Spark 2021: Grit to Great

Innovation is not just about creating new technology. It’s about flipping your mindset, sparking new ways of doing things, and taking risks. Once a way for organizations to set themselves apart, innovation is now a necessary survival skill for organizations.

The event features national innovation and human-centered design experts, as well as those locally who are leveraging these concepts to advance our community. Keynotes include:

Maggie Nichols of Eureka! Ranch (clients include: American Express, Coors, Mattel Toys, P&G, and Taco Bell)
A fireside chat with hospital heads, Dr. Akram Boutros of The MetroHealth System, Dr. Cliff Megerian (University Hospitals), and Dr. Tom Mihaljevic (Cleveland Clinic). Moderated by Monica Robins of WKYC-TV
Jeremy Johnson, President and CEO of the newly formed Assembly for the Arts.

Two sets of breakouts include sessions on failure, human-centered design, how small steps can lead to big impact, collaboration and inclusion, empathy, and discovering new perspectives with:

Baiju Shah, Greater Cleveland Partnership + Cleveland Innovation Project
Bethia Burke, The Fund for Our Economic Future + Cleveland Innovation Project
Mihir Mukherjee, ExperiencePoint
Eli Auerbach, Cleveland Powerlifting Club
Donté Gibbs, #masks4community & Donté’s Gift Express
Jennifer Lumpkin, Cleveland VOTES
Jowan Smith, 1,000 Ties
Dale Anglin, Cleveland Foundation
Alesha Washington, The George Gund Foundation
Marcia Egbert, The George Gund Foundation
Kristi Horner, Courage to Caregivers
Jenny Woodworth, Courage to Caregivers
Rachel Ciomcia, Cleveland Leadership Center
Kristin Warzocha, Greater Cleveland Food Bank

Spark 2021 is co-sponsored by Glenemede and Marcum LLP with support from Lubrizol.