Cleveland Heights
Eugene Malinskiy, founder of healthIT integrated solutions provider DragonID, didn’t even know a friend had nominated him for the 2015 Forbes.com 30 Under 30 in the manufacturing and industry category. And even though he was featured as one of the 30, Malinskiy just wants to focus on the work at hand.
“It’s nice to get recognized and nice to get the award, but we want to be left alone to do our work,” Malinskiy, 29, says. By work, he means a host of projects in everything from orthopedic and cardiac devices to pain treatments and wearable technology.
DragonID works on both their own ideas generated in-house and ideas brought to them from some of the area’s top people in healthcare. “We’ve done work with all the big boys in town – the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals,” Malinskiy boasts. “Physicians and others bring projects to us and say, ‘Hey, we have an idea for a product on a napkin, can you improve upon it?’ We follow down projects that we’ll hopefully be able to put into production.”
Most recently, DragonID developed a device that reduces the risk of stroke after aortic valve replacement surgery; this is the innovation that led to recognition by Forbes. The device is currently being tested. When it gets to production, Malinskiy plans to manufacture the product locally.
Founded out of LaunchHouse, DragonID now has offices in Cleveland Heights. Malinskiy credits his company’s success with the support he’s received from LaunchHouse, as well as from organizations like BioEnterprise, JumpStart and GLIDE.
Malinskiy credits DragonID’s success with the support that these organizations have provided, as well as having access to top physicians. “We sort of have our pick of the best projects,” he says, although he also prides himself on client confidentiality. “Of course it has to be related to medical, needs to pay and, obviously, needs to be interesting. As long as I know my team and I can do it, we’ll take it on.”
“It’s nice to get recognized and nice to get the award, but we want to be left alone to do our work,” Malinskiy, 29, says. By work, he means a host of projects in everything from orthopedic and cardiac devices to pain treatments and wearable technology.
DragonID works on both their own ideas generated in-house and ideas brought to them from some of the area’s top people in healthcare. “We’ve done work with all the big boys in town – the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals,” Malinskiy boasts. “Physicians and others bring projects to us and say, ‘Hey, we have an idea for a product on a napkin, can you improve upon it?’ We follow down projects that we’ll hopefully be able to put into production.”
Most recently, DragonID developed a device that reduces the risk of stroke after aortic valve replacement surgery; this is the innovation that led to recognition by Forbes. The device is currently being tested. When it gets to production, Malinskiy plans to manufacture the product locally.
Founded out of LaunchHouse, DragonID now has offices in Cleveland Heights. Malinskiy credits his company’s success with the support he’s received from LaunchHouse, as well as from organizations like BioEnterprise, JumpStart and GLIDE.
Malinskiy credits DragonID’s success with the support that these organizations have provided, as well as having access to top physicians. “We sort of have our pick of the best projects,” he says, although he also prides himself on client confidentiality. “Of course it has to be related to medical, needs to pay and, obviously, needs to be interesting. As long as I know my team and I can do it, we’ll take it on.”
Six months after Cleveland hosted the Gay Games, and with a dramatic national shift toward greater acceptance, it’s more comfortable than ever before to be an LGBTQ person in Northeast Ohio. Yet obstacles remain -- especially for those who are less economically and socially connected.
Help plan the Eastside Greenway, check out a show at the Bop Stop, view thousands of new flowers on display at Orchid Mania and meet Lake Erie Eddie.
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Any beer lover in Cleveland is painfully aware that the growth of the craft brewery industry leaves little time to try all of the available options. Bob and Shelle Campbell solve that problem with the Cleveland Brew Bus – a 22-seat party bus that takes riders on tasting tours of Cleveland’s most popular breweries.
Started in June 2013 by the Campbells, the tasting tour takes riders on a five-hour tour of three local breweries. Each stop features three to four sample sized beers and the opportunity of order food. While on the bus, tour coordinator Leslie Basalla educates and entertains riders with brewery and beer facts.
“Every tour is a little different,” Basalla explains. “We have home brewers, craft brewers and people just along to have fun. We play to the varying levels of knowledge.”
Basalla, who is in the process of buying the business along with boyfriend Brian McCafferty from the Campbells, joined Brew Bus after serving as front of house manager for Market Garden Brewery. Basalla is a certified beer steward through the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
There were about seven breweries on the tour list when Basalla joined the business in 2014, and that list has grown exponentially as Cleveland’s brewery scene has grown. “There are new breweries opening up constantly,” she says. “We’re adding one brewery about every two months. It’s a small community where everyone knows each other.” Recent additions include Platform Beer Co. and Brick and Barrel.
Tours are primarily in Cleveland and the suburbs, but the Brew Bus occasionally will travel to Akron and Lake County for tastings. Private tours are available as well, although Basalla recommends people call at least two months in advance from July through October to book a Saturday night. “Sundays are wide open,” says Basalla. “If you have at least 10 people and you want a tour, I’ll give you a tour any day of the week.”
