CLEVELAND: Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will discuss how the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, will mobilize their grassroots network and expand their political reach over the next 18 months to elect a pro-choice president in 2008 at noon on Friday, July 13, 2007, at The City Club of Cleveland.

In the 2006 midterm elections, Planned Parenthood played a central role in defeating anti-choice policies and politicians, and reproductive health care looks to be one of the major issues in the 2008 election. Planned Parenthood plans to motivate supporters to vote for a pro-prevention health care agenda, which includes access to affordable birth control, including emergency contraception, and expanding family planning services and medically accurate sex education.

Prior to Planned Parenthood, Richards served as founder and president of America Votes, a coalition of more than 30 national organizations that raised and spent more than $350 million to maximize voter registration, education, and mobilization among grassroots organizations in 2004.

Richards, the daughter of the late Texas Governor Ann Richards, also served as deputy chief of staff for House member and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, where she played a key role in her election as the first female Democratic leader of the House of Representatives. She began her career organizing low-wage garment workers on the Rio Grande border in Texas, and she took a role in directing the successful “Justice for Janitors” campaign in Los Angeles.

Tickets for this City Club Friday Forum are $18 for members and $30 for non-members. Lunch is included. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance of the event. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.

The Changing Face of Cleveland: Getting a Lift in Arts Districts

CLEVELAND: Matt Zone, Ward 17 councilman, Dan Cuffaro, chair of the Department of Industrial Design at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), and Dr. Ned Hill, vice president of economic development for Cleveland State University, will discuss the impact two new arts and cultural districts will have on the revitalization of Cleveland at noon on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at The City Club of Cleveland. Plain Dealer art & architecture critic Steve Litt will serve as program host.

A restored Capitol Theatre, a transplanted Near West Theatre, and a fresh new streetscape are just a few features of the renewal of the Detroit & W. 65th Street crossroads. Matt Zone is the driving force behind the Gordon Square Cultural Arts District development. He will report on how the Arts District effort will bring excitement and a new prosperity to this historic neighborhood.

The Cleveland District of Design is an innovative development concept created by Dan Cuffaro and Ned Hill to define Cleveland as the product design capital of the U.S.—The Milan of the Midwest. The concept is a natural for Cleveland, which has been a leader in industrial design dating back to the days when Viktor Schreckengost established the first such program in the country at CIA. With the Euclid Corridor as its core, the District will gather together the best consumer design talent of the region and beyond to provide a marketplace of showrooms displaying original consumer product design.

This program is second in a two-part series on our town’s changing face. The three examples featured in this series demonstrate the commitment of leaders to the revitalization of the mother city.

Tickets for this City Club Special Program are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.