Lisa Desatnik
Michele Carey Makes Impact
Today I want to introduce a woman who I have known for many years. Michele Carey is like a breath of fresh air when she enters a room with her brilliant smile that touches my heart in a deep place. Her career choices have found her in positions that have the power to impact lives and communities in positive ways. I know that in the opportunities I have had to work with her – or be in the same room with her – that she has had a magical way of uplifting and inspiring me. We had lunch the other day. As she spoke of her job at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and her new side venture, selling jewelry for good causes, passion swept over her face. This is a woman who finds so much self satisfaction in her impact. I am glad to have Michele in my part of the world.
Please learn more about her below.
Lisa: Please tell us more about you.
Michele: I’m not from Cincinnati, but it’s my home after 20 years living here, raising a family, and getting to know so many wonderful people in our community. I came to The University of Cincinnati for graduate school, briefly moved to Chicago for my husband’s work, and returned when we were expecting our first child.
I live in Mt. Lookout with my husband and two children and I work at The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF). I help professional advisors introduce their charitably minded clients to GCF. I have the best job. Every day, I work with big hearted people who have even bigger dreams for our community.
After 11 years, I just ended my service as a Trustee for The Cincinnati Association for the Blind. Last year, I joined the board of Cincinnati Public Radio —a dream volunteer job since I’m a total public radio geek! I serve as President of the Estate Planning Council of Northern Kentucky and an Advisory board member to YMCA Camp Ernst.
Lisa: There is a quote that I love that talks about how the world needs more people to follow their passions. You have such a sparkle in your eye when you talk about what you do professionally. Talk to us about that and why that puts a sparkle in your eye.
Michele: Thanks, Lisa! I heard that if you love your work, you never work a day in your life. That’s the secret to my sparkle! Working at The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, I love hearing our donors’ stories, discovering what matters to them, and learning how they’d like to change the world. My joy is connecting them with the people, organizations, and ideas that help them accomplish their charitable vision.
It’s perfect for me. I’ve always been a natural connector, even in my personal life; once I know that someone is interested in something, my mind clicks into “matchmaking mode.” I’ll think of a person with a similar interest, a topic I heard on WVXU, perhaps a book I read, or an organization that is doing work that aligns with their interest. For better or worse, it’s a compulsion, much to the embarrassment of my teenage children when we are running weekend errands and I start talking with people!
Lisa: You also sell jewelry with sales benefiting local causes. Tell us more about it and why that is important to you.
Michele: This February, my daughter and wanted to raise money for Camp Ernst’s scholarship program. Our goal was to raise enough money to send a child to camp for a week.
We love jewelry, and began making it to sell. VERY quickly we realized that while fun, its not our strength, and certainly was not going to get a child to camp any time soon! I discovered a a company in New York that designs a line of high quality, affordable jewelry that is absolutely gorgeous—much like what I wished I could make! We started doing in person “Pop-Ups” selling this jewelry. By early Spring, we raised enough money to send a child a to Camp Ernst for a week! We’ve also supported Children, Inc., All Things Kubuki, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and The Women’s Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation among others. We are currently raising funds for The League of Women Voters.
Our motto is “Be Sparkly and Do Good”. We’ve given away more than $2,000 from our Pop-Ups and online boutique sales since February.
It’s not just about nonprofits—helping individuals accomplish their dreams is important, too! For example, we are supporting the Leurck Family’s dream to make a documentary, “Drew Gets It”, about their son who has a special gift for touching people’s lives. Their dream is to premier this documentary at the Real Abilities Film Festival and they are raising money through Go Fund Me.
In addition, we’ve had the joy of helping two fabulous young women on the road to Miss America. We’ve sponsored and provided jewelry for Miss Northern Kentucky, Abbie Gibson, and also jeweled the newly crowned Miss Ohio, Alice Magato. We can’t wait to see Alice compete for Miss America on September 11th (wearing jewelry from our boutique!) and hopefully see Abbie there, too!
We’re having a great time and its truly good karma all around. Non-profits raise money, people have fun, and I love the that my daughter is learning entrepreneurial skills. My friends and co-workers have been incredibly supportive, which is a gift, too. For me, I get to wear my display samples at work and play. Anyone who knows me will agree that wearing the jewelry is my reward!
Note: you can learn more about Michele’s jewelry sales here. If you’d like to host an pop up event (online or in person) to benefit a non-profit, you can contact Michele at michelecarey@me.com
Lisa: Tell us about someone who has been a role model to you.
