Why are we still so far apart? Why do we fear to connect across our differences? We have so many chances to change this dynamic, yet we remain divided by economics, race, social affinity groups, and assumptions about each other. I have always dreamed of doing something completely groundbreaking to connect people, directly engaging in this core challenge in our community to connect across difference, unchained from the constraints of already established organizations.
I make things. I improvise. I am willing to go out in front, be uncomfortable, risk, and sometimes be wrong. My persistence, imagination and creativity are evident in the work I’ve done, and my deep caring for my community and social justice has inspired my work. Twenty years years of building social capital in Cincinnati, Pleasant Ridge and in Cincinnati Public Schools gives me the courage to blast this idea off the ground.
Where do I come from in life? I have had the joy of many different life experiences. I grew up as a city girl transplanted to a sheep farm, where my mother and 2 sisters and I raised sheep and created a sheep and wool retail business. This was my real-life entrepreneurship training. I worked in Japan for 5 years and became fluent enough to work in Japanese manufacturing companies around Cincinnati. I went on to become a lawyer and focus on international business law. All of these experiences have shown me the need to connect with people and dive into uncomfortable situations. I hope that Community Happens Here can be a place of discovery, connection and growth, both personally and professionally for many people in our neighborhood.
Professional & Volunteer Experiences
Attorney: Business, Contract, International and Non-Profit Law
Neighborhood Involvement: Pleasant Ridge Community Council, Kennedy Heights Art Center, Block Watch, Scrap It Up
Public School Involvement: Pleasant Ridge School Foundation: Founder, Board Member, 3-year Co-President; PRM Parent/Teacher Organization: Co-president, Organizing member, responsible with others for growing membership from 3 people to over 100 people; PRM LSDMC (Local School Decision Making Committee): 2-year Co-Chair.
Youth Programming: Started and taught Student Entrepreneurship Class and Student Coffee Shop for 4th-6th grade, 2011 to present. Helped establish the “Ethel Streit Adventure School for Girls,” a progressive micro-school dedicated to different learning styles and student emotional health