Our Speakers and Discussion Leaders

Alphabetical listing of approximately two hundred talented and knowledgeable people who have given their time and expertise to CWC and its audiences.

Abri, Shawya, Clinical Research, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Adams, Mendle, Pastor, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ
Alberti, Dr. John, Director of Cinema Studies, English Dept. Chair, NKU
Amburgey, Bryan, Director, Color Blind
Anderson, Dr. Jane, Professor of Political Science, UC, Cincinnatus Association
Banoun, Mona, UC International Affairs
Bany, Mark, president, The Bany Foundation and MW Bany Scholarship Fund
Barnes, Maggie, painter and photographer
Bass, Herbert, Attorney and Lecturer
Beeman, Gary, Death row exoneree
Berman, Tatiana, Musician, Visual Artist, Educator; Forte
Biales, Lisa, Singer-songwriter, music educator
Black, Hon. Robert, Court of Common Pleas Judge (ret)
Blume, Liz, Executive Director, Community Building Institute, Xavier University
Bognar, Steven, Oscar-winner and nominee, Emmy-winning producer/director A Lion in the House; The Last Truck; Personal Belongings; Picture Day; Sparkle;  Motion Pictures Instructor and filmmaker in residence, Wright State University
Broder, Andrew, Producer, Oldham County
Brookshire, Eddie, Jazz & Big Band bassist
Brosmer, Mary Pierce, teacher, writer, poet, activist; founder Women Writing for (a) Change
Burk, Marianne, President, Cincinnati Calligraphers Guild
Camera, Dr. Babacar, native of Senegal, Professor of African Studies, Miami University
Cannon, Leslie, Women Writing for a Change
Carleton-Ford, Hal, filmmaker
Carr, Brett, Director, Gospel of Lou; RevoLOUtion
Carroll, Jenny, Academic Director Ohio Innocence Project
Carroll, Paul, Program Director, Ploughshares Fund, San Francisco
Cassidy, James, Music Director, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra
Caudill, Dave, Arts & Entertainment Editor Cincinnati Enquirer
Chamberlin, Wendy, Ambassador to Pakistan (ret); Director of Global Affairs and Counter-Terrorism, National Security Council; President, Middle East Institute, Washington, DC.
Clark, Paul, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Cincinnati Enquirer
Cooper-Reed, Dr. Eileen, Director, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio
Crim, Cheryl J, Director, Resisterhood
Crumley, Jack, Board Member, Cindependent Film Festival
Cuomo, Chris, Professor, University of Cincinnati
Currence, Melissa, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and League of Women Voters
Dammbeck, Lutz, Filmmaker & Media Artists, Das Netz (The Net) and Over Games
Demaline, Jackie, Cincinnati Enquirer
DiDonato, Richard, Writer, Christ in Concrete
Dittiacur, Mike, Writer, PA, Grip; Mirepoix Pictures, Held in Sway, Nightsong
Donnelly, David, Director, Producer; Forte
Drabik, Jacob, Photographer / Designer
Drabik, Sarah Mahle, Professor/Producer NKU; Board Member, Women In Film Cincinnati
Dworkin, Mark, Filmmaker, Shift Change, Don’t Give Up Your Voice

Eckert, Dr. Tina, Professor of Italian Literature, University of Cincinnati
Elayyadi, Mohamed, native of Morocco, Professor of Arabic, UC
Elowitz, Jodi, Director of Education, Holocaust & Humanity Center Cincinnati
Erco, Sosena, SOGETI/CapGemini; P&G
Erhardt, Dr Erwin, Professor of History and Political Economy, Thomas More College
Erpenbeck, Joe, supervisor, Hamilton County Board of MRDD
Esmena, Abi, AuditionRoom513; Board member Women In Film Cincinnati; Black Barbie
Farmer, Dale, musician and filmmaker
Faust, Amy Cunningham, Producer and DP, Mirepoix Pictures, Held in Sway; Nightsong; Without Mirrors;  camera/electric – Miles Ahead; Carol; Rise Above; The Last Truck.
Faust, Russ, writer/producer/director, Mirepoix Pictures, Held in Sway; Nightsong;  PA – grip, gaffer, best boy – Miles Ahead; Carol; The Avengers, The Ides of March.
