Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation is required to consist of the County Treasurer, the County Executive or their designee, a member of the County Council, two representatives of the City of Cleveland, and the remaining members selected by the County Executive, County Treasurer, and the County Council representative. Current board membership consists of:
Anthony Brancatelli (Chair), Council Member, City of Cleveland
Brad Sellers (Vice Chair), Mayor, Warrensville Heights
Dan Brady, Council President, Cuyahoga County
Armond Budish, County Executive, Cuyahoga County
W. Christopher Murray II, Treasurer, Cuyahoga County
Nate Kelly, Managing Director, Cushman and Wakefield | Cresco Real Estate
Ed Rybka, Chief of Regional Development, City of Cleveland
Michael Summers, Mayor, Lakewood
April Urban, Research Associate, Case Western Reserve University
Land Bank Staff
Executive Leadership
Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel (bio)gfrangos@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8616
William Whitney, Chief Operating Officer (bio)
bwhitney@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8636
Robert Rink, Board Secretary (bio)
rrink@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8754
Jacqui Knettel, Executive Assistant
jknettel@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8772
Douglas Sawyer, Assistant General Counsel
dsawyer@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-3543
Kimberly Steigerwald, Acquisitions Manager
ksteigerwald@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8802
Lilah Zautner, Manager of Special Projects and Land Reuse
lzautner@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-4696
Programs and Property Management
Dennis L. Roberts, Director of Programs and Property Management (bio)droberts@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8653
Ian Ahern, Housing Manager
iahern@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-6626
Andrea Bruno, Real Estate Officer
abruno@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2311
Austin Bloom, Program Liaison
abloom@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-4107
Lashun Duckworth, Program Assistant
lduckworth@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8843
Lydia Benish, Programs Operations Support Specialist
lbenish@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2760
Ron Byrd, Housing Specialist
rbyrd@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8926
Community Stabilization
Kim Kimlin, Director of Community Stabilization (bio)kkimlin@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8658
James Maher, Commercial Demolition Officer
jmaher@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8791
Rosemary Woodruff, Senior Enviromental Property Specialist
rwoodruff@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-3013
Jennifer O'Konski, Acquisitions Assistant
jokonski@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-6691
Jane Larson, Financial Analyst
jlarson@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8729
Deidre Lightning-Whitted, Senior Demolition Inspector
dwhitted@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2576
Caylen Payne, Demolition Inspector
cpayne@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-4278
Steven Billington, Property Specialist (Programs and Funding)
sbillington@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2472
Rich Shaffer, Environmental Properties Specialist
rshaffer@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2195
Sarah Drab, Assistant Environmental and Properties Specialist
sdrab@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8938
Angela Dupay, Contract Support Assistant
adupay@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2182
IT and Research
Michael Schramm, Director of IT and Research (bio)schramm@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8777
Anurag Saxena, Information Technology and Research Manager
asaxena@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-6607
James McGuire, GIS and Research Technician
jmcguire@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2816
Jessie Masters, Information and Planning Specialist
jmasters@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-4608
Finance
Ronald Pavlovich, Director of Finance (bio)rpavlovich@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-5801
Gina Finney Johnson, Accounts Payable Manager
gjohnson@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8778
Joseph Barr, Staff Accountant
jbarr@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8865
Celeste Lawson, Programs Financial Analyst
clawson@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-3022
Administration and Compliance
Vatreisha Nyemba, Compliance and Program Development Managervnyemba@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2820
Michelle Gomez, Office Assistant
mgomez@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2204
Summer Smith, General Office Assistant
ssmith@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2815
Jason Knauer, Land Reuse Program Assistant
jknauer@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-8336
Sarah Norman, Document Support Staff
Records Custodian
snorman@cuyahogalandbank.org
(216) 698-2445
Biographies of Senior Staff
Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel
Gus Frangos was the primary drafter of Ohio’s House Bill 294 and S.B. 353 establishing enhanced-capacity County Land Banks, and expedited administrative tax foreclosure policy. Mr. Frangos graduated with honors from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1982 whereupon he served as an associate attorney at the law firm of Ulmer & Berne from 1982 to 1986 concentrating in business law and litigation.
From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Frangos served as the 13th Ward Cleveland City Councilman where he sponsored and passed an array of community development legislation.
In 1993, Mr. Frangos was appointed as a Magistrate Judge in the Cleveland Municipal Court where he served with distinction. While at the Court, he established and administered the Small Claims Court’s current Small Claims Mediation Program.
In September 2004, Mr. Frangos was retained by the Cuyahoga County Treasurer to craft legislation to help expedite the tax foreclosure process, specifically on vacant and abandoned properties. These efforts resulted in the passage of H.B. 293, H.B. 294. He was also the primary drafter of the recently passed S.B. 353 which established the first of its kind “Land Reutilization Corporation.” H.B. 293 provides real estate tax assistance to seniors through a link deposit program; H.B. 294 authorized expedited administrative tax foreclosures of abandoned land through the County Boards of Revision; and S.B. 353 enables the establishment of County Land Reutilization Corporations with enhanced capabilities for the reclamation of distressed properties.
