Board of Directors

All DepartmentsConstance Hill-JohnsonBoard of DirectorsChairpersonAppointed 2018 by the Board of Directors Constance Hill-Johnson is the Owner and Managing Director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services, a national franchise, in Cleveland Ohio. Visiting Angels is an in-home service provider assisting the elderly and older adult...

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards

Opening Minds. Challenging Minds. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. 2017 honorees with Anisfield-Wolf Jury Chair Henry Louis Gates Jr. (right), juror Rita Dove (center), and Cleveland...

How I Spent My Summer: Colleen Halpin

Everyone knows who Amelia Earhart was. Her disappearance is perhaps more widely known than her participation in the 1929 Women's Air Derby, but here at the International Women's Air & Space Museum it is her life and her contributions to women in aviation for which she is celebrated. Luckily for me, she is also the reason I get to...

Nonprofit Management Lessons from Obama’s Campaign

There seems no end to the praise for the quality and discipline of the campaign run by President-elect Barack Obama.  Now, smart observers have identified virtues and best practices from the campaign that they believe are applicable to the management of organizations in the nonprofit realm.  Paul Schmitz, the CEO of Public Allies, ...

Open Season for the Artist

Please note I said open season FOR the artist.  The first round of Fellowship grants to 20 local visual artists was delivered recently by the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture.  The second round, for performing and literary artists, is now in the application stage and will be delivered this fall.  Cleveland is becoming a...

Noise is in the Ears of the Listener

So what do you know about "Noise Music?” Not much? Or maybe a lot? Depends on your age maybe, or what your musical interests are. I fancy myself a music lover and I like all kinds – classical, Broadway musicals, Cole Porter, Steven Sondheim, Hoagy Carmichael, Phil Collins, blues, jazz, folk, a little country, new age, hard rock...

Renee Drefahl Spirit of Life Scholarship

Purpose: The Renee Drefahl Scholarship Fund, established in 2011, awards an annual scholarship for post-secondary education to a member of the graduating class of Edgewood High School (Ashtabula County, Ohio). The purpose of the scholarship is to advance the skills, learning, and life chances of a deserving young person and to inspire him...

Dear Mayor Jackson…

Cheikhou Ba, from Senegal, was the quietest of our Fall 2013 Creative Fusion artists – but only in his speech.  His work spoke very loudly indeed, and his presence made a profound impression on all those he touched – especially the young people with whom he worked during his residency here.  Even Cheikhou’s name – which we all...