Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Thursday, April 24, at 6 PM

Madhu Sharma, Executive Director, International Institute of Akron
Farhad Sethna, Attorney, Immigration America

AKRON ROUNDTABLE presents “In Search of Solutions to the Challenges Facing U.S. Immigrants and Refugees,” hosted by scholar and journalist Steven T. Savides in conversation with Madhu Sharma, the executive director of the International Institute of Akron, and Farhad Sethna, an attorney at Immigration America. 

Sethna works with individuals and corporations to navigate the challenging and ever-changing processes surrounding immigration. Sharma has been serving as the executive director of the International Institute of Akron since 2017. Sharma, an Indian immigrant herself, has represented migrant workers, unaccompanied minors, victims of state sponsored torture and human trafficking. 

Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Thursday, May 22, at 6 PM

Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The May episode of AKRON ROUNDTABLE hosts Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Wadsworth is the first woman to serve in the role for the foundation. Her career evolved from reporter and editor to a key figure in Gannett’s corporate team, where she led the company’s digital transformation. As President of the USA Today Network and later publisher of USA Today, she led a team of more than 4,000 journalists in more than 200 communities. During her tenure, Gannett newsrooms were recognized with five Pulitzer Prizes. 

In addition to her professional achievements, Wadsworth is committed to diversity and inclusion, receiving the News Leaders Association’s Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership in 2019. 

March 2025

Lisa Petit, Superintendent, Cuyahoga Valley National Park 

Chart the history and future of Ohio’s only National Park with Lisa Petit, PhD. Lisa Petit has been at Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) for 25 years and has been superintendent since 2021. 

Lisa’s top priorities are to build strong, interdependent relationships between the park and the surrounding communities; to protect and restore the natural and cultural heritage of the Cuyahoga Valley; and fulfill the purpose of CVNP as a “National Park to the People” by making CVNP more accessible and relevant to the full diversity of residents in Northeast Ohio and the American public.

February 2025

Linda Nageotte, President & Chief Operating Officer at Feeding America 

Why is food insecurity so pervasive in this country? Does it have to be this way? 

In the February episode of AKRON ROUNDTABLE, Feeding America President and COO Linda Nageotte will focus on food insecurity in America, sharing insights into why this problem exists so consistently — and pervasively — in every community across this nation.  She’ll talk about hungers’ disparate impact on people and communities, and she’ll talk about how we can come together to end hunger in America. 
 

January 2025

Jeannette Sorrell, Conductor and Founder of Apollo’s Fire

In this moment of national debate about the fate of immigrants in America, Jeannette Sorrell shares her secret story. Growing up in a small and close-knit family with very little money, she knew that her beloved Papa had a mysterious past. But he wouldn't talk about it, and Mom didn't seem to know either. Finally in 2018, on the eve of her Carnegie Hall debut, Jeannette discovered with a shock who Papa actually was – thanks to DNA testing and a trip to the Holocaust museum in Washington.