MEDIA RELEASE

Today, Mayor Justin M. Bibb reaffirmed his unequivocal position that abortion is a form of reproductive health care and access to abortion is a human right. 

“With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the dangerous restrictions on abortion that have followed, the City is committed to protecting residents’ ability to seek the reproductive health care options that they choose for themselves,” Mayor Bibb said.  

Over the last few weeks, the administration has been hard at work—listening to community leaders, assessing our capabilities, working with City Council, and reaching out across the City and the country in the spirt of collaboration. 

“We must do everything in our power to defend a woman’s right to choose what happens with her own body – not allow government or activist judges that control,” said Council President Blaine A. Griffin.  

To that end, the Mayor and Cleveland City Council are pleased to make six major announcements on how we will protect reproductive rights in the City of Cleveland: 

 

1. Non-Prosecution 

Chief Prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan, in collaboration with Law Director Mark Griffin, have pledged that no City attorney will prosecute, refer for prosecution, or otherwise participate in charging any abortion-related crimes. 

2. De-Prioritizing Enforcement  

Any investigation into and enforcement of criminal abortion-related charges will now become the lowest priority for the use of City resources, including personnel, time, and funds. This applies to all employees in the City’s executive branch, including the police.
  

While employees have a duty to uphold the law, the Mayor must also make decisions about how the City spends its limited resources. For police, job number one is keeping Cleveland safe, not prioritizing enforcement of unjust restrictions against vulnerable people. This is even more important considering that both Cleveland and Cuyahoga County prosecutors have committed not to prosecute any abortion charges that reach their desk. 

3. Reproductive Freedom Fund  

The Mayor is working together with Cleveland City Council to introduce and pass legislation to create a $100,000 “Reproductive Freedom Fund” that would cover travel, logistics, and lodging expenses for Cleveland residents and City employees seeking a legal abortion in a nearby state. This will be an essential resource that ensures all Clevelanders can get the care that they choose for themselves, even when that care is not available locally. 

4. City Employee Insurance 

Human Resources is exploring the City’s options for its employees’ health insurance plans, to determine whether all health insurance plans offered could cover elective abortions if an employee seeks care out-of-state. 

5. Commitment to Not Keeping Pregnancy Information 

Under the Bibb Administration, information about individuals’ pregnancy status that would identify a doctor or patient will not be exchanged except in the case of a medical emergency to treat a patient or with the patient’s consent for the purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations. This is to ensure that this information, inadvertently or purposely kept, is not used against those individuals in the future prosecution of an abortion-related crime or to stigmatize or retaliate against them.  

The City will do everything that can be done to refrain from keeping or disclosing this information unless medically necessary or otherwise required by law to disclose for the purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations. 

6. Representing Clevelanders at the Ohio Supreme Court 

All people and families in Ohio have been under attack since Roe was overturned, but Clevelanders face unique challenges—not just because we are the only majority-minority big city in Ohio, but because of the unique disinvestment that has plagued the City relative to its peers. 

The Ohio Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the state law banning abortions after six weeks (S.B. 23). Ohioans’ reproductive rights are directly before the Court, and to elevate Clevelanders’ voices to the highest court in the state, the City is in the process of submitting an amicus brief (“friend of the court” brief) on its residents’ behalf in support of overturning Ohio’s six-week ban. 

“As we hear about more and more extreme measures being considered at the state level, my administration will continue to look at all possible options—executive, administrative, legislative, and from the bully pulpit,” Mayor Bibb added. “Reproductive rights are human rights, and I am committed to protecting those rights to the maximum extent that I can.” 
 
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Related:  
 
Councilwomen Stand United | Cleveland City Council 

Mayor Bibb Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade | City of Cleveland Ohio – Mayor Justin M. Bibb 

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Last week Cristina Sarsama and Marilyn Henderson, two longtime workers at Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), spoke to County Council about unsafe conditions at the DCFS headquarters. Among the allegations were violence between children and staff, sexual assault, and abuse. 

“We have a broken system right now, a situation that is completely unacceptable. There is nothing more important than protecting children in the county’s care and supporting county workers.” said Chris Ronayne, Candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive. “I’m asking for all County officials to cooperate with the ODJFS Rapid Response team for a transparent evaluation process. We need solutions and everything must be on the table to add and retain staff at DCFS, protect children and workers, and solve this crisis.”

