved in a development project in Over the Rhine, a youth possibilities project, and a neighborhood connections safety project with the University. With other volunteers, Peter began A Small Group, whose work is to bring into conversation other groups not in relationship with each other, through the powerful tools of civic engagement.

He has received national awards for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President’s Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame.

First Cincinnati Salon a success

The first Cincinnati Salon was simply fantastic. We had a good crowd, but it was still intimate and laidback - exactly what I wanted. A great, large group of University of Cincinnati students (most of them urban planning majors) showed up and had so many interesting, smart things to say. I was very pleasantly surprised when, after I announced that the formal Q&A was over and that people were free to leave, mingle, or whatever, everyone just stayed where they were and continued the conversation for another couple of hours. It really could not have gone better. Thank you very much to all who came and took part. You really made it a fun night.

Oh, and on the “WTF?” tip: Which city council hopeful and his top flack left the salon before it started, without saying goodbye - and taking their beer with them - when they realized that they would not be able to hijack the event for their political aims? Note to future guests: Please, leave your petitions and propaganda at home. This is not your stumping forum.

First Salon: Streetcar edition

WHEN: May 3, 2007; arrive between 6PM - 7PM, talk begins at 7PM sharp (more details here)

WHERE: Sycamore Place (Sycamore & 7th), 2H (map)

SPEAKER & TOPIC: As a former senior communications specialist and strategist for Transport for London (London’s public transportation body), Antoine Clarke has been deeply involved in the public consultation for initiatives such as London’s traffic congestion charge and the Thames Gateway Bridge. Drawing on his experience and knowledge of global public transportation, and in light of Cincinnati’s developing plans for a municipal streetcar and/or light rail system, Antoine will be talking about how various world cities have approached similar endeavors. What works? What doesn’t? What should taxpayers demand of public transportation? Antoine will tell us, and tailor his remarks with regard for the plans currently underway in Cincinnati.

BIO: The international editor of the weekly magazine Pharma Marketletter, Antoine Clarke is a former senior communications specialist for Transport for London and several London boroughs. Previously a political and economic strategist to the finance minister of the Slovak Republic and member of the prime minister’s policy unit, he additionally served as deputy editor of Conflict International magazine. He is also a contributor to the Centre for the New Europe’s online publications dealing with healthcare, the environment, and global competition policy. A frequent commentator on British television and in the press, Antoine presents at corporate and think-tank events around the world, most recently at Johnson & Johnson’s Global Communication Technology Conference in Philadelphia and What MySpace Means, the Putney Debates, and Liberty 2006 in London.

(Antoine is also my fiancé, and so has kindly offered to shoulder the burden of being our guinea pig first speaker. Thanks, Antoine!)