Katie Payne became the new CEO of Lifebanc last December. While still adjusting to Cleveland winters after moving north from Atlanta, Payne brings a personal connection to her role in organ donation advocacy. After losing her brother to a car accident, Payne found herself drawn to a career in healthcare and organ transplantation.

The annual Garden Walk Cleveland Heights showcased 54 private gardens for self-guided tours last weekend. Visitors experienced a wide range of garden styles, from traditional English gardens to contemporary art displays, and even a treehouse, highlighting the creativity and diversity of Cleveland Heights' gardening community.

Teen entrepreneur Josh Friedlander has turned his passion for cooking and gardening into a successful jam-making business. What started as a pandemic project has grown into a thriving enterprise, with Jam by Josh products now available in multiple stores.

The BorderLight Festival will take over Playhouse Square later this month, featuring more than 40 performances across 16 stages in Playhouse Square. This year's festival expands its international programming and accessibility efforts while offering a diverse range of shows, including Fringe Jr. performances for younger audiences, street dance battles, and interactive theater experiences.

Troy Parsh started the Amusement Preservation Museum in Grafton to preserve and restore artifacts from Northeast Ohio's historic amusement parks. The museum's collection includes rides, parts, and memorabilia from over 30 Ohio parks, offering visitors a nostalgic journey through the region's rich amusement park history.

Clevelanders showed their true colors on Saturday at the Pride in the CLE 2025 march and celebration, organized by the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. Thousands of people gathered downtown to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community. The event featured a march through the city streets, followed by a festival with food trucks, vendors, and live entertainment.

Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA) in the West Park neighborhood is the state's only dual language charter academy offering immersion in Spanish and Mandarin. Since its inception in 2016, GALA has grown steadily each year, setting students up for success in an increasingly globalized world.

FreshWater is sharing six of the winning poems and essays written by local students for The Maltz Museum’s 2025 Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out and Youth Sing Out essay and poetry contest.

Cleveland Chain Reaction, the annual pitch competition organized by the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Council of Smaller Enterprises, is now accepting applications for its eighth season.

City Fresh, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making fresh, local produce more accessible, is hosting its second annual Open House and Plant Sale at the George Jones Memorial Farm in Oberlin. The event offers visitors the opportunity to tour the farm, meet new farmers, and purchase garden-ready plants while learning about City Fresh's community-supported agriculture program and mission to improve food access in Northeast Ohio.

Dr. Diana Ponsky, a refugee turned double board-certified plastic surgeon, has overcome numerous challenges to become a respected physician and mentor in her field. Her journey from fleeing Vietnam to establishing a successful practice in Ohio exemplifies resilience and determination.

FreshWater Cleveland has been recognized by the Press Club of Cleveland in the 2025 All-Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards. Three of its writers, Karin Connelly Rice, Rebecca Cahill, and Grant Segall, will be honored for their stories covering food insecurity, outdoor experiences for urban youth, and a restaurant's resilience during the pandemic. The awards ceremony will take place on June 6 at the House of Blues.

The Teen Writers' Symposium, organized by Lake Erie Ink and Cleveland State University's English Department, is designed to inspire young writers with interactive workshops, panel discussions, and meet-and-greets with acclaimed local and regional authors. The event will cover various genres including poetry, fiction, fantasy, and graphic novels, and a chance to connect with like-minded peers.

The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, joining an elite group of only 3% of U.S. museums to receive this recognition. The rigorous accreditation process highlights WRHS' commitment to excellence in education, collection stewardship, and community engagement.

The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and Shaker Historical Society are hosting a Historic Homes Tour, showcasing four homes along the Shaker Parklands. The event celebrates the preservation of green space following the successful "Freeway Fighters" campaign in the 1960s that prevented the construction of highways through Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights.

With a diverse background, BAYarts' new executive director Elizabeth "Beth" Milli says she wants to make art more accessible and welcoming to the community and engage younger residents while also overseeing the Huntington Playhouse restoration.