Michele: I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Susan Friedlander for many years now, and I consider her a friend and role model. What she has done for our community takes my breath away. Sue is fearless when it comes to garnering support for a community need. A true leader, she is always the first to give (and generously!). Her compassion runs deep and she is intellectually engaged. Watching her, I see someone who gives with her heart and equally her mind, which I admire. I’ve said to her, “Sue, when I grow up I want to be just like you!.” We laugh because I’m pretty grown already up at my age! But, it’s true—I can only aspire to be like her! Also true is that she will will be terribly embarrassed that said these things about her!
Lisa: What are three things that are on your bucket list?
Michele:
- living to see my children grow up to be healthy, happy, and financially secure adults.
- renewing my marriage vows in Hawaii with my husband of 23 years, Matt Carey.
- looking back on my life, and knowing that I was a small part of something exceptionally great for our community.
Lisa: Is there something coming up that you are looking forward to?
Michele: I’m looking forward to helping Cincinnati Public Radio (CPR) do a July fundraiser in partnership with Everything But The House (EBTH). At the end of July we will be collecting items from people in the community (value of $200+) to be auctioned online by EBTH in August. Stay tuned to 91.7 (WVXU) or 90.9 (WGUC) to learn more about how to donate and bid! I am co-chairing this first time fundraiser with Morgan Rigaud and Amanda Matusak, and we hope it will become an annual event!
Also, Sue Friedlander and I are co-chairing a “No-Go” Gala to benefit The Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. (CABVI). As ladies who appreciate fuzzy slippers, we’re excited that it’s a virtual event that takes place online. John Morris Russell has agreed to “Not” be our Emcee for the event. We hope that people will be excited to support CABVI without having to get dressed up for a gala. It’s a beautiful concept that my clever friend, Kathy Gottshlich, suggested for CABVI. You don’t have to go anywhere, and no rubber chickens will be harmed in the serving of the “non” dinner. Priceless!
#GoodThingsCincy
Congratulations to Pete Rose!
It was so great to see the Cincinnati Reds honor Pete Rose this past weekend with his induction into the Reds Hall of Fame and retiring his #14. “It is our salute to that person whose impact transcends their lifetime and spares any future player the impossible task of living up to a legacy too large to fill,” Reds CEO Bob Castellini said during the ceremony.
Mariemont Graduate Co-Writes Book
Teachers can have a huge impact on young impressionable minds. Within their classrooms are often born dreams and ideas that linger, and encourage lifelong pursuits. Ben Cober, a 2003 graduate of Cincinnati’s Mariemont High School, know this. It was there, nestled in a quaint, tree-line village where his love for creative expression first took flight. Little did he know when he donned his cap and gown that years later that love would lead to his co-writing science fiction fantasy adventure…but it did!
His path since high school took him first to Butler University where he studied theatre before transferring to University of Illinois, then back to his home town to work in development and public relations for the Cincinnati Museum Center. He later attended Indiana University in 2010, and after earning a duel MBA in marketing and management, ultimately joined a tourism architecture firm, PGAV Destinations and today lives in Washington.
It was a fateful fall day, 2005, when Ben first met Greg Zimmerman on the campus of University of Illinois. Their shared excitement for sailing (and the exact same birthday) somehow blended their lives, and, after a few years of deep friendship, they came to share something else…Encounter IX.
Their journey to science began in Greg’s the chasm between college graduation and a first ‘real’ job. He and his girlfriend (now wife), Katie, were living with her mother in Bellingham WA. Katie was working full-time and Ben was looking for a way to take up his time.
“Thus began a process that I could never have imagined at the time. Within a few days, I had drafted a very rough, yet well though-out synopsis for a sci-fi / fantasy adventure. It contained approximately forty or so chapters, the general plot, characters, places, and framework for a world which would become the main setting for Encounter IX,” Greg wrote on their blog.
Fast-forward a few years. He was rummaging through his Chicago apartment when he stumbled upon that journal and synopsis preserved in a metal briefcase and decided to share it with his good friend.
“Without hesitation he was interested in writing a few chapters. Then a few chapters became sections, and sections became a novel. Ben has always been a great storyteller, and I knew that we would be able to work well together stitching together a tale,” Greg detailed.
Fast forward again to 2016.
Encounter IX, a rich blend of space opera, nautical adventure and Odyssey-inspired episodic, is published. You can purchase it on Amazon.
About the book:
In the year 2221 C.E., facing unstoppable overpopulation and resource extinction, the most passionate and brilliant minds on Earth banded together to send ten ships – 60 souls – into the distant, swirling arms of the Milky Way Galaxy to begin life anew. Ten hopeful planets – all Fertile Crescents with atmospheres, water, shifting tectonics, and safe distances from their nearest stars – served as the blind prayers for the future of the human race.
