Visiting Committee Members
From L-R: Cary Dell; Meran Rogers; Jakki Nance; Connie Hill-Johnson; Ka-Pi Hoh, PhD; Marilyn S. Mobley, PhD; Eric D. Keene; Manju Gupta; Joy Roller; Jennifer Greer; Alexandria Johnson Boone; Louis Licata.
Alexandria Johnson Boone
Alexandria Johnson Boone is President and CEO of GAP Communications Group, full-service public relations, advertising, marketing and special events firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Under her leadership, GAP has gained local, regional and national recognition for its quality public relations, publicity and marketing services and its signature special events. She is also widely recognized and respected in the communications and public relations industry as the architect of the LeBron James media persona.
Alex is also the Chairwoman and Founder of the Women of Color Foundation, a 501c3 organization, dedicated to the education, empowerment, training and leadership development of women and girls of all colors. Over the years, the Foundation has produced several annual personal and professional development retreats, conferences, awards luncheons, and other special events across the region.
She is a graduate of the Cleveland Public Schools. She also holds a master’s degree from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University; a Certificate from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; and was a 1997 National Fellow at the Boston University School of Public Health’s Join Together Program. She was also a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 1988.
In 2014, she founded C L Magazine, a career and lifestyle digital magazine for women and girls of color. The magazine has been continuously in publication since that time.
Some of her community involvements have included serving as a member of the Board at The Club at Key Center; The SHINE Foundation; The Urban League of Greater Cleveland; the Community Advisory Board of The Flora Stone Mather Center for Women; The Visiting Committees at the Weatherhead School of Management & the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement at Case Western Reserve University; and the Board of Directors at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, all located in Cleveland, Ohio; and the Urquhart Memorial Foundation located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Boone has also received several awards for her business and professional achievements and community service.
Her 2016 awards and recognition include the following: 2016 Recipient of the “National ColorComm Circle Award” for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman of Color in the Communications Industry; 2016 Trailblazer of the Year by the Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council at their Annual Regional Conference; 2016 Business Trailblazer of the Year by the Christian Business League; 2016 Recipient of the Greater Cleveland Community Service Award by the Gloria Pointer Foundation; and the 2015 recipient of the Elite Women Around the World’s, Women Who Changed the World Award.
In 2017, Alex was selected for inclusion in the Inaugural “Women WELDing the Way” 2018 Business Success Calendar by the Women for Economic and Leadership Development, Cleveland Chapter; and was included in a local PBS television mini-documentary, highlighting Cleveland Black professional women and their success in spite of facing racism during their careers.
In 2018, Boone was featured in an article in the March issue of Cleveland’s Smart Business Magazine, highlighting her work with the Women of Color Foundation. Additionally, the Women of Color Foundation was recognized as the “2018 Organization that Empowered Women” at the Smart Business Magazine Annual Women’s Awards Breakfast.
Cary Dell
Cary Dell, Manager - Communications, Arconic, leads communications for two of the company’s business units and Cleveland Operations, as well as Ohio government affairs and Arconic Foundation outreach. He has consistently emphasized the importance of engaging employees in the strategy of the company through multi-channel internal communications tactics and programs.
Cary joined Arconic (then known as Alcoa) in November 2006 as Manager of Marketing and Employee Communications, when he embarked on expanding internal communications throughout a 26-location global business unit. Cary extended the reach of the emerging business unit’s intra-company portal through daily postings, inauguration of employee-centric features and podcasts. In addition to this primary activity, he added crisis communications and marketing communications to his growing list of responsibilities. Cary later assumed oversight of trade show strategy and established a strong communications network with account managers and other key marketing and sales leaders to help support and drive successful results through customer-focused communications.
A passion of Cary’s is his role as Arconic Foundation coordinator for Arconic’s northeast Ohio businesses. Cary has aligned local philanthropy efforts with Arconic Foundation goals and objectives through increased support of STEM programs. Under his leadership Arconic Foundation grants have been awarded to organizations that have elevated middle school and high school technology programs through programs such as A Word in Motion™ and First Robotics. He has established a multiyear relationship with a nearby elementary school where engineers engage via video chat to mentor students in the fundamentals of design with hands-on programs leading to design of aircraft propellers and spacecraft structural components.
Prior to joining Arconic, Cary served as Senior Communications Manager, BRTRC Inc., in Fairfax, Virginia, where he led the U.S. Army's Biometrics Fusion Center communications and outreach programs as its public affairs officer from 2004 to 2006. Previously, he managed the internal and external communications programs at Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors, Akron, Ohio. He also held communications leadership positions at Loral Corporation and Goodyear Aerospace Corporation.
