Lisa Desatnik

I have been fortunate to have made a career out of doing what I love, which is using my communication skills to forge relationships and support of causes that are evoking positive change. I also enjoy working with civic-minded companies and organizations. I’ve earned numerous awards along the way, but my greatest satisfaction comes from knowing my work has helped touch lives in very meaningful ways. For that, I have to thank the dedicated staff and volunteers of so many charitable organizations, events, and civic minded businesses who work day in and day out to fulfill needs. These are the generous people with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working beside. I’ve created and implemented many successful cause-related campaigns and programs such as the award winning Lighthouse Vision Awards and the Collecting for Kids school supply drive. Included among my other past experience is: creating a PR campaign to change the image of newly developed Betts Longworth Historic District, for 8 years coordinating publicity and creative elements of the Inclusion Leadership Awards Event, and creating a PR campaign to help launch the Hidden Treasures CD (tribute to King Records) that resulted in a packed release party. I’ve also worked on numerous other events. Among them - the Appalachian Festival, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati’s Buddy Walk, the YMCA Salute to Black Achievers, YMCA Character Awards, Greater Cincinnati Alzeimer’s Association Memory Walk, Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Association’s Voices of Giving Awards and more. Currently I help raise awareness about the positive contributions of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, and also continue working with other organizations. My experience includes media relations, planning, volunteer management, copywriting, social networking, events, and coordination of marketing materials. Among the other organizations with whom I have or am currently working are: Inclusion Network, iSPACE,FreeStore/FoodBank, Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Cincinnati Arts & Technology Center, Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation, Lighthouse Youth Services, Accountability and Credibility Together, CRI mental health agency, and more. I’m a past Board member of Children’s International Summer Villages and past member of the leadership team for the local chapter of Public Relations Society of America; and get involved with other volunteer opportunities. An animal lover sharing my home with three birds, I have been studying positive behavior management for many years and enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with others. My pet interest has led me to become a pet columnist for Hyde Park Living.

Cincinnati Film Director Has Simple Request

Share

I have a very simple request, one that will no doubt make you smile while you are at it.

Adorable three-year-old Gia Lopez was not supposed to live due to a genetic disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy. But, today, she is flying with a dragon and starring in her very first film that my friend John Lawson has directed/produced.

By watching and sharing Gia and the Dragaon, you will be helping the film to win the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Judges will review the OFFICIAL YouTube and Facebook Videos for the number of overall views, shares, and likes. You have until April 29 to take action!

One of the goals of The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is to change the way disability is viewed in media by giving filmmakers the opportunity to collaborate and tell unique stories that showcase disability in its many forms.  The Best Awareness Campaign helps to further this goal through grassroots publicity campaigns that raise the visibility of the films entered in the challenge. This visibility of film entries can also lead to jobs for everyone that is involved in the creation of a film. Whether your goal is to be an actor, director, writer, producer, or any combination of the above, the film challenge can be the door opener to the next step in establishing your entertainment career.  Remember, work leads to work!

As in any competition, there are rules. Among those in the Film Challenge – teams are given a theme and genre and four props on the morning of the commencement of film production; they are given a weekend to create the film from start to finish; and they must have both people with and without disabilities involved.

A track record for John

This is not the first entry for John, whose roots are in Cincinnati. He won Best Film in the very first year of the Challenge. Last year he entered again with Whitney’s Wedding starring well known actress Jamie Brewer, who won in the Best Actress category. That film went on to be accepted in 12 film festivals around the world, winning over six awards including three Best Film awards, three Best Actor awards for Jamie, and two Best Director awards for John.

John’s inspiration for Gia and Dragon came from reading a children’s book that featured kids with and without disabilities. “I thought it’d be a cool way to introduce my grandbaby to disabilities,” he told me.

John’s team began writing at 6 pm on a Friday night and started shooting the film Saturday morning. By Sunday they were busy in the editing bay. This marks the very first entry in the contest that include animation.

