April’s global theme: Ember

Columbus speaker: Lisa Factora-Borchers

Lisa Factora-Borchers is a Filipinx American author, editor, and activist. Lisa is the editor of Dear Sister: Letters from Survivors of Sexual Violence (AK Press, 2014), and her work can be found Guernica, The Millions, Adroit Journal, The Independent (UK), Refinery 29, In The Fray, TruthOut, The Feminist Wire, The International Examiner, Mutha, and Ano Ba magazines. She has contributed to anthologies Burn It Down (Seal Press, 2019), Feminisms in Motion: Voices for Justice, Liberation, and Transformation (AK Press, 2018), Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines (PM Press, 2016), Verses Typhoon Yolanda: A Storm of Filipino Poets (Pawa Press, 2014).

Lisa is currently working on her next book, a literary memoir about political consciousness and diasporic faith in middle America.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCRvMz

March’s global theme: Local

Columbus speaker: Jim Sweeney

Jim Sweeney is a nationally recognized leader in creative placemaking, neighborhood revitalization, and community-driven urban development, with more than 25 years shaping the transformation of Columbus’s historic Franklinton neighborhood. A lifelong Columbus resident, Sweeney brings a rare combination of policy expertise, on-the-ground development experience, and cultural vision that has made him one of the most influential voices in the city’s contemporary urban landscape.

Across all his work, Sweeney champions walkability, affordability, cultural expression, and small-scale, character-rich development. His belief is simple: neighborhoods thrive when local people shape their future. In Franklinton, he has spent two decades proving exactly that.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCPF6F

Welcome to Community Spotlight, featuring members of our Creative Mornings Community! We are so grateful to our community, and love learning more about our members’ creative life and what makes them tick.

This month’s Spotlight Feature is Donna Marbury (she/her)...

Q. Where are you from?
Columbus.

Q. Growing up, what was your family like? Any siblings?
I have an older sister and we grew up with both of our parents.

Q. Where do you live now?
In Columbus.

Q. Who do you consider your family today?
I’m in the process of redefining what family means, being very intentional of who I allow into my intimate spaces. I have an 11 year old son, and am planning a life with my partner, so we are creating new traditions and defining how we meaningfully interact with each other. It’s a beautiful process.

Q. How do you spend your days? What’s your area of expertise?
I am a writer by trade, currently working as a writer for The Ohio State University.

Q. What’s the first creative thing you remember making?
I wrote a love song in middle school, and sung it in front of the school. All the kids laughed but they sung that song all year. It let me know I could write something people would remember!

Q. What’s a tool—creative or otherwise—you can’t live without?
Music helps facilitate my creative process everytime.

Q. What's a creative pursuit you'd love to try but haven't yet?
Dance or some sort of physical expression.

Q. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning?
Yoga, coffee with friends.

Q. What's one thing you're secretly good at?
Cooking.

Q. What's your favorite life lesson or piece of advice?
It’s never a bad time to make a good decision.

Q. Where do you go when you need inspiration?
I’m a stereotypical writer who loves coffee shops. The smells, the music and the hum of conversation does it for me every time.

Q. Why do you choose to be part of the Creative Mornings Columbus community?
It’s a beautiful soft place to meet people without the pressure of networking. I always leave with a new friend, some inspiration and something new to try.

Q. Tell us about a meaningful connection you’ve made through Creative Mornings?
I just recently met a woman who is planning international trips with single mothers who have sons. That’s totally aligned with who I am!

Q. How has Creative Mornings inspired you to think differently about something?
Because creativity is a part of every line of work, not just the arts. It’s a part of every part of life…parenting, relationships. Bringing that creative spark to every place makes life exciting.

Q. How has being part of the community shaped you and your creativity?
I’d be nothing without my creative community in Columbus. People inspire me, push me and impress me daily.

February’s global theme: Camino (kah·MEE·noh) | Way/Path

Columbus speaker: Cynthia Amoah

Cynthia Amoah is a Ghanaian-American poet, national speaker, and teaching artist. A 3x TEDx speaker and 2025 GCAC Artists Elevated awardee, she holds an MFA from The New School and recently served as the Inaugural Writer-in-Residence at Bexley Public Library as well as the 'Arts in the Parks' Coordinator with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Her work explores themes of identity, migration, and belonging. Her chapbook 'Handrails' was published by Akashic Books in Fall 2021. Cynthia lives in Columbus, OH, with her family, where she leads workshops in poetry, confidence-building, and using our voices for social change. Learn more at www.cynthiaamoah.com.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCLY3r

Welcome to Community Spotlight, featuring members of our Creative Mornings Community! We are so grateful to our community, and love learning more about our members’ creative life and what makes them tick.

This month’s Spotlight Feature is Kim Leddy (she/her)...

