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The Alive wrote
Alive People to Watch
By Brian Lindamood
July 17, 2008
If the young professional scene in Columbus has a mantra, it’s “attract and retain.” Mayor Michael Coleman, the Columbus Chamber and a slew of groups and agencies � both officially and unofficially � are working to show the world that this is a great place to call home. Of course, those of us who call Columbus home already know that. The challenge isn’t so much what this city needs, as what the world needs to know about this city and its enormous potential.
Which brings us to People to Watch. Every week in Alive we write about the local arts and music scenes, restaurants, fashion, green issues, Downtown development and networking groups that are connecting young professionals. Now we want to introduce you to the people who are actually making these things happen.
The following profiles of 11 current and future Columbus leaders � and the things they’ve accomplished, and the things they aspire to accomplish � are truly astounding.
Comments
- leftovers: Didn't realize they were owned by the Hill's Market people. Hopefully this
- mrpoppinzs: Looks like the COTA #6 goes right by there. I will have to try this place o
- bucki12: Brings back memories of walking up there when I lived in the KLD. It took m
- honestlyinsincere: Well done! Entertaining and supported by solid research.
- evantyler: And now the Dispatch weighs in... http://www.dispatch.com/content/storie
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Alive’s People to Watch 2008
By: Walker
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By John Ross
A few years back, when Corna Kokosing tried to hire someone to recycle materials from job sites, the local commercial construction company was hard-pressed to find any takers.
This year, now that green ideas are more than just buzzwords, companies were competing to haul away recyclables.
“We put it out to bid, and we had three or four people come to us this year,” said Sophia Corna, who oversees the company’s eco-friendly building programs. “We implement recycling at all of our job sites — not only if it’s a green project or the owner wants it.”
The graduate of Ohio State’s master’s program in city and regional planning has also encouraged green practices in day-to-day operations at the company’s Westerville office. Bikes racks, low-flow water fixtures and an upgraded HVAC system were installed, and the grounds were landscaped with plants that require little irrigation.
READ MORE
By Brittany Kress
If Joel Diaz is an ambassador for one thing, it’s Columbus.
That’s because he’s an ambassador for many, serving on the Create Columbus Commission and the boards of the Columbus AIDS Task Force and Hispanic Chamber of Columbus, working with the Columbus Human Rights Campaign and co-founding LinkOUT.
Oh yeah, and then there’s his day job as the manager of outreach and marketing at the Wexner Center for the Arts, which has him sitting down with people from all over the city to get ideas and spread the word about upcoming events and exhibits.
“You go places, and people don’t know about Columbus, Ohio,” said Diaz, who grew up in Houston and loves to travel. “And I’m like, I’ll change it one person at a time.”
READ MORE
By Chris DeVille
Walker Evans built an online forum for a niche community and watched it grow into Columbus’ catch-all hub for civic activism, networking and cultural conversation. Now the founder of ColumbusUnderground.com is stepping out from behind his keyboard.
“In the past year I’ve been trying to get more civically involved … and kind of make that jump from being engaged online to being engaged in the process in real life,” Evans said. “I think people have gotten too comfortable with having a strong voice online but not being able to reach some people who are kind of important in the process and going through the traditional channels.”
As Underground has expanded its horizons, so has Evans. He traded the DJ gigs for roles in organizations ranging from the mayor’s Create Columbus Commission to the North Market’s board of trustees, and he has been a vocal advocate for Downtown development and revamped public transportation.
READ MORE
By Chris DeVille
When longtime friends Jessica Faller and Erin Moore started the Columbus Music Co-op three years ago, they did not lack ambition. Someday, they hoped, their nonprofit organization — dedicated to supporting, exposing, appreciating and networking local musicians — would provide an emergency fund for musicians’ medical expenses.
Growth has been slow, but it has also been steady, and in May they unveiled the Columbus Musicians Assistance Program. Now, just like they dreamed, uninsured musicians can approach them for health-care help.
