Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Lisa Wagner

YWCA’s Women of Influence Awards is Back

By

For more than 25 years, the YWCA’s Women of Influence Awards have honored our communities female leaders who use their voices, vision to make a lasting impact in the community. In a release, YWCA stated honorees exemplify the organization’s mission to “eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.”

“This event helps highlight YWCA’s goal to help women break the glass ceiling,” said Teresa Sanders, YWCA Dayton Interim CEO. “We can’t wait to honor these remarkable women and tell their stories, while also highlighting the lifesaving services that YWCA Dayton has provided for women and children in our community for more than 150 years. The YWCA is in a time of growth and rebuilding, and we need the support of our community to serve the women and children who walk through our doors every day – seeking shelter, security, and a safe place to land.”

The 2026 honorees are:

  • Debbie Blunden Diggs – CEO and artistic director, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company
  • Myla Cardona Jones – CEO, Brunner Literacy Center
  • Robyn Lightcap – Executive director, Preschool Promise
  • Heather Salazar – President and CEO, Pink Ribbon Good
  • Lisa Wagner – Executive director, Levitt Pavilion Dayton

Betsy B. Whitney

The YWCA Dayton is proud to announce the renaming of its most prestigious honor to The Betsy B. Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of its longest-serving champion. Betsy Whitney’s dedication to the organization is unparalleled, spanning over 65 years and including 50 continuous years on the Board of Directors, culminating in more than 80,000 hours of service. Her leadership proved foundational to the YWCA’s mission: she was a driving force behind the organization becoming the second in the country to open a shelter for battered women, and she personally inspired the creation of the annual Women of Influence Luncheon, the major event where this very award is bestowed. This permanent designation ensures that all future recipients will be measured by the exceptional standard of service, tenacity, and commitment to gender and racial equality that Betsy Whitney set for the entire community.

Vicki Giambrone

Vicki Giambrone– Partner, CBD Advisors, will be the recipient of the 2026 Betsy Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award.

For over 23 years, she served as the vice president for strategic partnerships and business development for Dayton Children’s Hospital. She managed the hospital’s highly successful business development efforts and strategic partnerships. She developed the nationally recognized public affairs and advocacy program; developed the referral physician program and community outreach efforts and as well as leading marketing, strategic planning and Foundation Services. She is a very active community advocate and has served on many boards over the past 30 years. Currently she serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Pink Ribbon Girls and Greene Inc and as a board member for two private corporations. In addition, Vicki serves the City of Beavercreek as an elected official to the City Council and was selected by Governor John Kasich to serve on his Executive Workforce Task Force Board.  She has earned Fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives and is board certified in health care administration; and earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Dayton.

Rachel Jessup

Rachel Jessup, YWCA Dayton board chair

“We would like to thank YWCA Dayton’s Board of Directors, led by Chair Rachel Jessup, the Y staff led by Teresa Sanders and our incredible community stakeholders for working tirelessly to bring this beloved event back,” Earl and Broughton said in a joint statement. “This celebration means so much – to this community and to us personally. We hope you’ll join us in honoring these extraordinary women, whose leadership and impact truly embody what it means to be Women of Influence in our community.”

The YWCA Dayton will honor the 2026 Women of Influence and Betsy B. Whitney Lifetime Achievement Honorees on March 12, 2026, from 11:30 am-1:00 pm at the Dayton Convention Center.  Tickets can be purchased online here.

Four Nights of FREE TEDxDayton Talks

By

For the first time, this year’s TEDxDayton will be a virtual event featuring four new talks on four nights in November — 16 talks in all — during live-stream events that can be viewed online for free.

The events will be live-streamed on YouTube and at TEDxDayton.com at 7 pm on Nov. 10, 12, 17 and 19 — each one an entirely different program with new talks and performers.

“This is both unusual and exciting for us. In past years when our Signature Event has been done live at the Victoria Theatre, we’ve never released the speaker lineup before the day of the show,” said Brenden Wynn, one of this year’s co-chairs of the event. “This year is different, of course. The pandemic made it necessary to make the event virtual, and this year we want our audience to know what to look forward to when they tune in.”

“It was very important to us to keep TEDxDayton going this year,” said co-chair Bridget S. Hutt. “So many events have been canceled or postponed; knowing how important the ideas and stories of TEDxDayton are to our audience, we wanted to present TEDxDayton 2020 as our gift to the community during this challenging year.”

“What is the same this year, despite the online format, is that our talks, hosts and performers have deep Dayton-area connections and each, in their own way, show anew how this is such a wonderful place to live and work. Our speakers have worked as hard as ever to give the talk of their lives, in the TED spirit of presenting us with Ideas Worth Spreading,” said Ron Rollins, the third co-chair for this year’s event.

The live-stream programs will also feature new performances by Dayton guitar master Jim McCutcheon, the popular longtime host of Discover Classical’s “The Intimate Guitar,” and Ted Yoder, a nationally renowned player of the hammered dulcimer who shares how this beloved folk instrument helped him meet a rock star.

