The idea of this community effort emerged from conversations between Dr. Victor Garcia, a pediatric surgeon at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and Peter Senge, an international consultant on Systems Thinking. As they discussed the seemingly impossible task of eliminating Cincinnati’s most challenging urban problems, they engaged David Cooperrider. Cooperrider has led large, solutions-oriented Summits around the world involving hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people.
Eventually, with encouragement from many others, the notion of a Summit for Cincinnati developed.
Dr. Garcia enlisted a local colleague, Byron White, who has experience in building engagement between local residents and civic institutions, to work with him on the project. They then asked Liz Blume at the Community Building Institute to help with organizing the work.
Along the way, dozens of community leaders have been engaged – including neighborhood residents, CEOs, non-profit administrators, young urban adults, city entities and funders – who have expressed interest and support. Many are now part of a Steering Committee and Design Team that have been formed to guide and move the project forward.