Ten ships left our solar system. To date, we only know the fate of one – Encounter IX.
Encounter IX follows the fated crew-members of one interplanetary star ship as they fight to establish the first off-world colony. Their journey explores the depths of the human soul, self-preservation, and to what extent we can, and should, go to protect and save the ones we love. Through navigating the daunting waters of geopolitical affairs, civil war, dangerously devout religion, and a planet on the verge of tearing itself apart, six space pioneers grapple, grow, succeed, and succumb through myriad adventures to discover what it truly means to be human, and what we must become to survive.
I asked Ben a few questions.
Lisa: Where did your inspiration come from in writing the novel?
Ben: As Greg (my book partner – you can read more about our partnership in this post) has told me, in his initial outline, he was largely inspired by The 
Odyssey as well as a life of sailing. These two elements factored immensely into his original narrative.
I drew from a myriad of resources as I wrote the novel over the course of seven years. They say write what you know, so I drew largely from various travels I’ve been lucky enough to have: the Amazon jungle, old towns of Italy, German and British castles, Israel, the Caribbean, and a lifetime of sailing up and down the east coast. Music was influential as well while writing; and as a child of the ’80s, I grew up on lots of wonderful films that influenced some of my storytelling as well, including the Aliens series, Master & Commander, Jurassic Park, and the Lord of the Rings series.
Lisa: Who was someone, a role model or teacher, who inspired you in your writing and how?
Ben: I would have to say my high school AP English and Creative Writing teacher, as well as theater director, Mrs. Cathy Ransenberg. Cathy was first and foremost full of energy and life, and made the world of literature appealing and fun. When writing our own pieces though, she deeply encouraged the wildest creativity, but was tremendously stringent in writing well – punctuation, grammar, and story and sentence structure. Outside of my own family, Cathy was one of my greatest proponents in creativity, and I owe her a great deal for that.
Cincinnati Cats Have An Advocate
Today I would like to introduce you Liz Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science at Xavier University with a big heart for cats. In addition to her busy career, she is the volunteer executive director of Cincinnati nonprofit, Ohio Alleycat Resource (OAR), a position she has held since 2009. Please read more about her below.
Lisa: Please tell us a little about yourself.
Liz: I grew up in Dayton, Ohio with 3 brothers. I graduated from Baylor University with a degree in computer science and worked at various universities in computer user support. During that time, I discovered that I loved teaching so I went back to school at Indiana University and completed a doctorate. I’ve been a faculty member at Xavier University since 1997 in computer science and am currently chair of the Department of Computer Science. One of my passions is increasing the diversity of the computer science field. I’ve been involved in various activities focused on that, including a summer camp for middle school girls to promote interest and confidence in science, technology, and math. I live in East Hyde Park with my husband of 31 years.
Lisa: We would love to learn more about your work with OAR and why it is important to you.
Liz: In 2001, I heard about a cat rescue in O’Bryonville and decided to look into volunteering. I quickly became hooked, joining the board of OAR the next
year and becoming its executive director in 2009. I’ve done most of the jobs at OAR at one time or another – cleaning litterboxes, fostering kittens, doing trap-neuter-return (TNR) on feral cats, driving the Neuterville Express van to bring cats to our spay/neuter clinic.
Since 2001, OAR has grown from a small rescue in the basement of a local business to a spay/neuter clinic, adoption center, and community cats resource housed in 2 buildings in Madisonville with about 15 staff members and more than 200 volunteers. We spay/neuter almost 10,000 cats a year and last year we adopted out almost 500 cats. We’re working closely with county shelters in our area, including the Cincinnati SPCA, to save cats who enter the shelter system.
I’ve loved cats since I was a young girl begging for a kitten of my own. My work at OAR is an extension of this love. I’ve recently been working with a woman who has been feeding stray cats in her yard. Even though these cats are too wild to be pets, she loves them. She started with two cats but these multiplied so she asked OAR for help. We’ve trapped and spayed or neutered 11 of these cats and will soon get the rest. 8 of them were female so many litters were prevented. She’s appreciative and her neighbors have also thanked us. This work is important to me not only because cats’ lives are bettered through our efforts, but also because we are helping the people who love the cats.
Lisa: Please share with us an experience during your volunteer work that really touched you.
Liz: One of the reasons I got hooked at OAR was that I helped to socialize a shy kitten who was not adoptable when I started. Each week, I would spend time with her after my cat care shift was finished, slowly winning her over through treats and petting. Eventually she learned that humans were ok and she was adopted. Though I don’t have as much time to do this now as in the early years, I’m still drawn to the shy cats who need reassurance and love in order to come out of their shells.