Ronayne is calling for several changes to protect workers and children:

• A streamlined hiring process for new DCFS case workers and social workers that doesn’t cut corners but does expedite the hiring of new, highly trained staff
• Emergency contract renegotiations with juvenile placement agencies to increase wage maximums that prevent nonprofit partners from competitively hiring workers
• A retention bonus for frontline DCFS workers in an effort to stem further resignations and a hiring bonus to increase applicants for open positions
• Onsite law enforcement presence at the DCFS headquarters for the protection of workers and children
• A Child Placement Crisis Committee including the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, local and national juvenile behavioral care agencies, AFSCME union representatives, and university partners to develop long term solutions. 

Ronayne’s Republican opponent, Lee Weingart, has called for further staff reductions in County government to cut payroll costs including getting rid of the county’s most experienced workers. 

“Leaving positions unfilled and cutting experienced staff put lives at risk. I’ll take every step possible to ensure that this doesn’t happen when I am County Executive.” said Ronayne. “We must bring in qualified workers, retain overworked staff and invest in systems level changes that improve outcomes for children in need.”

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The Cleveland Foundation released a request for proposals for the third round of grantmaking from the Cleveland Black Futures Fund. Black-led nonprofit organizations with a budget less than $1 million in Cleveland can begin applying on Monday, Aug. 1 at noon. The Fund has amassed more than $4 million since its inception in late 2020 to support the capacity of Cleveland-based nonprofit organizations that are both Black-led and Black-serving.

The overarching goal of the Cleveland Black Futures Fund is to strengthen the ecosystem of Black leaders and Black-serving organizations in Greater Cleveland by providing intentional resources to help grow organizational infrastructure and capacity. Long-term, the foundation aims to deepen the field of leaders working to dismantle systemic racism and advance the community towards racial equity.

The timeline for the third round of grantmaking is as follows:

• Aug. 1: The online application portal opens at noon. Please continue to check the Cleveland Black Futures Fund website for more information. 
• Aug. 1-31: Three Technical Assistance Workshops are available for applicants, please use the drop-down box on the registration page to choose the date and time that works for you. Click here to register.
• Aug. 1-31: Grant-writing Assistance Sessions are available. All applicants that attend a Technical Assistance Workshop are eligible to receive grant-writing assistance. Please click the link above to attend a Technical Assistance Workshop to sign up to receive grant-writing assistance.
• Aug. 31: The 2022 application deadline is August 31, 2022. 
• Sept. 2022: Applicants who are advancing to the second stage in the review process will receive notification. 
• Mid-Oct. 2022: Applicants who are advancing to the final stage in the review process will receive notification. 
• Dec. 2022: Notice and announcement of final funding decisions

Over the past two years, both the COVID-19 pandemic and the historic protests happening nationally and locally have prompted a bolder call to action to address systemic racism and its devastating effects in the Greater Cleveland community. In light of the crisis brought on by the spread of COVID-19, the advisory committee of the Fund asks applicants to reflect on the effects of the pandemic in the community. This framing is not intended to limit the applicant pool to strictly health, public health or social services work; we believe that work across sectors will be important to the health and resilience of the community during this pandemic, including environmental work, technology, arts, policy and advocacy, and much more.

Starting Monday, Aug. 1 at noon, applications can be submitted online by visiting theCleveland Foundation grants application page.

For more information on eligibility, the application and scoring process, opportunities for applicant support, and other pertinent information – or to donate to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund – visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Futures.

PRESS RELEASE

Tax Credit Authority should find out before approving more aid 

When the General Assembly approved the capital budget bill last month, it OK’d multiple new tax breaks for Intel Corp. and its planned semiconductor plants outside Columbus with only a vague idea of what the cost would be. Before it considers the Intel project for another tax credit, estimated to be worth $650 million, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority should seek an estimate from the Department of Taxation on the cost of the new tax breaks approved in the capital bill, House Bill 687.  

“Policymakers are giving our public dollars to Intel without understanding how they might affect state and local governments’ future ability to provide critical services like public education or trash collection,” said Zach Schiller, Policy Matters Ohio research director. “Ohioans and our elected representatives need to know what tax breaks cost — and what we could be giving up to pay for them.”

