Introducing Cleveland Place.Makers

Seeking to celebrate the people behind the buildings, programs and places that Greater Clevelanders encounter in our community, the Cleveland Foundation recently commissioned a series of 17 portraits by local artist Billy Delfs of those who are making our region a better place by building better places.

We call them Place.Makers. They have made a mark on our city by designing and constructing buildings, leading companies, founding nonprofit organizations, and giving their time and talents as volunteers and visionaries. Collectively, the Place.Makers are shaping our community identity, driving social dialogue, and lifting civic spirits to new heights.

We unveiled our Place.Makers portraits at our Annual Meeting in May, and now we’re kicking off a blog series highlighting each of these incredible people. Get to know them all over the next few months.

You can view the portraits in person at the Cleveland Foundation offices through the end of this year, and stay tuned for other locations in Cleveland where the photography may be on display. Here’s our full list of Place.Makers (seen in the photo above!):

John Anoliefo
Executive Director, Famicos Foundation

Brandon Chrostowski
Founder, President & CEO, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute

Jenice Contreras
Executive Director, Hispanic Business Center

Christin Farmer
Executive Director, Birthing Beautiful Communities

Shirley Gaston & Videllia Coleman
Worker-Owners, Evergreen Cooperatives’ Green City Growers

Fred Geis
Founder & Principal, Hemingway Development

Daniel Gray-Kontar
Executive Artistic Director, Twelve Literary Arts

Phyllis Seven Harris
Executive Director, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland 

Margo Hudson
Volunteer, Seeds of Literacy

Ray Leach
CEO, JumpStart Inc.

Cathy Belk
President, JumpStart, Inc.

Robert Madison
Architect and Founder, Robert P. Madison International, Inc.