To understand why I chose to start The Cleveland Climate Institute you needto understand a little bit about me.
In the last 20 years I have had acancer six times. Four of those time they were different cancers. I am here today writing this because of luck. What do you mean by luck, you might ask. Well, I was lucky to be born just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland has some of the best hospitals in the world. I was lucky to be born into a family that loves and supports me. I have been lucky to have incredible friends and an incredible community that has supported not only me but my family as well. I have a friend, a partner, and the love of my life Maggie, who is the best. I am lucky to have someone who is as kind as she is strong. Lastly my father, whose love and support gave me a life that was beyond comfortable. This comfort has given me a lot of time to rest, think, and learn.
If a person had one of those things, they would be a lucky person. I have all of them. That is incredibly lucky.
During these last 20 years I have also been lucky enough to work alongside my mother Angie, and my middle brother Nick. Through their determination and kindness, they have built one of the coolest nonprofits in the world, The Steven G Cancer Foundation. More importantly they created the media arm known as Elephants and Tea. The Steven G Cancer Foundation was started with goal of supporting research for Adolescents and Young Adults facing cancer. Elephants and Tea was founded years later with the goal of giving a voice to this community. Elephants and Tea has reached thousands of patients, their families and the medical staff that care for them. I have learned a lot from watching them work.
My educational background is in Mathematics. I have an undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University, and I just finished my master’s program in Mathematics at Cleveland State University.
Beyond math I have always had alove for nature and all forms of science. I have experienced first hand the power that both nature and science have for save people's lives. Some of the chemotherapies I have received were derived from fungus and other beings from nature.
I think though, the most important thing you can learn about me is I love you.
Wait you what?
You heard me I love you. I believe that all people are deserving of love. They deserved to be treated with dignity, kindness, and love, even if they disagree with me.
My grandmother always said,"Kill them with kindness".
So, guided by my grandmother’s love, strengthened by my skills as a mathematician, inspired by my passion for science and nature, and shaped by the lessons I’ve learned from my mother and brother, I strive to find meaningful ways to help others.
This is why I chose to start The Cleveland Climate Institute.
The focus of The Cleveland Climate Institute is to build and research a multi-faceted approach to community climate resilience. Our climate is everything. It’s the air you breath, the water you drink, and the soil your food is grown in. Also, if you live in house most likely it was mad eof wood, which requires air, water, and soil. So, no matter how you look at it everything that gives you comfort comes from the climate. To support a thriving and resilient community, the community must be resilient to whatever the climate throws at it.
This work will be hard, but it will be fulfilling. We aim to work with the communities we hope to help. I am not here to tell you what you need to do. I am here to teach people to interpret the world around them and truly understand what is at stake. This organization might have been born in my mind, but it will be the hand of everyone else that will help make this a success.
Let's build a better present and a resilient future. I hope you will come on this journey with me and the incredible people working with me.