To assess the current state of the addiction and recovery services sector, we gathered the heads of five Recovery Link organizations, which work together to improve access to substance abuse treatment programs here by influencing policy, practices and funding for those services.
An emphasis on collaboration is helping make Cincinnati a leader in cancer research, according to two local experts. We sat down with those doctors – Dr. William (“Bill”) Barrett and Dr. Andrew Frankart – to learn about the current state and future of cancer research here, and how changes in funding might impact that future.
At age 18, Oliver (“Ollie”) Kroner wanted an adventure. Following the example of his Peace Corps parents, the newly minted Walnut Hills High School graduate joined Americorps and headed to New Mexico. He bought a 1970s single-wide trailer and spent a year working on trails and fire management in a national forest.
Audrey Treasure is vice president and executive director of the Workforce Innovation Center at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. “I really like people, and I really like making connections, and I really like solving problems,” Treasure said. “That’s what this work is: Working with people, connecting them to one another and saying ‘Let’s solve this problem.’ ”
Mike Deininger and Carolyn Deininger’s story is a tale of love and art and leaps of faith. For the last 18 years, their gift shop and gallery MiCA 12/v has been a fixture on the corner for which it’s named, showcasing design-based, handmade local art at 12th and Vine streets.
Jim Yunker’s office offers a window into his lifetime of achievement in philanthropy. There’s a framed menu from a luncheon celebrating a $72 million campaign for Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Charming animal photos from a campaign brochure for Capital Humane Society in Lincoln, Nebraska, a vase from the Giving USA Foundation.
James Sherry’s career has taken him from his Australian hometown of Melbourne, a city of more than 5 million people, to a tiny Australian island with only a few thousand inhabitants, to short stints in China and Guatemala, to New York City and, now, to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
“When I stepped into nonprofit leadership, the world just opened for me. I got to see how big this region really is and to make connections with people doing everything from social services to the arts. … My self-proclaimed superpower is being strategic and being able to connect the dots.”
Sherie Marek traces her philanthropic spirit, evidenced through decades of giving both her time and treasure, to her youth. They “were very poor and struggled” to achieve their dreams. Years later, when her means changed, Marek was eager to give back in a larger way.
“What [working here] taught me was that life changes in an instant … and the only way you get through that is the love and support of your family and friends … it gave me the mindset that even when something tragic happens, life is still beautiful and worth living.”