Mr. Frangos is the President and General Counsel of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, and his areas of legal concentration include land-related issues, Constitutional, commercial real estate, zoning, administrative and business transactional law.
William Whitney, Chief Operating Officer
William Whitney, has worked in the community development field in Ohio for 35 years. He possesses extensive institutional knowledge and expertise in housing acquisitions, dispositions, federal regulatory practices and business management. Past positions include the State’s Assistant Deputy Director for Community Development, and the Director of a nationally known Community Development Corporation, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization. Before joining the Cuyahoga Land Bank he served as the Cleveland Director of Enterprise Community Partners. Mr. Whitney has a Master’s of Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin.
Robert Rink, Board Secretary
Robert Rink is an attorney and the co-author of the Ohio legislation authorizing the creation and operation of county land banks. He is a retired partner with the law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, who practiced in the areas of public law and public finance during his 20 year tenure with Calfee Halter. Over that time he served as legal counsel for cities, counties and the State of Ohio in connection with their issuance of general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, economic development bonds and federally guaranteed student loan bonds, as well as special counsel in connection with the levy of special assessments and the enactment of income tax ordinances and investment policy ordinances. He also authored state legislation authorizing county treasurers to negotiate the sale of delinquent real property tax liens. Prior to his admission to the Ohio bar in 1986, he served as the Chief Deputy County Auditor for the Cuyahoga County Auditor and as the Finance Director for the City of Cleveland Heights. He received a B.A. in Classical Languages from the University of Detroit in 1970, his J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1985 and the Appreciative Inquiry Certificate in Positive Business and Society Change from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in 2005.
Dennis Roberts, Director of Programs and Property Management
Dennis Roberts is an attorney with transactional, governmental and programmatic legal experience. In his previous position, Mr. Roberts was responsible for directing Cuyahoga County’s Federal Workforce Investment Program and successfully facilitated the unprecedented merger of the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County’s Workforce Investment Boards. Prior to his work in the workforce area, Mr. Roberts served as a litigator at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP. Mr. Roberts also worked in the Criminal Division of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office for three and one half years as well as worked in the private practice of law. Mr. Roberts received his Juris Doctorate from Cleveland Marshall College of Law, cum laude, in 1998 and is a graduate of William Paterson College.
Michael Schramm, Director of IT and Research
Michael Schramm, is the Director of Information Technology and Research at the Cuyahoga Land Bank as well as a Research Associate at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. At the Cuyahoga Land Bank, Michael is currently developing information tools to help the corporation use data to make strategic acquisition decisions as well as track property status from acquisition to demolition to disposition. Recognized as a national expert in property data systems, Michael is also extensively involved in the development and maintenance the neighborhood information system, NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing). Michael's expertise on foreclosure, subprime mortgages, and other real property data has been extensively utilized by the Neighborhood Stabilization Team sponsored by Neighborhood Progress, Inc, the Cuyahoga County Foreclosure Prevention Program as well as the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. He is also active in the local foreclosure and vacant property dialogue through VAPAC (Vacant and Abandoned Property Action Council) and has presented at numerous national meeting and conferences on these topics. Michael has B.S. degrees in Geography and Meteorology from Penn State University and a M.A. in Geography from Syracuse University.
Ronald Pavlovich, Director of Finance
Ronald Pavlovich, CPA, Director of Finance and Treasurer of the Corporation has been with the Cuyahoga Land Bank since June, 2017. Mr. Pavlovich has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The University of Akron and attained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 1991. Mr. Pavlovich had been in the for profit public accounting and private business arena for over 25 years, serving in such functions as CFO, Director of Outsourced CFO Services, and Sr. Manager of Accounting and Auditing Services. He has worked for such companies in the past as Cohen & Company, CBIZ and B-Dry System, Inc. Mr. Pavlovich was also a partner in a commercial and residential property reconstruction and restoration business for 7 years. He also served as Treasurer on the Board of South Street Ministries in Akron, OH for 5 years. Mr. Pavlovich, his wife and his four children live in Copley, Ohio.
Kim Kimlin, Director of Community Stabilization
Kim Kimlin is the Director of Community Stabilization for the Cuyahoga Land Bank. She brings twenty-five years of community development experience having previously served as a Program Director for The Trust for Public Land, as Executive Director of Neighborhood Capital Corporation, and as Vice President of Finance for Neighborhood Progress, Inc. Ms. Kimlin has also delivered community development consulting services to CHN Housing Partners, Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Regional Economic Issues, The Cleveland Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, The Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium, and others. She earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in urban planning from Slippery Rock University. Ms. Kimlin has served on the Boards of Green Energy Ohio, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, New Village Corporation, the Cleveland Green Building Coalition, and the Cleveland chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women.