Staff & Board

Our Staff

Ian Andrews

Executive Director

Ian has been with LakewoodAlive since 2011, serving as Executive Director for the past 14 years.

Why I Love Lakewood: I’ve never experienced a community where people are so passionate and engaged as they are here. When we put out a call to help a neighbor or support a project, this community responds with enthusiasm. I love our historic housing and commercial building stock and that this community proudly supports small, family-owned businesses.

Fun Fact: I was named an official Kentucky Colonel as a result of volunteering for a conference in 2006, led by a key staff member of the governor of Kentucky.

Jo Higgins

Operations Manager

Jo runs point on all of our events, volunteer projects, a monthly city-wide business call, small business support, and our internal operations.

jhiggins@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x3

Why I Love Lakewood: I absolutely love the effortless eccentric vibe in Lakewood. The culture, pride, and support to one another in the community is truly unique. I love the array of small businesses and how family friendly everything is. Being able to ride bikes anywhere we want to go is an absolute dream. The proximity to Lake Erie, the Metroparks and those fantastic sun shows (sunsets) are the icing on the cake…or the sour cream on the pierogi.

Fun Fact: I love all things pickled and consider myself a “Pickled Egg Enthusiast”.

Ben Klein

Housing Outreach Manager

Ben oversees our Housing Outreach programs including: Paint Lakewood, aiding with City of Lakewood Home Improvement Loan applications, our Knowing Your Home Educational Series, and managing housing specific volunteer projects.

bklein@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x8

Why I Love Lakewood: There is so much; where do I even begin!?! As someone with a background in urban planning, I love the walkability/density and the diverse housing stock available across socio-economic bands. But that would mean nothing without the wonderful people whose community pride, openness, creativity, and friendliness make it a wonderful place to be. Oh yeah and the food and coffee options are amazing, too!

Fun Fact: One time I was busking in front of a grocery store and comedian Gallagher listened for a while then went into the store, bought a watermelon, and pushed it past me in a cart while humming Chopin’s funeral march.

Matt Clark

Housing Outreach & Toolbox Coordinator

Matt runs and organizes our Lakewood Toolbox, which is a membership based tool lending library for Lakewood residents. He is the person to contact for contractor recommendations, performs Aging In Place Assessments for seniors, and runs point on Leaf Raking and Snow Shoveling Programs for residents with physical disabilities and seniors.

mclark@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x5

Why I Love Lakewood: The sense of community is great, people are really committed to helping each other.

Fun Fact: I have a thing for gas station hot dogs and Funyuns.

Mark McNamara

Community Engagement Specialist

Mark is part of our Housing Outreach Team and works with low-moderate-income residents in need of assistance with home repairs, performs Aging In Place Assessments for seniors, organizes yard clean ups for residents with disabilities and seniors, and oversees hoarding and bedbug aid.

mmcnamara@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x4

Why I Love Lakewood: It is always a work in progress. Lakewood has managed to evolve from the homogeneous community of my childhood to one that is rich in color, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation and religion. It is a foodie paradise, and a walk-around, big, small town. Lakewood is a safe place to raise and educate your children and a great place to age and complain to the neighbors about their children. What more could you want?

Fun Fact: I can catch a thrown baseball behind my back and I am an avid stilt walker.

Kathleen Upper

Development Manager

Kathleen manages all of our fundraising efforts by applying for available grants, crafting fundraising campaigns large and small, and managing event sponsorship. Additionally, she is the staff lead on our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives.

kupper@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x7

Why I Love Lakewood: I love Lakewood because of all of the amazing people who live and work here. In each of the different parts of the city I move through from my neighborhood to school to the rec. programs, to the libraries and more, I find genuinely kind people who are sharing their knowledge & talent and striving to create a thriving community. I also love the parks, playgrounds and community events. I continue to be impressed by the number and variety of small businesses in Lakewood. It makes finding a unique gift or a great place for lunch or a service so incredibly easy.

Fun Fact: I began tap dancing as an adult through the Lakewood Recreation program and had the opportunity to dance with all 3 of my kids at a recital once.

Ava Olic

Marketing Coordinator

Ava oversees all of our marketing and communications, from running our social media platforms, creating and distributing our e-newsletter, maintaining our website, working with graphic designers, and communicating with local news outlets.

aolic@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x6

Why I Love Lakewood: I love the fact that I can walk everywhere in Lakewood. It has the urban feel of a large city, with the geographical size of a small town. Living where I have so many fond memories of growing up, and having the opportunity to make new ones is a wonderful feeling. Our schools, parks, small businesses, unique and beautiful houses, and of course the lake, make Lakewood an amazing community to live in and give back to.

Fun Fact: I get told I look like the actress Diane Lane a lot.

Sara Williams

Staff Program Assistant

Sara is our administrative extraordinaire who helps support each and every member of our team. She can point you in the right direction of who to talk to, manages all of our bookkeeping and invoicing, and maintains the Available Commercial Properties page found on our website and the City of Lakewood website.

swilliams@lakewoodalive.org

(216) 521-0655 x2

Why I Love Lakewood: Lakewood has so much to offer and the people who live here are passionate about supporting not only each other, but the many wonderful small businesses. I feel lucky to call Lakewood my home and to be part of such a strong and vibrant community.

Fun Fact: I have an identical twin sister.

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

President – Julie Warren, Erie Design
Vice President – Amanda Santa, 23andMe
Treasurer & Operations Co-Chair – Jennifer Wynn, Cleveland Property Management Group
Secretary – Geoff Mathias, Sauced Taproom & Kitchen
DEI Chair – Andrea Fisher, Lakewood Public Library
Design Chair – Amy Haney, PIRHL
Development Chair – Jason Weiner, The Cleveland Foundation
Operations Co-Chair – John Burke, Attorney, Burkes Law
Housing Chair – Emma Petrie Barcelona, EDEN, Inc.
Marketing Chair – Aaron Lemley, Outcast PR
Small Business Chair – Sid Ordog, Volunteer, Sherwin Williams (retired)
Past President – Mike Bentley, Johnson Bentley Wealth Partners of Raymond James

At-Large

Jodi Barnes, ERIEBANK
Carol Barrett, Carol Lynn's Salon Plus
Hannah Belsito, Destination Cleveland
Chris Bergin, Realtor, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Lucien Realty
Kelly Florian, Great Lakes Theatre
Maureen Koopman, The CoLab
Christina McCallum, Werner G. Smith, Inc.
Brian Meng, Bialosky Cleveland
Galadriel Olson, Lakewood Art Supply
Lauren Smigelski, MJM Services
Jesse Smith, JSmith Studios LLC
Chalana Williams, First Federal Lakewood

Non-Voting Members

Kyle Baker, At-Large Councilperson, City of Lakewood
Angela Byington, Planning Director, City of Lakewood
Meghan F. George, Mayor, City of Lakewood
Lauren Small, CEO and President, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce