Liza Hartke
CINspirational People: Cinny Roy
CINspirational People is a feature of Good Things Going Around profiling diverse people of Greater Cincinnati, what inspires them, and what is inspiring about them. You can read more profiles by clicking on the link at the top of the blog. Do you know someone to suggest? Please reach out. Thanks!
One of my summer interns, Liza Hartke, caught up with Cincinnati resident Cinny Roy, founder of the Eve Center.
The Eve Center is an organization of Christian women committed to promoting emotional, spiritual and relational healing for adult women. This is provided in a safe, confidential environment, at no cost to the client, through one on one peer counseling program, recovery groups, book studies, resource library, and Volunteer Peer Counseling 
Education.
Please learn more about her below.
GTGA Liza: Hi Cinny! Tell me about yourself?
Cinny: I am married with three adult children who we love so very much. I enjoy vegetable and flower gardening, reading historic mysteries, going to bootcamp, eating at new restaurants, being with friends and family
GTGA Liza: How did you get involved with the Eve Center?
Cinny: In 2002, with 1 year to go on my master’s degree in counseling, I thought ‘there has to be a way to honor women’s life walks and all the wisdom they have gathered, teach them to share it with other women but without all of them having to be credentialed therapists.’ I found a model in Indiana, took their first leadership training in spring of 2003, came back to Ohio and on 9/1/03 founded the Eve Center. I had a notebook filled with materials, a laptop, a cell phone but no volunteers, board or location.
By June 2004 we opened our doors with 11 clients and a trained ‘guinea pig’ group of peer counselors. Today we are seeing about 140 women from over 16 counties providing peer counseling through face to face meetings, book studies and recovery groups. Being women only, biblically based, extremely confidential and no cost – well the women come: to give care and to receive care. Over 100 volunteer peer counselors receive 30 hours of basic counselor training. We then grow them, mentor them, lead them so they can care for the women who come. Visualize two consumer groups: the volunteers and the clients; all need hands on care.
GTGA Liza: Tell me a little about the Eve Center Organization. What do you do there?
Cinny: My role has moved from founder, first trainer, day to day operations manager to executive director: oversight, coach, policy development, donor development. We have eight part time staff now. If I do a good job I will work myself out of a job J
GTGA Liza: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Cinny: It would be seeing women’s lives changed for all eternity. They then impact their spheres of influence: home, family, friends, church, school, work, and neighborhood. This is seen in the lives of the clients AND the volunteers.
GTGA Liza: Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
Cinny: My biggest inspiration comes from women who did not have a good start in life and now need to learn better ways of navigating life. Also my grandfather and my father: each took individual paths that did not follow the expected norm of their professions and society of the time.
GTGA Liza: What is a motto you like to live by?
Cinny: ‘We are all a mess and we all need Jesus’ and ‘come play with me’. The first notes that no sin, no wrong we do is worse than any other. And no one can be better than another before God. Only Jesus clears the deck for me to have a right and healthy and free relationship with God, the Creator. The second motto has to do with how I am: no matter how hard, how awful a woman’s story, WE CAN HAVE JOY and get out of the mess life has thrown.
GTGA Liza: What’s next for you?
Cinny: I am supposed to be on a writing sabbatical. Soon… soon I will take time to finish writing training curriculum so that others who have requested the Eve Center model, can take it to their city, state, wherever, and with God’s leading provide peer counseling for women and men.
GTGA Liza: How can people get involved?
Cinny: Basic peer counselor training is offered twice a year. Next class starts in February. See www.evecenter.org for that and to participate in the groups, studies and face to face peer counseling. AND just a fun fact: over 10,000 volunteer hours in 2014 WHILE the budget is $150,000. There is no better investment to be made to change a woman’s life in this region!
CINspirational People: Santa Ono
CINspirational People is a feature of Good Things Going Around profiling diverse people of Greater Cincinnati, what inspires them, and what is inspiring about them. You can read more profiles by clicking on the link at the top of the blog. Do you know someone to suggest? Please reach out. Thanks!
GTGA Intern Liza Hartke, a student at our city’s great University of Cincinnati, was so excited when she reached out to President Santa Ono for a CINspirational People interview – and he wrote back with such thoughtful answers…one more reason to have huge respect for him. He always makes time for U.C. students. His answers as to why he came to U.C. and what he values about it are truly heartfelt. Cincinnati is lucky to have him here!
GTGA Intern Liza Hartke: What was your biggest motivator for wanting to be president of the University of Cincinnati?
Santa: My selection as president of University of Cincinnati was unexpected. I had served as provost of the University for a little over two years when my predecessor Gregory Williams resigned suddenly. The Board of Trustees asked me to serve as interim president, and I of course accepted due to my love of the institution and especially for the faculty, staff and students of the University.
