Leadership on Main
Conversations with Akron's Change-Makers

About Leadership on Main

Leadership on Main is our monthly conversation with Akron's prominent change-makers. This unique platform lets today's leaders share their successes and lessons, inspiring tomorrow's community leaders.

Join us each month, as our guest speakers reveal their leadership journeys, sharing the strategies and experiences that have shaped them. Discover what's worked, what hasn't, and how they have and continue to achieve success.

When and Where?

Every mid-month Wednesday, we convene at The Duck Club by Firestone at Canal Park (Home of our Akron RubberDucks) to promote and foster leadership in the heart of our community.

Who Should Attend?

Leadership on Main is an opportunity to gain insights from Akron’s changemakers while connecting with our broader Leadership Akron community. Attendance is highly recommended for: 

  • Leadership Akron’s current program participants and alumni

  • Current and emerging community leaders

  • Community partners

  • Changemaker supporters

  • Torchbearers members

  • Anyone looking to gain more knowledge about Leadership Akron programming

What to Expect?

At Leadership on Main, we prioritize nourishing both mind and body. That's why, thanks to the generosity of Ken Babby, President of the Akron Rubber Ducks, both the program and food (breakfast or appetizers) are free. Each month, the speaker suggests a charity to which donations can be made by attendees.

Here's a glimpse of a typical event:

  • 7:30 am: Doors open and networking begins

  • 8:00 am: Welcome and introductory remarks from Leadership Akron President.

  • 8:05 am: The conversation begins, offering insight into the leadership journey of our guest speaker.

  • 8:45 am: Conversation concludes, followed by questions from our attendees.

  • 9:00 am: Event wrap-up.

Join us at Leadership on Main – where we're not just talking about leadership, we're living it.

Upcoming Leadership on Main Events

November 12
7:30-9:00 am

Speaker: John Demmler
President & CEO of 717 Credit Union

Moderator: Abigail Cloutier
Director of Communications & Media, 717 Credit Union

Register Now

MORE EVENTS

MORE EVENTS

December 10, 2025
4:00-5:30 PM

Speaker: Susan Zake
Editor in Chief, Signal Akron

Moderator: Kirstin Toth
Principal Consultant at K.S. Toth Associates, LLC
(Signature 27)

Susan Kirkman Zake is the founding editor in chief of Signal Akron, a nonprofit, start-up newsroom launched in December 2024. Our mission is to ensure that all residents of Greater Akron have the local (free) news they need. Signal Akron is the second newsroom in the Signal Ohio network of independent, community-led newsrooms. We are one of the largest local nonprofit news startups in the country and are backed by a coalition of Ohio organizations, community leaders, and the American Journalism Project. Before her Signal life began, Zake was a professor in the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State and the embedded newsroom adviser to the school’s award-winning student media. She taught reporting classes that included public policy reporting, Solutions Journalism, and data skills — she also founded and ran Kent State’s Collaborative NewsLab, which connects student reporters with professional media partners. Before joining the Kent State faculty in 2007, Zake was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her photojournalist images; she also shares in three Pulitzer Prize team awards. Zake is the 2020 recipient of the Distinguished Adviser Award for Four-Year Multimedia from the College Media Association (CMA).

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January 21, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: Dr. Teri Lash-Ritter
President, Cleveland Clinic Akron General
(Signature 34)

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

February 11, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: Stephanie York
Executive Director, Shaw JCC of Akron
(Signature 29)

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

March 11, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: Steve Elliott
Chief Magistrate, Summit County Probate Court
(Signature 40)

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

April 15, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: John Williams
President & CEO, Akron Urban League
(Signature 27)

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

May 20, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

June 17, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

August 12, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

September 16, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

October 7, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!

November 11, 2026
7:30–9:00 AM

Speaker: Chrissy Myers
CEO, Associated Underwriters Insurance
(SIG 36/WNCLI 4)

Moderator: Leslie Ungar
Electric Impulse

Details TBA!

December 9, 2026
4:00–5:30 PM

Speaker: TBA

Moderator: TBA

Details TBA!