On Friday, November 3, over 500 of our donors came together and celebrated our vibrant community at the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation’s 31st Annual Celebration of Learning.
 
Because of you, we raised over $900,000! These dollars directly benefit our state-of-the-art branches and programmatic activities that help to address critical learning loss and essential life skills support.
 
Please enjoy this thank you from our chairs, Jennifer Massanova and Lou Von Thaer.​
Friday, November 3
Main Library
96 S. Grant Ave.
Event Details:
6 p.m. Cocktail Hour
7 p.m. Program
8:30 p.m. Dinner
10 p.m. Event Concludes
John Green

John Green is the #1 bestselling author known for popular YA novels including An Abundance of Katherines and The Fault in Our Stars, with over 50 million books in print globally. His work has been translated into 55+ languages and some have been adapted into films and tv series.  His oratory skills have made him a sought-after speaker on topics like creativity, mental health, and the importance of storytelling.

Green co-hosts the podcast, The Anthropocene Reviewed, adapted into a critically acclaimed essay collection in 2021. Green, along with his brother Hank, has made significant contributions to digital education through platforms like Vlogbrothers and Crash Course, and co-founded Vidcon.

Born in Orlando, FL, educated at Indian Springs School and Ohio’s Kenyon College, Green, a recipient of the 2006 The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, now lives in Indianapolis, IN.

As we celebrate this year, we look forward to hearing John’s inspiring insights and storytelling that echo our celebration’s spirit.

To make a donation or pay for goods and services.
We look forward to seeing you this Friday, November 3, for Celebration of Learning. Your support has once again led to record-setting fundraising for our library. Here are some important details about the evening’s activities.
Please contact us at col@columbuslibrary.org or 614-849-1051 with any questions.

Announcing the 2022 Awardees and Honorary Chairs

2022 Awardees and Chairs

We are pleased to share this year’s awardees.

JSS Celebration of Learning Award

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld

Ann and Ron Pizzuti are long-time Columbusites known for growing their local real estate development company, transforming public spaces and working to make art inviting and accessible to all. Over the last four decades, they have collected and shared more than 2,000 pieces of contemporary art. In 2015, they transformed a 100-year-old building in the Short North Arts District into the Pizzuti Collection: a public gallery with a sculpture garden and resource library. Through the Pizzuti Collection, Ron and Ann aim to “foster cultural understanding and education exchange by championing a diversity of voices from around the globe.” The space has been part of the Columbus Museum of Art since 2018. Ron and Ann are also lifelong learners who devote time and resources to educational institutions at every level, serving in leadership positions at several schools and universities. Both avid readers, Ann has belonged to the same book club for 37 years and read more than 370 books.

Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation Award

Roger Sugarman

Roger Sugarman joined the Columbus Metropolitan Library Board of Trustees in 2007 and was instrumental to ensuring a world-class library over the course of his two seven-year terms. Roger helped shape the Library’s Finance, Audit, and Nominating Committees as well as the Governance Task Force, chairing each during his tenure. He also held the roles of Board Secretary, Vice President and President – for an unprecedented four years. In addition, Roger was a member of the Library’s Foundation Board from 2011 until 2017 and served as Co-Chair of the “Great Libraries CREATE” campaign. Under his leadership, the Library renovated and rebuilt 13 branch locations and Main Library. Reflecting on more than a decade of service, Roger shared: “CML is a community treasure that positively impacts countless lives in central Ohio each and every day. Whether inspiring reading, sharing resources, or helping build a foundation for a successful future, the Library is at the center of helping us all reach our potential. Now, perhaps more than ever before, the Library needs and deserves our support so that its books and the diversity of thought it engenders can truly be ‘Open To All.’”

JSS Celebration of Learning Award

Mimi

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld

With unbridled enthusiasm Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld has been advocating and celebrating learning for 67 years.  She began her career in Albany, New York, in 1956, teaching fourth grade and moved to Columbus in 1970.  From early childhood programs to senior communities, from prisons and hospitals to preschool classrooms and universities, Mimi has inspired and ignited a celebration of the arts in people of all ages and backgrounds.  She has presented programs in creative education in 46 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Great Britain. 

Mimi earned her M.A. in Elementary Education from the State University of New York Oneonta and has teaching licenses in both New York and Ohio.  She has brought her love for the arts to thousands of students at various institutions including the Columbus Jewish Community Center, Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Otterbein University, and Columbus State Community College. She received OhioDance’s “Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Dance Education for the state of Ohio.”  She believes the arts have a central role in every educational setting.

