Bernie holds a bachelor’s degree in Clinic Social Work from Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University. She began her career as a medical social worker at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Bernie is proud to be the single adoptive parent of two adorable daughters – Emma and Kiara. Most recently, Bernie received the 2011 Congressional Angels in Adoption Award for her efforts for children in need of homes.

1st Vice Chair: Anita Miller – Director of Corporate Development, Eaton Corporation 

Adoptive Parent
Anita Miller is the Director of Corporate Development and Planning for the Eaton Corporation, where she leads merger and acquisition projects for Eaton. Before coming to Eaton, Anita held various product development and engineering roles at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan. As a native Clevelander, she was happy to have the opportunity to return to the area and was thrilled to discover Adoption Network Cleveland while researching local area adoption resources. Anita and her husband Joe live in Shaker Heights with their four children – Ava,  7  Isaac,  6  Eleanor , 3  and  Aaron, 2 – the first three joined their family through domestic adoption. They enjoy relationships with varying degrees of openness with their children’s birth families and feel very strongly about advocating for openness in adoption.

2nd Vice Chair: Nicole K. Wilson, Esq. – Associate, Thompson Hine LLP
Nicole is an attorney in the Business Litigation group at Thompson Hine LLP. Originally from Warren, Ohio, Nicole received a Liberal Arts degree from Thomas Aquinas College and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law before returning to Ohio in 2001. Nicole came to the Adoption Network Cleveland Board in 2005 through Business Volunteers Unlimited, having no immediate connection to the adoption triad, and sees her role on the Board in part as providing an “outsider’s” perspective to adoption issues.  Nicole also chairs the Public Policy Committee.

Secretary: Joshua Berman – Director of Business Analytics, RelayHealth
Adoptee
Josh Berman received his Bachelor’s in Health Administration with a minor in Business at Ohio University.  After working at a few hospitals, he moved to Cleveland to join Cleveland Clinic as an Account Rep II in Patient Financial Services (PFS). From there, Josh had positions as Supervisory of Medicare Physician Billing, Manager of Revenue Recovery, Senior Manager of Claims and Denials, and Director of EDI and Denial Management. After 12 years at the Clinic, Josh took on a new role in 2009 as a Director at McKesson’s technology division, RelayHealth, where he works on Business Analytics/Intelligence. Josh is an adoptee from Bogota, Colombia and has a sister, Stacy, who is also adopted from Bogota.  Currently, he lives in Berea with his girlfriend Courtney and their two dogs, Bailey and Chica.

Treasurer: John Zaranec – Audit Manager, KPMG
John is a manager in KPMG’s Audit practice in Cleveland, Ohio. John has over six years of experience providing financial statement audit and audit of internal control services in accordance with SEC, U.S. GAAP and IFRS requirements. John was introduced to ANC through Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) speed networking event in 2008. He has no personal direct ties to the adoption triad, but was inspired by the dedication and goals that were discussed by the ANC representatives at the BVU event. Since that time, John has been an active member of the Finance Committee and continues to further develop his involvement with Adoption Network Cleveland. 

---

Mary Ann Arnold – ATW Supervisor, Airport Operations, United
Adoptee
Mary Ann is a travel industry professional with more than 17 years of service with Continental Airlines.  She has worked various areas of airport operations including project management and her current position of Customer Service Manager. She and her team are currently leading the Cleveland Hopkins Team through a merger to become the new United.  An avid worldwide traveler, Mary Ann locally enjoys the Cleveland Metroparks, Lake Erie, CIFF, various music and arts that the Cleveland area has to offer. Mary Ann is also a graduate of the Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business and obtained a B.S. in Marketing. An Ohio native and reunited Adult Adoptee she looks forward to her continued work with ANC.

Patricia Ballard – Founder, Changing Attitudes Utilizing Skills from Everyday Life (CAUSE)
Adoptive Parent
Patricia Anderson Ballard is a wife, mother and entrepreneur who founded CAUSE (Changing Attitudes Utilizing Skills from Everyday Life) after recovering from a health challenge that resulted in her becoming a quadriplegic. With an understanding and appreciation for second chances, she took CAUSE to the community to inspire others. CAUSE has collaborated with many agencies and is currently involved with the Governor’s Call to Action and their mission is to “Plant the Seeds of Success” and promote self-sufficiency through instruction. Patricia holds memberships in several community organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She was named an Entrepreneur of the Month (2002) by the Consortium of African American Organizations (CAAO) and holds a degree in Human Services and Communication from the University of North Carolina. She is a native Clevelander and resides with her family in Beachwood. 