Ferguson, H-Bomb, Blues Musician
Flores, Jessica, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Cincinnati Art Museum
Flowers, Brenda, Jazz vocalist and educator
Foellger, Mickey, Musician; Campbell County Judge
Franklin, Frederic, Instructor Cincinnati Ballet; danseur Ballet Russe
Friedman, Jim, multiple Emmy-winning television producer – WCPO, ESPN, PBS, USA, WGN; owner Blind Squirrels Production Group; director of program development Scripps Broadcasting (5 markets); creativity/innovation instructor, Miami University.
Frierson, Dr. Elizabeth, Professor of History of the Middle East and North Africa, UC
Frueh, Isabella, Board member and co-chair, Southwest Ohio AEYC
Futel, Desirae, League of Women Voters and Woman’s City Club
Gazzeniga, Dr. Andrea, Film and English instructor, NKU
Glass, Ashley, Black Women Cultivating Change
Gerdeman, Sr. Alice, CDP, Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center
Gerdes, Deborah, MD, Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases
Godoy, Melissa, Emmy-winning Film & Video Director/Producer, The Art Carvers of Music Hall; Until Sadie Blotz; Motorcyle Dreams; Runaway Train; The Last Truck; Election Day; Do Not Go Gently; A Lion in the House; Crocodile; Classical Quest;   Cinematographer/Editor, Coming Home from the Streets
Goldschmidt, Inge, Cast member/subject, 9 To 5: The Story of a Movement
Gray, Gordon, US Ambassador Tunisia, Sr. Advisor Iraq, Dep Commandant, War College
Greenwell, Jeremy, actor Nightsong.
Grier, Melvin, Photojournalist, Cincinnati Post, Cincinnati Journalism Hall of Fame
Grundy, Paul, Producer & Director of Photography, WCPO
Harrell, Neil, Singer-Songwriter, Luthier, Queen City Balladeers
Harris, Greg, Director, Citizens for Civic Renewal
Harris, Mark, Director, School of Art, DAAP, UC
Hartz, David, Art Director & Associate Professor, Electronic Media, UC
Hattendorf, Linda, award-winning documentary filmmaker, The Cats of Mirikitani  Editor, PBS Frontline; Light Years; People are the Sky; Forget Me Nots; In Debt We Trust; On the Road Home.
Helmbock, Kathy, National Organization for Women
Herman, Laura, Director, Above & Below; Instructor, Cincinnati Art Academy
Hoffman, Dr. Ron, Professor, Film Studies, Northern Kentucky University.
Holloway, Askia, Director, African American
Horvath, Janos, Cast Member,Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Hurley, Kay, painter and curator
Hutton, Mary Ellyn, Music Journalist

Isler, Diane, V.P., Save The Animals Foundation
Jacobs, Thor, International Business Consultant
Jarchow, Dr. Elaine, Dean, College of Education, NKU
Jones, Kashara, Fifth Third Bank, Community Mentor & Volunteer, Black Barbie
Julnes-Dehner, Noel, Director, Coming Home from the Streets
Kahle, Karen, Director of Programs and Policy, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio
Kendrick, Crystal, The Voice of Black Cincinnati, Black Barbie
Kesner, Dr. James, NIOSH
Kittner, Deborah, Global Center of Cincinnati
Klein, Jim, Director, Taken for a Ride; Union Maids; A Lion in the House
Kopp, Craig, News Director, WNKU; film critic, WCPO TV
Kornbluh, Dr. Andrea, Filmmaker and Professor (ret), History & Women’s Studies, UC
Kurtenbach, Kimberly, Executive Producer, Cast Member; Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Kuwahara, Dr. Yasue, Professor Popular Culture Studies Program, NKU
Kwan, Dr. Man Bun, Associate Professor of History, UC
LaBotz, Dr. Daniel, Assistant Professor, History, Miami University
Lane, John, History Department Chair, Covington Latin School
Lazzaretti, Fabrizio, Director, War in the Land of Mujaheddin
Leite, Alvoro, Director, Lucky’s; Instructor, Video Production, Colonel White HS for the Arts
Lelempsis, Christos, Greek Consul for Economic & Commercial Affairs, Chicago
Lennon, Lisa, Community Mentor & Volunteer; P&G; Black Barbie
Lenz, Don, Director, LISC
Le Roy, François, Professor of Modern European and Military History, NKU
Lind, Ted, Education Curator, Cincinnati Art Museum
Loy, David R., author; professor of comparative philosophy, Bunkyo University, Japan; Besl Family Chair of Ethics, Religion and Society at Xavier University
Lyon, Rachel, Filmmaker; Board member, Women in Film Cincinnati
Maisch, Steve, director A Conversation with Mr. D.
