2022 City Club ANNUAL REPORT
Dear
Friends,
When we look back at the City Club’s last year that started with our return to welcoming limited in-person audiences and included the revival of our long-standing partnership with City Hall to convene the State of the City, we are reminded how beautiful it truly is to hear your voice. From the onset of the pandemic until the summer of 2021, every audience Q&A was mediated through a forum host. But this last year, we could hear you once more.
Your voice drove three televised mayoral debates, shaping the course of the campaign and building an agenda and a mandate for Mayor Bibb.
Your voice was there in the audience question posed to former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a question that inspired Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman to stand up from his seat in the audience and clarify the future demise of a certain unpopular legislative proposal.
Your voice was there when U.S. Senator Rob Portman recorded the entire room responding to his call “Slava Ukraini!” “Heroyam slava!” we all called back, glory to the heroes.
And the voices of our speakers rang clearly, too. At our very first in-person forum, on Public Square, Mark Joseph called on us to imagine what a truly anti-racist city would look and feel like. At our State of the Schools, CMSD CEO Eric Gordon spoke to the return to in-person learning. Looking back and looking ahead, philanthropic leaders Dave Abbott and Tim Tramble both shared their perspective on the work to be done throughout our community. In speaking about the rise of anti-Semitism, racism, and homophobia, American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris reminded us that “the only way to win is to stand shoulder to shoulder.” And Marla Pérez-Davis gave voice to both her own journey and NASA’s.
Our City Club is what it is because of your voice and the voices of all those neighbors, emerging leaders, advocates, and thinkers who ask questions and shape the dialogue. Together with our speakers, donors, members, partners, and students, it’s a chorus, sometimes harmonious, sometimes joyful, sometimes discordant—and when we listen, what we hear is our community.
Thank you, friends, for adding your voice.
Dan Moulthrop
Chief Executive Officer
Kristen Baird Adams
Board President
VOICES FROM
Forums
The City Club of Cleveland is one of the nation’s great free speech forums. And it is our program format that makes us unique. Speakers from around the community, the nation, and the world come to the City Club to share their expertise and engage with City Club members and friends in civil, civic dialogue. City Club forums range in topics from pioneers in baseball to NASA’s plans to head back to the moon.
"The most lonely character is Larry Doby, who for the first year in Cleveland is the only Black player on the team and he is shunted off into segregated accommodations."
– Luke Epplin, Author of Our Team: The Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series
See more Arts & Culture forums
"Our criminal justice system is a sink. It’s leaking, leaking bad and we keep trying to change the faucet. We’ve even got shiny faucets, but it keeps leaking because we just don’t want to do what we need to do and that’s tear up the floor and fix the pipes."
– Jarrett Adams, Attorney, Advocate, and Author of Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System
See more Authors in Conversation forums
"We need policies based on science and physics not faith."
– Robert M. Blue, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Energy
See more Business & Economy forums
"Trust is the foundation for the depth of relationship that is necessary to achieve difficult things, to overcome adversity, and to build the capacity in the brain of the young people we seek to develop."
– Habeebah R. Grimes, CEO Positive Education Program, speaking on our first hybrid forum panel
See more Education forums
"If you don't know your history, you are doomed to repeat some of the bad things from that history."
– Senator Sandra Williams, one of seven candidates running for Mayor of Cleveland in 2021
See more Elections & Debates forums
"Our administration seeks to delist all Great Lakes Areas of (environmental) Concern by 2030."
– Michael Regan, United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
See more Environment & Sustainability forums
"There is room for all of us, and there is power in numbers."
– LaTonya Goldsby, President of Black Lives Matter Cleveland
See more Health Equity forums
"There are no obstacles to collaboration when it comes to common good."
– Tom Mihaljevic, M.D. President and CEO of Cleveland Clinic
See more Healthcare forums
"There is joy in democracy and so much to celebrate despite what the data might say."
– Erika Anthony, Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES
See more Local Heroes forums
"We have the information, we have the voices — it's about integration and implementation."
– Joyce Pan Huang, Director of City Planning of the City of Cleveland
See more Local Matters forums
"We are back in the national conversation as a city on the rise."
– Mayor Justin Bibb
See more Politics & Policy forums
"When you have to go to the moon, you have to go through Cleveland."
– Dr. Marla E. Pérez-Davis, Director of National Aeronautics and Space Administration at John H. Glenn Research Center
See more Science, Technology, and Innovation forums
"Anti-Semitism should be our collective problem, just like racism and xenophobia and homophobia are our collective problems. The only way to win is to stand shoulder to shoulder."