I try to do the same thing in my teaching – encourage a struggling student to overcome a barrier, convince someone that they can succeed in computer science who may never have considered it as a career. Whether human or cat, we can all use affirmation that we matter in the world.
Lisa: What is something good that has happened to you?
Liz: I just finished a four-year term as chief reader for the Advanced Placement Exam for Computer Science. We score the exams for almost 60,000 students to determine if they should receive college credit for their high school course. My colleagues in this work surprised me with a farewell gift of sponsorship of a cat at OAR in my honor. I was quite touched by their thoughtfulness in honoring me by supporting a cause dear to my heart.
Lisa: What is one of your life lessons?
Liz: I’m a firm believer in the power of kindness to change the world. Every day, especially at OAR, I see this in ways big and small, shown to both animals and people. Practicing kindness rewards us with a warm glow and makes the recipient feel better about the world. Life would be pretty barren without it. I’ve regretted missed opportunities to show kindness but I’ve never been sorry when I made the effort to be kind.
#GoodThingsCincy
Help Cincinnati Fight Poverty
The past few weeks, I have been working with Sean Rugless to help raise awareness of an issue that affects all of us in Greater Cincinnati…and of an upcoming event where you can have input into trying to find solutions. What is it?
It is poverty. Childhood poverty.
When our region is ranked #4 nationally in child poverty (source: The National Center for Children in Poverty) with nearly half of children estimated to be living below the federal poverty level, it is a problem that affects EVERYONE. And the Child Poverty Collaborative wants everyone to be a part of looking into a solution.
On Saturday, June 25, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, over 650 people representing nonprofit organizations, friends, neighbors, civic and business leaders, will be coming together at Xavier University’s Cintas Center for a critically important Community Summit organized by the Child Poverty Collaborative (CPC). Charged with the very difficult process of creating an action plan for moving 10,000 Cincinnati children from poverty over the next five years, input and action from diverse people and perspectives is critical. At the Summit, attendees will share their voice and their ideas, connect with others who share an interest in strengthening lives children and their families within our region, and ultimately be part of the larger community effort that is taking action to find solutions.
“As a city and as a region, we must all realize and take ownership of the fact that this is about all of us,” said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. “It is encouraging to see so many people step forward and want to be a part of this process of figuring out what we need to do differently to help our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones to move past financial hardship. We have a long road ahead. This Community Summit will be an important step in this process.”
In one unique, open-to-the-public large Community Summit, people of different socio economic, cultural, racial, and neighborhood backgrounds will come together in an interactive day that will include speakers, small group break outs, and continuous reflections. Input from this Summit be used to co-develop strategies that will be introduced at an October 2016 Summit. To reduce barriers of participation, the event is free, provides accommodations for child care, and includes lunch. (Pre-registration is preferred at this website.)
“We have been charged with the very difficult process of creating an action plan for moving 10,000 Cincinnati children from poverty over the next five years. Solving an issue as complex and deep rooted as this is going to require many different perspectives and approaches, and it is imperative that we begin with and include people who are impacted at every level help us determine how best to move forward,” said Lynn Marmer, executive director of the Child Poverty Collaborative. The innovative format of this Community Summit promises that regardless of attendees’ titles or status outside, everyone will have an equal voice in frank, engaged discussions about where we are today and where we want to be as a region.
More information is at: www.childpovertycollaborative.org
Listen to the interview on WVXU.
The Poverty Facts
The Census Bureau’s American Community shows that nearly half (47.2 percent) of all children in the city of Cincinnati and one in five children in the Tri-state live below the federal poverty threshold. That’s over 30,000 children within the city and 105,000 children in the Tri-state region; this big and complex issue touches everyone and will require a coordinated effort to solve it.
More statistics:
66% of City children in households headed by women live in poverty
In the City, the poverty rate for African Americans is 41%. (That’s double the poverty rate of Whites). 70% of African American children under 5 in the City are in poverty.
From a workforce perspective, many people in poverty are actually working: 40% of adults in poverty work at least part time; $48,500 per year is necessary for a family of 4 to afford the basics. (That’s 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.); 72% of all jobs I the region pay less than $50,000 per year.
About the Child Poverty Collaborative
The Child Poverty Collaborative is broad based community effort by leaders from government, business, civil society, faith-based organizations, and concerned citizens who are committed to co-creating solutions that significantly reduce the number of children living in poverty in our community. It is being managed by the United Way of Greater Cincinnati. Among the Collaborative’s goals are lifting 10,000 children out of poverty in the next three to five years and helping 5,000 unemployed or underemployed adults get into jobs and out of poverty.