HB 687 contained five new tax breaks for the Intel project, covering the sales tax and Commercial Activity Tax, as well as more liberal property-tax exemptions for some suppliers. There was no estimate of the cost of these, either from the taxation department or the Office of Budget and Management. The Legislative Service Commission, which often has access to less information than the administration, said only that the cost would be “hundreds of millions of dollars across several fiscal years, depending on the level of investments by the semiconductor business and its suppliers in Ohio.”  

These new tax breaks include a major expansion in the sales-tax exemption for equipment used primarily in research and development. When policymakers first approved the sales-tax exemption for property used in research and development, they took steps to protect public dollars by not including expensed R&D costs. Expensed costs are written off the same year they are incurred, compared to capitalized costs, which are written off more slowly over time. But in the capital budget bill, Ohio policymakers included a provision to give Intel a sales-tax exemption for those costs. Another significant expansion covers tangible personal property used to “regulate, treat, filter, condition, improve, clean, maintain or monitor environmental conditions where manufacturing activities take place.” This, too, represents a dramatic departure from the existing exemption, which only covers this kind of equipment “in a special and limited area of the facility, such as a clean room or paint booth, where such total regulation is essential for production to occur.”   

These and other new tax breaks are explicitly tied to Intel being awarded a Job Creation Tax Credit. Under the state’s rules for such credits, the Tax Credit Authority “may from time to time set additional eligibility requirements for job creation tax credit applications.” It should require that the taxation department provide an estimate of the cost of the new tax breaks and all the state and local aid being provided. The TCA also should ensure that community input is sought on the substantial impact of the project and its effects on housing, transportation, schools and the environment. 

“The size and scope of the Intel deal approved by Ohio’s lawmakers are unprecedented for the state,” said Schiller. “We should expect to know the financial costs and tap the public so policymakers can ensure Ohio makes the most of this huge outlay.”

READ ONLINE

Policy Matters Ohio is a nonprofit, nonpartisan state policy research institute with offices in Cleveland and Columbus.

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 – Cleveland – Today, the Bibb administration announced the financial allocations for the distribution of American Rescue Plan & Recovery Act (ARPA) funding under the guidance of Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan. 

Last week, the City received the second tranche of ARPA funding.  

The Center for Economic Recovery (CER), the internal policy team tasked with carrying out the plan, has been making steady progress in its strategic process to ensure that Cleveland invests this once-in-a-generation federal funding in transformational, sustainable, ethical, and equitable ways.   

These investments are being made around priority areas, which Mayor Bibb shaped from recommendations that the Cleveland community set forth in the transition report.  

Mayor Bibb has directed that each priority area receive the approximate amount indicated below. These numbers are estimates and are subject to change as several of the priority areas may have overlapping success measures, share initiatives, or require less or more funding than anticipated.   

* This amount is intended to come from one-time funds in the General Fund 

“We must think creatively and strategically about how we allocate these funds,” said Mayor Bibb. “My administration is focusing on initiatives that will set a foundation for long-term, tangible impact for the residents of Cleveland. These allocations allow us to maximize the use of federal funds in the areas that our community identified as their priorities.”  

Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan also provides a strong framework for the city to be prepared to compete for additional funding from a variety of sources.  
 
The CER team is actively engaging with Cleveland City Council to equitably and strategically shape and evaluate ideas for ARPA-funded projects that address our most urgent challenges. The team is assessing applications for ARPA-funding using the same evaluation criteria to make strategic decisions to achieve our long-term vision. They are also considering all possible sources of funding to ensure the City makes the best use of ARPA and other one-time federal dollars.  

Read the latest update and learn more at Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan.  

Press Release 

July 12, 2022

Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH) joins the EarthJustice, a national environmental justice law firm, in calling on Congress to pass the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act.

The Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act (LSHKA) would require owners of HUD assisted housing to test for lead hazards before children are poisoned. 

LSHKA would cover public housing, privately owned assisted housing, and properties receiving housing choice vouchers where there is a child under 6 years of age.

While Cleveland’s Lead Safe Certificate Program currently covers privately owned assisted housing and properties receiving housing choice vouchers, roughly 10,000 units owned by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority are not covered by Cleveland’s ordinance. 