“I think right now people just are thinking of catastrophic things,” Moore said, “but we really want people to get their teeth cleaned.” Or get a new pair of glasses. Or pay for a month’s worth of birth control.
The pool of money for such expenses doubled thanks to the success of the Co-op’s fundraiser, the Here Comes Your Weekend Parking Lot Blowout, this month at Surly Girl Saloon. The free local music showcase drew more than 1,000 people, who combined to buy 20 kegs’ worth of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
READ MORE
By John Ross
Kristen Jensen attended Ohio University, earned a master’s at George Washington University and worked on Capitol Hill. These experiences were invaluable, the Worthington native will tell you, but she always knew she’d return to Columbus, a place where she knew she could make a difference.
So far, so good.
As the president of the Young Professionals of Columbus, Jensen works closely with the city’s next generation of leaders — a diverse, intelligent group hashing out big ideas about public transportation, urban redevelopment and redefining the Cap City in the 21st century.
The group, one of several young-professional collectives in town, combines social and cultural events, volunteerism and personal and professional development. Networking events are common, and the goal is to bring together businesspeople, artists, civic activists and others who wish to give back to the community in myriad ways.
READ MORE
By Brittany Kress
When Carlene Saxon graduated from Olentangy High School this spring, Dawn Tyler Lee stood in the audience, applauding and crying like a proud mother.
But Tyler Lee isn’t her mother. She’s Saxon’s mentor and friend.
The two clicked when Saxon was a fifth-grader and member of Tyler Lee’s church, and now they text all the time. Saxon’s undoubtedly learned a lot from her mentor, but she’ll start a whole new phase of education when she begins college in the fall.
It’s a bittersweet success for Tyler Lee, Ohio State’s assistant vice president of government relations. “I’ve tried to, I guess, informally instill in her the importance of education and keep her encouraged and motivated in getting through some of those tough high school years,” she said.
Education is Tyler Lee’s constant emphasis — like in the case of the YWCA’s Gen Y Leadership Project, a professional and personal development program for young women launched under her direction in May.
READ MORE
By John Ross
In fifth grade, Subha Lembach became fed up with the condition of playground equipment at her Long Island grade school. That same year, she also learned about petitions.
Soon, a bright youngster who emigrated from India at age two had collected hundreds of signatures from concerned classmates and rather puzzled parents — enough to pressure administrative brass to bring in better recess digs.
Life’s little victories can be the most rewarding, and that quest many years ago, many states away, started a life of service that Lembach continues today throughout Central Ohio.
That would include a full-time job at United Way of Central Ohio, where she studies juvenile justice initiatives, and volunteer positions with the Friends of the Columbus Zoo, the Junior League of Columbus, Columbus Children’s Theatre, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Childhood League.
READ MORE
By Melissa Starker
As a model of success for aspiring small businesspeople, Elizabeth Lessner has already gotten a fair share of ink from this publication and others. Nevertheless, the restaurateur is still well worth watching, if only because she doesn’t ever seem to stop moving.
Lessner starts her typical work day by 7 a.m. with some e-mailing. By 10 a.m., she’s preparing for the lunch rush at Betty’s Fine Food & Spirits in the Short North, the oldest of three Lessner-owned restaurants. Late afternoons are taken up by meetings with managers and business partners, and most evenings are consumed by functions involving the Central Ohio Restaurant Association or her place on the mayor’s young professionals commission. At night’s end, Lessner’s back home on her computer, “much to my boyfriend’s chagrin,” she added with a laugh.
Lessner has served food her whole professional life. At first it was just an income source, but during college, “I came to the conclusion that I loved the industry and I wasn’t ever going to quit and get a ‘real job,’” she recalled.
READ MORE
By Brittany Kress
Daniel McKewen began his search for the perfect messenger bag — durable, functional, comfortable — six years ago. He’s still looking.
He’s since formed his own company on that premise, though. And as Seagull Bags’ “czar,” McKewen is, more than anything, in awe of how far it’s come.
