NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
June 21, 2019

MEDIA CONTACT
Daniel Cohn
(216) 421-5500
daniel.cohn@case.edu

Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition Announces Inaugural
Steering Committee
CLEVELAND (June 21, 2019) – At today’s Lead Safe Home Summit, the Lead Safe Cleveland
(LSC) Coalition announced a number of appointments to its Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee is responsible for strategic, fiscal, and operational oversight of the
Coalition. It will set the Coalition’s agenda in response to community-identified needs,
coordinate activities across the Coalition’s various committees, communicate Coalition priorities
to the public, and engage policymakers on behalf of the Coalition.
Steering Committee members were selected based on their relationship to the lead poisoning
issue and the community; connection to lived experiences, resources, and relationships needed
to advance Coalition goals and objectives; willingness to collaborate and embrace the goals and
approach of the Coalition; reflection of the community the Coalition serves; and willingness to
actively participate in and contribute to the Steering Committee.
Honorary Chair:
 Beth Mooney, Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp
Steering Committee members include:
 Terry Allan, Commissioner, Cuyahoga County Board of Health
 Mitchell Balk, President, Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, and Chair of the LSC
Governance Committee
 Robin Brown, Founder, Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead, and LSC Resident
Action Team member
 Gabriella Celeste, Policy Director, Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western
Reserve University (CWRU), and Co-chair of the Ohio Lead-Free Kids Coalition
 Colleen Cotter, Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
 Ayonna Blue Donald, Director, City of Cleveland Department of Building and Housing
 Marcia Egbert, Senior Program Officer, The George Gund Foundation, and Chair of the
LSC Resource Development Committee
 Rob Fischer, Co-Director, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at
CWRU, and Chair of the LSC Research and Evaluation Committee
 Kim Foreman, Executive Director, Environmental Health Watch, and Chair of the LSC
Community Engagement Committee

  Blaine Griffin, Councilman, Cleveland City Council
 Donnie Grissett, Community Member and LSC Resident Action Team member
 Diana King, Community Member and Chair, Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation
Equality
 Sonia Monroy Matis, Community Member and LSC Resident Action Team member
 Mark McDermott, Vice President and Ohio Market Leader, Enterprise Community
Partners, and Chair of the LSC Policy Committee
 August Napoli, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and Chair of the
LSC Lead Safe Home Summit Committee
“The appointment of Steering Committee members marks an important milestone for the Lead
Safe Cleveland Coalition,” said Mitchell Balk, President of the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
and Chair of the LSC Governance Committee. “This group brings to the table a remarkable
depth and breadth of leadership, a diversity of lived experiences, and the critical perspectives
necessary to address lead poisoning in our community.”
The Coalition continues to seek additional Steering Committee members whose knowledge and
expertise can contribute to the public-private partnership.
“There are still more voices to engage, but we have to hit the ground running now,” said Robin
Brown, Founder of Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead and LSC Resident Action Team
member. “Lead poisoning affects every one of us, so we need leaders from every corner of the
community to join in.”
In accordance with guidance set forth by the Governance Committee, the Steering Committee is
comprised of the chairs of Coalition committees; people directly impacted by lead, such as leadpoisoned individuals, caregivers of lead-poisoned children, and those providing direct services
to lead-poisoned individuals; members of the Coalition at-large; civic leaders; and City of
Cleveland government representatives. Members were selected by the Interim Steering
Committee, comprised of current Committee Chairs, based on a public call for nominations and
additional community outreach.
“It’s a new day in Cleveland,” said Sonia Monroy Matis, community member and LSC Resident
Action Team member. “I’m excited to be part of the Coalition, and I know we can protect our
children from lead poisoning if we tackle this issue together.”
“No one expects the path forward to be easy, but our community’s leaders are savvy and
resilient. We are committed to addressing lead poisoning. And we are in it for the long-haul.”
said Terry Allan, Commissioner of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
As the Coalition continues to grow and evolve, so too will the Steering Committee to ensure the
appropriate representation of key stakeholders, elevation of community voices, and effective

 structuring and staffing of working Committees. The Steering Committee will assume leadership
of the Coalition beginning in late 2019.
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The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition is an inclusive, public-private partnership founded to
address lead poisoning through a comprehensive, preventive, and long-term approach. This
approach protects Cleveland’s children by merging smart, adaptable public policies;
knowledgeable agencies willing to collaborate; proven community programs and leaders; and
public and private sector accountability. With community voice embedded in all aspects, the
Coalition is working through an initial five-point action plan: 1) create community goals; 2)
develop lead safe policy recommendations; 3) host the Lead Safe Home Summit; 4) create a
Lead Safe Home Fund; and 5) advocate for state and federal resources. Initial support for the
Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition came from the City of Cleveland, the Mt. Sinai Health Care
Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Saint Luke’s Foundation, The Cleveland
Foundation, the Bruening Foundation, the Sisters of Charity Foundation, the Third Federal
Foundation, and United Way of Greater Cleveland. Today, the Coalition has over 250
participants and six working committees and continues to grow. Everyone is encouraged to join
us. Email: info@leadsafecle.org. Twitter: @LeadSafeCLE, #LeadSafeCLE.
The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation seeks to assist Greater Cleveland’s organizations and
leaders to improve the health and well-being of the Jewish and general communities now and
for generations to come. More information can be found here: http://www.mtsinaifoundation.org/.