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Jami Edelheit Is An Idea Worth Spreading
I have come to learn, one of the really great gifts we can give each other is the gift of connection…and reconnection. There is so much that we can learn from and appreciate 
about one another. That process gives life greater value, greater joy, greater inspiration.
Life gave me another one of these gifts recently.
I can’t remember when or how Jami Edelheit and I first met, but I remember how her presence made me feel. She had (and still has) a way of energizing me. She made me laugh. She made me smile. She opened my eyes to different perspectives.
Jami has that effect on people. She is like a magnet, attracting others to dream, connect, and do. She is a leader and change maker who makes things happen in big ways.
TED, a global nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, is one of her passions. In case you are unfamiliar, TED began in 1984 as an annual conference on Technology, Entertainment and Design; and has since spread the power of messages and ideas to billions world wide.
Jami is the founder and director of TEDxCincinnati, bringing people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDxCincinnati includes its main stage event (that have been selling out) featuring TED talk videos, live speakers and performers to spark deep discussion and connection (details are below on its June 16, 2016 event); and a growing community. I served on the leadership team several years ago.
But her roots with TED go much deeper. They sprouted in 2011 when, as the public relations coordinator for a floating campus called Semesters at Sea, she developed a strategic partnership between the two organizations. When she got off the ship, the director of TEDx came to her with the idea of building a community in Cincinnati. That idea has touched thousands in our region alone.
Jami told me she is a TEDster, having gone to the annual global TED event, an event for which tickets are pretty difficult to come by. She also has the license for TEDx on Board, holding events on a yacht in San Francisco.
San Francisco, you ask? Well, when Jami is not conducting business, organizing events, selling real estate, or enjoying family here, she commutes to California – or other parts of the world, where she creates strategic partnerships to create life changing innovations. Chinese CEOs found Jami about three years ago and asked for her help in researching and finding them leading new technologies to invest in, license or bring back to their country. That work led to Google selecting her as one of 12 people chosen work with the social media giant in identifying and amplifying technologies that could impact a billion people – that Google project is currently on hold.
And, as if that is not enough, Jami also runs an international program at Stanford University called Future Xi (meaning Future Technologies) that identifies technologies and solutions.
Quietly, under the radar of many who know and admire her, Jami’s work is impacting the world in which we live.
I asked her a few more questions.
Lisa: Tell us about your very first job.
Jami: My first job was at my neighborhood Friendly’s Ice Cream. I started there as a dishwasher. Everyone began that way, and then when they found someone to replace you, you got to move up to being a cook, and then to an ice cream maker. I moved up to being a server from there.
Lisa: Where does your inspiration come from?
Jami: All of the people I am around inspire me. One is smarter than the next. I just look at the future and think, WOW! It is really all about the people you surround yourself with – whether they are friends, family, or people working on solutions for the world.
Lisa: How have your parents influenced you?
Jami: My dad is 93 years old now. He is a very kind, honest and loyal person who has never raised his voice. He is the most diplomatic, generous and empathic person and has been a stable voice in my life. My mom is 83, and has been singing and dancing and performing around the community for many years. I am so lucky to have grown up with their balance. From them I have learned about being empathetic, compassionate and seeing the bright side of everything.
Lisa: Are your children involved with TED?
Jami: Absolutely. Jordan founded TEDx at The Ohio State University in 2012 and founded the first TEDx in a prison. Now there are TEDx in prisons internationally and she helped mentor several of them. She has spoken at Harvard, Yale, Duke, and in Japan. My middle daughter, Carly, works with me on the TEDxCincinnati team. She is going to Ghanna for the entire summer to work on a public water project. And Michael was the director of TEDxCincinnati Youth for area high schools.
Lisa: You are such an incredible inspiration to all of us. What advice do you give others on experiencing it to the fullest?
Jami: Always be grateful and empathetic. Life is amazing and it is right there in front of you.
Before I wrote this, Jami emailed me this quote she found that she said spoke to her. “There is only one real choice in life, ‘be ordinary or extraordinary.’”