It’s come all the way from his basement, where a friend taught him to use a sewing machine after he decided he could make better bags than the ones he’d found. It’s come from word-of-mouth advertising and dragging friends in on the venture when he got in over his head with orders.
It’s come to fully customizable, carefully revised bags still handmade in Columbus — from a new Clintonville storefront. It’s come to international accounts, booming online sales and a staff of five.
And it’s all because of his need to reach goals — and his staff, said McKewen, a Columbus native who graduated from the Columbus College of Art & Design in 2006. “At this point, I can’t really take credit for it,” he said. “I’m just holding on. It’s like that Wilson Phillips song, ‘Hold on for one more day,’ you know?”
Don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s relaxing at the top of the totem pole, though. McKewen has a hand in every one of the about 20 bags that roll out of the store each week — including sewing on their signature Ohio logo.
READ MORE
By Melissa Starker
Michael Reed’s working life and outside interests reflect Columbus’ future in many ways, especially as city leaders concentrate on the realities of a new century driven by technology, and the increasing acceptance that the arts are crucial to strengthening communities.
By day, the Linden-area native works as a computer support supervisor for Ohio State’s Department of Chemistry. In his other career, he’s an artist on a break from MFA studies at OSU, as well as an active member of the Grandview artists’ co-op Couchfire Collective.
Spurred by discussions in a planning class he was taking, Reed also became one of the forces behind the grassroots initiative to dub Columbus “Indie Art Capital of the World.” The slogan was officially adopted by City Council in December.
The analytical side of his brain brings an uncommonly businesslike approach to his own artwork and Couchfire’s efforts. “A lot of time artists say, ‘How can you put a value on that?’” Reed said. “That’s just laziness. There are no special exceptions for artists.”
READ MORE
Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be watching you.
Use Remember the Milk. That’s the best information I can pass along for all the people implicitly voted People Not To Watch by not being on this list.
http://rememberthemilk.com/
It is awesome
http://rememberthemilk.com/
It is awesome
huh? Can vegans use this site?
Can a person be on the “People to Watch” list consecutive years? Or is a one shot thing?
Walker, Great stuff! Thanks for all that you do! Keep it up!
What will we be watching for :)
Congratulations!
Congrats all. Although I was wondering what Mike and Meredith were up to these days and was thinking of dropping them a line, but now I can’t get past the throngs of devotees :(
Did you notice how Liz, Walker and Mike form a sort of triangle configuration? There is no way that’s a coincidence. :lol:
Possibly, but it sounds like they’ll be changing it up every year. Can’t wait to see who makes it next year, and the year after that. :D
And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to letting my newly found power corrupt me.
:twisted:
Congratulations everyone!
Walker, you look real pretty in pink. :wink:
Possibly, but it sounds like they’ll be changing it up every year. Can’t wait to see who makes it next year, and the year after that. :D
And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to letting my newly found power corrupt me.
:twisted:
I really wish I could just keep watching the same person year after year.
I like that this photo doesn’t have that funky ass green background the Alive seems to splooge over.
Wasn’t there an award ceremony at Spice?
Walker, you look real pretty in pink. :wink:
He sure does! :)
yes. that was my first spice experience. it was really, really hot in there. sweating does not make you feel glamorous.
thanks to everybody who nominated us cmc gals.
Congrats to all. Very deserving!
thanks to everybody who nominated us cmc gals.
But who won the dance off?
thanks to everybody who nominated us cmc gals.
But who won the dance off?
i dont know about inside but i was dancing outside until 1 30 am. i had a good time last night. paying for it now.
kudos to all that were selected.
Mike Reed’s Philosophy=perfection verbalized
extra kudos for Couchfire Collective for the add thanking Mike for being so Awesome!!!
I also loved how they ran the “how not to get noticed segment” towards the back of the paper. I think I fell victim to a few of those points. lol
Don’t forget about the gigantic Poster on the North wall of the Dispatch building. Walker is smiling down on all who pass that way.
Congrats guys!!!! :D