Q. Where are you from? If not Columbus, how did you land here?
Like so many others before me, I ended up in Columbus via attending The Ohio State University and then stayed on after graduating. Before making Cbus home, I grew up outside of DC while spending my very young years in Western Massachusetts.

Q. Growing up, what was your family like? Any siblings?
I initially grew up with my maternal grandparents in rural-ish Massachusetts as my 20-year-old parents were still in shock that they were, in fact, parents. It's a common phenomenon, grandparents spoiling their grandchildren when they visit— imagine how spoiled a grandchild is when living with them! Anyways, I eventually found myself living with my dad and stepmother in suburban Virginia and visiting my mother in Vermont. My stepmom had two boys which were constant pains as I was a teenager when they showed up; eventually we grew into each other and are now close.

Q. Where do you live now?
Clintonville

Q. How do you spend your days? What’s your area of expertise?
I spend my days teaching teenagers. Teaching braids together myriad talents — everyone thinks content knowledge — that because I am an English teacher I should know EVERY AUTHOR that has ever burped a word onto the page — but the real expertise is creating space for the students to believe in themselves.

Q. What’s the first creative thing you remember making?
This is hard — I have two memories that happened, I believe, one after the other. In elementary school, I did a little dance to "America" from West Side Story— which I was obsessed with at the time—holding a rose between my teeth and my grand plan was to end the dance by tossing the rose into the front row of beaming parents, but I ended up tossing it straight up and it came down on my head. I think we'll stick with that one ...

Q. What’s a tool—creative or otherwise—you can’t live without?
A lovely pen — one that glides across the page like a figure skater on the ice — and a good coffee shop.

Q. What's a creative pursuit you'd love to try but haven't yet?
Improv — I have a feeling teaching is great practice for improv.

Q. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning?
In nice weather, walking my dog Remy in Whetstone Park with my face lifted towards the sun and then, once home, sitting out on the porch reading in the breeze. In the brrr weather, getting up farm-early and lighting a fire and just enjoying the crackling and the reflection of the moon on the snow.

Q. What's one thing you're secretly good at?
Of all the random detours I've taken in my life, the most sticky was the time I spent in dance studios and on stage. That was, like, a gazillion years ago so most people I know today would be surprised that I can choreograph a pretty solid movement phrase – and then perform it, maybe.

Q. What's your favorite life lesson or piece of advice?
This is a piece of advice I like to give people — when traveling or planning a trip, check out Atlas Obscura. The website is a collection of various off-the-beaten path places to visit and, in my experience, many of these side-show-esque points of interest show off just how creative people are and full of the desire to leave a trail of positive breadcrumbs for those who take the time to look. One place of my favorite off-the-grid finds was Ponyhenge in Lincoln, Massachusetts. In the middle of a field is a circle of hobby horses of all sizes, designs, ages — local lore claims that the roadside attraction just showed up one day and various horses are added or subtracted every now and then. I LOVE THIS. I think the fact that Ponyhenge exists and has been going for over a decade is BEAUTIFUL.

Q. Where do you go when you need inspiration?
Usually I go to a coffee shop to get out of the house and to be a part of the 'world.' Observing people, eavesdropping, watching the world go by all feeds into my inspiration pool.

Q. Why do you choose to be part of the Creative Mornings Columbus community?
I have been bringing my Mosaic students to Creative Mornings Columbus for ... sheesh ... years now. We started pre-Covid and consider ourselves part of the CM community. Of all the lovely aspects of these third Friday mornings, learning how deep and varied and inspirational the creative community around us is has been a delight. Watching the students over the course of the year become bold and comfortable enough to have conversations with people in the room is heart-warming.

Q. How has Creative Mornings inspired you to think differently about something?
CMC has opened me up to the possibilities of this city and the community. That everywhere there is a creative person, a creative space, or a creative idea, we just have to keep our hearts open to potential and our ears open to story.

Q. How has being part of the community shaped you and your creativity?
There is a cliche of the starving artist alone in a drafty turret or dirt-floored studio and there are certainly times when one needs a solitary vibe, but connections made at CMC have made me aware of supportive people, groups and organizations that hold space for creativity without apology.

Q. Anything else you want to share with the Creative Mornings Columbus community?
I love Creative Mornings — the third Friday routine, the nodding at familiar faces, and the always inspiring stories on the mic. We are all seeking to be just that — a part of a 'we' and CMC facilitates the comfort to be vulnerable and share story with new people. It's a place of belonging that leaves me buzzing with creative energy and deep feelings of community.

January’s global theme: Koorsoo

Columbus speaker: Jesse Vogel

Jesse Vogel is a public interest attorney in Columbus who has worked for tenants at Legal Aid and now represents immigrants and refugees at Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS). In 2020, Jesse co-founded the Central Ohio Housing Action Network, a community outreach project to help tenants facing eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, he ran for Columbus City Council. Jesse also currently serves as a member of the Policy and Governance Committee of the Columbus School Board. Jesse lives in Columbus’s Olde Towne East neighborhood and is an active member of the city’s LGBTQ and progressive Jewish communities. In his spare time, Jesse likes to cook and read.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCHDtP

DECEMBER EVENT PHOTOS

December’s global theme: Innovation

Columbus speaker: Magnus Juliano

Magnus Juliano (He/Him) is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist, designer, and creative director. Largely self-taught, his practice spans graphic design, photography, mixed media, fashion, and accessory design.