“I choose the later!!! I love to meet and learn from extraordinary people!,” Jami told me.
And speaking of learning from extraordinary people…after reading this, you just did.
TEDxCincinnati Main Stage Event ‘Leap’
Thursday, June 16 from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Cincinnati Masonic Center (315 W 5th Street in downtown Cincinnati)
For tickets, please click here.
With the theme, ‘Leap’, this year’s event will feature speakers on health innovation, education, wellness, biotech, technology, performances and more. TEDxCincinnati main stage events inspire innovation, thought leadership and visionary insight with speakers and performers on the main stage.
Network with other TEDsters at Innovation Alley before the main stage event. New this year, TEDxCincinnati and GCVA will have awards to recognize the hottest businesses, technologies, entrepreneurs, and funders in Cincinnati’s technology community & of course there will be happy hour!
#GoodThingsCincy
DeAnna Hoskins Makes Change Happen
DeAnna R. Hoskins, I could not be more proud of anyone than I am for you as Hamilton County sends you off to reach new heights in your career…to lift up those whose circumstances you know too well.
For those who do not know DeAnna, until this month, she was the very first director of re-entry for Hamilton County, a role that has allowed her to remove barriers for offenders so they can have opportunities for success upon their transition back into the community. Yesterday, was her last day here as she prepares to move to Washington D.C. to begin a new role as senior policy analyst for corrections and re-entry in the Bureau of Justice Assistance (part of the United States Department of Justice, a federal department).
June 1, 2016, was officially DeAnna R. Hoskins Day as declared by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. In her honor, a billboard company proudly displayed her story for all passersby to see.
DeAnna posted on her Facebook page, “What an honor but what I am most grateful for is GOD’s Grace and Mercy on my Life and the lives of others. This is an assignment that he has given me and I am being obedient.”
A Path From Which Passion Was Born
I always remember when I first met DeAnna. I was working with a nonprofit organization called Accountability and Credibility Together (ACT), a welfare diversion agency. DeAnna was a client. She walked into the office as a single mother of three, a former crack addict with a felony theft charge, and a twinkle in her eye that told us she was going to be a success. I remember she sold beautiful, large-sized shoes for women. She was determined to change the direction of her life. All of us knew she would do just that.
In the process, she has changed the direction of many lives.
DeAnna went on to earn degrees including a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. She is a licensed clinical addiction counselor, a certified recovery/peer-to-peer coach, and a certified offender workforce development specialist/trainer. She is a member of the group Just Leadership USA, and an alumni of Leadership Cincinnati. In 2011 the Cincinnati Enquirer profiled her as one of the region’s top emerging African-American leaders, and in 2013, she was honored with the Mary Ivers Success Award from Dress for Success.
When she moves to Washington D.C., she will be part of a team to review where Second Chance Act grants are invested. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Second Chance Act of 207 has circulated $475 million in grants nationally since being enacted in 2009. Grants have been used for training and technical assistance to help people transition from prison back into their community. Programs target adults with substance abuse, mental health challenges and provide mentoring and education.
Of her new job, DeAnna told Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “They told me in Washington that they’d never had anyone from the streets who’d implemented their grants. It’s overwhelming to think that someone in the federal government wants an ex-offender who was stuck on the corner of Clark and Linn smoking crack to be in this job.”
Personally, I say, who better to relate to and understand the needs than someone with the background, determination, education and positivity as DeAnna.
To DeAnna, I say, a well deserved congratulations! You are the example for EVERYONE that the right attitude can get you places. Through you, the community and the country is learning that people deserve second chances.
#GoodThingsCincy
Alecia Lipton Is Hoxworth Spokeperson
Today I’d like to meet you to Alecia Lipton. You may have seen her on television, in print, or around town. As the spokesperson for Hoxworth Blood Center, she has a valuable message to share with our community. Blood donations are critically important to all of us. According to Hoxworth’s website, every day, 300 blood donors and 40 platelet donors are needed to help save lives in our local community. That is why, on any given week you may hear about businesses, schools, or civic organizations partnering with Hoxworth to host blood drives. It keeps Alecia and her team pretty busy. Let’s learn more about her.