Also on deck is a newly created dance by well-known local choreographer Rodney Veal — also a former TEDxDayton speaker — featuring Dayton Contemporary Dance Company member Brianna Rhodes and music by Josh Strange.

“We’re so proud of the entire group of speakers, volunteers, performers and partners and the great work they’ve put in during this unusual year,” Wynn said.

Here is the lineup for each night’s program:

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 pm

Host: Lisa Wagner
Speakers:
• Daj’za Demmings, discussing intergenerational mentorship.
• Anne Marie Romer and Conor Crippen, discussing Conor’s traumatic brain injury and giving up the burden of trauma.
• Subhashini Ganapathy, sharing how industrial systems engineering is actually fun and improves our world.
• Timothy Nevius, discussing the exploitation of college athletes.
• Performance by Ted Yoder.
The evening will include a Q&A session between Wagner and Demmings about her talk.

Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 pm

Host: Joshua Stucky
Speakers:
• Dr. Ronald Fletcher, former health director for the state of Ohio, on how the AIDS crisis taught us lessons about the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Kathleen Wiant, discussing the dangers of hazing and bullying, and how it affected her family.
• Ann Puckett, sharing how DIY isn’t about doing it yourself and actually builds community.
• Amy Riegel, discussing affordable housing and how our zip codes define our opportunities.
• Performance by Rodney Veal and Brianna Rhodes.
The evening will include a Q&A session between Stucky and Fletcher about his talk.

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 pm

Host: Karen Townsend
Speakers:
• Jacquelyn Wright Palmer, discussing genealogy and her family’s history of enslavement.
• Shomari Payne, discussing the inheritance of poverty.
• Christopher Wyatt, discussing how opioids, overdoses and breathing are connected.
• TEDxYouth@Dayton speakers Dana Clark and Ryann Mescher talk about the non-profit they created to address “period poverty.”
The evening will include a Q&A session between Townsend and Palmer to discuss her talk.

Thursday, Nov. 19, 7 pm

Host: Neal Gittleman
Speakers:
• Jodie Mader, talking about how it feels to be a Luddite in a high-tech world.
• Elijah Muhammad, sharing his personal experience with labor trafficking.
• Joshua Montgomery, discussing how building “Star Wars” droids made him a better teacher. • Charlie Campbell, sharing his personal experience with downsizing and saying goodbye.
• Performance by Jim McCutcheon.
The evening will include a Q&A session between Gittleman and Mader about her talk.

Talks and performances were recorded before small, socially distanced and masked groups of family and friends in October at the Creative Arts Center at Wright State University, with the close partnership of staff and students from the College of Liberal Arts.

This year’s event is made possible with support from title partner Wright-Patt Credit Union and our creative partner, Wright State College of Liberal Arts with special thanks to the Theater, Dance, and Motion Pictures Department.

To learn more, visit TEDxDayton.com.

Levitt Pavilion Dayton Names Executive Director

By

The Board of Ttrustees of the Friends of Levitt Pavilion Dayton welcome Lisa Wagner as their Executive Director. Jeff Ireland, Board chair, said, “We are delighted to have Lisa as the first Executive Director, to lead Levitt Pavilion Dayton as an important asset in the community. Lisa brings extensive experience in programming and audience experience and development.”

 

Lisa has spent the past 14 years of her career working for the Victoria Theatre Association, most recently as the Vice President of Ticketing and Hospitality. Lisa was part of the team that opened the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in 2003. She has been part of the senior leadership team for the past 10 years with responsibility over Ticket Center Stage, Citilites Restaurant and Catering, and audience services. She has also been part of the programming team that presented many successful series. “I am honored and excited to be joining Levitt Pavilion Dayton as Executive Director. I have been fortunate to have learned so much at the Victoria Theatre Association, thanks to the leadership that allowed me that growth” Lisa comments. “Now I am looking forward to working alongside the Board to advance the mission of Levitt Pavilion Dayton. It will be great to lead the team that will create a space to bring our community together with the power of free, live music, to enjoy at least 50 concerts annually. Levitt Pavilion Dayton will be an integral element to invigorating our inner core.”

 

About Levitt Pavilion Dayton

When completed in 2018, Levitt Pavilion Dayton will be located on Dave Hall Plaza and will become the eighth signature Levitt Pavilion, joining Denver, Pasadena, Arlington, Memphis, Bethlehem, and Los Angeles. Central to the Levitt Pavilion’s mission is the creation and the development of gathering spaces that will result in stronger, healthier, and interconnected neighborhoods. Levitt Pavilion Dayton will provide 50 free concerts to the community, featuring local, regional national and international musicians, with an emphasis on creative and diverse programming.

 

Construction of Levitt Pavilion Dayton will begin in the Fall of 2017 with the venue opening in June 2018.