It takes a village.
Meet the teams who make Say Yes Cleveland possible.
Administrative Staff
Many Say Yes Cleveland staff are CMSD graduates committed to supporting students who are driven to follow their own paths to success.
Diane Downing
Executive Director
Diane manages and directs all operations for Say Yes Cleveland, along with the partnerships and collaborations we rely on to pursue the Say Yes Cleveland mission. A longtime Cleveland resident, Diane has held numerous roles in civic leadership, including as the Cleveland District Director for United States Senator George Voinovich and Executive for Service during the administration of Mayor Michael White. Most recently, Diane worked as Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Affairs for Huntington Bank in Cleveland.
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Sharese Ryan
Director of Student and Family Services
Sharese supervises, coaches, and trains Say Yes Cleveland’s team of 100+ Family Support Specialists. She works with Say Yes Cleveland staff, schools, and external service providers to develop and maintain a support network that propels students to success. Sharese has formerly worked as a supervisor of child welfare caseworkers for Franklin County Children Services in Columbus, and as a social service worker and then supervisor for Cuyahoga County’s Division of Children & Family Services. She earned a Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Criminology degree from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Education degree in adult learning and development from Cleveland State University.
[email protected]
Aletha Kern
Director of IT and Data Management
Aletha Charlotte Kern is responsible for developing and implementing Say Yes Cleveland’s data and tech processes, tracking the status and needs of current and future students. Aletha possesses a wealth of technical expertise gained throughout the course of her career in the corporate sector. Working at Say Yes Cleveland, she is actively pursuing her dream of providing technological expertise to an organization that makes a difference in the lives of Cleveland’s youth.
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Brittney Church
Assistant Director of IT and Data Management
Brittney provides the monitoring and maintenance of Say Yes Cleveland’s data management processes, assists in data gathering and analysis to support community reporting needs, and coordinates the training of data system end users. Before taking on her current role, Brittney served from 2019-2021 as the Family Support Specialist (FSS) for Max Hayes High School. She has a Masters of Education degree and is pursuing certification in education technology from Cleveland State University.
[email protected]
Lisa Naylor
Director of Programs and Partnerships
Lisa develops, implements, and manages programs for Say Yes Cleveland students, with a particular focus on out-of-school time and expanded learning. She joined Say Yes Cleveland after working at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) as the Director of Community Engagement & Wraparound Services, where she led the District’s Community Wraparound Strategy. Naylor earned a Bachelor of Arts from Kent State University and a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management from Case Western Reserve University.
[email protected]
Jon Benedict
Director of Communications
Jon is responsible for Say Yes Cleveland’s communications and marketing efforts, helping ensure that everyone with a stake in the city understands the mission of Say Yes Cleveland. Prior to joining Say Yes Cleveland, Jon spent his nearly 20-year career helping organizations in Cleveland and across Ohio communicate effectively and achieve their strategic goals. As Vice President at R Strategy Group, he provided strategic communications counsel and services to school districts, libraries, policymakers, local governments, education and human service agencies, advocacy groups, and more.
[email protected]
Lauren R. Welch
Assistant Director of Communications
Lauren supports all aspects of Say Yes Cleveland’s marketing, outreach, and public relations. Welch is a Cleveland native whose work has made her a highly sought-after leader in cities across the nation. She has managed high-level branding, advocacy, and communications strategies for agencies, nonprofit organizations, political campaigns, educational institutions, small businesses, and people of note over the course of more than 15 years. She uses her lived experiences and professional expertise in equity, inclusion, and liberation work to highlight the issues affecting marginalized individuals and their stories on a local and national scale. Welch is currently a member of the boards of directors for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and The Land, a nonprofit news organization focused on Cleveland’s neighborhoods.
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VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY
“The most important thing we can do is be a connector in multiple ways. We want to connect to our students and their families, but we also want to connect our students to the opportunities to take them to the next level of their growth as people. As a graduate of CMSD schools myself, I was the first to go to college. So I know how important it is to leverage the support resources that may be out there when our students are trying to do something different and work toward something the generations before them weren’t able to do.”
SYC Staff
Want to help make a difference at Say Yes Cleveland?
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