Lisa: Tell us in a paragraph or two some background information about yourself.
Alecia: I was raised in the rural community of Greenfield, Ohio and attended Morehead State University majoring in Broadcasting. Upon graduation I quit a job behind the microphone and began working in health care marketing. I spent nearly 20 years working in Retirement Living Communities in the Cincinnati/Dayton Region; as well as consulting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have been working as the Public Information Officer at Hoxworth Blood Center for 8.5 years. I absolutely love my job because at the end of each day I know that we have made a difference in the lives of patients in our area hospitals. I have had the privilege of meeting many blood recipients and have been brought to tears when they or their families have thanked us for the work that we do.
My husband and I recently downsized and purchased a 119 year old home in Lebanon, Ohio. We love the community and the walkability. I can take the dogs for a walk on the weekend and pick up a cup of coffee and pastry (just 2 blocks away) at Royce Café. The home has a lot of character and meshes well with my eclectic style.
Lisa: What is something about you that people may not know about you?
Alecia: I love college football. This is probably due to being raised in a football family. My great uncle is Ara Parseghian who began his football coaching career at Miami University, followed by North Western and commencing at Notre Dame while winning 2 National Championships! Growing up we always watched Notre Dame football on Saturdays. The tradition continues as I still enjoy college football but our house in now divided on Saturdays rooting between the Purdue Boilermakers (my husband), Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats.
Lisa: Who is someone who has inspired you in your life, how and why?
Alecia: I feel fortunate to have many people in my life who have been inspirational to me; therefore this questions is the most difficult to answer. I believe, it would be my mother, Susan Koch. She has definitely always been my toughest critic, but has always had my back and taught me to never quit and that I could accomplish anything I set my mind on. As an early teen she pushed me out of my shyness and encouraged me to audition for dance team. I made the dance team, made life-long friends and found a new passion. Later, during college when I was feeling homesick and discouraged she kept me moving along with words of encouragement. My mother is truly my best friend as she has been by my side through good times and bad. We talk on the phone daily and share the details of most everything. She serves as my sounding board and to this day helps me put life into perspective and not let the little things drag me down. She inspires me as she is the first person to help out a friend in need. Not only is she my sounding board but many of her friends (and mine) seek her opinion on professional and personal matters. She organizes and plans to make sure that events are special for all involved whether it is a girls trip, a family gathering or simply friends meeting for lunch. She is gregarious and outgoing, an attribute that I envy in her. Sure, I am a bit biased, as she is my mother, but her openness, altruism and acceptance of everyone is truly inspirational to me.
Lisa: What is an accomplishment or overcome challenge for which you are proud?
Alecia: Sometimes we don’t know how strong we are until faced with a challenge. I divorced when my children were 6 months old and 4 years of age. Being a single mother brings about many challenges. I learned early on that I could not count on regular child support payments and that in order to fully provide for my children I needed to further my education. I re-enrolled in college and graduated from Miami University. I did this while working full time (which required weekly visits to Tulsa, Oklahoma) and raising two children. Yes, there were some sleepless nights, final exams being studied for while consoling children with the chicken pox and the feeling that I just couldn’t do it all. I am proud of this accomplishment because I did do it all. I completed my degree, my children came out unscathed and happy, and I could smile knowing that I did it…I did it all (but tired and in need of a vacation J).
Lisa: What is one of your life lessons?
Alecia: Always go with your gut feeling. I found that in both personal and professional situations that my gut feeling is always right. The few times that I have ignored that nagging pull in one direction or another I have regretted it. I suppose that gut feeling is our uncluttered sub-conscience leading us in the right direction without the influence of outside distraction.
Lisa: What are some of your simple pleasures?
Alecia: I love baking and cooking. When I am stressed and in need of decompression time I go to my kitchen and bake. My family, friends and co-workers benefit from this. At times I have accused my 18 year old son of stressing me out in order to get chocolate chip cookies and coffee cake. Many of my recipes belonged to my grandmother. When I start baking it takes me back to Saturday mornings when I would help he in the kitchen baking cookies, pies and sugar snails (a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and butter rolled in pie dough).
