Our TE Team
Our board and staff (many of whom have successfully overcome the same barriers that participants face), are passionate about supporting participants and graduates as they develop skills and knowledge to advance in the workplace.
Board of Directors
Board Chairman
John Allerding
Attorney
Thompson Hine LLP
Board Secretary
Bola Majekodunmi
Vice President District Manager
US Bank
Board Vice Chairman
Dr. Shenise Johnson Thomas
Chief of External Relations and Development
Cleveland Public Library
Board Treasurer
Evan Crows
Group Controller (CPG)
Tremco CPG, Inc.
Board Members
Dr. Deborah Bibb
Executive Director, Enrollment, Career Development & Student Experience
Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Melissa Burrows
Vice President & Chief of Community Connections
Tri-C Cuyahoga Community College
Claudia Castillo
President
Castillo Enterprises Inc
Michael Coxon
Partner
Bain & Company
Josh Crocker
Senior Vice President, Investigations Manager
PNC Bank
Michael DiCesare
Director Information Technology, Enterprise Applications & Data
Swagelok
Conor Doyle
Director of Corporate Reporting
Brookfield Properties
Lisa Griffin
Chief Consumer Officer
University Hospital
Courtney Grandon
Director, Human Resources
Nordson Corporation
Julie Hammond
Director of Global Sales Learning Technology
Sherwin-Williams
Lessie Milton Jones
Attorney
Enbridge Gas Ohio
Brian Kelly
Chair, Labor & Employment Practice Group
Frantz Ward LLP
Michael Lepro
Executive Director
JPMorgan Chase & Co
DaQuri Mays
CRA Mortgage Loan Officer
The Huntington National Bank
SueAnn Naso
President and CEO
Staffing Solutions Enterprises
John Reynolds
Retired - Watson Wyatt and Company
Amy Richmond
Managing Director
PWC
Jocelyn Rosnick
Policy Director
ACLU of Ohio
Omid Sattarian
Senior Vice President/ Private Client Advisor
Bank of America
Melanie L. Webber
Partner
Fisher Phillips
Shanelle Smith Whigham
SVP & Director, Community Relations & Corporate Initiatives
KeyBank
Leonora Yurichak
Senior Director Human Resources
CBIZ
Leadership
Jill Rizika
President & CEO
jrizika@towardsemployment.org
Adaora Nzelibe Schmiedl
Chief Advancement &
Community Engagement Officer
aschmiedl@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x223
Bob Giebel
Director, IT Services
bgiebel@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4426
Haidee Garcia
Director, Industry Partnerships
hgarcia@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x238
Jeff Stupiansky
Sr. Manager, Data Management & Analytics
jstupiansky@towardsemployment.org
Joan Crosby
Director, Community, Young Adult & Reentry Programs
jcrosby@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x252
Loretta Stevens
Chief Financial Officer
Lstevens@towardsemployment.org
Mark Gallagher
Director, Legal Services
mgallagher@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x303
Melanie Green
Sr. Manager, Young Adult Services
mgreen@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x258
Ronnie Cannon
Sr. Manager, Community Engagement
r.cannon@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x262
Samantha Shahid
Chief Program Officer
sshahid@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x250
Saundra Durda
Director, Human Resources
sdurda@towardsemployment.org
Staci Wampler
Chief Business Solutions Officer
swampler@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x311
Adaora Schmiedl
Chief Advancement & Community Engagement Officer
aschmiedl@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-7310
Addie Gall-Hunter
Advancement Associate
agall-hunter@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x255
Brenda Brown-Thompson
Community Engagement Associate
bbrown@towardsemployment.org
(216) 815-3819
Greg Reaves
Alumni Network Coordinator
greaves@towardsemployment.org
(216) 202-4703
Robin Neorr
Advancement Manager
rneorr@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x228
Ronnie Cannon
Sr. Manager, Community Engagement
r.cannon@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4449
Sandi Rosado
Digital Media Manager
srosado@towardsemployment.org
Tamika Hawthorne
Community Engagement Associate
thawthorne@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x309
April Grant
Program Associate
agrant@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x273
Anita Hill
Case Manager
ahill@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x261
Beth Grace
Program Associate
bgrace@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696x5750 x227
Carissa Cox
Program Assistant
ccox@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x266
CJ Jacobs
Program Manager
cjacobs@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x266
CJ Turner
Facilitator
cturner@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4467
Charles Blackburn II
Lead, Case Management Services, DOL CLEAR
cblackburn@towardsemployment.org
Cynthia Smith
Career Coach
csmith@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x229
Dan Garven
Employment Specialist
dgarven@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x226
Demetrius Tucker
Career Coach
dtucker@towardsemployment.org
Gwendolyn Awoyade
Financial Coach
gawoyade@towardsemployment.org
(216) 302-4125
Jim Madden
Career Coach
jmadden@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4443
Joan Crosby
Director, Community, Young Adult & Reentry
jcrosby@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x252
Karla Hopkins
Employment Specialist, DOL CLEAR
khopkins@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x225
Kim Bell
Program Assistant, Financial Opportunity Center
kbell@towardsemployment.org
LaQuetta Belle
Case Manager, DOL CLEAR
Lbelle@towardsemployment.org
Lindsay Fousek
Behavioral Health Manager
Lfousek@towardsemployment.org
Loveece Moore
Front Desk Associate
Lmoore@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750
Lydia Ford
Senior Manager, DOL CLEAR