Mimi started writing at just 9 years old and has written numerous poems, stories, articles, and books. Her children’s novel, The House At 12 Rose Street, one of the first controversial children’s stories of its time, was adapted for a TV special and nominated for an Emmy. Her education books include such titles as Teaching in the Key of Life, Teaching By Heart, Celebrating Young Children and Their Teachers, Creative Experiences For Young Children, Teaching Language Arts Creatively, and Still Teaching In The Key of Life. She wrote a regular column for Columbus Parent Magazine.

Mimi and her late husband, Howie had three children named Cliff, Cara, and Dan.  Her hobbies include dance, music, reading, writing, walking, and moving.  She is active in the poetry community and is a member of the National Council of Jewish Women, OSU Hillel, International Reading Association, National Association of the Education of Young Children, and the American Civil Liberties Union.  Her personal greatest honor comes from a child who wrote and said, “Mimi, you’re the queen of fun.”  

What advice does Mimi have for us?  Be kind to people. Be happy every day to be alive. Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. Take nothing for granted. Appreciate everything.

Make a gift in honor of Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld

Celebration of Learning Honorary Chairs

Moodys

Montra and Jonathan Moody

Montra and Jonathan Moody have a deep passion for their community. The combination of Montra’s LA style and Jonathan’s Columbus roots make for an incredible power couple that we are honored to have as library advocates.

Born and raised in Inglewood, California, Montra transplanted to Columbus in 2012. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Riverside, and an MBA in finance from the University of Redlands. She spent six years with NiSource before joining the Columbus Metropolitan Club where she now serves as Vice President of Operations. Montra was a 2018 graduate of the United Way’s Project Diversity/Pride Leadership, a graduate of Leadership Columbus Class of 2022, honored as a 2023 Business First 40 Under 40 Award winner and serves on the board of See Kids Dream, a nonprofit that helps empower youth and is involved with Huckleberry House.

Jonathan Moody is President and CEO of Moody Nolan, the country’s largest African American owned and managed architecture firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University and a master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Jonathan began working at the firm in 2011 assuming the role of president in 2019. He led the creation of Columbus Metropolitan Library’s new Karl Road, Martin Luther King, Parsons, and Shepard branches. He is currently working on redesigning the Linden branch, which was originally designed by his father, Curtis. The firm won the AIA Architecture Firm award in 2021. Jonathan was named the Columbus CEO of the Year in the small business category in 2021 and received the Young Architects Award from AIA for exceptional leadership in 2021. He is a ranked chess player, a graduate of Leadership Columbus Class of 2013, honored as a 2017 Business First 40 Under 40 winner, and serves on the board of the Columbus State Community College Foundation Board, Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT), and the Godman Guild Association.

The Moody’s live in Westerville with their two children, Nathaniel and Elise. Both Nathaniel and Elise have made their parents proud as budding authors themselves creating two books with their classmates called Space Journeys and Super Elise.

Make a gift in honor of Montra and Jonathan Moody

Celebration of Learning Honorary Chairs

Veronica Meinhard and Kristina Johnson

Each year the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation selects an individual or couple who have shown great appreciation and support for the important role of libraries in our community.

2023 HOST COMMITTEE

Co-Chairs
Jennifer Massanova and
Lou Von Thaer

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Elaina Biffle

Barbara Brandt

Tanisha Lyon Brown

Laney Burgdoerfer

Mary Jo Conte

Sue Cooper

Melanie DeAscentis

Barb Derrow

Marjorie Duffy

Charlie Fraas

Scott Gaines

Diane Garland

DeeDee Glimcher

Ali Haque

Tracy Harrison

Meg Kelley

Charlotte Kessler

Megan Kilgore

Patrick King

Wayne Lawson

Vicki Linville

Jennifer McNally

Lauren Hilsheimer Meier

Amy Milbourne

Katharine Moore

Shannon Morgan

Corde Westwater Robinson

Robin Shockney

Renée Shumate

Barb Siemer

Catherine Strauss

Hope Wolman

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
PRESENTING SPONSORS
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Cameron Mitchell Premier Events

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Encova Insurance

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Heidelberg Distributing Co.

OCLC

PNC

The Robert Weiler Company

 

Thompson Hine LLP

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

White Castle System, Inc.

Worthington Industries

BRONZE SPONSORS

BakerHostetler

Bostwick Design Partnership

Buckeye Innovation

The Christopher Foundation

Columbus Partnership

Columbus State Community College

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Deloitte

The Discover Brighter Futures Fund

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EMH&T

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GUND Partnership

Ice Miller LLP

IGS Energy

Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream

Jones Day

King Business Interiors, Inc.