 

Kevin Hall Broke The Mold In Golf

Share

Each of us has a fire deep inside – a flame that, with kindling can burn bright, its heat fueling our pursuit for something that makes us feel alive.

Kevin Hall’s fire was lit more than 25 years ago, after school one day on the Avon Fields Golf Course. He remembers those moments as if it they yesterday. It was an afternoon following his last class when he walked onto the driving range for his very first ever lesson with Sonny Barnes. The then bright eyed nine-year-old with a natural ability for sports paused. Holding a club in his hand, he stood and watched other golfers. He noticed their every movement, the way they positioned their body, the tightness with which they gripped their club, their weight shift, and the direction of the ball as it became airborne. Like a sponge, Kevin soaked it all in, learning from observation their focus and technique.

There is a lot of complexity to the anatomy of a solid golf stroke. Much more than stepping up to a little white ball, holding a club with your hands and powering a swing with all that you have.

In those few minutes, Kevin got it. He wrapped his hands around the club handle and mimicked what he saw. It was a solid contact. The ball finished about 125 yards away.

Kevin was hooked.

As a teenager, he met Tiger Woods, at a Cincinnati golf clinic. After giving Kevin a tip on driving the ball further, Tiger looked the young player in the eyes and told him, “I’ll see you on the Tour someday.”

Every day since, Kevin has had one dream. One focus. To be a professional golfer. Not just a teaching professional, a PGA Tour member.

AND, a PGA Tour member who would break out of the mold. Kevin is African American in a predominantly white sport; but also, he is someone who will never hear the crack of his club as it makes impact on the ball. Kevin is deaf, losing his hearing when he was two years old from H-flue meningitis. (His initial diagnosis was death or life as a vegetable.) He relies on feel and sight to know when he has hit a good shot. He hears his fans’ ovations with his heart.

The year was 2004 when Kevin, a graduate of St. Rita School for the Deaf, would win the individual Big Ten Championship by 11 shots as a scholarship athlete on The Ohio State University’s golf team. That, Kevin told me, was one of is proudest moments. “It was probably the greatest gift I could have given my mom since it was also the first year after she lost her mother. It was great to just play sold golf and get it done for her.”

Kevin was the first African American golfer at OSU, serving as co-captain his junior and senior years. He turned professional after graduating in 2005 and logged 14 years playing in the minors. Last February (2017), he was honored with the Genesis Open’s Charlie Sifford Exemption by the Tiger Woods Foundation, given annually to a minority golfer. He is a member of the 2018 Web.com Tour.

Reaching his goal is no longer just a dream. It is a reality.

“Success did not come quickly after I turned pro. There were periods where Golf was just plain tough for me and periods where I questioned myself but nothing has been as hard as dealing with life being a Deaf person,” Kevin told me. “Dealing with not only that but the struggles that come with playing professional golf has strengthened my resolve because I see what I’m made of and I know I can hang in there and get it done.”

I asked Kevin a few more questions.

Lisa:  What does success look like for you?
Kevin: Creating goals and sticking to it through the good and bad times. Success is the feeling I get when I’ve put in the work and accomplished my goals but it can also be the feeling at the end of the day that I’ve given it everything I’ve got.

Lisa: Do you see yourself as a role model and inspiration to others?
Kevin: I know that my story inspires others and God is using me to do just that. At the end of the day I am just a human being who tries to do the right things in life and work hard to achieve something. If that inspires even just one person to reach deep inside and be extraordinary then I’m happy about that.

Lisa:  Outside of golf, what is another one of your life goals?
Kevin: I just want to do the best I can in life and to make my mark in the world. If I keep doing what I’m doing, I will do just that. 🙂

 

Sue Reminds Us To See Possible Greatness

Share

Sue Schindler remembers the moment as if it was yesterday. She was eight years old and she was terrified. Sitting beside her was her dad who was about to call her third-grade teacher. For a young daughter of a father who was known to raise his voice now and then, those few seconds of uncertainty felt like an eternity. “In those days,” she recalled, “kids were called on the carpet in class either because they were disruptive or were academically struggling. I was the second.”

