Coffee, Conversation & Community

Winter 2023 Forums

To attend the Forums in person, join us at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, 21600 Shaker Blvd. in Shaker Heights or live on Zoom Click Here.

The Community Forum Archive contains information and available recordings for Forums since January 1, 2020. All Forums since January 1, 2017 have been recorded and most are available on our YouTube page.

If you’d like to receive notices of future forums, email [email protected]

Constitutional Crisis, Insurrection or Democracy….in 2024

January 15, 2023

Speakers: Jonathan Entin, JD, CWRU Emeritus Law and Political Science Professor Cherie Strachan, PhD, Director, Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics University of Akron How will the 2022 election ... Learn More

Food Insecurity Challenges & Solutions

January 22, 2023

Speakers: Darcy Freedman, PhD, Professor, CWRU School of Medicine Julie Johnson, CEO, The Hunger Network. Food insecurity has increased since the pandemic, with an estimated 226,000 people hungry in Cuyahoga ... Learn More

Impact of Redlining & Hospital Closures

January 29, 2023

Speaker: Sadeer Al-Kindi, MD, Cardiologist, University Hospitals. In the 1930s, banks began drawing red lines around neighborhoods that were at higher risk for defaulting on mortgage and business loans. Recent ... Learn More

Censorship

February 5, 2023

Speakers: Meryl Johnson, retired teacher and member, Ohio Board of Education, District 11 Felton Thomas, Executive Director & CEO, Cleveland Public Library Owen Ganor, Student, Rocky River High School. Moderator: ... Learn More

Western Reserve Land Conservancy

February 19, 2023

Speaker: Alex Czayka, Chief Conservation Officer, Western Reserve Land Conservancy Natural lands that could fall prey to commercial developers can be conserved and restored for future generations with the assistance ... Learn More

Medicare Privatization

February 26, 2023

Speaker: J.B. Silvers, PhD, CWRU Weatherhead School of Management and School of Medicine Medicare is being “privatized” via Medicare Advantage (MA), the corporate alternative to traditional Medicare. MA is publicly ... Learn More

Plastics Are in Us

March 5, 2023

Speakers: Randi Pokladnik, PhD, retired Research Chemist, Environmental Activist Emily Obringer, Conservation Program Coordinator, Sierra Club In an attempt to move from carbon-based fuels, including Ohio-fracked natural gas and oil, ... Learn More

Politics, Policy & Economic Action

March 19, 2023

Speaker: Mark Sniderman, PhD, CWRU Weatherhead School of Management, former Executive Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland The Federal Reserve raised interest rates 5 times in 2022. How much ... Learn More