Cary holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton, completed graduate coursework in Public Relations at Kent State University, holds certificates of accomplishment from corporate leadership development programs, and awards for communications excellence from professional organizations. He served on three nonprofit boards in Akron, Ohio, and is a graduate of Leadership Akron Class 17. Cary and wife Yvonne, a retired instructor at Gilmour Academy, have two grown daughters, Emily, who lives in Edison, New Jersey, and Hilary, who lives in Denver, Colorado. Among his personal accomplishments includes trekking to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon by the South Kaibab Trail and other outdoors adventures.
Jennifer Greer
Manju Gupta
Manju Gupta serves as Counsel for Ulmer & Berne LLP in Cleveland, Ohio. She concentrates her practice on complex business litigation, with a particular focus on federal contracting counseling and dispute resolution. She has substantial experience representing businesses in connection with their governmental procurement and contracting activities, including bid preparation, responses to requests for proposals for government projects and contracts, bid disputes and protests, contract negotiations, and contract disputes. Manju has represented clients throughout the country in both state and federal courts.
Manju also has extensive experience representing debtors and creditors in Chapter 11 bankruptcies and out of court workout matters. Her experience includes representing clients in all aspects of bankruptcy proceedings, including asset sales, executory contracts, unexpired leases, intellectual property, stay issues, and prosecution and defense of adversary proceedings.
In recognition of her talent, Manju has been named to The Best Lawyers in America© for Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, to the Ohio Super Lawyers list, and the Lawyers of Color Hot List.
Manju is actively involved in the community through her involvement with several local organizations and institutions, including serving as a Board Member for DANCECleveland, as a Board Member for the Alumni Association of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and as a member of the Visiting Committee for Cleveland State University’s School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. She is also a Council Member of the Litigation Section, Member of the Minority Attorney Roundtable Taskforce, and former Co-Chair of the Women in Law Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.
Manju received her undergraduate degree from John Carroll University, her Master of Business Administration degree from the James J. Nance College of Business Administration at Cleveland State University, and her law degree from the Cleveland- Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.
Constance Hill-Johnson, MPA
Constance Hill-Johnson is the Owner and Managing Director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services in Cleveland Ohio. Visiting Angels is an in-home service provider assisting the elderly and older adult to live as independently as possible by remaining safely in their own familiar home environment.
Ms. Hill-Johnson started her business in 2002, and now in its 17th year, has successfully served hundreds of seniors throughout the greater Cleveland area and surrounding communities. Her professional background includes over 10-years of senior health care management experience in a variety of health care settings. She is regarded as a both a dynamic motivational leader and speaker who shares with audiences her entrepreneurial journey which began in her early 40’s, in addition to her recent journey as an adult caregiver to a mother with dementia.
Ms. Hill-Johnson’s expertise spans a wide array of organizational settings including acute care hospitals, physician’s medical practices, and professional management services companies. Ms. Hill-Johnson also spent 5 years as an institutional sales broker on an equity sales and trading desk for Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in Detroit, Michigan.
Ms. Hill-Johnson has earned the degree of Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Health Services Administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
She was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of The Cleveland Foundation, the oldest community foundation in the country. In 2017 she was selected as one of the Crain’s Women of Note honorees. She currently serves on the boards the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (BRIA) and is the co-chair of the Rose Centers for Aging Well. Additionally, she serves on the board of Adults at Risk (Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry) and is a member of the African American Outreach Committee of Hospice of the Western Reserve. She is also a past recipient of the Top 10 Women Business Owners in northeast Ohio by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
A committed philanthropist with a servant’s heart, Ms. Hill-Johnson is committed to giving of her time, talent and treasure.
Ka-Pi Hoh, Ph.D.
Ka-Pi Hoh is currently an organizational change management director at The Lubrizol Corporation. Dr. Hoh joined Lubrizol in 1988 as a research chemist. At Lubrizol, she has held a variety of leadership positions involving research technology, commercial development, operations and resource management including expatriate assignments in the United Kingdom and in China. She spent almost four years on assignment in China as the head of research, development and testing for Lubrizol Additives China. Upon her return to the US in 2016, she was the operations manager for finished products, driving global initiatives on product development and commercialization excellence. She started her current role last August, managing the change aspects for the global SAP upgrade of Lubrizol’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system.
Dr. Hoh graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a B.S. in Polymer Engineering and a minor in Economics. She received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science from CWRU. As a CWRU alumna, she is currently on the Case Advisory Board and chairs the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Macromolecular Science; she also recently served on the Search Committee for the new dean of the School of Engineering. She is an emeriti board member for the Alumni Association and for the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women. She also serves as a professional mentor for WISER (Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable).