Sue Schindler of Cincinnati shared life lessons at Toast of the Town of Kenwood Toastmasters Club, reminding us to look for greatness in ourselves and others.Sue dramatized the impact of her early years before our Toast of the Town of Kenwood Toastmasters Club this past week in a speech, and with it, some powerful lessons that we all can learn from.

“I didn’t care about academics that year.,” Sue continued. “Mrs. Seim would walk through the room and look at our papers. She would look at me and say, ‘You are just not like your sisters.’ What she meant was, I was stupid. I wasn’t understanding and my sisters were so much smarter.”
Such a deflating choice of words from an adult who, in that moment, could have just as easily bolstered her student instead. Had Mrs. Seim delved into why Sue wasn’t achieving high scores like her sisters, that third grade teacher would have learned it was just at the end of the last school year when Sue’s mother died suddenly. That kind of tragedy is not easy for anyone, especially a little girl who would never again have her mom to greet her in the morning or to ask her about her day in the evening.

Luckily for Sue, she had a father who understood.

“My dad was really cool and assured me that I would catch up,” Sue told us. “That was a special time with him. One of the things I loved about my dad was that he never said to me, ‘You are not like your sisters.’ Instead he’d looked at what I was studying and went, ‘No wonder you didn’t understand it. This is how I learned it in school. And this is how I am going to teach you.’
And all of a sudden I caught up.”

At the end of that year, Sue was promoted to fourth grade. And she was super excited to be able to spend her days surrounded by friends. However, instead, she was sent to general education. Again, Sue was devastated. She had worked so hard to catch up…and it didn’t matter. It didn’t pay off.

It was yet another lesson in punishment for a girl who had not even reached her teen years.

“The first time I stepped into Mrs. Clark’s room I could feel a difference. It was like right then she never saw any of us as having possible greatness. We were those general education kids she was forced to teach and to get that paycheck,” Sue recalled. “By the time I was in fifth grade, I was purposefully putting answers down incorrectly because I didn’t want to stand out as a kid who knew the answers when others didn’t.”
What a difference a year can make

Whether by fate or luck, in Sue’s sixth grade, she found herself in the classroom of Ms. Strickland, one of those very special teachers who saw in every child their awesomeness.

“She didn’t care what level you were on or what grade you were on, she knew that we all had possible greatness, and luckily, she took me under her wing and encouraged me,” Sue told us.

By the seventh grade, Sue was back with her friends and never looked back again.

Ms. Strickland and her dad made such a huge impact on Sue that while in college, she switched to special education path because, she told us, “I saw that those kids were the ones that were put into the basement classrooms, in the makeshift janitor closets. They were told they didn’t have possible greatness. If I could take what I learned from my dad and teach them at their ability level and say, ‘hey you guys are great,’ I knew I too could make a difference. And I did.”

With that, Sue looked out into our Club, and posed these two challenges.

1. It is so easy to label people without thinking even before a word comes out of your mouth. Instead, look at people for their potential greatness. Delete those labels and negative judgements. Reach out and say hi.
2. When you go home tonight, look in the mirror and see your own possible greatness and what you have to offer.

A personal note:

I most definitely see and admire Sue’s awesomeness. She and I first came to know each other when we worked together years ago at an organization called the Inclusion Network, which promoted the inclusion of people with disabilities. We reconnected on LinkedIn last year when she reached out to me, out of the clear blue, to tell me how impressed she was with my work on a project. Little did she know, it happened to be a time when I really needed encouragement. It was fate, just as it was fate for her to find herself in Ms. Strickland’s classroom at just the right time. Sue has been a shining light for me ever since. She is one of the most uplifting people I have ever come to know and has this magical way of bringing out the best in everyone. My world is a better place for having her in it.