– David Harris, Chief Executive Officer of the American Jewish Committee
See more Social Justice forums
"We see the worst of Russia in terms of this attack, but we see the best of Cleveland in terms of the response from the community."
– Senator Rob Portman
See more World Affairs forums
"It's not always ‘stranger danger’, and most often, it is the opposite of that, it is someone you know."
– Sylvia Colon, Co-Founder of the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults
See more Youth forums
Student
VOICES
When students attend a City Club forum, they have the same opportunity as the adults in the room to use their voice and ask questions of our speakers. But student engagement extends beyond their role as audience members. Students from across Northeast Ohio can apply to serve on our Youth Forum Council, which works with City Club staff to program entire forums from start to finish, centered on issues most important to them and their peers.
Student attendance at the City Club helps cultivate civic engagement and participation is absolutely free. When students come with their teachers to a forum, they have the opportunity to see civic dialogue in action and to use their voice to ask questions of our speakers. Not to mention, they get a great meal and often get to meet the speakers after the forum.
Learn how to bring students to the City Club.
When students join the Youth Forum Council, they find a special opportunity to work with engaged students from across the region to collaboratively plan and execute forums from start to finish, centered on issues most important to them and their peers. Through working directly with production professionals, they strengthen team planning, production, marketing, event management, scripting, public speaking, and other critical skills.
Join the Youth Forum Council (or share with a student in your life).
We are honored to host the annual high school debate championship at the City Club and to have served as a home for student debate for decades. This past year Jeremy Battle from University School and Ella Jewell from Kenston High School faced off in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate on the following topic: In a democracy, a free press ought to prioritize objectivity over advocacy.
Watch the debate for yourself.
Since 2013, The Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest challenges high school students to examine the role of free speech in the 21st century. The top three winners of each age group receive scholarship prize money. This year’s essays about critical race theory were judged by 25 community volunteers who helped pick our winners.
Read the winning essays.
Member
VOICES
The City Club was founded in 1912 when 78 individuals bought shares for $10 and became our first members. 110 years later, more than 900 individuals call themselves City Club members. Our members live across the nation, and some across the globe, and we are grateful for their support of civil, civic dialogue. They ask questions of our speakers, serve on programming committees, invite friends to learn more about our work, and their financial support keeps us strong.
New Members
Thanks to these individuals who decided to become champions of free speech and join the City Club as members this past year.
Philanthropy Circle Members
Philanthropy Circle Members give at least $1,000 annually through their membership.
Longtime Members
For more than three decades, the individuals listed below served as the foundation of the City Club. Some have even been members for more than 50 years.
Christa Jo Abood
John Ambrose
Denise Andres
Rawle Andrews Jr
Jenn Angelo
Megan Baechle
Heidi Barham
John Barnes
Hugo Barragan
Susie Barragate
Kelleigh Beatty
Alexa Beegun
John Bekeny
Mercedes Bell
Justin Bellian
Brendan Bennett
Jeff Berger
Margaret Bernstein
Joseph Bianchini
Shana Black
Louise Blair
George Blake
Jon and Laura Bloomberg
Joseph Bonacci
Jody Bonhard
Alexandria Boone
Jay Bowler
Marcella Boyd Cox
Tiarra Braddock
Michelle Broome
Kim Brown
