Brown promotes Ohio ‘brain gain’ at incubator

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

youngstown

After many years away from the Mahoning Valley, some native-born young professionals — such as Jeff Hermann, Nielson Company senior vice president, and Revere Data’s John Slanina — are coming back to Youngstown to take advantage of the area’s new opportunities.

The return of young professionals and ways to increase the trend were the focus of a roundtable discussion Monday at the Youngstown Business Incubator hosted by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“There is an increasing focus on what we call the ‘reverse brain drain,’” Brown said. “We are encouraging people to come back to Northeast Ohio.”

Brown trumpeted the Youngstown Business Incubator as a “brain-gain success story:”

“By retaining young Ohioans and attracting new talent to the region, [the incubator] has created an atmosphere that promotes entrepreneurialism and innovation,” the senator said.

Brown was joined for the discussion by a number of local business leaders and community organizers — including Hermann, Slanina, Tyler Clark, the incubator’s chief imagination officer, and Phil Kidd of the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative — who discussed ways to make the Valley’s neighborhoods and schools more attractive to young professionals.

The “Brain-Gain” initiative is part of Brown’s “Made-in-Ohio” strategy, an economic development plan he will be touting on a statewide tour during the Senate’s August recess.

Brown kicked off the tour in the Valley, with a stop earlier Monday at Berk Enterprises in Warren.

The paper-products distributor — which recently took on 10 new employees — was the recipient of a $500,000 Small Business Administration loan.

Brown used the opportunity to herald the success of small-business lending programs funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Brown also met with members of the organizing collaborative and other community leaders at Neighborhood Ministries in Youngstown to discuss legislative efforts to combat childhood hunger and promote access to nutritious foods in Ohio schools and underserved communities.

Brown’s tour continues today in Cleveland with a roundtable discussion with Ohio manufacturers on how the industry can maintain competitiveness.