As President of Global Cleveland, Joy Roller leads a civic/corporate initiative to increase the population of Northeast Ohio and strengthen the region by connecting immigrants and domestic newcomers to its opportunities, resources and services and promoting the region as a welcoming place for all. For the past six years, Joy served as Executive Director of the Gordon Square Arts District, a collaboration of three separate non-profit organizations in a single $30 million capital campaign. On November 15, 2012, The Plain Dealer reported that Joy was, “The woman who oversaw the conversion of Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District into an edgy, creative economic engine is about to bring her exuberance and marketing mojo to a wider audience.” Since May 2006, the campaign has transformed Cleveland’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood by attracting 75 new businesses, creating over 520 jobs, restoring the 1920s Capitol Theatre, renovating the Cleveland Public Theatre, groundbreaking for Near West Theatre’s new performance center and making extensive streetscape improvements and parking acquisitions. In addition to her economic development experience in Gordon Square, Roller brings over twenty years as a television producer and political campaign manager to her current position. A one-time political director of United State Secretary of State John Kerry’s first successful race for public office, Roller started her television production career at WJW in Cleveland. Her writing, producing and directing credits have appeared on HGTV, VH1, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime and PBS. Roller holds a Masters of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from Denison University. In 2004, she returned to Cleveland from New York City to attend Cleveland State University’s John Marshall College of Law. She graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in December 2007. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations).

1. Lessons of a Boomerang:
Longing for Authenticity

4. Columbus

5. Boston

6. Philadelphia

7. New York

8. Washington, DC

9. Chicago

10. San Francisco

11. Los Angeles

12. I thought I found
my new home

13. One Constant…
trips to Cleveland

25. It all started making sense

28. Law school
was a challenge

30. Detroit Avenue

34. Change resulted from
collaboration

35. collaboration worked

36. organic

37. neighborhood-centered

39. "gigantic monuments to
modernity"
instead of
"culture districts with the glue
of wandering pedestrians”
The Economist

40. “The Gordon Square Arts District
has essentially applied economic
shock paddles to the entire area.”
The Economist

42. Create an effective
people climate

43. America is in the grip of a
budding "roots movement."
Desires for the splashy are
giving way to a longing for the
past.

44. [The Rust Belt] lacks illusions and
is full of real people, and that is
becoming attractive to folks - be
they expats from Florida or young
creative types tired of the bells and
whistles of Global City, USA.
Rust Belt Chic

45. Global City, USA

46. my journey

47. longing for connection

50. Cleveland Population
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1,000,000
1900 1920 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010

51. Cleveland Population
2010 396,815

52. NEO posted 86,400 jobs
$2 B tourism development
Downtown living
Shale extraction

53. new investment
and
economic momentum
are threatened

55. ???

56. CONNECT

57. AUTHENTIC
AMERICAN DREAM

58. ONLINE

60. Jobs
Friends and Family

61. Latino Initiative

62. Asian Initiative

63. 117
Ethnic Communities

64. Immigration Reform

65. “We Make Things”

67. CLEVELAND
an
Authentic
American City