Marianne Crosley was presented a gift with her most-quoted CLC saying: “Leaders Show Up.”
Marianne Crosley passes baton to new President and CEO
The Cleveland Leadership Center Board of Trustees elected six new members and welcomed its new President and CEO at the CLC Annual Meeting on June 27, 2024. The meeting was held at the offices of Benesch in downtown Cleveland’s Key Tower.
CEO Marianne Crosley, who is stepping down July 19, 2024, as CLC President and CEO, shared her gratitude to the Board, staff, alumni, and community for the opportunity to lead the organization through its growth the past 14 years.
“Leaders show up and I am grateful for all the times you showed up to support the Leadership Center and advance our work on behalf of our Greater Cleveland community,” she said.
She then handed a baton to incoming President and CEO Rebecca “Becky” Ruppert McMahon, explaining it was time to pass the baton to new leadership to move the organization forward. McMahon has served as CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and CMBA Foundation. She begins her CLC role on July 22, 2024.
The Board also:
- Elected officers for 2024-2025 and extended the Board Chair’s term from two years to three.
- Heard updates on activities of the CLC Leadership Council.
- Discussed opportunities suggested by CLC’s triennial alumni survey and focus groups research.
Board governance
The Board elected six incoming trustees:
- Rob Falls (LC 2015), President & CEO, Falls Communications
- Kelly Hancock (LC 2022), Chief Caregiver Officer, Cleveland Clinic
- Chris Keim (LC2 2016, LC 2015), Managing Partner, Frantz Ward LLP
- Elizabeth Newman (LC2 2017, LC 2016, CBB 2004), Chief Administrative Officer & Chief Human Resources, CBIZ
- Laura Passerallo (LC 2016), Regional Communications Manager, Fifth Third Bank
- Michele Schrock (LC 2023), Private Bank Regional Director, Huntington Bank
Outgoing trustees thanked for their service were Beth Grove (LC 2021) Chief Sustainability Officer, The Lubrizol Corporation; Dr. Margaret McKenzie (LC 2019), Vice President, Marymount Hospital and South Pointe Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic; Marc Sanchez (LC 2013), Partner, Frantz Ward LLP; and Tiffany Scruggs (CBB 2021), VP of Community Access and Executive Director of Community Resource Center, Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
Board Chair Bill Caster (LC 2010), President of Gries Financial Partners, took office on July 1, 2022. His term now concludes on June 30, 2025.
In addition to Caster, CLC officers elected by the Board for the coming year are:
- Kip Bollin (LC 2020), Co-Vice Chair
- Angela McDonald-Fisher (LC 2022), Co-Vice Chair
- Robin Davenport (LC2 2014, LC 2013), Treasurer
- Lisa Kunkle (LC 2014), Secretary
Alumni survey and focus groups
Executive Vice President Rachel Ciomcia engaged the Board in conversation about opportunities to expand CLC’s impact that were suggested through ongoing evaluation and research.
CLC rigorously evaluates each program each year, and every three years surveys alumni of all programs to learn how CLC impacts their leadership and community engagement. The last triennial survey, in 2022, showed that a CLC program experience helps participants better understand the community and positions them for civic engagement, relationship building, and collaborative leadership.
Follow up focus groups held this year delved more deeply into the findings. The groups were conducted by Dr. Robert Gleeson, Professor and Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service at the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. The research suggested that CLC should explore opportunities to better share what it does and why, continue to diversify applicant pools across all programs, enhance its curriculum, and explore new avenues for alumni engagement.
Leadership Council
Debbie Lewis (CLI 2017), who chairs the CLC Leadership Council, reported on the Council’s past year and some initiatives for the coming year. The Council is an advisory group consisting of CLC alumni across programs and years who support CLC’s mission and build its capacity to engage the community.
Council’s Alumni Engagement Committee, which was launched this past year, hosted an all-CLC Alumni Holiday Happy Hour. Its Cultivation Committee organized the annual CLC Open House to encourage community members to register for CLC programs; it boasted record attendance this year.
The Council’s Next Gen Committee will work assist CLC’s Look Up To Cleveland program this coming year in re-launching the Career Compass program in the 2024-25 school year. Career Compass provides students in Cleveland Metropolitan School District with opportunities to envision career paths they may not have considered. Pre-Covid, it was serving an average of more than 2,000 students per year in Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
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About the Cleveland Leadership Center (CLC)
The Cleveland Leadership Center’s mission is to build a continuum of civic leaders committed to our community’s excellence by serving as a catalyst for civic engagement. CLC provides leadership and community engagement opportunities across a wide spectrum of life and career stages to inspire, connect, and challenge individuals to make a positive community impact. www.cleveleads.org
Media contact
Michael E. Bennett, Vice President of External Affairs
Work: (216) 591-2426, Cell: (216) 408-3874, mbennett@cleveleads.org