Tickets for public tours can be purchased on the Cleveland Brew Bus website.
Started in June 2013 by the Campbells, the tasting tour takes riders on a five-hour tour of three local breweries. Each stop features three to four sample sized beers and the opportunity of order food. While on the bus, tour coordinator Leslie Basalla educates and entertains riders with brewery and beer facts.
“Every tour is a little different,” Basalla explains. “We have home brewers, craft brewers and people just along to have fun. We play to the varying levels of knowledge.”
Basalla, who is in the process of buying the business along with boyfriend Brian McCafferty from the Campbells, joined Brew Bus after serving as front of house manager for Market Garden Brewery. Basalla is a certified beer steward through the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
There were about seven breweries on the tour list when Basalla joined the business in 2014, and that list has grown exponentially as Cleveland’s brewery scene has grown. “There are new breweries opening up constantly,” she says. “We’re adding one brewery about every two months. It’s a small community where everyone knows each other.” Recent additions include Platform Beer Co. and Brick and Barrel.
Tours are primarily in Cleveland and the suburbs, but the Brew Bus occasionally will travel to Akron and Lake County for tastings. Private tours are available as well, although Basalla recommends people call at least two months in advance from July through October to book a Saturday night. “Sundays are wide open,” says Basalla. “If you have at least 10 people and you want a tour, I’ll give you a tour any day of the week.”
Tickets for public tours can be purchased on the Cleveland Brew Bus website.
Beaumont School, a Catholic school for girls in Cleveland Heights, unveiled its new STEM addition with a ribbon cutting on Monday, January 5th, re-emphasizing its commitment to science, technology, engineering and math and education with the $9.5 million building. “Our science facilities were over 50 years old,” says Beaumont president Sister Gretchen Rodenfels. “I graduated in 1965 and we were using the same science equipment today.”
The movement to improve STEM education for girls has been growing, and Rodenfels says Beaumont has proven in recent years that girls do excel in science and math. “Really, in the United States, students are not as prepared in science, technology, engineering and math as other developed countries,” says Rodenfels. "Now we have eight science rooms, four prep rooms and all new equipment. Each room is dedicated to a different area of the curriculum.”
In fact, Rodenfels says a STEM education provides well-rounded preparation for any field the students choose. “If you are strong in STEM skills, that can be transferred to any career – deductive reasoning, collaboration, problem solving.”
For the past two years, Beaumont students have participated in the Alliance for Working Together's (AWT) annual RoboBot Competition. “The first year we had the only all-girls team and the guys were making wisecracks,” says Rodenfels. “The following year we came in third at nationals.”
Additionally, the new wing has administration and guidance offices, a clinic, a two-story student common area with outdoor patio and a new front entrance. Construction began on the 25,000 square-foot building in September 2013.
The movement to improve STEM education for girls has been growing, and Rodenfels says Beaumont has proven in recent years that girls do excel in science and math. “Really, in the United States, students are not as prepared in science, technology, engineering and math as other developed countries,” says Rodenfels. "Now we have eight science rooms, four prep rooms and all new equipment. Each room is dedicated to a different area of the curriculum.”
In fact, Rodenfels says a STEM education provides well-rounded preparation for any field the students choose. “If you are strong in STEM skills, that can be transferred to any career – deductive reasoning, collaboration, problem solving.”
For the past two years, Beaumont students have participated in the Alliance for Working Together's (AWT) annual RoboBot Competition. “The first year we had the only all-girls team and the guys were making wisecracks,” says Rodenfels. “The following year we came in third at nationals.”
Additionally, the new wing has administration and guidance offices, a clinic, a two-story student common area with outdoor patio and a new front entrance. Construction began on the 25,000 square-foot building in September 2013.
Our city seems to be constantly in the spotlight these days, for our innovations as well as our challenges. Meet a group of leaders who are redefining the narrative of our city and pushing us to collectively move forward.
Just after marking its one-year anniversary in business, PrestoFresh Grocery, which delivers groceries out of Zagara’s Marketplace in Cleveland Heights to all of Cuyahoga County and parts of Lorain, Lake, Summit and Portage Counties, has doubled its business and is expanding again.
Founder Steve DeMoulpied says that sales have grown by 115 percent during the first year. He has 15 employees – eight on staff and seven contractors – and is currently hiring order preppers, pickers, packers and drivers.
Now PrestoFresh is expanding its services to include wellness and nutrition expert Amy Jamieson-Petonic, AKA Amy J.
Amy J. will write a free monthly blog for all PrestoFresh newsletter registrants. Amy J. looks for foods that keep her clients energized and healthy throughout the year and she even adds humor and science to her blogs. This month’s topic is “Top 5 Foods for Health & Happiness This Holiday Season.”