Majerski, Aymie, documentary filmmaker; partner Barking Fish Entertainment and Reel Kids
Mallory, Mark, Mayor, City of Cincinnati
Marks, Jaylen, Cast Member, Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Matteo, Dr. Sante, Professor of Italian Language & Literature, Miami University, OH
Mays, John, Editor, Mirepoix Pictures, Held in Sway, Nightsong
McFeeters, Jerry, Pilot, U.S. Air Force (ret)
McGuirk, Brianne, Animator & Motion Graphics; Women in Animation
McGurk, Margaret, Film Critic, Cincinnati Enquirer
Menefield, Bruce, Band Leader and jazz sax
Messer, William, Photographer
Migraine-Georges, Dr. Thérese, Assistant Professor, French Literature, University Cincinnati
Miller, Bretton, Filmmaker, Devra Labs
Min, James, VP Legal Affairs, DHL Americas
Moeller, Tom, City Manager, Madeira
Monpierre, Mariette, Director, Le Bonheur d’Elza,
Moore, Robert, Excecutive Director, Interfaith Hospitality Network
Moores, Emily, Cincinnati Chapter Integrated Schools
Muente, Kevin, Associate Professor of Art, NKU
Mugavero, Christopher, Captain US Army

Namei, Mercedeh, President Persian Student Association, UC
Neack, Dr. Laura, Professor of Political Science, Chief Departmental Advisor on Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs, Miami University; Editor, International Politics
Newberry, Greg, Director, Homefree
Newport, Pamela, University of Cincinnati College of Law
Nishizu, Mikio, educator-theologian-attorney, Frost Brown Todd, LLC
Ohayon, Michele, Director, SOS; It Was A Wonderful Life; Colors Straight Up; Cowboy Del Amor
Olumwullah, Dr. Osaak, Associate Professor of History; Fellow, Black World Studies Program, Miami University, OH
Osborne, Patrick, Oscar-winning filmmaker, Feast; Pearl
Osborne, Tom and Vickie, proud parents of Patrick
Parker, John, director Blues Legend: The Life and Times of H-Bomb Ferguson
Petitto, Giuseppe, Producer/Film-Editor, War in the Land of Mujaheddin
Pie, Susan Taylor, Singer-Songwriter, Nobody Famous
Pillich, Connie, Attorney; State Representative, OH
Porte, Dr. Michael, Professor of Communication, University of Cincinnati
Portune, Todd, Hamilton County Commissioner, Cincinnati City Council
Qualls, Roxanne, Mayor, City of Cincinnati
Quinlivan, Laure, Emmy and Peabody-winning Producer/Director
Ramsey, Brigitte, Director of Public Policy, United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Ramusack, Barabara, Charles Phelps Taft Professor of History, University of Cincinnati
Rastogi, Dr. Meera, Assistant Professor of Psychology, UC
Reiber, Kurt, President/CEO, Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank
Reichert, Julia, Oscar-winner and nominee, Emmy-winning Documentary Producer/Director, A Lion in the House; The Last Truck; Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall; Sparkle; Seeing Red; Union Maids; Growing Up Female; Professor (emerita) of Motion Picture Production, Wright State University, Dayton
Rekow, Charles, Animator & Illustrator
Riley, John Adrian, Jeremy, Nightsong
Rodriguez, Ignacio, Professor, Spanish Literature, Xavier University
Roma, Ursula, Sculptress
Roma, Catherine, founder and director, MUSE – Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir
Romagnoli, Dr Maria, Professor of French, Italian and World Literature, UC
Rosen, Steve, Freelance Writer; Visual Arts Editor, Cincinnati City Beat Magazine; arts writer Denver Post, Indie Wire, L.A. Times.
