Partners

* Founding Partner 

Jon Adams is an entrepreneur who has twenty-five years of experience working for technology companies. In 1995, he founded Audiopack Technologies, a company specializing in the design and manufacture of wireless communications devices. After leaving Audiopack, Jon founded Noom Enterprises, which invests in start-ups and growth-oriented privately-held companies. Recently, Jon founded Smart Hotels Group, a firm developing campus-based boutique hotels. Jon serves as Chair of the Rivergate Park Advisory Council, Co-Chaired the Rivergate Park fundraising campaign, is a Mentor with the Cleveland Foundation Civic Innovation Lab, a member of the North Coast Angel Fund, an advisory board member of Evolution Capital and Rockwood Equity Partners and serves on the boards of several privately held companies. Jon received his BA from Harvard College and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Reka Barabas is a consultant who focuses on program design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as funding research. A native of Hungary, Reka moved to the US in 2000, and has since worked in nonprofits and is a 2006 graduate of the Mandel Center certificate program in nonprofit management at Case Western Reserve University. Reka also holds Masters degrees in German, English as a Second Language, and European Studies. She spent more than four years at the Cleveland Council of World Affairs as the Director of International Visitor Programs, and serves on one of the United Way Services community investment committees. Reka and her husband, Jeff Moore, live in Hudson with their two young daughters, Hanna and Izabell. 

Diane Bergeron is a professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management. She received her PhD from Columbia University. Her research has been published in top journals and she won two awards from the Academy of Management for her dissertation research. Before coming to Case Western, she taught at New York University’s Stern School of Business. In her former life, Diane worked for a consulting firm in New York City and at Pfizer, Inc. She has consulted with Fortune 500 companies in the areas of organization development, as well as in recruiting strategies, employment branding, benchmarking best practices, and survey research. After traveling around the world, she spent two years volunteering in the Dominican Republic on projects related to poverty, malnutrition, teen pregnancy and childhood education. She currently serves on the board of Womankind, a nonprofit that provides prenatal care and support to single pregnant women. She lives with her husband, Matt Warren, and two children in Shaker Heights. 

Jim Bright* - Spieth, Bell, McCurdy, & Newell

Mary S. Bright* is an attorney who specialized in business law. A 1976 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Mary spent most of her career as in-house counsel for a Fortune-100 company and three years as in-house counsel for a large nonprofit healthcare system. She left the practice of law in late 2001 to focus on volunteer and community activity. Mary serves on the Cleveland SVP board as vice president and secretary and is the President of Social Venture Partners International. She is also on the boards of the Centers for Dialysis Care (serving on both its Administration and its Strategic Planning Committees) and of New Life Community (serving its Strategic Planning Committee). In mid-2003, she founded BrightPath industries, a micro-enterprise which employed homeless individuals in the program at New Life Community. A member of Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, Mary  is a small-group ministry leader. She lives in Shaker Heights with her husband, Jim, and has two adult children.

Dick Cahoon- Dick Cahoon, a native of Akron, and his wife, Doreen, have worked with Cleveland not-for-profits like the Children’s Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in capacity-building roles. After Dick’s long-time friend, Claude Case (SVP Santa Barbara and SVP Arizona), connected him to the SVP affiliate in his own backyard, they knew right away they wanted to contribute to CSVP. The Cahoons joined as partners in January, 2010 and Dick served on the 2010 Investment Team. After the Investment Team selected MedWish International, Dick became lead partner and continues to lead the engagement. Dick recently became the newest member of the CSVP Board of Directors.

Dick’s background includes work with Firestone Tire and Rubber and Dunlop Tire, which he left in 2000 to assist with the start-up of Dealer Tire where he remains a Partner Emeritus. Dick and Doreen have lived in Cleveland Heights for many years. When they’re not volunteering with not-for-profits, they enjoy traveling, golf, and spending time with their two daughters and two grandchildren. 

Doreen Cahoon - Community Volunteer

Pam Conover, M.D. is a retired pathologist. She worked with West Side Pathology Associates at St. John West Shore Hospital for 12 years. While there she became the Medical Director of the Laboratory and Chair of the Department of Pathology. She served on the Medical Executive Committee, chaired the Blood Utilization committee, and was a leader in Quality Assurance in the lab and hospital. After retiring she became a partner at Cleveland Social Venture Partners where she participated on the Investment Committee and is volunteering at Medwish International. She is currently a Preceptor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She led the Facilities Plan committee at her church, has been involved in the Shaker Heights High School geranium sale and has tutored students at Fernway Elementary school in reading and writing. Dr. Conover received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1983 and her M.D. from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in 1987.

Randy Markey  is a Partner at GBX Associates (dba globalX), a tax credit syndication company, in Cleveland, OH. In addition, he serves as Executive Chairman of Phylogy, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA; as director of Wireless Environment in Cleveland, OH; and as a director of LVH Holdings in New York, NY. Previously, Randy was Managing Partner of Capital Acceleration Partners, a private equity firm in Cleveland, OH, and Managing Director of a turnaround and restructuring firm. Randy has served on SVP's Board of Directors and on numerous committees, as President of the Association for Corporate Growth, as a Trustee of the Suicide Prevention Education Alliance and on the Funders Committee for the Fund for Our Economic Future. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Vermont, and earned his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Randy and his wife Molly live in Shaker Heights with their two children.

Carrie Miller- The City Club of Cleveland

Peter Ranney*- The Generation Foundation

Chris Renner - Inverness Holdings

Rick Renner - Inverness Investment Group LLC.

Dominique River (board member) is a management consultant specializing in compensation and performance management consulting. Previously, Dominique led the global field compensation and international benefits group at Robert Half International, was a senior consultant at Towers Perrin and had a career in sales and sales management at Hilton Hotels Corporation. Dominique earned an MBA from the UCLA Anderson graduate school of management and currently sits on the executive committee of the school’s alumni network board of directors. Prior to moving to Cleveland three years ago, Dominique lived in San Francisco and Reno, NV where she taught college-level courses in management, business plan writing and business ethics. She was also a board member for the Reno-based non-profit organization Friends of Special Children. Since moving to Cleveland Dominique has co-chaired the auction committee for the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes’ biannual summer gala and is currently auction committee chair for the Spring fundraising event at Ruffing Montessori school. Dominique was born and raised in Hong Kong and is a dual Dutch and American citizen. She speaks fluent Dutch and conversational Spanish and French. Dominique, her husband Greg, and their two young children reside in Cleveland Heights and are active members of the Cleveland Skating Club.

Shelly Saltzman has been been an educator in Cleveland-area independent schools for 20 years. A graduate of the John Carroll University Teacher Apprentice Program, she first worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher at The Agnon School and as a kindergarten teacher, fifth grade teacher, eighth grade English teacher, department chair, grade team leader, and assistant middel school director at Hawken School. She has presented at the state and national levels of the National Association of Independent Schools. Most recently, she was the middle school director at University School and co-director of the school's Center for Excellence. Shelly and her husband Mark live in Gates Mills. Their daughter Amy is an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in Boston and their son Andy is an outdoor educator in Portland, Oregon.

Mike Shafarenko - Civic Commons

Kevin B. Shaw (board member) is Chairman of Fathom, an online marketing firm and a principal with Thunder Bay Enterprises, a firm which invests in private companies. Previously, Kevin served as President and CEO of NCS Healthcare, a public institutional pharmacy. He co-founded NCS in 1986 and worked with the company until its sale in 2003. Kevin joined CSVP in 2003. He led the volunteer team for Near West Theatre during our engagement that ended in 2006. He is a past President of the CSVP Board and he currently serves on the Social Venture Partners International Board. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and an M.B.A from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Kevin serves on the Board of Directors of Fathom, Near West Theatre, Federal Process Company, and several area private companies. 

Joyce Shaw is a trustee on the board of Reaching Heights and a mentor for Youth Opportunities Unlimited. For over twelve years she has been associated with various school-related activities including co-president of Roxboro Middle School PTA, chairman of the Roxboro Arts Festival, and treasurer of the Heights Baseball Boosters. Joyce has degrees in communications and business administration from the University of Toledo.  Kevin and Joyce live in Cleveland Heightswith their two teenaged children.

Heather Sherwin* is currently Director of Principal Gifts for the Cleveland Museum of Art. Her career in fundraising includes completion of a $19.2 million campaign to renovate the historic Hanna Theatre for Great Lakes Theater Festival as well as positions with the American Red Cross, Hawken School and The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Additionally, Ms. Sherwin is actively involved in the Cleveland community. She is President of the Cleveland Arts Prize, a founding partner of Cleveland SVP and is Vice President of The Sherwick Fund, her family foundation. Ms. Sherwin has a B.A. in philosophy from Boston University.

Jeffrey Simske- MetroHealth Medical Center

Chann Spellman- Community Volunteer

Cynthia Tancer (board member) is currently the Development Manager of Membership Programs for AmeriMark Direct, a direct marketing company with eight different catalog titles that mails over 110,000,000 catalogs a year. Upon graduating from Pomona College in 1984, Cynthia began her professional career with US West Communications where she worked in a variety of regulatory positions in both Phoenix and Denver. While in Denver, she received a MBA, with an emphasis in marketing, at the University of Colorado. Prior to moving to Cleveland in 1999, Cynthia worked for Health Partners, a health maintenance organization affiliated with Tucson Medical Center. She serves on the boards of Fairmount Temple and The Gathering Place and volunteers at the Urban Community School. Cynthia is spending a significant amount of her time to help launch Citizen's Leadership Academy, in the role of board chair and volunteer. As part of her work with CSVP, she has chaired and participated on the Investment Team, been actively involved in strategic planning and marketing initiatives as well as provided marketing support to a number of CSVP Investees. 

Heather Vallier (board vice president) is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at MetroHealth Medical Center. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at Northwestern University and her MD at Stanford University. After specialty training in orthopaedic surgery and traumatology she and her husband relocated to Cleveland in 2001. Heather holds the inaugural Clyde L. Nash MD Professorship in Orthopaedic Education at Case Western Reserve University. She enjoys clinical practice, teaching, and research. Heather joined CSVP in 2006 and participated on the Investment team several times, leading the group in 2008.

Doug Wang has been the Senior Vice-President of Northern Trust bank since 2008. He is one of the founders of Lakepoint Investment Partners and served as portfolio manager. A graduate of Kenyon College and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, he has held top finance positions with Stein, Roe & Farnham, American Asset Management, and The First Boston Corporation. Doug is a trustee of the St. Luke’s Foundation, a member of the Hawken School investment committee, and an alumnus of Leadership Shaker.

Holly Wang is a graduate of Westminster College and an active community volunteer. She works part-time at the Shaker School Foundation and is a co-president of the Shaker Band Boosters. Holly also serves as Congregation Secretary at Grace Lutheran Church and as Treasurer for the League of Woman Voters - Shaker Heights. Doug and Holly have four children.

Matthew Warren- Electrical engineer; telecommunications

Neil Waxman, managing director at Capital Advisors, Ltd., has been recognized nationally as a leader in the financial services industry. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP©), he has 25 years of experience as an advisor, coordinator, and catalyst for high net worth families and their companies. Neil has been honored six consecutive years as a member of Worth Magazine’s annual list of America’s Top Wealth Advisors. Neil serves as Board Director for the for-profit companies, Interlake Industries, Inc. and Monarch Teaching Technologies, Inc, and is a Trustee for the following not-for-profit organizations: Jewish Federation of Cleveland (JFC), Cascade Capital Corporation, Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, Cleveland Society of Financial Service Professionals, Chairs the Cleveland St. Petersburg, Russia Partnership of the JFC, and serves on the University School Planned Giving Advisory Committee, Overseas Connection Committee of the JCF, and the Orange School District Community Finance Committee.

Connie Waxman earned a degree in social work from Edinboro State University, and worked with at-risk youth before moving to Cleveland. She worked as a research doula with CWRU’s Bonding Study, examining whether first-time mothers who labor with the assistance of a doula experience healthier bonding with their babies.  Connie was co-chair of The Agnon School’s Art Show, the school’s largest fundraiser, for three years.  She also served on the Board of Trustees at Congregation Bethaynu in Pepper Pike, and served on the Transition Committee during the synagogue’s recent collaborating with B’nai Jeshurun Congregation.  Connie lives with her husband, Neil, in Pepper Pike, Ohio. They are adjusting to life as empty nesters, as their eldest son, Drew, recently graduated from Middlebury College, and is working in Washington, DC. Their youngest, Peter, is a student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Connie works at University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio as Associate Director of the Annual Fund.

Christi Woods- St. Joseph's Hospital

Staff 

Hilary Sparks-Roberts joined SVP as its Director of Partner Engagement in September, 2011. While an English major at Kenyon College, Hilary established a chapter of Amnesty International and helped raise campus awareness about disabilities and eating disorders. She continued to champion social causes in a variety of arenas including the trenches of state government, Juvenile Court, and the classroom. In fact, after graduating from CWRU Law School, Hilary returned to her roots in literature – teaching first at Rhodes High School and later at Lake Ridge Academy. She found literature to be a powerful tool for advocacy and social change as it urges us to learn about ourselves and our world while remaining open to other perspectives and choices. This background led her to join SVP whose diverse partners are an engine for good in Cleveland’s nonprofit community. Hilary lives with her husband, Kevin, in Olmsted Falls, joined periodically by their adult daughter and son.

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Brendan Dieffenbach joined SVP as the Program Assistant in December of 2011. Born in Albany, NY, from a young age he was passionate about working for the public interest, becoming involved with the Empire State Pride Agenda, Hunger Action Network, Capital District Pride Center, and GLSEN, among other organizations. His experience covers canvassing, research, graphic design, print and web publication, social media, and database management. Brendan is a graduate of Kenyon College, with a bachelor’s degree in both English and sociology. He lives in Lakewood with his fiancée, Lucy, and their cat, Story.

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Rob Martens

Anju Mathew

Alice McCarthy

Tim McCarthy

Brian Rosenfelt

Carrie Rosenfelt

Anne Schoff

Jim Schoff

Sonni Kwon Senkfor

Steve Senkfor