DeMoulpied has a background in health and wellness and he knew when he started PrestoFresh that he wanted to incorporate that component into his services. “We thought we could do more than just deliver groceries,” he says. “We thought we could be a foundation for other things. We make it easier for people to access high quality foods. The first little step in that direction is to think about what else we can do from a health and wellness standpoint.” The link will be in PrestoFresh’s bi-weekly newsletter.
Amy J. will offer her wellness consulting from her website, making it easier for PrestoFresh customers to find and select the products that make the most sense for their personal nutrition goals.
PrestoFresh and Amy J. are also cross-promoting each other. PrestoFresh customers can use their rewards points for a free 30-minute consultation with Amy J., while customers who sign up for two months of coaching with Amy J. will receive free delivery during that period.
Founder Steve DeMoulpied says that sales have grown by 115 percent during the first year. He has 15 employees – eight on staff and seven contractors – and is currently hiring order preppers, pickers, packers and drivers.
Now PrestoFresh is expanding its services to include wellness and nutrition expert Amy Jamieson-Petonic, AKA Amy J.
Amy J. will write a free monthly blog for all PrestoFresh newsletter registrants. Amy J. looks for foods that keep her clients energized and healthy throughout the year and she even adds humor and science to her blogs. This month’s topic is “Top 5 Foods for Health & Happiness This Holiday Season.”
DeMoulpied has a background in health and wellness and he knew when he started PrestoFresh that he wanted to incorporate that component into his services. “We thought we could do more than just deliver groceries,” he says. “We thought we could be a foundation for other things. We make it easier for people to access high quality foods. The first little step in that direction is to think about what else we can do from a health and wellness standpoint.” The link will be in PrestoFresh’s bi-weekly newsletter.
Amy J. will offer her wellness consulting from her website, making it easier for PrestoFresh customers to find and select the products that make the most sense for their personal nutrition goals.
PrestoFresh and Amy J. are also cross-promoting each other. PrestoFresh customers can use their rewards points for a free 30-minute consultation with Amy J., while customers who sign up for two months of coaching with Amy J. will receive free delivery during that period.
Cleveland Heights is working to attract new businesses to the city and provide established merchants with resources and loans so that they succeed.
Rocked by a pair of senseless tragedies, Cedar Lee merchants say they can't remember a sadder year. Yet they say their community has been painted in an unfair light. Crime is down overall, many merchants are thriving and street improvements are in the works.
The Cleveland Heights Police Department has long had a reputation for doling out too many speeding and parking tickets, but new leadership is partnering with businesses and making community policing a focus.
Ask a millennial about the east-west divide and their eyebrows usually rise and knit over their black frame glasses. These days, west side shops are popping up on the east side, while east side institutions are making inroads west.
Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute, the French restaurant at Shaker Square that employs ex-convicts and gives them on-the-job training and a foothold in the industry in an upscale restaurant, celebrated its first birthday on November 1st.
Founder and chef Brandon Chrostowski sees many reasons to celebrate with the success the restaurant has seen in its first year. Forty-four students have graduated from the program and 40 have gone on to work in fine dining establishments in the region. In the first class, 100 percent of the graduates had jobs within 30 days of graduation and 85 percent of the graduates still were working in their jobs six months later.
Edwins took in $1.4 million last year, which covered roughly 73% of the school portion of the restaurant’s model, which teaches its student employees virtually every aspect of running a restaurant. Edwins also has a long list of sponsors and supporters who believe in second chances.
Goals for Edwins’ second year include 75 graduates with 80 percent job retention after a year; 81 percent of total expenses covered by restaurant sales and diner contributions; and a less than five percent recidivism rate.
Chrostowski says the restaurant has learned some lessons in the first year as well. Smaller classes of 12 to 15 accepted every six weeks instead of 55 students starting all at once result in a higher graduation rate. “You’re going to get better results with a smaller class because you’re going to get to know the students more,” explains Chrostowski.
Housing, transportation and childcare are the biggest issues for Edwins students to overcome. Those issues are being resolved through the kindness of patrons and friends. A group of Ruffing Montessori School parents and teachers recently walked in to Edwins to offer their help. That group now provides childcare five days a week. Chrostowski was able to secure 30 beds on E. 130th Street and St. Clair Avenue for those employees who need a place to stay. And he recently brought on a case manager to help with additional support needs.
“We’re all working as hard as we can for each other to get on with the next phase of their lives,” says Chrostowski, who also credits his staff of three managers with providing guidance and support. Chrostowski is always looking for volunteers to help continue Edwins’ success.
Young people born in Cleveland in the 90s don't feel a sense of nostalgia for the city's heyday. Instead, they see an increasingly vibrant city as a place of opportunity, provided we stay on our current path.