Outside of the City of Cleveland, LSHKA would extend new protections to tenants living in HUD assisted housing all around Ohio.

Proactively testing Federally assisted housing is not a new issue. For two decades, the Government Accountability Office has been issuing reports about the gap in HUD programming around the issue of lead paint. Three recent examples are: 

• The Danger of Lead Paint Hazards in Two HUD Programs
• Lead Paint in Housing: Key Considerations for Adopting Stricter Lead Evaluation Methods in HUD’s Voucher Program and
• Lead Paint in Housing: HUD Has Not Identified High-Risk Project-Based Rental Assistance Properties

Darrick Wade, a founding member of CLASH says: “It is past time for HUD to adopt a primary prevention strategy for addressing lead in federally assisted housing. Preventing lead exposure is cheaper than fixing the problem after a child has been poisoned. Not only cheaper, but morally imperative.…” Darrick’s son Demetrius Wade died as a result of lead exposure at Cleveland’s Lakeview Terrace Estate.

Two global music concerts scheduled for Wednesdays, August 3 and 10 

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The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) announces the return of City Stages, the museum’s FREE acclaimed summer concerts featuring the best in global music. The block parties will take place on consecutive Wednesday evenings in front of Transformer Station, the museum’s sister contemporary art museum, August 3 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. 

Before or during the concerts, attendees are encouraged to visit Transformer Station, one of 30 venues across Cleveland, Oberlin and Akron participating in the 2022 edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art through October 2. Titled Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the free exhibition explores art as an agent of transformation, a mode of healing and a therapeutic process. Staff at the PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station will help visitors plan their journeys through 30 sites, where they will encounter the work of more than 100 contemporary artists. 

Transformer Station is located at 1460 W. 29th St. (at the corner of Church Avenue), Cleveland, OH 44113. Normal hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Transformer Station will remain open until 9 p.m. during City Stages. For more information, visit transformerstation.org.

Street parking as available, or the Lutheran Hospital parking lot is located at West 28th Street and Franklin Boulevard. FREE to all. 

Arrive early and grab dinner and a drink at one of Ohio City’s bars or restaurants or visit one of the local shops. Seating is limited—bring camp chairs and enjoy an evening of music and dancing in the street. 

City Stages Schedule 

Wednesday, August 3 

Dobet Gnahoré 

Hailing from Côte d’Ivoire, Dobet Gnahoré is a virtuosic singer, dancer, percussionist and songwriter who has taken the modern Afropop sounds of her country in exciting new directions. One of Africa’s brightest stars and most striking talents, Gnahoré uses her words and image to empower a new generation of daring, strong and independent African women. “I want to be able to dance to my music,” asserts Gnahoré. 

Wednesday, August 10 

Cimafunk 

Named by Billboard as a “Top 10 Latin Artist to Watch,” Cimafunk is making a name for himself as one of today’s great showmen, performing an electric live show with his nine-person band from  Havana. Cimafunk masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip-hop and  soul—resulting in a progressive, head-bopping celebration of Black music’s power to eclipse borders and  cross-pollinate across cultures. 

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 63,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovations. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation, recognized for its award-winning Open Access program and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in the University Circle neighborhood. 

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and  made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National  Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio  communities culturally, educationally and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs  and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org. 

About Transformer Station 

Founded in 2013 by the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation, Transformer Station is a free, privately owned contemporary art museum located on the west side of Cleveland. The exhibition schedule at Transformer Station is shared with the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the facility is a promised gift to the museum.

Photo courtesy of Scott Shaw Photography for the Cleveland Museum of Art 

By Tonya Sams

August is here and we will soon hear the ringing of school bells. But preparing for the new year is more than just buying clothes and supplies – it is also about preparing for new situations and challenges students may face at school. 

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland provides legal help that ensures kids’ school success, and wants to offer a few helpful tips:

SPECIAL EDUCATION 

If you are concerned that your child is not keeping up with peers, you can ask your school to test your child for special education needs. Make the request in writing and keep a dated copy for yourself. It doesn’t matter if the school year is well underway; you can request a special education evaluation at any time. 

