Meet Our Steering Committee

  • Dr. Leslie Barnes (YEPAW, Arlington Church of God)

  • Theresa Boware (Akron Summit County Public Library, Odom Branch Director)

  • Patrick Bravo (Summit County Landbank, Executive Director)

  • Veronica Cook-Euell (Supplier, Diversity Program Manager) 

  • Miss Shirley Finney (Summit Lake, Resident)

  • Puspa Gajmer (Himalayan Arts Language & Cultural Academy (HALCA), Executive/Artistic Director)

  • John Garofalo (Akron Community Foundation)

  • Cristina González Alcalá (Akron Community Foundation / Formerly Summit Education Initiative)

  • Suzie Graham (Downtown Akron Partnership, President)

  • James Hardy (City of Akron, Deputy Mayor for Integrated Development)

  • Justin Hilton (Kent State University, Senior Associate VP for University Relations)

  • Greta Johnson (County of Summit, Assistant Chief of Staff/PIO)

  • Sean Joyce (Stan Hywet, President & Executive Director)

  • Beth Knorr (Summit Food Coalition, Executive Director)

  • Sandra Kurt (County of Summit, Clerk of Courts)

  • Rob Lehr (GAR Foundation, Program Officer)

  • Dave Lieberth (The Lieberth Consulting Group)

  • Mark Masuoka (former Akron Art Museum, John S. Knight Director & CEO)

  • Carla Moore (Retired Judge, Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals)

  • Dominic Moore-Dunson (Inlet Dance, Dancer and Choreographer)

  • Nicole Mullet (ArtsNow, Executive Director)

  • Eric Nelson (Students With A Goal)

  • Doug Piekarz (Akron Zoo, President and CEO, Center for Applied Drama and Autism board member)

  • Rick Rogers (Curated Storefronts)

  • Jason Segedy (City of Akron, Director of Planning and Urban Development)

  • Priya Sircar (Knight Foundation, Arts Director)

  • Jim Slowiak (New World Performance Lab/The University of Akron Theatre and Arts Administration)

  • Karen Starr (Hazel Tree Design)

  • Bronlynn Thurman (GAR Foundation/Knight Foundation, Artist and funder)

  • Arnold Tunstall (The University of Akron)

  • Pastor Deniela Williams (New Millennium Baptist Church, Pastor)