Profiles

Jon Harmon grew up in Orange County and moved to Cincinnati to attend the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and also earned an MBA. "I pretty quickly fell in love and got involved," he says. He now works a Legislative Director at the Office of Councilmember Seelbach, the city's first openly gay council member.

Eric Smer was born and raised in Canton and never left. He attended Kent State University for marketing and business management and has traveled everywhere but, he says, he's a "Stark County lifer."

Alex Eichler came to Cincinnati a few years ago after graduating college. She lived in South Carolina most of her life and studied arts administration at the College of Charleston. She now works at the Cincinnati Art Museum as the Corporate & Foundations Manager and lives in Mason.

Taryn Gress grew up in Boston and went to college at Wooster in Ohio then graduate school at Case Western, where she got a Masters of Science in Social Administration. She worked at Civic Commons for a year and now works at Case Western as the Project Coordinator on the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which focuses on mixed-income development. She now lives in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland.

Chelsea Koglmeier grew up in Cincinnati. She studied public policy at Duke University with an emphasis on documentary studies (including film and photography). She spent time living in Philadelphia, North Carolina, and Uganda. She lived on an island, worked on a beach, and helped start a nonprofit in Durham, NC. In all that time she never really returned home for an extended period of time aside from the occasional weekend or holiday. It was that nonprofit in Durham which spurred her return to Cincinnati.

Sara McGuire grew up in Michigan but moved to Bowling Green where she attended Bowling Green State University for visual communication and graphic design. She is now a graphic designer with Digerati, based in Detroit. She says of being a young professional in Bowling Green, "Literally you're surrounded by everyone your own age all the time. You will not have a problem meeting people. It's very friendly place."

Becky Hixen grew up in Cleveland and attended Miami University Ohio where she earned a degree in journalism. "When I graduated I had no idea what to do," she says. She had some friends who had moved to Columbus and, while she loved Cleveland, she didn't want to move back home. It was important that she be on her own, so she headed to Columbus and has been there ever since. She is now the Manager of Member Relations for the Ohio Society of CPAs, where she plans events for the organization throughout the state and gets to travel frequently, and is also the Vice President of Operations for the Young Professionals of Columbus.

Lauren Farnsworth was born and raised in Toledo. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a degree in journalism, and now is now the Change Leadership & Communications Specialist at Owens Corning. As a Toledo native, Lauren has a life-long knowledge and familiarity with the city and knows all of the many unique cultural and social opportunities it has to offer.

Jonathan Morschi has lived in Akron since he was 15 years old and attended Kent State University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in science and architecture. He joined the team at Four Points Architectural Services working part time while he was still in college, and still works for them to this day as a designer.

Though originally born in England, John Lynch's family moved to Cleveland when he was six years old. He studied philosophy at Ohio State University, then moved to Berkley, California after college. At 26 years old he moved back home for what he thought would be only a few months just to recharge his batteries, then found himself having a new appreciation for the city which he'd never had before. He is now the Community Engagement Strategist for Centers for Families and Children, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare providers in Ohio, where he manages a variety of community engagement initiatives.

Shanon Potts is the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Dayton. Born and raised in Ohio, she jokes that she's "always been a Buckeye girl." She was a PR and communications major at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, then attended law school at Capital University. Though an Ohio native, she had never lived in a downtown area before; now she both lives and works downtown and doesn't even need to drive her car to work. "I grew up in a town surrounded by farms," she says. "I thought I'd give downtown urban living a try. It's been the best thing I've ever done."

Jennifer Reitz grew up in Lima, about halfway between Toledo and Dayton. She is a speech language pathologist at The Blaine Block Institute for Voice Analysis & Rehabilitation. She earned her Master's of Science at Bowling Green State University and moved to Dayton for her current job. She specializes in voice training and works with singers, actors, and people who do public speaking.

Angela Presutti is the Young Professionals Network Director of the Greater Akron Chamber. She has lived in the Akron area the majority of her life, earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Akron in communications and her MBA at Walsh University. She has worked in marketing and communications in the healthcare and nonprofit industries for her whole professional life, but when this position at the Chamber became available she was interested in getting more involved with the business community and focusing on economic development. "I describe it as a regional marketing effort of the community," she says.

Jeff Schaaf is the Toledo Region Brand Manager for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. He was born and raised in the Toledo area and earned a business degree from the University of Toledo. He comes from an entrepreneurial family with a small business background, and has also been involved with Epic Toledo which focuses on attracting and retaining young talent in the region and engaging them in the community through social networking and various activities. When the Brand Manager position with the Chamber opened, it seemed a natural fit for him with his combined business and community experience. His job is to share the story and promote the assets of the region to attract and retain businesses.

Ashley Basile Oeken is the Executive Director of Engage! Cleveland, an organization that targets young professionals in the Cleveland area. An Ohio native though not originally from Cleveland, Ashley earned her MBA at Youngstown State University and accepted a two-year fellowship in Cleveland after graduating, when she found she really enjoyed the city and especially the downtown area. The organization she had worked for was small and there weren't a lot of social opportunities for young professionals, so she had to get out and get involved in order to meet other people her age and engage the young professional community.