If it is determined that your child qualifies for special education services, they will receive what is called an individualized education program, or IEP. IEPs outline goals and accommodations that can help your child succeed. 

If you and the school disagree regarding your child’s placement in special education, you can contact the Ohio Department of Education to file a complaint or request a mediation to resolve the issue. 

TROUBLE IN SCHOOL

If your child is constantly getting into trouble in school, find out if they are having problems with a teacher or other students, or talk to them about trauma that may cause them to act out. You may find that the school can provide resources such as a mental health counselor for your child. You can also request that your child is tested for special education or a functional behavior assessment (FBA). Talk to school officials about these issues.

If your child has been disciplined by suspension, expulsion, or other measures, request documentation from the school.  

BULLYING

According to Ohio law, bullying is any repeated, intentional act (either physical, verbal, electronic or written) that causes a student physical or mental harm and creates a hostile, threatening environment. 

Schools are required to allow people to report bullying anonymously. Schools also must protect students from bullying and discipline those students that are bullying others. 

You have the right to report bullying to the school and to request an investigation. If an investigation is conducted, you have a right to see the results of that investigation. You can also obtain a lawyer or contact the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights.

HOUSING INSECURITY

If you and your child are homeless, federal law states that your child can not be denied their education. Your child has the right to continue to attend the same school before they became homeless and to receive transportation. They also have the right to transfer to a school that may be closer, enroll in school even if they do not have the proper documentation such as a birth certificate, and a right to continue to receive special education if needed. 

If you have issues in any of these areas, Legal Aid may be able to help. Call 888-817-3777 or visit lasclev.org/contact for more information.  Also, Legal Aid offers free legal clinics in neighborhoods throughout Northeast Ohio.  Check Legal Aid’s website for an event calendar and visit a clinic with your questions!

Tonya Sams is the Development and Communications Assistant at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

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The Cleveland International Film is now accepting submissions for CIFF47. Films of any runtime, of any genre, and from any country — with a completed production date after June 1, 2021 — are eligible for consideration.For full information on CIFF47’s Call For Entries process, please visit clevelandfilm.org/call-for-entries.

CIFF47 will take place March 22 – April 1, 2023 at the Festival’s permanent home in Playhouse Square — the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New York City. The Festival will screen films in five of the historic and stunning theatres at Playhouse Square, with a handful of other spaces being used for CIFF talkbacks, community events, and patron and filmmaker gathering places. Information surrounding a possible online component for the 2023 Festival will be announced at a later date.

CIFF47 will consist of hundreds of films, post-film Q&As, and audience and juried awards with more than $130,000 in cash prizes for feature and short films. CIFF is proud to be one of the few festivals in the world that is Academy Award® qualifying for all three categories of short films—live action, animated, and documentary. In addition, CIFF recently became an Emmy award-winning Festival for its CIFF45 Trailer, Bring Film Home, was ranked as one of the top 100 Best Reviewed Festivals on FilmFreeway, and was once again named as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.

Earlier this year, CIFF46 and CIFF46 Streams — which took place consecutively March 30 – April 9^th at Playhouse Square and April 10 – April 17^th on the Festival’s streaming platform — presented 146 feature films and 182 short films from 73 countries. Filmmaker cash prizes for the Festival’s esteemed 34 competitions and other awards totaled $131,500.

The Cleveland International Film Festival is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Also, the Cleveland International Film Festival is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

MEDIA RELEASE

After Cleveland City Council unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Mayor Justin M. Bibb, Councilwoman Deborah A. Gray and Councilwoman Stephanie D. Howse last month, applications are now open for the new City of Cleveland Commission for Black Women and Girls.  

The newly formed Commission will advocate, initiate and champion programs and legislation to improve outcomes for Black women and girls, their families and communities.  

“The establishment of a Commission entirely focused on improving the lives of Black women and girls at the local level is not only historic, but necessary,” Mayor Bibb stated. “Black women are the backbone of our communities and I’m looking forward to centering their lived experience in policy decisions and programs – it can only make us all stronger,” Mayor Bibb added.  

The Commission will advise both the mayor and city council in making legislation and program recommendations based on a data-driven approach.  

The Commission will consist of 12 members and 2 ex-officio members. To fulfill the requirements of the legislation, women serving on the Commission will represent a wide range of demographics from the faith and labor community to corporate and medical fields.  