Leslie Buck
Eral Burks
Nicole Calabrese
Alison Calhoun
Daniel Campbell
Scott Carlson
Alexis Castel
LaRaun Clayton
Dick Clough
Nichole Collins
Alfred Cowger
Jeffrey Cristal
Dan Cuffaro
David Cupar
Andy Curlowe
Andre Dailey
Rebecca Dangler
Susan De Luca
Kate Deegan
Patrick Delaney
Steve Dettelbach
Anna Dey
Cynthia Dillon
Joseph Dolan
Kathleen Dolan
Debra Donaldson
Heather Dougherty
Carl Drotleff
Marilyn Dubasak
Andy Eckel
James Estep
Sydney Evans
Nicholas Fink
Bradley Fink
Anne Flamm
Tamara Flowers
Karen Freedman
David Fulton
Alexander Garett
Christopher Garr
Barbara Gartland
Susan Gavazzi
Amber Gibbs
Pamela Gill
Richarda Glass
Jackie Godic
Peter Granson
Robert Gray
Jeremiah Guappone
Halldor Gudmundsson
Amar Gupta
Donn Heckelmoser
Gary Hemphill
Ashley Hendricks
Robyn Herr
Elizabeth Honold
Jeffrey Hooper
Monica Houston
Karrie Howard
Jeff Isaacs
Jennifer Jaketic
Diane Jenks
Nicholas Jennette
Sophia Johnson
Devon Jones
Judge Wanda Jones
David Jurca
Betsey Kaufman
Karen Kea
Danny Kelly
Roseanna Keough
Katie Kimble
Ali King
Ariane Kirkpatrick
Elizabeth Kish
Owen Knapp
Jennifer Knetig
Seymour Kopelowitz
Wendy Kulick
Charmin Leon
Miranda Leppla
Megan Lowes-Bolin
Jonathan Lusin
Hrishue Mahalaha
Hosanna Mahaley
Larissa Malcolm
Delores McCollum
Julie McCormick
MaryTherese McGinty
Thomas McGinty
Douglas McWilliams
Ervis Mellani
Caitie Milcinovic
Teena Mitchell
Dr. Marilyn Mobley
Theodora Monegan
Tiana Moore
Josephine Moore
Laura Mottor
Karen Murphy
Randy Newell
Christopher Noble
William O’Gorman
Philip Oliss
Richard Ortmeyer
Cornelius O’Sullivan
John Paganini
Sally Parker
Edward Patton
Greg Peckham
Vilmarie Perez
Sarah Perkins
Michael Peters
Bo Pettegrew
Adam Philipp
Joslin Phillibert
Tony Pietrocola
Abigail Poeske
Marlon Primes
Elizabeth Rader
Jameel L Radford
Wanda Rembert Arnold
John Richard
Robin Richmond
Kevin Roberts
Anne Rogerson
Tim Ross
Laura Rushton
Natalie Saikaly
Ryan Schmelz
Richard Schultz
Michael Sering
Maria Sharp
Khrystalynn Shefton
Cathryn Siegal-Bergman
Scott Skinner
Monique Smith
Karen Snyder
Andrew Somich
Lee-Ann Spacek
Diane Stack
Sally Staley
Linda Striefsky
Aarushi Suneja
Kathryn Taylor
Chris Thompson
Dyan Tirbaso
Maria Tofalo
Darryle Torbert
Donald Truex
Fannie Turner (Williams)
Pam Turos
John Tynan
Marty Uhle
Rachel Uram
Joseph Vicario
Peter Voinovich
Harriet Wadsworth
Gabriela Waechter
Chitra Walker
April Walker
Michele Warner
Andrew Watterson
Edward Weber
Ellen Weber
Logan Weiland
Bridget Williams
Dameyonna Willis
Dharma Wilson
Kerri Yarbrough
Robert K Yund
Dan Yurman
Cary Zimmerman
Joan Zoltanski
Barbara Zoss
Kristen Baird Adams
Thomas Adler
Raj Aggarwal
Karen Allport
Artis Arnold
Jon & Laura Bloomberg
April Miller Boise
Dwight Bowden
Terry Brennan
James Carulas
Louis Chaiten
Joanne Clark
Kevin Clayton
Robert Conrad
Anita Cook
Susan & Michael Cristal
Jeffrey Cristal
Barbara Danforth
Steve Dettelbach
Robert Falls
Judi Feniger
Chann Fowler
Char & Chuck Fowler
Eduardo Gonzalez
Megan Granson
Alexandra Hanna
Paul Harris
William Hughes
Sharon Jordan
David Kall
Ariane Kirkpatrick
Robert Littman
Shana Marbury
Rob Martens
John McGuire
Hugh McKay
Rebecca Morgan
Dan Moulthrop
Augie Napoli
Robert O'Brien
William Pavilonis
Daniel Pedrotty
Richard Pogue
Lindsay Radisek
Kaye Ridolfi
Barbara Robinson
Mark Ross
Alan Rosskamm
Shelly Saltzman
Alex Schmitt
Hewitt Shaw
Kim Sherwin
Patricia Shlonsky
Fareed Siddiq
Robyn Minter Smyers
Laura & Charlie Stack
Michael Trebilcock
Alan Unger
Molly Walsh
Douglas Wang
Cheryl & Meredith Weinstein
Jeff & Lisa Weiss
Morris Wheeler
Sheila Wright
Dan Zelman
Jill & Jeff Zimon
David Abbott
Bruce H. Akers
Keith A. Ashmus
P. Thomas Austin
Fran Belkin
Charles Bolton
Dwight Bowden
Mary O. and John J. III Boyle
William Burges
Leonard Calabrese
Ruth Anna Carlson
James Carulas
Thomas Chema
Robert Conrad
Anthony Coyne
Henry Doll
Dennis Dooley
Dorothy Faller
Edward Feighan
Scott Finerman
Merle Frankel
Stuart Friedman
Avery Friedman
Rebecca M Gerson
Nina Gibans
Joyce Goldstein
Bernard Goodman
Nancy Hammond
Thomas Harmon
Richard Hollington Jr.
