Black White & Read Guide by Cleveland Public Library

October 20, 2023

Celebrating the Success of the Cleveland READS Campaign

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

PROGRAM

7:45

Cleveland READS video

7:50

Welcome

7:55

Twisted Takes on Historic Cleveland

8:15

Cleveland READS Accomplishments

8:20

Cleveland READS Book Fund

8:30

DJ Lily Jade

8:35

Closing Statement

8:40

Blakk Jakk Dance Collective

9:30

Silent Auction Closes

Literature Department

(2nd Floor)

Felton Thomas, Jr. Executive Director & CEO Cleveland Public Library

Mike Polk, Jr. & John Skrtic

Tom Dewey Campaign Co-Chair

Connie Hill-Johnson Campaign Co-Chair

Greg Stefani Board President Cleveland Public Library Foundation

SPEAKERS

Felton Thomas, Jr.

Felton Thomas, Jr. has served as Executive Director of Cleveland Public Library (CPL) since January, 2009. Since beginning his tenure at CPL, Director Thomas has furthered the mission of CPL to be “The People’s University”, including launching initiatives aimed at addressing community needs in the areas of access to technology, education, and economic development. CPL has maintained its “Star” status and been named a “Top Innovator” by the Urban Libraries Council for its use of technology and data to inform decision making. Felton’s awards and accomplishments include being named a “Mover and Shaker” by the Library Journal, and acting as a fellow in the Urban Library Council’s Executive Leadership Institute. Nationally, in 2015, Felton was elected as President-Elect of the Public Library Association (PLA), served as President beginning in 2016. Felton is also a member of the Aspen Institute Task Force on Learning and the Internet. He currently serves as Board President of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and a trustee on the boards of Sisters of Charity Foundation, University Circle Inc., United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland and United Way of Greater Cleveland. Felton lives in Shaker Heights with his wife and two daughters, is an accomplished musician, and has become a devoted Cleveland sports fan since his arrival on the shores of Lake Erie. 2

SPEAKERS

John Skrtic

John Skrtic has been with the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) for over 30 years. He has extensive library experience and is responsible for overseeing the 11 million items in the Cleveland Public Library Collection. He holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Kent State University and a Master of Public Administration from Cleveland State University. He is the father of two children and is a life-long resident of Cleveland. He spends his free time archiving the dayto-day activities of Clevelanders and the history of the city online each day.

SPEAKERS

Mike Polk Jr.

Mike Polk Jr. is a Cleveland-based writer and comedian whose selfproduced videos have more than 50 million combined views on You Tube alone. He is responsible for such viral hits as “The Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video” (which appeared in the Michael Moore documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story”), “The Honest R&B Song”, “The One Semester of Spanish Love Song,” and the award-winning internet series “Man In The Box.” Polk has been performing sketch comedy with the group “Last Call” for over nine years, young throughout North America. The troupe won “Best of the Festival” in Toronto in 2011 and Seattle in 2010 and regularly perform at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Theaters. Polk has been named Cleveland’s best comedian by “Scene Magazine” and “Cleveland Magazine” on several occasions. His work has also appeared on TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” and on FunnyorDie.com. For all of his bluster, Polk is a huge advocate of the Northeast Ohio area and is happy to call Cleveland his home.

SPEAKERS

Tom Dewey

Tom Dewey is Senior Vice President, People and Strategy at Medical Mutual. He is responsible for driving the Company’s culture and the selection, retention, leadership and staff development, compensation, benefits, and human resources systems for more than 2,500 employees. He is also responsible for the Company’s mergers and acquisitions, as well as assisting the Chief Executive Officer and the executive leadership team with developing and executing strategy. From 2014 to 2016, Tom served as Vice President of Human Resources. During that time, he and his department accomplished several significant achievements including winning the 2016 Crain’s Cleveland Business Archer Award for Best HR Team. He joined the Company in 2012 as Director of Financial Analysis and Cost & Budget. Tom joined the Company from Ernst & Young where he had 13 years of experience in various accounting and assurance roles, which included working on the Medical Mutual audit. He also had key roles in recruiting new talent and aligning staff with regional engagement needs throughout his tenure at Ernst & Young. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from The Ohio State University, an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is active with the Cleveland Leadership Center, Cleveland Public Library Foundation, Rocky River Education Foundation, Junior Achievement and several other charitable causes. Tom has served on the CPL Foundation Board of Directors since 2018, was President of the Board from 2020 to 2021 and remains active through the Governance Committee. 5

SPEAKERS

Connie Hill-Johnson

Constance Hill-Johnson (Connie) is the Owner and Managing Director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services in Cleveland Ohio. Visiting Angels is an inhome service provider assisting the elderly and older adult to live as independently as possible by remaining safely in their own familiar home environment. Now a seasoned entrepreneur, Connie is celebrating close to 21 years in business, and has successfully served hundreds of seniors throughout the greater Cleveland area and surrounding communities. Connie is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of The Cleveland Foundation, the oldest community foundation in the country. In 2020 she was honored as a YWCA Greater Cleveland Woman of Achievement award winner and in 2017 was selected as a Crain’s Women of Note. Connie currently serves on the boards of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (BRIA) and Adults at Risk, a pillar of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry. She is a member of the African American Outreach Committee of Hospice of the Western Reserve and is one of the architects of The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland & Celebrate Those Who Give Black, exhibits which reframe how philanthropy looks in the African American community. A committed philanthropist with a servant’s heart, Ms. Hill-Johnson is committed to giving of her time, talent and treasure and testimony in service to others. Ms. Hill-Johnson has earned the degree of Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Health Services Administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. Additionally, she holds a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. A committed philanthropist with a servant’s heart, Ms. Hill-Johnson is committed to giving of her time, talent and treasure and testimony in service to others. 6

SPEAKERS

Gregory L. Stefani

Gregory L. Stefani served as first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland from 2011 to January 31, 2022. During his 38-year tenure with the Bank, he held positions of increasing responsibility within the Supervision and Regulation, Credit Risk Management, Policy and Strategic Analysis, and Statistics and Analysis Departments. Mr. Stefani holds a BS in business administration and finance and an MBA from Bowling Green State University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado. Greg has served on the CPL Foundation Board of Directors since 2021 and is currently the Board Chair.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

CPL Foundation would like to thank the following sponsors who supported the year-long efforts of Cleveland READS. Program Year Support

Connor Foundation Cuyahoga Community College Medical Mutual David & Inez Myers Foundation PNC Roetzel & Andress Mark D. Ross Sea Land Chemical Company TEGNA Foundation The Cleveland Foundation The George Gund Foundation Westfield Insurance

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

CPL Foundation would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of this event. PLATINUM Sponsor

WHITE Sponsors

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

REaD Sponsors

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

REaD Sponsors

Cleveland Cavaliers Haslam Sports Group / Cleveland Browns The Literacy Cooperative

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

MEDIA Sponsor

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Additional Support of Cleveland READS

Special thanks to our vendors and musicians:

Blakk Jakk Dance Collective C-Town Valet DJ Lily Jade Driftwood Catering Footprints Band Ghostlight Productions Krystal Klear Communications

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CSU salutes the work of Cleveland READS in boosting literacy in our community.

People are at the heart of what we do.

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