Towards Employment Team
Our TE
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

Ronnie Cannon
Sr. Manager, Community Engagement
r.cannon@towardsemployment.org
(216) 297-4449

Sandi Rosado
Marketing & 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

Lindsay Fousek
Behavioral Health Manager
Lfousek@towardsemployment.org

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
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
- Racial Equity Co-op (REC)
- TE Champion Cheerlead Squad
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
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
We're always looking for passionate people.
Check out our open positions, or help us continue making a difference by volunteering.