Jim Schaefer will present alternative views on the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and storm water management. As a business executive Jim Schaefer has saved over 1200 manufacturing jobs in Ohio that would otherwise have been lost to foreign competition. He has been a Vice-President of BP Oil, Worldwide Manufacturing Director of Ferro Corporation and held C-level positions at toy, high temperature wire, specialty chemicals and metal forming companies. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Akron Beacon Journal, Plastics News, Your Turn Magazine and in two books - Rust Belt Resistance by Prof. Perry Bush and Spiral Up...And Other Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives by Jane Linder. He received the first award ever given by the United Steelworkers Union to a business executive, for his work at a specialty glass smelter in Cleveland. His environmental contributions include dramatically reducing carbon dioxide emissions at multiple facilities and having a Department of Energy spokesperson say his was the fastest improving company in the US regarding energy efficiency. Jim is concerned regarding the economic impact of NEORSD taking $3 billion from a poor city and a troubled county to build underground storm water overflow storage tunnels, especially since other cities are implementing cheaper and greener alternatives that are beautifying their cities as well. Jim has a Chemical Engineering degree from The Catholic University of America and an MBA from Harvard University.
