Global Cleveland Turns 10 | Joy Roller

In her 2013 TedxCLE talk, Joy Roller, former Global Cleveland President (2013-2015) and Gordon Square Arts District Executive Director, described Global Cleveland as a civic, corporate and philanthropic non-profit focusing on Cleveland’s authenticity, showcasing our city as a great place to live and work for all. Created to address the problem of population decline and the lack of economic growth threatening investment and economic momentum, Roller’s original vision for Global Cleveland began with one simple word – “connect”.

It’s the authentic American city, a beautiful place to live at an affordable price, world-class amenities, easy to get around. We sit on a lake you can’t see across. Global Cleveland’s mission was to communicate that message to attract, connect and welcome immigrants, refugees and newcomers to Cleveland.

Building on Cleveland’s rich immigrant past and born in response to the 2010 U.S. Census reporting a decline in urban populations, Global Cleveland was boldly launched as a civic and economic development initiative to engage immigrants and attract international talent to the region. Roller shares her thoughts on the organization’s impact, then and now.

One of the best things as President was connecting newcomers to real opportunities, letting them know there is a place in Cleveland to help them find what they needed to prosper in their new life. Global Cleveland was unique in this way.  We were the beacon sending out a signal that the region was open and welcoming to all.

I’m thrilled to see the organization’s growth under Joe Cimperman’s leadership with a lot of continuation of programs for international students and new initiatives like the Welcoming Week summits. Our goal at Global Cleveland was to have a personal and programmatic direct impact, to attract individuals through deep outreach to the city’s immigrant and refugee communities.

We developed a website cataloguing all of the city’s ethnic organizations and resources to provide access to information that might be helpful to newcomers as they rebuilt their lives. We also joined forces with other similar Midwest organizations to share ideas and information. These connections strengthened our programming and helped in shaping Global Cleveland in the early days.
When asked about her proudest past moments and the future of Global Cleveland, Roller shared her optimism for even more growth, opportunities, and positive change.

The huge event in Washington, D.C. attracted a lot of boomerang potential – young people who left Cleveland and were looking to re-connect to bring their talents home. Our event at the convention center celebrating our work and Cleveland’s ethnic cultures with Governor Kasich and other state and city leaders helped build a solid foundation for Global Cleveland’s future. I’m proud of helping to build that foundation that has included assistance from JobsOhio to create solid employment opportunities throughout the community.

I think the task ahead is to expand the foundation that has been laid by advancing the message of Global Cleveland’s unique mission. There’s still a big job ahead to continue communicating and connecting to those who are not here, who are looking for a safe, authentic, and comfortable place to live.

During my time at Global Cleveland, we led and showed sincerity in outreach, personally and programmatically, demonstrating we were there to help. To help Cleveland grow and build strong ethnic, cultural communities – not just at the top, but with unskilled newcomers and those in real need. We wanted to show that there’s a place for everyone here in Cleveland. It is positively wonderful to see how Global Cleveland continues to grow fulfilling the mission and foundational beginning.