#GoodThingsCincy
Kilee Brookbank Asked, ‘Why Me?’
Until one fateful day, Kilee Brookbank was a typical sixteen-year-old, thinking about school, soccer, her friends, and her boyfriend. Everything changed when an explosion destroyed her home and left her in critical condition, even on the brink of death, burns covering nearly half of her body.
That moment and every moment after, taught Kilee about being a fighter, about appreciation, and about the importance of living for every day. The intense flames scarred her tender body but it never touched her effervescent smile that has the ability to fill an entire room. In its aftermath, there is a young woman who has learned a deeper meaning to life. A woman driven to make the world better for those who share a common circumstance.
Kilee has an autobiography that was just published, and I so much appreciate her sharing her story for you, my readers. Please read her words below and mark your calendars to join us for my upcoming A Night of CINspiration on June 22 at Tavern on the Hill, where she will be speaking.
In Kilee’s Words:
There were a few times, when I was lying in my hospital bed, when I wondered, “Why me?”
I spent 38 days in Shriners Hospitals for Children-Cincinnati in late 2014 after a gas explosion engulfed me in flames that burned 45 percent of my body and destroyed my 
family’s home. I was only 16, and until that fateful moment when I lit a candle in the bathroom, I was having another normal day: I went to school, I talked with my friends, I texted my mom, and I came home and played with our dogs.
I never could have imagined the road that awaited me—the pain, the fear, the scarring, the physical therapy. The fire changed my life forever, and it changed the lives of my family, too. But even though that day marked the worst moment of my life, every day since then has been the best day.
It might sound strange to say that, but I’ve learned so much in the past 18 months, and I’m so grateful for where I am today. I’m a stronger person now than I ever thought I would be. I’m closer to my family and my friends, and I don’t take anything for granted.
When I was going through physical therapy, we didn’t know if I would ever play soccer again or be able to throw a ball. When I came home from Shriners, I needed help doing the simplest things: tying my shoes, putting on makeup, even using the restroom. When you struggle to do such basic things, you never take anything for granted ever again.
Facing all of those challenges, I certainly did have my moments of doubt and sadness. But mostly, I tried to keep moving forward. I did wonder “Why me?” because I knew that everything happens for a reason, and I wanted to understand what my reason was.
My scars changed me from victim to survivor. They never altered the big, bright smile I’ve always had, the reason my dad calls me “Smiley Kilee.” I’m so grateful I still have that smile, and even more grateful that behind that smile is joy and genuine happiness to be alive each day, as well as the knowledge that I’m ultimately becoming the person I’m meant to be. I have found a bigger purpose.
I recognize that without Cincinnati Shriners Hospital, I wouldn’t be here today. I know how lucky I am to have received such incredible care and to have been given another chance to make a real difference in the world.
I think this happened to me so I would pay forward the gratitude my family and I feel for Shriners and all the people who helped us and cared for us. I think this happened to me so I could show my scars confidently and help other burn survivors do the same. I think that what happened so quickly on that Monday afternoon will help me figure out how I’m meant to spend my life and how I can make every day count from now on.
That’s why my family and I started the Kilee Gives Back Foundation in 2015 and why my mom and I wrote the book, “Beautiful Scars,” which just released on May 17. We want to raise money to give back to Cincinnati Shriners Hospital, and we want to raise awareness about the miracles that happen there every day. If more people know how important
Shriners is, I hope more people will choose to make donations to support the work there.
If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll consider buying a copy of “Beautiful Scars”— a portion of the proceeds will benefit Cincinnati Shriners—and/or donating directly to Shriners.
Today, I never have to wonder, “Why me?” anymore. I’ll start college at Xavier University this fall, and even though I haven’t chosen a major yet, I know my life will be about helping people in some way and being the best person I can be.
I have a great life that gets better every day, and I want other burn survivors to be able to say the same thing.
Please click here to register for A Night of CINspiration to meet Kilee and hear her story!