At Lubrizol, Dr. Hoh is actively involved with Lubrizol’s diversity initiatives; she has been a member of Lubrizol’s Corporate Inclusion Steering Committee and is a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Resource Group as well as Women in Lubrizol Leadership.
Dr. Hoh was recently re-appointed as the chair of the Board of Directors for The Lakeland Foundation at Lakeland Community College. She is a board director for the Lake Humane Society, Apollo’s Fire, and the Andy Nowacki Foundation. In China, she has an appointment as an Associate and Visiting Professor at the Zhuhai College of Jilin University.
Eric Keene
Eric is the Founder & President of Keene Advisory Group. He partners with publicly traded and privately held clients to recruit general management and functional executives. Formerly with Russell Reynolds Associates, Eric served as a firm-wide leader on Diversity & Inclusion and was a member of the Corporate Officer’s practice.
Eric has successfully led search engagements across a variety of industries including consumer markets, energy, financial services, healthcare & life sciences, industrial, professional services and technology. In addition to general management positions, Eric’s functional emphasis involves commercial roles (marketing, sales, strategy), consulting, and manufacturing operations. He has experience with finance, human resources, information & technology, legal, and medical professionals.
Previously Eric worked for McKinsey & Company serving international clientele on issues of operations, organization, sales and strategy. His earlier experience includes several years in sales and marketing with IBM, O’Connor & Associates/Swiss Bank (UBS) and AT&T. A Shaker Heights native, Eric received his MBA as the Weatherhead Alumni Scholar from Case Western Reserve University and earned his BSc in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Currently Eric is a member of the Weatherhead School of Management Visiting Committee and has served as a Director for organizations including Centers for New Horizons (Centers) and the Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention (ILAACP).
Eric has been recognized by Diversity MBA Magazine as one of their Top 50 under 50 Executive Leaders. He is a member of the Union Club of Cleveland and the Economic Club of Chicago.
Lou Licata
As founder and president of Licata & Associates, Louis J. Licata is responsible for the management of the firm and its various practice areas, including its Global Market Entry Group. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, the Professional Fellowship Program at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and Cleveland State University.
Mr. Licata focuses his practice on serving as the Chief Legal Advisor to CEOs and Business Owners throughout the world. He has provided analysis and experience with complex issues, including Global Strategy, New Market Entry, Strategic Vision, Governance, Risk Management, Crises Management and day to day problem solving.
In the legal community, Mr. Licata has received the highest (“A”) peer review rating acknowledgement possible in his profession from Martindale Hubbell. He was also the first attorney in Ohio certified as a dual specialist after meeting the extensive requirements and high standards of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Specialty Board and The Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Certification of Attorney’s as Specialists. This is consistent with Ohio Lawyer Magazine’s recognition of him as a “Super Lawyer” and Crain's Cleveland Business' inclusion of him on the list of "Who's Who in Technology.” He has also been a leader in his profession starting one of the first Internet Law practices in the country and implementing innovative firm management measures, including a paperless office initiative in 1998, way ahead of the industry movement in this direction.
In the business community, Mr. Licata served on the Global Board of Directors for the Entrepreneur’s Organization (“EO”); a dynamic global network of more than 12,000 business owners in 45 countries committed to business success and an enriched personal life. During his four (4) years on the Board, he served as the Chief Advisor to three (3) different Chairmen. One of his accomplishments at EO was the development and implementation of the organization’s Globalization Strategy and the formation of the Globalization Task Team, on which he currently he served as Chairman. He was also the former Chairman of The Council of Small Enterprises ("COSE"), a small business organization of over 15,000 members.
For 16 years, Mr. Licata was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Phoenix where he teaches employment, business and e-commerce law courses. He was also an associate professor of law at Cleveland Marshall College of Law for 8 years. In December 2006, Ohio Magazine named him one of Ohio’s Memorable Educators. He has written and presented on numerous legal topics and recently submitted a Chapter titled Legal Considerations for Entering Asia Markets to be published in an eBook by ExecSense Inc.
Jacquelyn Nance
Jacquelyn “Jakki” Nance is an attorney and president of Philanthropic Solutions, Ltd., where she advises nonprofits on strategic planning, resource and board development, and event planning. She also works with executives and athletes to help them achieve their philanthropic objectives. Her clients have included the WNBA, the cancer charity Flashes of Hope, and State Farm Insurance, where she worked with the 50 Million Pound Challenge’s grassroots initiative to establish simultaneous health walks around the country.
Previously, Ms. Nance served as chief operating officer for Swin Cash Enterprises and the charity Cash for Kids, both founded by Swin Cash, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time WNBA champion.
Ms. Nance also served for three years as the executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation. During that time, she oversaw its bikeathon, developed a partnership with Nickelodeon, worked with corporate partners and built playgrounds around the country.