He first gained global attention in 2019 when his Louis Vuitton inspired hair accessory concept went viral, earning features in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Since then, Magnus’s innovative approach blending cultural commentary with bold visual storytelling has become a signature of his work.

In 2022, he presented A Journey to Motherland: Black Panther Gift Shop at the Cincinnati Art Museum, a multimedia installation exploring identity, history, and resistance through design, animation, and sculpture. The work sparked national dialogue and was covered by outlets like Hyperallergic and Desus & Mero.

Magnus continues to push creative boundaries and serve his community as a Navigator for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, helping connect local artists and resources while inspiring conversation across race, culture, and the future.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCFALB

NOVEMBER EVENT PHOTOS

November’s global theme: Growth

Columbus speaker: Corey Favor

In this talk, community builder and creative leader Corey Favor explores how growth begins in the “little rooms” of our lives: the private inner spaces where clarity forms, the imperfect physical rooms where ideas take shape, and the collective rooms where collaboration expands what’s possible. Inspired by OutKast’s origin story and his own creative journey, Corey shows how protecting these rooms, inviting the right people into them, and carrying their spirit into bigger stages fuels authentic evolution. Little rooms, he reminds us, create big impact.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCD332

OCTOBER EVENT PHOTOS

October’s global theme: Soft

Columbus speaker: Russell Lepley

Russell Lepley is a queer interdisciplinary dance artist and community builder. He spent a decade dancing in professional ballet and contemporary companies before co-founding Flux Flow Dance Center, a body-positive and joy-centered movement space for adults of all levels, with his partner Fili Pelacchi in 2017. He creates work with an intergenerational community of performers with varied, rich identities. He facilitates collaborations that honor each participant’s individuality as themes are explored collectively. He considers his work most valuable when it has an impact on his collaborators that extends beyond the act of making: he wants performers to feel they’ve gotten to know themselves better in the process and created connections that are enduring networks of support after the experience is over. So, the more art the community makes, the stronger it becomes as a coalition of people creating the world they want to live in.

See more photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCCXAQ

Welcome to Community Spotlight, featuring members of our Creative Mornings Community! We are so grateful to our community, and love learning more about our members’ creative life and what makes them tick.

This month’s Spotlight Feature is Leslie Battle (she/her)...

Q. Where are you from? If not Columbus, how did you land here?
I grew up in East Texas (Tyler) joined the Army, met a dude from Ohio, ended up in Columbus.

Q. Growing up, what was your family like? Any siblings?
I have an older brother I was raised with but I have 3 younger siblings who I recently connected with.

Q. Where do you live now?
Columbus, near Ohio Dominican University.

Q. Who do you consider your family today?
My adult children, my husband Mike and my step puppy Rocky.

Q. How do you spend your days? What’s your area of expertise?
I'm semi-retired so my days are typically spent working on personal projects or walking out in nature.

Q. What’s the first creative thing you remember making?
Mud pies in my mom's living room. Seemed like a good idea.

Q. What’s a tool—creative or otherwise—you can’t live without?
My imagination. All the physical stuff can be replaced.

Q. What's a creative pursuit you'd love to try but haven't yet?
I want to learn to work with sound therapy. I really enjoy sound baths.

Q. What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning?
Hanging out with hubby.

Q. What's one thing you're secretly good at?
Making lasagna (it's on a short list of dishes I cook well).

Q. What's your favorite life lesson or piece of advice?
Always eat your dessert first cause you never know when the world will end.

Q. Where do you go when you need inspiration?
I check my emails for one of the billion newsletters about creativity I subscribe to.

Q. Why do you choose to be part of the Creative Mornings Columbus community?
I really enjoy seeing people that I don't often see otherwise. I always feel safe and welcome here.

Q. What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned at a Creative Mornings event?
I am, in fact, creative. I fought with this idea for decades in spite of all the performing and writing I have done. It took being in community to give myself permission to accept it.

Q. Tell us about a meaningful connection you’ve made through Creative Mornings?
I have to say meeting the wonderful and one and only La Baker has really helped me to be my own cheerleader and embrace my energetic self.

Q. How has Creative Mornings inspired you to think differently about something?
Each speaker has given me something specific to ponder. I think the most important take away for me is that our differences make us work as community. We can't all do the same thing. Bringing varied talents and experiences together makes for a stronger collective.

Q. How has being part of the community shaped you and your creativity?
I am empowered to embrace my creativity and I feel more comfortable sharing my work with others.