Carole Hoover
Robert Jeffreys
Milton Katz
Morton Levin
P.J. Lucier
Robert Lustig
Leonard Lybarger
Alex Machaskee
Gerald Meyer
Kenneth Moore
Lana Moresky
Bert W. Moyar
William Olah
Daniel Pavsek
Richard W. Pogue
Linn Raney
Kathy Retz
Johnathan Rosskopf
Meredith Seikel
Roberta Steinbacher
Thomas E. Stratton-Crooke
Frederick I. Taft
Frederick A. Vierow
Jeffry Weiler
Lucile Weingartner
Robert Weltman
Don Wirtz
Thomas T.K. Zung
VOICES FROM
Donors
Special thanks to all of our donors who supported our work this past year. In addition to the generous individuals who contributed to our annual fund and other projects, we received more than $1 million in sponsorship and grant support from companies and foundations throughout our community. We are grateful for every financial contribution that together helped us serve our community, balance our budget, and strive to fulfill our mission.
Anonymous
Char & Chuck Fowler
The George Gund Foundation
Dick & Pat Pogue
The Siddiq Family
Anita & Tom Cook
Sally & Bob Gries
Paul & Michelle Harris
Nordson Corporation Foundation
Tecovas Foundation
Thompson Hine LLP
Margaret W. Wong & Associates
50 Black Women Fund
Advance Ohio
Bank of America
The George W. Codrington Foundation
Cohen Community Foundation
Community West Foundation
Charlie & Grosvie Cooley
Richard Hollington, Jr.
KeyBank
PNC Bank
Barbara S. Robinson
Saint Luke’s Foundation
Robyn Minter Smyers
Anonymous
AT&T
Ellen Botnick
Louis A. Chaiten
The Char & Chuck Fowler Family Foundation
Cleveland Foundation
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
Eaton
Judi Feniger
Areli & Michael Jeans
Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation
Longview Foundation
John J. McGuire & Elisha A. Dumser
Stephen McHale
The MetroHealth System
Rebecca A. Morgan & James Juknialis
John P. Murphy Foundation
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Albert B. & Audrey G. Ratner Family Foundation
The William M. Weiss Foundation
Jill & Jeffrey Zimon & Family
Kristen Baird Adams
Anonymous
Assembly for the Arts
BakerHostetler
Bridget & Terry Brennan
Case Western Reserve University
Citizens Bank
Deaconess Foundation
Paul & Karen Dolan
Dominion Energy
Carole F. Hoover
Huntington Bank
David Kall
Robert & Leslie Littman
Hugh & Sue McKay
Randell McShepard
Medical Mutual
Dorris C. Michalske Trust
August Napoli & Joan Katz Napoli
Kaye & Phil Ridolfi
Jan Roller & David Abbott
Mark D. Ross
Patricia Shlonsky & Steven Hinkle
Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland
Sisters of Charity Health System
Robert C. Smith
Unger Family Foundation
Verizon
Molly Walsh
Kittie Warshawsky & Tim Tibbitts
Woodruff Foundation
Verizon
Calfee
EY
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Kerry Gubics
Mark Jones
Jones Day
Sharon Sobol Jordan & Dave Wallace
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
Ohio Aerospace Institute
RPM International
Shelly Saltzman
The Taft Family
Michelle Tomallo
Ulmer & Berne LLP
United Way of Greater Cleveland
Karen & William Allport
BDO, USA
Benesh Law
Jon & Laura Bloomberg
The Center for Community Solutions
Anthony Coyne
Jeffrey Cristal
Susan & Michael Cristal
Cuyahoga Community College
Tom Embrescia
Fifth Third Bank
Alexandra Hanna
Ariane Kirkpatrick
Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Foundation
JumpStart
The Laub Foundation
Mansour Gavin LPA
MCPc
Metropolitan at the 9
George Misencik Living Trust
Ohio Business Machines
William Pavilonis
Plante Moran
Porter Wright
Ratliffe & Taylor
Kim Sherwin
Squire Patton Boggs
Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA
Morris Wheeler
Thomas Adler
AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland
American Red Cross
Fran Belkin
Benjamin Rose Institute On Aging
Dwight Bowden
Building Laborers’ Union Local 310
James Carulas
CHN Housing Partners
Joanne Clark
Cleveland Leadership Center
Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Association
Cleveland Public Library
Cleveland Transformation Alliance
Cleveland Votes
Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority
Council on International Programs
Cuyahoga County Public Library
CWRU Social Justice Institute
Barbara J. Danforth
Destination Cleveland
Steve Dettlebach
Steven Dieringer
Frank Dixon
Henry Doll
Downtown Cleveland Alliance
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Scott Finerman
Andrew & Judith Finger
First Energy
John B. Gest Jr. & Michelle deBock
Michael Gibbons
Eduardo Gonzalez
Megan Granson
Greater Akron Chamber
Greater Cleveland Schools Superintendents’ Association
Pat Hanavan
Ralph Hayes
David & Nancy Hooker
Christopher Hitchcock
Paulette Hervi Hughes & William D. Hughes
IceMiller
Scott & Kelly Jasko
J. Michael Kolk
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
Links Incorporated
The Edward A. & Catherine L. Lozick Foundation
Charles Maimbourg
Mary Coit Sanford Memorial Fund
Rob Martens
Joel Marx
John McCaffrey
Reed & Kristine McGivney
Patricia Mintz
Amy Morgenstern
Dan Moulthrop
Robert O’ Brien
Open Doors Academy
Daniel Pedrotty
Policy Matters Ohio
Positive Education Program
Alan Rosskamm
Elisa and Salvatore Russo
Hewitt B. Shaw
Sherwin Williams
Mark & Cathy Shikowski
Team NEO
Teamsters Local Union 407
Towards Employment
Michael Trebilcock
United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland
University Hospitals
Visible Voice Charitable Fund
Walter Haverfield
Douglas Wang
Lee Weingart
Cheryl & Meredith Weinstein
Peter Whitehouse
Youth Opportunities Unlimited
Dan Zelman
Christa Jo Abood
Jonathon Adler
Keith Ashmus
Eric Baumgartner
Fran Belkin
Jeanette G. Brown
Kim Brown
Eileen Burkhart
Eral Burks
Joan Campbell
Ruth Anna Carlson
Joseph Cimperman
Alfred Cowger
Michael Dingeldein
Dennis Dooley
Jason Drake
Karen Freedman
David Goodman
Robert Heath
Donnald Heckelmoser
Meryl Johnson
Sanjiv Kapur
Morton Levin
Charles Maimbourg
Eileen McKeon
Patrica Mintz
Mai Moore
Jewel Moulthrop
Michelle Mulhern
Randall Myeroff
Steven Nissen
Greg Nosan
Bill Nottingham
Thomas O’Hare
Marlon Primes
Linn Raney
Julie Raskind
Noel Salwan
Celia Sinclair
Nigamanth Sridhar
Cynthia Tancer
Ed Vadakin
Mary Warren
Zach Wemple
Nancy Wolpe
Kirk Zehnder
Ann Zoller
Financials
The City Club ended fiscal year 2022 strong, with a change in net assets of $334,000. Total operating expenses were $1,768,000. We returned to in-person forums beginning with reduced capacity and now operating at full capacity growing back our earned revenues from ticket and table sales. We also received record contributed support from sponsorships and grants totaling over $1 million.
Total Revenue: $ 2,102,543
Total Expenses: $ 1,768,153
Community
VOICES
From the individuals who serve on our board of directors, to the community partners who uplift our conversations, to the audiences who attend forums at the City Club “homes” beyond of our downtown location, community voice is always present guiding our work.
Board of Directors
The City Club’s Board of Directors reflects our community’s great commitment to freedom of speech and civil, civic dialogue. We are grateful for the expertise, leadership, and generous financial support they provide to our organization.
Kristen Baird Adams, President
Louis Chaiten, Vice President
John J. McGuire, Vice President
Alex Schmitt, Vice President
Patricia Shlonsky, Vice President
Robyn Minter Smyers, Immediate Past Pres.