Matrix Integrated Psychological Services, Inc.

Moody Nolan

NAI Ohio Equities

 

NBBJ

New Albany Community Foundation

The New Albany Company

Park National Bank

PwC

State Auto Insurance Companies

Stifel Public Finance

Taft Law

Wellogy

JANNEY SOCIETY

The Barbara W & Philip R Derrow Family Foundation

Linda and Frank Kass

Jennifer Massanova and Lou Von Thaer

Siemer Family Foundation

ROBERTS SOCIETY

Melanie and Mike DeAscentis

Marilu and Tim Faber

DESHLER SOCIETY

Sandra Doyle-Ahern and Michael Ahern

Rhonda and Charlie Fraas

Donna and Larry James

Lynne and Martyn Redgrave

NOBLE SOCIETY

George Barrett

Beth Crane and Richard McKee

Marjorie Duffy and Mike Gladman

DeeDee and Herb Glimcher

Nancy and Tom Lurie

Carly Miller

Deborah Neimeth

Seanna and Matthew Walter

Paul Smith, Jr.

Colleen Nissl and Roger Sugarman

Jennifer and Ryan Swincicki

Corde Westwater Robinson

PUGH SOCIETY

John Behal and Jim Elliott

Lauren Bonfield and Stephen Keyes

Laney Burgdoerfer

Mary Jo Conte

Kate and Scott Gaines

Carol Andreae and James Garland

Susan and Bill Gillam

Lisal and Don Gorman

Mary and Tom Katzenmeyer

Mary Lazarus

Victoria and Patrick Losinski

Tanisha and Donald Brown

Ann and Ron Pizzuti

Lane and John Rothschild

Sarah and Mark Ryan

Lynne and Stephen Smith

John L. Wirchanski

Donna and Lee Zuiderweg

CARNEGIE SOCIETY

Jane and Stan Ackley

Randy Arndt and Jeff Baker

Ellen and Jim Bachmann

Melissa Barth Kelly

Bill Bartolini & Juan Saenz Ferreyros

Jennifer Baumann

Mark Bernhardt

Elaina Biffle and Kendall Davis

Chief Chukwuemeka Bosah and Dr. Ngozi Osuagwu

Eleanor and Adam Brandt

Barbara and David Brandt

Derrick Coburn & Scott Varner

Sue Cooper

Debbie and Larry Corbus

Sally Crane Cox and Cary Cox

Faith Sisco and Charlie Dankworth

Schooley Caldwell

Gregg Dodd

Christine Farquhar

David and Joanne Frantz

Maria and Tim Frommeyer

Diane and Kim Garland

Joanne Goldhand and Justin D’arms

Joy and Mike Gonsiorowski

Babette T. Gorman and Jack Buckingham

Linda and Bill Habig

Nedra Patison Hadley

Chrissy Hand

Lauren Hagan and Jim Venetucci

Amanda and Charlie Hansen

Tracy and David Harrison

Ali Haque

Rachel and Jim Heine

Sheryl and Phil Heit

Lauren Hilsheimer Meier and John Meier

Ann and Tom Hoaglin

GHH Advisors

Charlotte and Jack Kessler

Megan Kilgore

Cynthia Kincaid

Kelly Ruoff and Patrick King

Clara Kridler and Slater Meehan

Monica and Doug Kridler

Midge and Tally Krumm

Karen and John Larrimer, MD

Wayne Lawson and Bill Mitchell

Lexie and Trip Lazarus

Vicki and Ron Linville

Jennifer McNally

Amy and Bob Milbourne

Katharine Moore

Jane P. Mykrantz

Debra and Brian Pack

Nadine and Keith Pierce

Janica Pierce Tucker

Sue and Mark Real

David Schooler

Teckie and Don Shackelford

Robin and Andrew Shockney

Renée and Alex Shumate

Laura and Jay Simonds

Sheila and Gene Smith

Stewart Smith

Deanna and Steve Stewart

Catherine Strauss and John Lowe

Cathy Taub

Wendy Tressler

Magaly Borrero-Vázquez and Carlos Vázquez

Arlene and Michael Weiss

Linda Larrimer and Hugh Westwater

Toya and David White

Kathy and Alec Wightman

Kyatonna and Anthony Wilson

Nan Winslow

Hope Wolman

The Edward J. Yen Family

Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

96 S. Grant Ave. | Columbus, Ohio 43215