The search committee for the permanent president of UC asked me why I would want to serve as the 28th president. The answer was simple: that I love the ethos of the institution, it’s connectivity with the city of Cincinnati, and its mission of transforming the lives of the next generation.
I don’t think many people fully appreciate how remarkable UC is on the landscape of higher education. It is considered one of a handful of institutions that have truly innovated how college students are educated. That innovative spirit pervades the institution.
I think a good case could be made that no other institution integrates better classroom teaching with the real world experience.
The biggest motivator for me is to build upon that tradition and to ensure that we continue to create new knowledge and transform the lives of students that matriculate at the University.
GTGA Intern Liza: What is your favorite thing about being the president?
Santa: My favorite aspect of being UC’s president is interacting with faculty, students and staff. The work that occurs on our campus on a daily basis is simply stunning. Through this work, people are living their dreams. I view my primary mission as facilitating that work and helping our faculty, staff and students realize their dreams.
GTGA Intern Liza:What makes the Cincinnati students unique?
Santa: I have had the honor and privilege of working at several fine institutions including: Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of London, and Emory University. There are outstanding students at each of these institutions as well as at hundreds of other colleges and universities around the world.
University of Cincinnati students are amazing in that they approach their studies and work with diligence and enthusiasm but with humility and no sense of entitlement. The quality of their work is second to none. Everywhere I go, CEOs and industry leaders sing the praises of our graduates. Indeed, a just proportionate number of industry leaders are alumni of our great university.
I honestly believe that part of the “secret sauce” of a University of Cincinnati education stems from the diversity of individuals within the institution. That prepares our students to work with very different kinds of individuals to move forward with a complicated project. That ability to communicate across disciplines and between theory and practice prepares our students well to innovate and to lead.
GTGA Intern Liza: What has been the most challenging struggle and how have you overcome it?
Santa: As is probably the response of most university presidents, the biggest challenge involves balancing a large and complex annual budget. Significant portions of that budget are not guaranteed on an annual basis. For example state and federal subsidies and enrollment can change abruptly from year-to-year.
Dealing with this challenge involves careful strategic planning and strong peripheral vision. The CEO of such an institution needs to have multiple plans to deal with various scenarios and needs to think quickly on his or her feet. You also need to surround yourself with a talented team that can help you navigate through unchartered waters.
GTGA Intern Liza: What is a motto you live by and how has it impacted you?
Santa: To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48
Universities are privileged institutions that exist for the betterment of society. University presidents must set the tone where there is an automatic expectation throughout the institution that we mobilize our resources for the betterment of the community in which we live.
CINspirational People: Shawna O’Shea
CINspirational People is a feature of Good Things Going Around profiling diverse people of Greater Cincinnati, what inspires them, and what is inspiring about them. You can read more profiles by clicking on the link at the top of the blog. Do you know someone to suggest? Please reach out. Thanks!
GTGA Intern Liza Hartke spoke with Shawna O’Shea for today’s profile.
GTGA Intern Liza: What motto do you live by day to day?
Shawna: I really do not have a motto. Everyday is a gift from God. He is the most important thing in my life. There is a scripture I live by everyday. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.” Maybe that is my motto?
GTGA Intern Liza: Is there an experience that changed your life?
Shawna: Being diagnosed with cancer was definitely a life changer. I am a two time breast cancer survivor. The first diagnosis was January 2010. The doctor recommended lumpectomy and chemotherapy. I did lumpectomy and no chemotherapy. The second came in January of 2011. More aggressive. I had bilateral mastectomy, chemo, radiation, and finally reconstruction from February to August of 2012. A very busy year and a half. But I was blessed every step of the way. Blood counts stayed normal, I gained 10 pounds, no sickness with chemo, and all surgeries went great. I now am cancer free!
GTGA Intern Liza: What do you do as a volunteer for Oncology Hematology Care?
Shawna: I go on Fridays to help the nurses take care of the patients. I make sure the food and drinks are stocked. I personally go and try to spend time talking and meeting with each person. When you are in that situation, you feel more like a group than a single person. All of their sitting, waiting, and hurting. Some physically, some emotionally, some financially, some mentally, and some spiritually. I know I have been there and felt exactly what they are going through. If in that 4 hour window I can do something, that can help, I want to do it with all my might and strength.
GTGA Intern Liza: How can others volunteer?
Shawna: You can contact any OHC office and ask about their volunteer program.
GTGA Intern Liza: If you had three wishes, what would they be?
Shawna: I wish we could find a cure for all diseases. I wish that I could help every child in need no matter what the need would be. I wish I had enough money to take care of my loved ones so that they didn’t have to work or worry about finances ever. I want them to have fun and enjoy life.
GTGA Intern Liza: Who or what is your biggest motivator?
Shawna: My biggest motivator while I was in cancer treatment was the cancer itself. I was not going to be defeated. It was not going to take my life, my joy, or my peace. The bible says I am an overcomer. It was not going to steal away my dreams of seeing my children or grandchildren growing older. My husband was my rock. He lived our wedding vows over and over again. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Even when I felt unattractive with no hair and multiple scars he always made me feel beautiful.
CINspirational People: Cathyann Dempsey
CINspirational People is a new feature of Good Things Going Around profiling diverse people of Greater Cincinnati, what inspires them, and what is inspiring about them. Know someone for us to consider? Please submit your idea.
Cathyann Dempsey is from Galway, Ireland. Intern Liza Hartke interviewed her.
GTGA Intern Liza: What is a recent accomplishment that you are proud of?
Cathyann: I am proud of my dedication to this thing called life; I set goals, one of them being American citizenship and I stick to them. I have worked hard to get where I am today, it hasn’t always been easy, but challenges make you the person you are in the moment. We are defined not by how we fall, but by how we pick ourselves up again.
GTGA Intern Liza: When did you first come to the United States and how was the journey? Have you always wanted to come to America?
Cathyann: I first came to the states when I was 2 1/2 years old. I remember parts of my trip but not a whole lot. My whole family came over for the summer of 1987 and we lived with my aunt in her beautiful Victorian in North Avondale, which to this day is still one of my favorite houses. My parents worked for my aunt that summer, and as the youngest of 5, I spent a lot of time playing, swimming, and just being a baby!
We came back the following summer and I have a lot more vivid memories from that year. It was the Cincinnati bicentennial, we all had jobs to do, as my aunt was a member of the parade committee. I remember there were lots of Styrofoam hats that needed to have ribbons and buttons put on them – fun activities for a 3 year old!! I made a fort out of the boxes in the foyer of my aunt’s house.
After those two summers, I always wanted to come back. My parents spent many years taking my whole family back and forth. One year, they surprised me with a short trip during the school year – I was 12 and it was glorious! My sister, who had since moved here, took me for a drive in her black mustang convertible; it is one of my favorite memories. I wanted that life.
GTGA Intern Liza: What is your absolute favorite thing about living in America?
Cathyann: There are lots of things I love about living here, but my favorite would have to be my independence. It sounds corny, but the life I lived before I moved here, was completely different. I felt like I was always making decisions based on other people’s happiness. Over here, my decisions are made based solely on what is best for me. Of course I take other people into consideration and sometimes my system has its flaws, but for the most part, my independence is intact and thriving!
GTGA Intern Liza: What advice would you give to people who are in need or some inspiration and motivation in their lives.
Cathyann: Follow your instincts, take risks, you have nothing to lose but your potential happiness and fulfillment. Even if it means some people are not happy with your choices, go for it. And if it was the wrong choice, don’t regret the experience, learn from it, rise up, move on and try again, we only have this one life to live!
GTGA Intern Liza: Tell us about someone who has been a positive influence in your life.
Cathyann: This is difficult. There have been a lot of positive influences throughout my life, my family members are all successful and happy, so they have been inspirational to me, but I am also the youngest, so they have always been protective. I have had a lot of friends throughout my life that have been positive, in many different ways. But I have also learned that you can look up to someone and believe that they have a positive influence on your existence, but find out that you yourself have surpassed their positivity and have become a person you never thought you could be.
GTGA Intern Liza: What is your biggest motivator?
Cathyann: I think my biggest motivator is my ambition. I constantly want to achieve more, do more, learn more, and that pushes me to keep moving. There’s so much to see, learn and do in the world, I don’t want to miss out on anything!!!!!
GTGA Intern Liza: Finish this sentence: America is ….
Cathyann: America is……my freedom
GTGA Intern Liza: What is a motto you live by and why?
Cathyann: You are the author of your own destiny; you are exactly where you are supposed to be, because everything happens for a reason.
GTGA Intern Liza: Any other information or quotes you would like for us to feature in your post.
Cathyann: I love being Irish. It’s who I am. And I will never lose it. But it makes me incredibly proud to live in a country where being Irish is so celebrated, it makes me even more proud of my roots.
CINspirational People: Bryan Sickling
GTGA Intern Liza Hartke met Bryan Sickling walking his cat outside. He is our #CINspirational People profile today.
Liza: Your cat is adorable, what is it’s name?
Bryan: Basket!
Liza: So, I’m curious; what made you decide to walk your cat?
Bryan: I used to live near the Bengal’s stadium. On my way home, I used to always see an old man walking his black cat on a leash. So I thought “hey, I might try this out!”
This way he can get out and enjoy the weather.
Liza: Not a bad idea, Bryan!
