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    Columbus Chamber cbuzz: Dr. Frederic Bertley of COSI

    The Columbus Chamber and Capital University have partnered to bring the first business-themed podcast to Columbus. During cbuzz, Columbus-based brand journalist Mikaela Hunt will speak with local business owners, entrepreneurs and community leaders and allow them to tell their story and highlight their organization, while further inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit that is buzzing in the city.

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    There aren’t a lot of Dr. Frederic Bertleys in the world. While serving as the senior vice president for science and education at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, others had tried to recruit him away to their institutions of science, but it was something Bertley saw during his 16-person interview at COSI that helped cement the decision to take on a new job and a new city.

    The interviewers were split: half board members, half community stakeholders as CEOs and presidents of for- and non-profit organizations across the city.

    “That told me that COSI and Columbus is really about partnership,” Bertley says.

    It was his first introduction to the “Columbus Way.” The spirit of partnership resonated with him. The promise of dinosaurs and a nearly seven-acre park and parking garage right in front of COSI didn’t hurt, either. (He really, really wants you to come see the dinosaurs.)

    During the podcast, Bertley talks about the prevalence of science to every day life and how to get past phrases like “I’m no good at math” or “I hate science.”

    An indvidual generally wouldn’t go around bragging that they are illiterate, “But for some reason it’s ok to not know anything about science or be comfortable not knowing anything about math – and there are downstream consequences,” Bertley says.

    He’s on a mission to put meaningful context around subjects like math and science – that’s when people get it. Bertley will look inside and outside the walls of COSI to do that.

    “It’s about changing the model,” he says. Of course, he wants folks to come and experience the exhibits and the space (dinosaurs!), “But I want to take COSI beyond the walls of that building.”

    COSI wants to bring science to places where people eat, drink, play and more – injecting nuggets like why that cocktail a bar patron is sipping tastes so good.

    Click here to listen to the full cbuzz podcast featuring Dr. Frederic Bertley!
    Click here to listen to the full cbuzz podcast featuring Dr. Frederic Bertley!

    Bertley had some words of encouragement for entrepreneurs and business owners, too. One of the things he learned by moving to Columbus was how the ripe the opportunity is for startups, calling it, “one of the most fertile spaces to get your dreams to become a reality.”

    As for advice, Bertley derefers to Louis Pasteur.

    “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

    Never miss a cbuzz podcast! Visit the Columbus Chamber website for more great stories and advice from local business owners.

    — The Columbus Chamber of Commerce offers news, information and other resources that are free and available to all businesses at columbus.org. —

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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