Lford@towardsemployment.org
(216) 399-3499
Maria Velez
Program Associate, DOL CLEAR
mvelez@towardsemployment.org
Michelle Wheeler
Case Manager, DOL CLEAR
mwheeler@towardsemployment.org
Ousama (Sam) Awad
Program Manager, RiSE-BJA
sawad@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4454
Peaches Gibson
Case Manager
pgibson@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696x5750 x275
Quran Robinson
Facilitator, DOL CLEAR
qrobinson@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4464
Renus Henry
Case Manager, DOL CLEAR
rhenry@towardsemployment.org
Renee Ditchburn
Program Manager, Department of Labor
rditchburn@towardsemployment.org
216-297-4455
Rhonda Smith
Career Coach
rsmith@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696x5750 x233
Ron Scott
Program Manager, Training Services
rscott@towardsemployment.org
Stella Shepard
Facilitator
sshepard@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x305
Warren Colbert
Employment Engagement Coordinator, DOL CLEAR
wcolbert@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x231
Bob Giebel
Director, IT Services
bgiebel@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4426
Kevin Glass
Controller
kglass@towardsemployment.org
Loretta Stevens
Chief Financial Officer
Lstevens@towardsemployment.org
Sacha Bleck
Staff Accountant
sbleck@towardsemployment.org
Saundra Durda
Director, Human Resources
sdurda@towardsemployment.org
Colleen Smith-Yugulis
Program Manager
c.yugulis@towardsemployment.org
(216) 714-3238
Cortez Jenkins
Facilitator
cjenkins@towardsemployment.org
Caleb Stephens
Case Manager
cstephens@towardsemployment.org
Donny Singleton
Success Coach
dsingleton@towardsemployment.org
(440) 319-0152
Haidee Garcia
Director, Industry Partnerships
hgarcia@towardsemployment.org
(440) 508-6001
Jennifer Crayton
Lincoln Electric Success Coach
jcrayton@towardsemployment.org
Nettie King
Program Associate
nking@towardsemployment.org
(216) 219-1155
Staci Wampler
Director, Industry Partnerships
swampler@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x311
Stefanie Stevens
Program Manager
sstevens@towardsemployment.org
Stephanie Herriott
Career Coach
sherriott@towardsemployment.org
(216) 777-8232
Jeff Stupianksy
Sr. Manager, Data Management & Analytics
jstupiansky@towardsemployment.org
Bob Giebel
Director, IT Services
bgiebel@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4426
Jenna Schroeder
Specialist
jschroeder@towardsemployment.org
(216) 777-8236
Kathy Harlow
Attorney
kharlow@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4452
Mark Gallagher
Director, Legal Services
mgallagher@towardsemployment.org
Brian Balogh
Policy Fellow
bbalogh@towardsemployment.org
Gabbi Fortin
Policy Associate
gfortin@towardsemployment.org
Jill Rizika
President & CEO
jrizika@towardsemployment.org
Samantha Shahid
Chief Program Officer
sshahid@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x250
Amirr Thomas
Case Manager
athomas@towardsemployment.org
(216) 200-8225
Asia Davis
Case Manager
adavis@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x259
Beth Grace
Program Associate
bgrace@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696x5750 x227
Charles Dickerson
Career Coach
cdickerson@towardsemployment.org
(440) 497-0417
Cynthia Smith
Career Coach
csmith@towardsemployment.org
Dan Garven
Employment Specialist
dgarven@towardsemployment.org
(740) 684-2016
Debbie Lucci
Supervisor, Career Coach
dlucci@towardsemployment.org
(216) 644-0397
Erica Hardy
Supervisor, Case Management Services
ehardy@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4425
Ebony George
Career Coach
e.george@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4429
Joan Crosby
Director, Community, Young Adult & Reentry
jcrosby@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x252
Jonathan Rodriguez
Career Coach
jrodriguez@towardsemployment.org
(216) 815-5501
Karen Jones
Work Experience Specialist
kjones@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x274
LaTonya Cliff
Case Manager
Lcliff@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-7331
Melanie Adams
Career Coach
madams@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x231
Melanie Green
Sr. Manager, Young Adult Services
mgreen@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x258
Shela Mills
Program Associate
smills@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x221
James Stubbins
Manager of Business Solutions
jstubbins@towardsemployment.org
(216) 696-5750 x272
- Case Management
- Training
- Career Coaching
- Employer Engagement
- Outreach
- Data
- ABC
- Champion Cheer Squad
- Safety Committee
2024 Summer Interns
Gabrielle Fortin
Policy & Advocacy Intern
Jabiri Crowley
Digital Media & Marketing Intern
Jocelyn Hayes
Digital Media & Marketing Intern
Molly Roberts
Community Engagement Intern
2023 Summer Intern
Jane Jolliffe
Digital Media & Marketing Intern
Our Values
Hope
We lift people up, treating all with respect, and providing genuine support.
Justice
We work to combat systems of inequity and won’t rest until the dignity and worth of each member of our society is recognized.
Impact
We do what we say. We are committed to excellence and life-changing impact.
Community
We are all in this together! We are a caring, supportive team of passionate individuals building a culture that values diversity, continuous growth and learning, and fun!
Collaboration
We advocate for better outcomes by engaging deeply with employers, service providers, thought leaders, funders, and others who are equally committed to creating quality jobs and inclusive workplaces.
Ingenuity
We move quickly and continuously to improve our approach in response to the needs of individuals, families, and the community.
Interested in becoming a
TE Champion?
We're always looking for passionate people.
Check out our open positions, or help us continue making a difference by volunteering.