Marissa Beechuk – Analyst & Social Media Manager, BrownFlynn
Marissa Beechuk has worked at BrownFlynn, a corporate responsibility and sustainability consulting firm, for the past 3 years. She began as the Senior Administrative Assistant, quickly added Social Media Manager to her duties, and was recently promoted to Analyst for the firm. In this capacity, Marissa serves in a client-facing role working on projects that include sustainability reporting, public engagement, marketing and communications. Marissa has a Master’s Degree in Communications Management from John Carroll University, and participated in the Civic Leadership Institute through the Cleveland Leadership Center. She has been a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland since April 2011.

John Bonfiglio – Principal, Bellini, Stefanek & Bonfiglio
Adoptee
John Bonfiglio, CPA, CVA, is a partner at Bellini, Stefanek & Bonfiglio with over 20 years of experience in the accounting profession. John leads the Business Accounting and Advisory Services area of the practice and has extensive experience advising clients on the financial, business and tax issues facing today's business owners and entrepreneurs. John currently serves on the advisory board for several businesses and has functioned as the outsourced financial officer for several other businesses. John started his career with an international accounting firm and, prior to forming Bellini, Stefanek & Bonfiglio, was a principal with a regional accounting firm.
 
John is a magna cum laude graduate of Baldwin Wallace where he obtained a Bachelors of Arts in Accounting. He is also a summa cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve University where he holds a Masters Degree in Accounting with a concentration in Taxation from the Weatherhead School of Management. John was an adjunct professor in the Weatherhead School of Management.
 
Active in the community, John is on the Board of the Cleveland Leadership Center and was its inaugural Treasurer. John is on the Board and Finance Committee of Adoption Network Cleveland and was a former Treasurer for the Organization. Currently John is the Treasurer for the Ohio Business Brokers Association. In addition, John is an Eagle Scout and a member of the American Institute and Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Meredith W. Bowen, Esq. – Law Clerk, Aimee Gilman, Esq.
Adoptive Parent
A native of Cleveland, Meredith attended Hathaway Brown and grew up in University Heights. After attending Syracuse University, she spent one year volunteering at an orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. This experience had a major impact on the trajectory of her life. She returned home and attended law school at Case Western Reserve University. After graduation, Meredith took a non-legal position in Tanzania. After one year and the adoption of two infants, she returned home permanently. Meredith is currently practicing special education law. She is also the founder and Director for The African Orphan Education Fund, a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to orphans in sub-Saharan, Africa.

Lisa A. Buescher – Community Volunteer
Adoptee
Lisa is an adoptee born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Her parents adopted her, and her younger brother, at birth. After having her first child, Lisa appreciated even more the importance of the loving and stable home her parents had provided. Giving birth also raised her interest in looking into her biological past. Searching for answers, Lisa connected with Adoption Network Cleveland’s Search & Reunion program. She feels that her first exposure to the greater value of Adoption Network Cleveland came from a General Meeting she attended four years ago. A brief, but memorable, interaction that evening with a prospective adoptive parent who was wondering if she was doing the right thing made Lisa feel that maybe she could help. This was the beginning of her involvement with Adoption Network Cleveland as a volunteer and member of the Events Sub-Committee.  She now chairs the Fund Development Committee. Lisa received her bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Wright State University and her master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan. She has worked in product liability, product design, and manufacturing. She is currently a full-time mother and lives with her husband and their three young children in Chagrin Falls. When not chasing after a little one, she is a mentor at Adoption Network Cleveland, involved with her local primary schools and volunteers with the MS Society.

Charita Crockrom – Retired, Former Principal, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Charita Crockrom was born and raised in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood. She graduated from Collinwood High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and teaching certification in English and Reading from Baldwin-Wallace, and a Master of Education Degree and Principal Certification from Cleveland State University. In August 2008, Charita retired from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District after thirty-two years of service, as an award-winning English and Reading teacher for twenty years, an Assistant Principal for five years and a Principal for seven.  Charita is a member of Lee Memorial AME Church (24 years) where she is a member of the Total Praise Choir and President of Stewardess Board #1, the Greater Cleveland Chapter of NAACP and the Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She lives in Richmond Heights with husband of 35 years, Duane Crockrom and is the mother of the late Duane Michael-John Crockrom.

Adoptee
Thomas W. Dent Jr. was raised in Columbus as the adopted child of a high school chemistry teacher and a bookkeeper at a law firm. He has an adopted younger sister. After graduating high school, Tom attended the U.S. Naval Academy where he studied aerospace engineering. Upon graduation in 1990, he was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and subsequently became a helicopter pilot. Tom did an operational tour flying H-53’s out of Sicily and finished his naval career as a flight instructor in Florida. After ten years on active duty as a naval aviator, Tom returned to Ohio and attended the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State and earned an MBA in finance in 2002. He was awarded his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter in 2005. Tom joined National City Bank following business school and served in several different risk management positions. He currently manages a team of 70 people who underwrite and approve commercial loans at PNC. Tom and his wife Tricia have been married for almost 17years and have two children, Liam (12) and Sofie (7). He enjoys playing golf, ice hockey, music and traveling.

Lesa A. Evans – Executive Vice President, Corporate Bank and Risk Management, Key Bank
Adoptive Parent
Lesa Evans leads the HR function for the Corporate Bank and Risk Management groups at Key. Lesa is an experienced executive with with over 18 years of Human Resources that drive performance results through out the organization. Recognized as a trusted advisor to senior executives in the area of transformation, people management, strategic organizational alignment and the development of employees that prepare the Key Bank team members to serve clients with the necessary skills and knowledge. Lesa leads a team of outstanding HR professionals that are aligned to the various business units within the organization. In addition to her role Key and Adoption Network Cleveland, Lesa is active in her community. She, her husband Matt and their daughter Mahlee reside in Canal Fulton.

Dale Fellows – President and Co-Owner, Morgan Litho, Inc. & Eagle Advertising, LLC
Adoptee
Dale Fellows is a reunited adoptee. He has been the owner of a prominent Cleveland printing company-- Morgan Litho--since the early 1980s, and was a college-level instructor and tutor. His list of public service positions, government experience, and awards received is extensive in Lake County--including serving as Lake County Commissioner and being inducted into the Lakeland Community College “Hall of Fame.”  His background in community involvement also scans the horizons in land and water preservation, the Boy Scouts, the Salvation Army, several business and Chambers of Commerce, and the Lions Club. He has also been very active in the world of sports, as a former hockey player and coach of the Lakeland Community College Hockey Team, Assistant Hockey Coach at Cleveland State University, and coach for various other youth programs – baseball, soccer, basketball, and football. Dale is a graduate of Kent State University. He and his wife, Nancy reside in Willoughby Hills and are the parents of two sons Erik and Aaron, deceased.

Ted Grabowski – Assistant Vice President, Private Client Services, First Place Bank

Adoptee
Ted Grabowski is an accomplished and respected banking professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in personal, one-on-one banking. Ted received his degree in Business Administration from Thiel College in Greenville, PA. He volunteers for other non-profit organizations including Mainstreet Amherst, Cystic Fibrosis, WECO Fund, Habitat for Humanity and has served as a classroom teacher for Junior Achievement Project Business. Ted is an adoptee and he resides in North Olmsted with his wife, Colleen, and their 1 year-old daughter, Brigid.

Adoptive Parent
Susan is an adoptive parent as well as a birth sibling who she reunited with about 10 years ago. She considers herself as an adoption advocate and feels strongly about issues such as access to records, openness, and eliminating restrictions on who can adopt. She is a licensed attorney since 2003 and ran a successful family law practice in Columbus, Ohio until 2008. Susan was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine in 2007. She recently re-opened her family law practice in Elyria. Her practice includes finalizing agency adoptions. In 2008, she took a position with Micronesian Legal Services in the Republic of Palau. After two years, she and her family moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she and her husband taught at an international school. She returned to Cleveland in May 2011. Susan is enrolled in the Master’s program in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

is a Continuous Improvement Consultant with 20 years experience in developing and applying proven performance management models. Melba received a Master of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University. After graduate studies, Melba launched her career with the General Electric (GE) Corporate Audit, where she travelled 100% leading teams with the introduction of key GE Best Practices to existing and acquired businesses across the U.S., England and Holland. For the past five years in Cleveland, Melba has consulted with partners at a top healthcare system to build capability and organizational transformation focused around strategic alignment, scorecard development and curriculum design generating bottom line results.

In supporting school and community groups, Melba has developed programs like, newsletters, training guides and fundraising events. For example, she initiated an Email Mentor program with the pilot at an elementary school targeting Hispanic students. In recognition of these efforts, Melba was presented the “Outstanding GE New Elfun of the Year” award by the employee volunteer organization. Melba and her husband of 15 years currently reside in Beachwood, Ohio with their eight year old daughter. To take advantage of the rich performance culture in Cleveland, the family regularly attends concerts sponsored by the Cleveland Orchestra, The Cleveland Institute of Music and others.

Stephanie E. Niehaus, Esq. – Senior Associate, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (US) LLP 

Stephanie is a senior associate in the Cleveland office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (US) LLP.  Although her practice primarily focuses on complex commercial, products liability, and toxic tort litigation, she has dedicated time on a pro bono basis to various matters including a particularly rewarding case in which she finalized a private adoption for a close friend in Huron County, Ohio.  Stephanie is a Cleveland native, and enthusiastically returned to the area to begin her legal career after receiving her B.A. from Georgetown University in 1999 and her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 2002.  Stephanie was matched with the Adoption Network Cleveland Board of Directors through Business Volunteers Unlimited.  She currently lives in Rocky River with her husband, son, and a rowdy dog named Tucker. 

Christina Royal – Associate Vice President, eLearning & Innovation, Cuyahoga Community College

Prospective Adoptive Parent
Dr. Christina (Tina) Royal has been involved in Education for over 15 years, in both academic (community college and private four-year institutions) and corporate environments. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President of eLearning & Innovation at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), and has district-wide oversight over one of the largest distance learning units in Northeast Ohio. Her extensive experience as an administrator, faculty member, instructional designer, and student of online and blended instruction allows her to bring significant expertise and value to discussions, and a forward-thinking approach to ideas associated with contemporary teaching and learning practices, approaches, issues, and solutions.

Dr. Royal is leading Tri-C’s $2MM Title III grant to enhance distance learning in four key areas: student success and retention, innovative faculty development, infrastructure and technology, and quality. She also led the College in obtaining its first regional accreditation (Higher Learning Commission) for fully online programs at Tri-C. Dr. Royal developed and led the College in its most comprehensive strategic planning process for distance learning. Under her leadership, Tri-C has advanced policy and program development, virtual support services, faculty professional development and training, and technology system integration and innovation in support of teaching and learning.

Dr. Royal is actively involved in educational technology initiatives including serving on the EDUCAUSE Advisory Committee on Teaching and Learning, as an Advisory Board Member for Marist College, and as an Academic Advisory Board Member for McGraw-Hill. Dr. Royal has also spoken at several conferences and events on topics related to leadership, distance learning, emerging technologies, strategic planning, organizational change management, and educational technology.

Dr. Royal received her Ph.D. in Education/Instructional Design for Online Learning and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching Online from Capella University. She also received a Master's in Educational Psychology and Bachelor's in Mathematics from Marist College.

Elaine Schulte, M.D., M.P.H – Chair of the Department of General Pediatrics and Medical Director for the International Adoption Program, Cleveland Clinic
Adoptive Parent
Elaine Schulte, MD, MPH is a native Clevelander, but has spent most of her professional career on the East coast.  She attended Skidmore College, and earned her medical degree at Albany Medical College.  She completed her pediatric residency training at Albany Medical Center Hospital, and completed a preventive medicine residency at the New York State Department of Health where she earned her Master’s in Public Health.  She then joined the faculty at Albany Medical College.  During her tenure in Albany, Dr. Schulte served as the pediatric residency program director and the division chief of general pediatrics.  She also was the medical director of the lead poisoning resource program.  In 1996, she founded the international adoption program, which she directed until 2007, when she moved to the Cleveland Clinic.  While in Albany, she cared for nearly 2000 internationally adopted children, many of whom have learning disabilities. Currently, Dr. Schulte is the Chair of the Department of General Pediatrics at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital.  In addition to her administrative responsibilities, she maintains an active clinical practice, with specific interests in learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, lead poisoning, immunizations and residency education.  She is the Medical Director of the International Adoption Program.  She is involved in the Clinic’s Staff Mentorship Program and the WPSA.  She is an active member of many national organizations, and serves on the AAP Executive Committees of the Section on Adoption and Foster Care and the Section on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care.  Locally, she is a board member of Lawrence School, and is a member of the Invest In Children Partnership Committee.  She is an adoptive parent of two daughters from China.  She loves being a mom, classical music, and ballet.