Ross, Gaylen, Director, Killing Kastzner
Rundle, Kelly, Director, Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Rundle, Tammy, Producer, Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Runyan, Dr. Anne, Director of The Center for Women’s Studies, University of Cincinnati

Samuels, Donna, Cast member/subject, 9 To 5: The Story of a Movement
Sandro, Dr. Paul, Professor, French & Italian, Miami University
Santos, Erik, DP & Composer, Over the Sky, Passing the Baton
Schlenck, Jaime Meyers, Film & Video Editor; Board Member, Women in Film Cincinnati
Schlotman, Kristen Erwin, Executive Director, Film Cincinnati
Scott, Vincent, Intelligence Specialist, US Navy, NSC, NATO
Sekler, Joan, Director, Unprecedented
Severini, Michael, Director of Information Security, Frost Brown Todd LLC
Sheng, Dr. Chenliang, Professor of English, NKU
Shenk, Jonny, Film Programmer, Cindependent Film Festival
Shiiki, Toko, Director & Writer, Over the Sky, Passing the Baton
Silver, Sarah, Director, Interior/Exterior
Simon, Stephen, Director, Indigo
Singleton, Theresa, producer Batterers Will Kill; Protection from Abuse director, YWCA
Smullen, Bill, Colonel US Army (ret), Chief of Staff (ret) Collin Powell
Spalazzi, Linda, director Empty Chairs and Painful Windows; Batterers Will Kill; CEO Bright Light Communications
Springs, Robert, CEO Global Resource Services
Steinmanis, Karl, Honorary Consul, Latvia
Stern, Ed, Artistic Director, Cincinnati Playhouse
Stine, Daniel, Director, God & Vodka, Grape, The Championship Round
Strobel, Chris, Professor and Director of Electronic Media & Broadcasting, NKU
Stovall, Adam, Director & Screenwriter
Stuckey, Erwin, Jazz pianist
Stull, David, broadcaster, Drama Dept Chair, School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Stull, Rita, telecommunication consultant; drama teacher; Cincinnati Recreation Commission
Swanson, Chuck, Director, Lost Hearts
Tabatabai, Ahoo, Student Activities & Leadership Development Program Coordinator, UC
Taylor, Thomas Alan, Cast Member, Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Taylor, Jessica Denney, Cast Member, Sons & Daughters of Thunder
Thomas, Larry, Film Critic WVXU-FM; professional film booker; former owner, Movies Repertory Cinema
Tiro, Dr. Karim, Assistant Professor, History, Xavier University
Tokarev, Gennadiy, Prosecutor, Kharkiv, Ukraine; Fellow, Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, University of Cincinnati College of Law
Tolley, Dr. Howard, Professor, Political Science; Adjunct Professor, Law, Univ. of Cincinnati
Torrice, Andrea, Producer/Director, A Crack in the Pavement, Trees in Trouble, Art as Action
Twyman, James, Screenwriter/Producer, Indigo
Vara, Domingo, Director, Five
Velzy, Dave, VP Global Supply Chain, Huffy Corporation
Vendemmiati, Alberto, Director, War in the Land of Mujaheddin
Viehmann, Dr. Martha, Educator and Activist
Wade, Kathy, Women Writing for a Change
Ware, Tiffany, The Brown Girls Project; Black Barbie
Weiss, Sarah, Executive Director, Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education, HUC
Wilhelmy, Martin, Honorary German Consul
Williams, Sheri, principal dancer, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company; cast member/subject, Sparkle
Wurth, Michael, Director, The Symposium
Yates, Tyrone, OH State Representative
Young, Melissa, Filmmaker, Shift Change, Don’t Give Up Your Voice
Zaniello, Dr. Thomas, Director, NKU Honors Program; Professor, Film Studies
Zierolf, Dr. Robert, Professor of Music Theory and History; Division Head of Composition, Theory, Music History & Literature at the College-Conservatory of Music, Univ. of Cincinnati