#GoodThingsCincy
YWCA Luncheon Inspired Courage
When I was parking my car to attend the 2016 YWCA Career Women of Achievement Luncheon last week, I had figured that it would be an uplifting two hours. It was that and more.
We heard the stories of local woman with such different career paths, whose positivity and determination have forged personal and professional successes not only for themselves but also for the greater good of their team, their organization and their community.
Honorees included:
Claudia M. Abercrumbie, President & CEO, The Abercrumbie Group
Karen Bowman, Principal and Sector Leader, Deloitte Consulting
Laura Mitchell, Deputy Superintendent, Cincinnati Public Schools
Christi H. Cornette, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Cincinnati Bell
Lakshmi Kode Sammarco, MD, Coroner, Hamilton County
Sandy Berlin Walker, President/CEO, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati
Moira Weir, Director, Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services
Susan B. Zaunbrecher, Partner, Corporate Department Chair, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
And, while they shared their own paths with us, they also shared messages to encourage us to do more, grow more. I especially like Susan Zaunbrecher’s advice, “Approach all you do with a ‘Joie de Vivre,’ the ‘joy of life’ which we are responsible for finding for ourselves.”
The Journey of Truth
The highlight for me was hearing the keynote from Zainab Salbi, who, at the age of 23, founded Women for Women International, a grassroots humanitarian and development organization serving women survivors of wars.
Zainab stood before us and shared her powerful journey. An Iraqi-American humanitarian, she spoke of growing up in an environment filled with abuse, corruption and punishment under Saddam Hussein; and of her initial fear in telling her story. She told us about the women who became her mission, who, like herself endured unimaginable circumstances and whose willingness to talk about their lives so that their experiences could have impact, lifted her up and gave her courage to pursue the truth.
Zainab told us about a 52 year old woman who was wearing the only dress she owned because rebels came to her home and raped her, and her sons were forced to hold her legs open. The woman had never shared what had happened before but felt compelled to tell Zainab, to tell the world and maybe, just maybe, prevent such atrocities from happening to others.
“It was the most humbling moment,” Zainab said, with a raw tenderness in her voice. “I cried for five hours. I was not able to share my story. She had more integrity than I did.
“I realized I must tell my journey and it started with my book and confronting my fear of judgment of what people would say. I was so petrified that if I tell everyone that I was raped, that I knew Saddam, that I was in an arranged marriage, that I was the abused wife. I was so ashamed of all of those things. The self image of being a feminist was not truly there in the beginning. The journey of truth begins on a cliff. You have a choice and that choice can be every single day and everything you do. Do I live my truth? Or do I stay in the safety of where I am?”
The room was silent. Zainab’s words etched in our minds, making us think of our own lives and our own circumstances. She pointed out to us that courage is just that, COURAGE, whether you are standing up to the Nazi’s, Suddam Hussein, someone in your personal circle, or in a board room.
“When you jump over the cliff, it can be leaving a spouse or a career; there is the falling in between in the abyss because you don’t know if you will survive. You go through this where you doubt yourself. You ask, ‘What will happen to me?,” she said. For herself, she said, “It was not one person. It was many people; each was like a log that I was holding onto as I was sinking. The kindness of a word. Someone saying ‘I believe in you’. And little by little you find your peace. The journey of truth, the taste of freedom is so delicious that it makes it worth it to go down that journey over and over again.”
Zainab concluded her talk with another powerful message. She reminded us that we each need to show up. We need to find our own integrity and truth within ourselves. And we need to bridge misunderstandings and fears of differences with learning, out of a respect for one another.
“When we fear a woman with a head scarf, for me symbolically it is she is just as afraid of you as you are of her. Both of you are wearing head scarves. You think, ‘Why is she so different?’ Everyone is afraid of another. But when we connect with our own human emotions and our desire for peace and justice and integrity within ourselves, it becomes a different relationship with each other.”
As the ballrooms emptied that afternoon, 2200 people departed. We left going in different directions…with a little more courage to jump over that cliff.
#GoodThingsCincy