Ms. Nance has been featured in “Ebony” magazine, “Women in the NFL,” and in Kaleidoscope Magazine on “Women Who Give Back.” Ms. Nance has been an invited speaker at the Congressional Black Caucus and the Net Impact Summit at Wharton. She also served two years as the Co-Chair for the Cleveland Classic, an HBCU college football game held at Browns stadium. She has been honored by The Arthritis Foundation’s Northeast Ohio Chapter and Cleveland Public Theater.
Ms. Nance has more than 20 years of nonprofit board service. Currently, she serves on the National board of Autism Speaks as well as Laurel School, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School and CWRU Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Engagement Visiting Committee. Her board experience has included the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Ohio Arts Council, the Union Club of Cleveland, Julie Billiart School and the Thomas Moyer Ohio Judicial Commission and Foundation Board. Causes she has championed include autism and special needs, education, diversity and inclusion, and the arts.
She graduated from Spelman College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Ms. Nance and her husband, Fred Nance, have two teenagers with autism.
Meran Rogers
Meran Rogers is the Executive Director and Founder of Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA) She is an entrepreneur, community leader, and woman of influence. Rogers has over fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit and education sectors. Rogers established Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA) in 2012 and the school opened in August 2016 - GALA is a Mandarin and Spanish immersion elementary school in Cleveland. GALA is the first language immersion school in Northeast Ohio, and only Mandarin immersion school in Ohio.
Most Recently, under Rogers' leadership, GALA received the 2018 Dominion Foundation Community Impact Award, and raised nearly $2.5 million dollars for the school, including: a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, and a $1.2 million award over five years from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement.
Rogers grew up in Cleveland and attended Case Western Reserve University to study business, entrepreneurship, and Chinese. Post college, Rogers spent several months volunteering in East Africa, and a year in Taiwan as a third grade teacher at an English immersion school - the idea to start GALA came from my time teaching at that school. After her time abroad, Rogers returned to CWRU for a degree in nonprofit management and spent several years working in Cleveland public schools during her tenure as an Executive Fellow of the Cleveland Leadership Center, City Year, and Director of the Cleveland Campaign for Grade Level Reading. In 2011, Rogers was a founding staff member of Global Cleveland, serving as Director of Community Affairs; leading services for international newcomers and the Asian Initiative.
In November 2014, Rogers was recognized as “One to Watch in Education” by Crain’s Cleveland Business Magazine. In 2010, she received the Cleveland 25 Under 35 Movers and Shakers Award, and in 2009 was featured as ONE2WATCH in Cleveland Inside Business Magazine. In 2016, she received her K-12 principal license and MBA from the Ohio State University through the Bright New Leaders for Ohio fellowship.
Rogers holds a Master of Business Administration, Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and a Master of Nonprofit Management, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Joy Roller
Joy Roller brought her experience as a former television producer and economic development and civic leader to the position of Development Director of Karamu House in April 2017. Prior to joining Karamu, Joy led Global Cleveland, a non-profit that attracts, connects and welcomes newcomers to social and economic opportunities in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.
As Executive Director of the Gordon Square Arts District from 2005 – 2013, she led an arts-based economic development initiative that has transformed Cleveland’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood into an arts and entertainment destination. Prior to returning to Cleveland from New York City to enter law school in 2004, she produced, wrote and directed television programs for national syndication and cable networks.
Roller holds a Juris Doctor degree from Cleveland State University's John Marshall College of Law, a Masters of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from Denison University.
Deandra Williams-Lewis
Deandra Williams-Lewis is Senior Director of Organization Development & Human Resources at ReliabilityFirst Corporation.
She is primarily responsible for overseeing the development of the organization from a performance and culture perspective by implementing initiatives that increase efficiency, drive innovation, strengthen employee development and help to identify and close any organizational gaps or obstacles that prevent the organization from achieving operational excellence.
Williams-Lewis is an attorney with a diverse background and expertise in complex global corporate compliance matters, contract negotiation, enterprise risk management, and championing environments where people can realize their full potential. Prior to joining Reliability First, Mrs. Williams-Lewis was the Global Compliance & Diversity Leader for GE Lighting where she previously held commercial and regulatory compliance counsel roles. She has also held positions of increasing leadership responsibility at KPMG, BearingPoint, Altos Federal Group and Maxim Healthcare.
Williams-Lewis earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in English from Hampton University in May 2000 and her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law in May 2003. She is a licensed attorney with the Washington DC Bar and retains Corporate Status with the Ohio Bar.
Williams-Lewis is an active member in the community serving on the Board for the YWCA Greater Cleveland, and maintains active memberships with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, The Links Incorporated, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is a Registered Corporate Coach and continues to mentor and coach students and professionals.