“The goal of this Commission is to create structural representation in government that gives Black women and girls a voice in identifying the problems facing their communities and most importantly, in designing the solutions,” Councilwoman Howse said.   

“Too often, Black women are ignored or made to feel invisible. The launch of this Commission is historic because it creates a platform for change designed by Black women, for Black women, unleashing our collective power to deliver effective, culturally appropriate programs and legislation,” Councilwoman Gray stated.  

Applications for the City of Cleveland Black Women and Girls Commission are now open. The deadline to submit applications is Wednesday, August 3, 2022 by no later than 11:59 p.m. Applicants may mail their applications or submit online. 

For more details on eligibility criteria and how to apply, visit the Mayor’s website here. 

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Interviews for the new Community Police Commission will begin tomorrow, June 29, 2022, and continue on Thursday, June 30, 2022, and Tuesday, July 5, 2022.  

Twenty-seven candidates from a pool of almost 300 applications advanced to the interview phase of the selection process, following recommendations from the Resident Review Committee. The second phase of the selection process will continue to serve as a model of community-led evaluation.  

The interviews will be recorded and open to the public as part of our commitment to transparency. Each interview will be 30 minutes and are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. on June 29, June 30 and July 5, 2022.  

The public can observe interviews live on Zoom.  

The Selection Advisory Panel will evaluate candidates based on their application and interview and provide recommendations to the mayor for appointment. Mayor Justin M. Bibb will nominate ten applicants to City Council for approval. City Council will nominate three members to the new 13-member Commission.  

The City’s Chief Ethics Officer, Delanté Spencer Thomas, Esq., will Chair the Selection Advisory Panel to maintain integrity of the evaluation process and Sara Verespej replaces Linda Hinton on the panel after a withdrawal. A full list of members is available below. 

Selection Advisory Panel  

Delanté Spencer Thomas, Esq. (Chair)  
Rev. Douglas Horner 
Phyllis Harris   
Dr. C. Jay Matthews I  
Sara Verespej  

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Mayor Justin M. Bibb has reappointed Kevin Schmotzer as the LGBTQ+ Liaison for the City of Cleveland and selected Detective Heather Bruner as the LGBTQ+ Liaison in the Department of Public Safety and the Division of Police.  

“I am pleased to announce these important appointments and I thank Detective Bruner and Mr. Schmotzer for their leadership and willingness to share their ideas and perspectives,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “Representation and inclusion are critical to create a thriving city for all Clevelanders and we are committed to advocating for and advancing LGBTQ+ equality.”  

Schmotzer has worked for more than two decades in the city’s economic development department, where he serves as the city’s executive for small business development. He will continue in that role while collaborating with internal departments, individuals, social service organizations and coalitions to address the needs of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.  

Bruner, a detective in Cleveland’s third district who has been with CDP since 2017, is the new LGBTQ+ Liaison in the Department of Safety and the Division of Police and the third person in the department to hold the position. Bruner will focus specifically on building relationships with the city’s LGBTQ+ community and the Division of Police. LGBTQ+ advocates also serve on various city boards including, but not limited to, the Community Relations Board, Workforce Development Board and the Police Review Board. 

Both positions were first established in 2018 in order to strengthen the relationships between the police, City Hall, and Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community.  

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Mayor Justin M. Bibb has appointed Michelle Rose as the new Executive Director for the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Workforce Development Board, Tessa Jackson as the city’s new Director of Economic Development, and Sarah O’Keeffe as Director of Sustainability and Climate Justice.  

“These deeply experienced professionals bring a tremendous amount of innovation, passion and expertise to the administration,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “Their leadership and accomplishments are impressive, and I look forward to what we will achieve together for the city and the region.”  

The workforce development executive director role, which will be officially filled by Michelle Rose starting July 6, leads public sector workforce development in Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland. Rose will serve as Chief Executive Officer for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) activities in the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County and will be responsible for administering workforce programs funded by WIOA as well as other funding sources.  

Prior to joining the City of Cleveland, Rose served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs under U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. 

“From day one, Michelle Rose has been a trusted advisor and strong leader as Acting Assistant Secretary for Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs,” Secretary Walsh said. “As a former mayor, I’m thrilled she is bringing her expertise to drive change at a local level.” 

The Director of Economic Development, Tessa Jackson, is responsible for the recruitment and retention of businesses, expansion of business operations in the City, securing new commercial investment in the community, and working with other organizations to promote smart and equitable growth policies. Jackson, who joins the city from Faubourg Advisors and Hackett Robertson Tobe Group in New Orleans, will oversee this work with a strong focus on equity and neighborhood revitalization.  

The Director of Sustainability and Climate Justice, Sarah O’Keeffe, joins the city from the MetroHealth System where she spent the last four-and-a-half years serving as Director of Sustainability. O’Keeffe will be responsible for developing and executing the city’s sustainability strategic plan, incorporating best practices, engaging stakeholders, program evaluation, and ensuring sustainability and climate justice are at the center of municipal operations and growth.  

MORE ABOUT THE NEW HIRES:  

Michelle Rose most recently served as Acting Assistant Secretary in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA) in the U.S. Department of Labor. In this role she directed the Department of Labor’s strategy for interacting with Congress and advancing legislative priorities, successfully led nine Senate confirmations, served as the primary staff liaison to Capitol Hill on behalf of the Department of Labor, and managed all operations of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.  

Rose’s prior experience includes serving as chief of staff to U.S. Deputy Labor Secretary Chris Lu, nearly six years as a senior legislative officer in the Office of Congressional Affairs and work with advance teams for both the White House and the Obama for America Presidential Inaugural Committee.  

Locally, Rose was Director of Talent Initiatives for the Cleveland Innovation Project, a non-profit collaborative of foundations and economic development organizations working to create a blueprint for regional growth through high-tech jobs in Northeast Ohio.

Rose has also worked in constituency services for the Democratic National Committee and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Miami University. She is a Northeast Ohio native and grew up in Painesville Township.  

Tessa Jackson is a veteran social entrepreneur and impact investment professional with more than 15 years of experience financing, creating and supporting ventures and real estate projects that address social inequality, revitalize neighborhoods and provide economic opportunities for underserved communities. 

Since 2014 Jackson has served as Chief Strategist and Principal with New Orleans-based Faubourg Advisors and Chief Impact Officer with the Hackett Robertson Tobe Group. In these roles she created city-specific Opportunity Zone investment prospectuses and developed the business plan for a new impact fund to invest in Black-owned and operated ventures in the Delta-Gulf Coast Region.  

Jackson spent seven years in regional program management and investment officer roles with the AFL-CIO Investment Program, where she underwrote debt and NMTC investments for the Housing Investment Trust and oversaw several community development-related initiatives and served as a U.S. field officer for Trickle Up, an international microfinance organization.  

In addition to an MBA from UC Berkley Haas School of Business, Jackson holds a Graduate Certificate in Urban Redevelopment from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Mechanical Engineering and Studio Art from Stanford University. She was also a Rockefeller Foundation Redevelopment Fellow with a focus on community revitalization issues in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. 

Sarah O’Keeffe is a regional and national thought leader and active collaborator on advancing healthcare towards more environmentally sustainable operations and strategies that reduce negative impacts on both environmental and human health, including those associated with climate change.   

In her most recent role as the MetroHealth System’s Director of Sustainability, O’Keeffe spearheaded MetroHealth’s Healthy Transportation Choices program for incentivizing non-single occupancy vehicle employee commuting—recognized by the NOACA Commuter Choice Awards and the Fund for Our Economic Future’s Paradox Prize—and led efforts to set and achieve the diversion of 80%+ of the construction and demolition debris on Campus Transformation projects.   

She has successfully incorporated green building and sustainable community building principles into MetroHealth’s culture and served as co-organizer for the national 2021 Climate Crisis Symposium: Impact on Clinical Practice in the Great Lakes Region that underlined the connection between climate change and healthcare operations.  

O’Keeffe holds an MBA with a focus on non-profit management and sustainability from CWRU Weatherhead School of Management, a BS in Aeronautical Studies and a BA in English Literature from Kent State University. She is a certified EcoDistricts AP, multi-modal commuter (bike, transit, carpool), a less-waste devotee, and an advisor to the Green Team in her home city of Cleveland Heights.