Eco Meet CLE - Cleveland's Blue Economy

Eco Meet CLE - Cleveland's Blue Economy

Author: Diane Bickett and Greg Rotuno December 11, 2025 Duration: 48:21

Send us Fan Mail

Our region's water isn’t just running through our taps; it is shaping our region and our future. Cleveland is a waterfront city, and in this episode, you will hear how technology, entrepreneurship, destination development, maritime trade, and recreation are blossoming under our culture of freshwater stewardship. 

This recording is from Eco Meet CLE, a gathering of local sustainability leaders held on November 18th at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Some have called us a beer-drinking group with a sustainability problem. It works. Eco Meet events are a fun way for people to connect and learn about impactful work in a fun and casual setting. 

The topic for the night was our Blue Economy, and we brought together several speakers who reflected on their role in Cleveland's water economy and how this shared asset, which must be protected, makes our waterfront such a vibrant and engaging space for residents, visitors, business, and career development. Our panelists included:

  1. Emily Bacha, Director of the Cuyahoga County Fresh Water Institute
  2. Samantha Martin, Director of Communications and Engagement, Cleveland Water Alliance
  3. Kierra Cotton, Marketing and Communications Manager, the Port of Cleveland
  4. Captain Drew Ferguson, Founder and CEO of Argonaut
  5. Kate Wells, Manager of Environmental Stewardship and Quality, Interlake Steamship Company
  6. Max Pennington, Co-Founder of CLEANR 

 If you care about clean water, good jobs, and resilient cities, this story is yours. Follow, share with a friend who loves Lake Erie, and leave a quick review to help more people discover how Northeast Ohio turns stewardship into strength.

A clarification for listeners: Cleveland's Irishtown Bend Park is expected to be completed in 2028 or 2029, following the Port of Cleveland's stabilization of the hillside in 2026. 

Support the show

Become a Subscriber

Follow Eco Speaks CLE on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
Contact
 - hello@ecospeakscle.com


There's a quiet but powerful movement happening across Northeast Ohio, where innovative minds are reimagining how we live and work in balance with our environment. ECO SPEAKS CLE sits down with these local sustainability leaders-the entrepreneurs, scientists, community organizers, and business owners-who are putting these ideas into practice right here. Hosted by Diane Bickett, this podcast goes beyond theory to explore the tangible projects and personal stories shaping a more resilient region. You'll hear conversations that feel like a discovery, uncovering the work of people and organizations dedicated to making our cities greener, our economies more circular, and our connection to Lake Erie and the surrounding landscape more thoughtful. It’s not about distant concepts, but the actionable steps and sometimes messy, real-world challenges of building a sustainable future locally. Produced by Greg Rotuno, each episode is an invitation to learn from your neighbors and to see the familiar places you live and work through a new, hopeful lens. Tune in to this podcast for genuine dialogue that connects the dots between society, culture, and nature, offering a sense of place and purpose for anyone curious about their role in our shared ecosystem.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 85

ECO SPEAKS CLE
Podcast Episodes
An Eco Bite on The Great Ohio Climate March [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:38
Send us Fan MailThe Great Ohio Climate March is happening May 16-28, 2026. The purpose of this march is to draw attention to the impacts of fracking on Ohio’s public lands, the climate crisis, and the benefits of renewab…
An Eco Bite with Rust Belt Riders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:46
Send us Fan MailAn Eco Bite is a "mini” episode of Eco Speaks CLE. In this shorter format, we reconnect with a past guest or showcase someone new, all in under 15 minutes. In this quick episode, we catch up with Rust Bel…
Shaping Sustainable Economies with Elizabeth Schuster [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:28
Send us Fan MailAs an environmental economist, Elizabeth Schuster helps conservation organizations solve complex challenges at the intersection of nature and communities. In this episode, Elizabeth describes how her firm…
Clear the Clutter and Your Mind with Devon Fegen-Herdman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:22
Send us Fan MailAre you living with too much stuff? Help is on the way! In this first episode of 2026, we help you clear the clutter with Devon Fegen-Herdman, owner of Declutter with Devon. Devon is a professional home o…
Urban Planning and Cleveland's Great Bones with Isaac Robb [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:39
Send us Fan MailCities don’t forget—their land remembers. In this episode, we speak with Isaac Robb, Chief Urban Program Officer at Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and explore how his organization works to turn Clevela…
Beyond Plastics with Brodie Longo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:45
Send us Fan MailBrodie Longo is a young organizer and director of the Northeast Ohio chapter of Beyond Plastics. This grassroots organization works to combat plastic pollution and the use of single-use plastics through e…
Starve the Landfills with Gateway Recycling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:04
Send us Fan MailAnthony Iovine is the sales manager for Gateway Products Recycling, a family-owned paper recycling company, in business for over 30 years in Ohio and Pennsylvania. When asked why he loves his job, he says…
A CLEANR Way to Wash with Max Pennington [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:26
Send us Fan MailDid you know that laundry is the #1 source of microplastic pollution? With every load of laundry, millions of tiny plastic particles come off our synthetic clothes, down the drain, and into our waterways.…
Inlet Dance Theatre- Using Dance to Further People and Sustainability [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:52
Send us Fan MailInlet Dance Theatre is a modern dance company in Cleveland, founded in 2001 by our guest, Bill Wade, a renowned dancer and choreographer who uses the power of dance to further people and explore human, so…
Rid-All Green Partnership and Cleveland's Food Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:18
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we head to the Rid-All Farm to speak with Keymah Durden, a co-founder of Rid-All Green Partnership. What was once a notorious dumping ground in Cleveland's "Forgotten Triangle", the farm…