Curiosity Inspires This Art Museum Exec

Share

“So many people inspire me every day. I get inspired by the smallest thing. I am a really curious person so anyone who is embracing who they are and following where their curiosity leads them inspires me.”    ~Emily Holtrop

How cool is that, to be inspired by curiosity every day!

Emily Holtrop of the Cincinnati Art Museum just won a national award. She talks about the importance of art education for kids and her own inspiration.It is no wonder Emily, who is director of learning an interpretation at the Cincinnati Art Museum, loves her career so much – and does such an amazing job that she was just presented the 2018 National Museum Education Art Educator Award.

Emily works with a team to create public programs and experiences that bring to life the Art Museum’s collection and special exhibitions, and also works closely with curators to craft stories and messaging for visitors. Part of that includes writing the content for most of the gallery and family guides in a special exhibition and overseeing the creation of all hands-on interactives. In many ways she sees herself as the voice for the visitors, seeking their input for why something is or isn’t interesting, or is important to add.

I asked Emily some questions to get to know her better. Please continue reading.

Lisa: With such a passion for creative expression, was art a part of your childhood?  
Emily: My grandparents owned a music store and my mom was an art and home economics teacher so I grew up in creative house. We were always encouraged to play an instrument, draw, sew, just create. I still create today, I am an avid knitter and know my way around sewing machine.

Lisa: They say that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. What gives you the most satisfaction in your work?
Emily: Well, I love being in the galleries talking about works of art with our visitors. I don’t get to do that very often but when I do, I feel energized. I also really love creating interpretive materials and interactive for people to use to enhance their visit. The recent launch of MyCAM at the museum was a huge project for me of which I am very proud.

Lisa: In your opinion, how important is art education for young children?
Emily:  This is so huge. Getting kids involved in the arts at a young age is so important. Art can teach them creative thinking, empathy, persistence, patience, critical thinking, independence, you name it. I see kids every day at the Museum who are making that connection with art – putting the dots together.

 

Bobby Harrison, You’ve Got This!

Share

Today, as I am writing this, my dear friend Bobby Harrison is preparing himself to go to the hospital where he will have to swallow 15 pills so toxic that he can’t touch them to human skin and will need to flush the toilet three times after using it to ensure no amount will remain in the water for others. He will do this before sitting in a chair where he will spend his next six hours as they pump more poisons into his body. And no doubt, he will be doing this while giving those around him reason to smile. Two weeks from now, after they see how this works, the plan is for him to go through all of this again.

That is Bobby’s way. It is among the traits that make him such an incredible gift to this world. It was many years back when Bobby first learned he had lymphoma. Those initial days spent hooked to machines taught him life is not to be taken for granted. And he has lived for every day since as it is the greatest day every.

Bobby’s career has included many celebrities and large companies. He has donated countless hours of his time to help worthwhile causes. He spoke at one of my A Night of CINspiration events last year – and inspired everyone. He has been known to work all hours of the day, weekends and weekdays, doing what it takes to fulfill the load from the great demand for his creative genius. Still, no matter, he has always been there for me. In some dark days when work and life wasn’t going my way, he picked me up. He carved out time for our lunches to brainstorm ideas with me and remind me of my value. Friends like that are hard to find and are treasured like gold.

Last week Bobby and I met again for lunch. It had been our longest stretch between lunches in a very long time because seven weeks prior, he learned his lymphoma had come back with a vengeance. They couldn’t start chemo right away as they first had to get his white blood cell count under control. Complicating matters further, his body and his cancer had become so resistant to much of the chemo that they had to prepare him for what is to come today.

Yesterday we spoke. The first thing he told me was how that was one of the most fun lunches we have had. And he said he was going to call me from the hospital today. He also said that he plans on being at my blog event in April. He wouldn’t miss it.

So, for those of you who will be guests to A Night of CINspiration – I can’t wait for you to meet my friend, Bobby!

Register for A Night of CINspiration at this link

Follow on Bloglovin

Don't miss hearing about Good Things! Register to receive my enewsletters.

* indicates required
Archives