Molly Walsh, Vice President
Artis A. Arnold III
April Miller Boise
Terry Brennan
Kevin Clayton
Robert Falls
Judi Feniger
Eric Fiala
Paul N. Harris
Kelly M. Jasko
Sharon Sobol Jordan
David M. Kall
Robert Littman
Shana F. Marbury
Hugh McKay
August A. Napoli, Jr.
Kaye Ridolfi
Mark Ross
Fareed Siddiq
Charles Stack
Sheila Wright
Community Partners
The City Club’s community partner program connects community organizations to City Club forums that align with their missions. Our community partners help us reach residents across Greater Cleveland to share information with and invite individuals to upcoming forums.
20/30 Club
ACLU of Ohio
All Voting is Local
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging
Better Health Partnership
Black Environmental Leaders
Burten Bell Carr Development, Inc.
Center for Health Affairs
Cleveland Council on World Affairs
Cleveland Documenters
Clevelanders for Public Transit
Cleveland Hillel Foundation
Cleveland Leadership Center
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Cleveland NAACP
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
Cleveland SHRM
Cleveland Teachers Union
Cleveland Transformation Alliance
Cleveland Votes
Cleveland Water Alliance
Collaborative to End Human Trafficking
College Now Greater Cleveland
Common Cause Ohio
CSU Center for Educational Leadership
CSU Cleveland Marshall College of Law
Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority
CWRU School of Law
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization
Downtown Cleveland Alliance
East End Neighborhood House
EERS Cleveland Met Bar Assoc
Employment Collaborative NEO
Engage! Cleveland
ERC
Global Cleveland
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Greater Cleveland School Superintendents’ Association
Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Harvard Community Services Center
HBCU Alumni Cle
Healthcare Access Worldwide
Honesty for Ohio Education
Journey Center for Safety and Healing
Lake Erie Native American Council
League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
Literary Cleveland
Maltz Museum
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University
May Dugan Center
Metro Catholic School
MOVE! Ohio
NEOSOJO
Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality
Ohio Climate Justice Fund
Ohio Environmental Council
Ohio Extemp Initiative
Ohio Transformation Fund
Philanthropy Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio
Positive Education Program
Power a Clean Future
PRE4CLE
Starting Point
Stop the Hate
Sustainable Cleveland
Teaching Cleveland
The Bail Project
The Centers Ohio
The Fund for our Economic Future
The Links Incorporated
Towards Employment
Trust for Public Land
Union Miles Development Corporation
University Circle Inc.
Ursuline Piazza
We Plan CLE
We Think 4 a Change
West Park Kamms
Young Latino Network
Youth Opportunities Unlimited
YWCA Greater Cleveland
Zonta Club of Cleveland
Square
Public Square Forums
One of our favorite homes is in Public Square. Since 2016, we’ve been presenting a free series of forums that addresses issues facing Cleveland and its neighborhoods.
Recent Public Square forums included:
- How to Spend a Billion Dollars: The American Rescue Plan Act and Cuyahoga County
- A Love Letter to an Anti-Racist Cleveland
- The Future of Essential Work
- Where We're Headed (and How to Get There by Transit): The Future of the Greater Cleveland RTA
- Up Next in State Policy Advocacy
- A Fresh Perspective on City Planning
Square
Mayoral Debates
In August 2021, The City Club of Cleveland partnered with Ideastream Public Media to host two debates with the seven candidates seeking office to be the next Mayor of Cleveland. The debates were held live at the Westfield Theater in Playhouse Square and the content was driven by questions from voters across Cleveland. Watch the first primary debate and check out the second primary debate.
After the primary election in September, we returned to the Westfield Theater for the final debate between Justin Bibb and Kevin Kelly.
During those three debates, 30 voters were able to have their voices heard as they posed questions to the candidates.
Happy Dog Series
Most months you will find us with a hot dog and beer (or root beer) in hand at Happy Dog in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland. What started as a series on world affairs has grown into a place to host forums on a wide variety of topics.
Series forums included:
State of the City
In November 2021, Justin Bibb was elected to serve as the 58th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. On April 18, 2022, the City Club was proud to host his first State of the City address at the Maltz Performing Arts Center on Case Western Reserve University’s campus. The location was especially meaningful for the mayor who is a double graduate of the university.
Community Forum
On June 30, 2022, friends of the City Club gathered at Morning Star Baptist Church for a forum on community building movements. In partnership with the Saint Luke’s Foundation for their 25th anniversary, we were able to bring civil dialogue directly to the community.