The Enquirer’s list of people to watch in Greater Cincinnati in 2022

There will be plenty in store for Greater Cincinnati in 2022.

Nine new members of Cincinnati City Council will be sworn in, top leadership has changed for the city’s professional soccer team and at Procter & Gamble, and the University of Cincinnati is coming off a banner year in football. 

To move into the new year, we look to some of the people to watch.

Compiled by some of the staff members, here’s The Enquirer’s list of people to watch in 2022.

(Note: This list is compiled in alphabetical order.)

Chris Albright

FC Cincinnati general manager

The new year marks FC Cincinnati’s fourth season in Major League Soccer, and the club is still looking to climb out the league’s basement after three consecutive last-place finishes. Hired in October to serve as the club’s new general manager, former player and veteran front office executive Chris Albright has been tasked with making FC Cincinnati a winner. FCC has a rabid, hearty fan base but even their patience is being tested by the team’s repeated failures. Albright is going to have to start pulling the correct levers immediately on Jan. 1 because this offseason is one of the shortest in MLS history, and the team can’t afford another season of losing and frustration.

Patrick Brennan

Anitra Brockman

Volleyball coach, Badin 

Both the boys and girls volleyball coach at Badin High School, Anitra Brockman has been instrumental in the continued success and growth for volleyball clubs and schools. Brockman coached both teams into deep tournament runs in recent seasons. Brockman, president of the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association, built up the boys volleyball programs at Cincinnati Volleyball Academy and Ohio Premier. In 2019, Brockman received USA Volleyball’s Robert L. Lindsay Meritorious Service Award that, “recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to volleyball at the local, regional, national and/or international levels through USA Volleyball or one of its Affiliate Organizations.” In the coming year, Brockman will continue efforts to make boys volleyball a sanctioned Ohio High School Athletic Association sport while mentoring dozens of local athletes from young freshman to college-bound seniors.

Alex Harrison

Chelsea Clark

Forest Park city councilmember and Democratic candidate for Secretary of State

Chelsea Clark hopes to make the leap from Forest Park City Council to state government. Clark, 37, is running as a Democrat for secretary of state. She’s served the past four years as a council member in Forest Park, a city of 18,000 just north of Cincinnati. She moved to Forest Park 13 years ago after graduating from Miami University where she studied business and political science. She also owns Blue Ash-based Cincy STEM lab, which offers summer camps and birthday parties that focus on science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math. Clark said the diversity in Forest Park, which is predominantly Black and has a large immigrant community, drew her there. “It’s extraordinarily diverse. I could be part of the fabric of the community.” She announced her campaign in July and hopes to secure the nomination to challenge Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. No other Democratic candidate has announced. 

Scott Wartman

Chloe Dearwester 

Sophomore wrestler, Harrison High School

As a freshman, Dearwester was named the Cincinnati Female Wrestler of the Year. As a standout in the emerging sport of Ohio high school girls wrestling, she was 32-1 and was the first girls state wrestling champion in Cincinnati after winning an OHSWCA crown in the 106-pound division. In April, she was ranked the No. 6 girls wrestler in the nation for her weight class by TeamUSA Wrestling.

 Shelby Dermer

Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner

University of Cincinnati cornerback

Gardner, who will likely declare for the NFL Draft, could be one of the highest-ever drafted Bearcat. Greg Cook was the fifth-overall pick for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969 and Bob Bell was the 21st-overall pick of the Detroit Lions in 1971. Gardner is regarded as one of the top cornerbacks in the country. He is predicted to be the No. 6 pick in USA TODAY’s mock draft and is the 16th player on ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board. ESPN’s Todd McShay has Gardner at No. 21 and CBS projects him as the 15th pick.

More:Who are the top NFL Draft prospects in the Alabama vs. Cincinnati Cotton Bowl game?

Jason Hoffman

Rayvon Griffith

Junior basketball player, Taft High School

Griffith is a four-star, 6-foot-5, basketball standout for the Taft Senators who has been part of the college basketball recruiting landscape since he was in junior high. He is currently rated as the No. 1 junior prospect in Ohio and as high as No. 8 in the nation at his position. Last year as a sophomore, he led the Senators to the Division III state semifinals for the first time in 10 years. Griffith played several positions on the floor averaging 23.5 points per game, 5.5 assists, 9.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 2.3 steals. Griffith has offers from Alabama, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, South Carolina and UCLA with Ohio State, Louisville, Purdue, Xavier and Northern Kentucky all showing interest.

Scott Springer

Reggie Harris

Cincinnati City Councilman

Reggie Harris hadn’t lived in Cincinnati long and was working at Lighthouse Youth Services as a case manager when former Cincinnati City Councilwoman Yvette Simpson suggested he run for Cincinnati City Council. That was 2017. Four years later Harris, 39, of Northside, raised $200,000 for a council run, was endorsed by the Hamilton County Democratic Party and placed third out of 35 candidates, winning one of council’s nine seats. Harris is the first openly gay Black man elected to council and he’s proud of it. “It’s really part of my story. Being gay in Cincinnati, the really visible people are often white men. I have been in spaces where I have been challenged about being openly gay and black.” He welcomed those conversations and even put his husband, Miami University Professor Aaron Shield, on his campaign mailers. Expect Harris to be a coalition builder and advance work around affordable housing. In his last job he worked for a developer making sure residents had access to health care, jobs and child care. If you’re out and about, you also might spot Harris as part of Dancefix, a high-energy dance fitness group that performs at events. 

Sharon Coolidge  

Shaquille Mathews

Hamilton school board member/community activist

Affectionately known as “Pastor Shaq” for her ministerial work with the Truth & Life Ministries, Mathews has been a voice for the underserved in the community as an anti-violence advocate and the leader and founder of HYPE (Hamilton Young People Empowered). She also runs a job mentoring program for youth that allows them to get paid work experience and serves on the school board. As the city plans to grow exponentially in 2022, Mathews’ voice for the voiceless will be even more important so the underserved do not get left behind.

Wayne Baker

Jon Moeller

CEO of Procter & Gamble

Promoted on Nov. 1 to lead the world’s largest consumer products company – the maker of Tide laundry detergent, Gillette razors and Pampers diapers – Moeller is the new leader of a business that employs 10,000 locally and 101,000 worldwide. After years of sluggish sales, P&G got its sales and profit momentum back starting in late 2018 and the stock has recently hit all-time highs. As the company’s longtime chief financial officer, Moeller played a key role in the turnaround. In 2022, Moeller will continue to watch the supply chain snarls and U.S. inflation jitters caused by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. So far, P&G has raised prices on several paper and other products to cover higher commodity costs.

Alex Coolidge

Justin Otto

Campbell County Economic and Community Development Director 

Justin Otto began working as the Campbell County economic development director earlier this year. Before that, he oversaw the redevelopment of Newport on the Levee as general manager. He’s been involved with various boards and initiatives in the community including the Entrepreneurship Working Group in the Campbell County, Newport Business Association Board and Campbell Leadership Action Group. 

Rachel Berry

Amy Parker

Outreach manager, New Foundations Recovery Housing

Amy Parker’s face is familiar to people recovering from opioid use disorder and those who suffer from addiction. She’s known to addiction medicine experts, public health groups and others who are fighting the opioid epidemic in Southwest Ohio. Parker is an advocate for people with addiction, and she’s hands on. “I’ll have 10 years in recovery on March 9, 2022,” she says. A Butler County mom of two who lives with her husband and 6-year-old (her other daughter is 18), Parker has told her story publicly countless times. She’s also handed out Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote, in the streets of Hamilton County as a primary…