Bianca Butts is on a mission to energize and empower citizens to revitalize their own urban communities. For much of her professional career, she has been focused on helping people become proactive in preserving their spaces with or without the assistance of institutions. Currently, Bianca is responsible for employing a variety of methods to improve climate resiliency and sustainability in four Cleveland communities, which include Central Kinsman, Detroit Shoreway, Glenville, and Slavic Village. In this role, Bianca is working with community development staff, a team of Neighborhood Climate Ambassadors, and various other partners around the city to improve neighborhood emergency preparedness, knowledge about energy consumption, vacant land reuse, and other collaborative initiatives that can lead to Cleveland communities becoming more sustainable and vibrant.

Kim Foreman is the Executive Director for Environmental Health Watch. She brings nearly 20 years of experience working on environmental justice issues in Cleveland. Kim joined Environmental Health Watch in 1999 as a part-time health educator, and has served in the role of Executive Director since 2015. As the Executive Director for Environemental Health Watch, Kim has focused on environmental justice issues and adverse outcomes of environmental exposures, both indoors and outdoors, that disproportionately impact poor and minority communities. During her eighteen years with EHW, she has developed, implemented, and managed various local, direct service, grassroots projects, worked on national projects, spoken at local and national conventions, and has helped EHW obtain national attention for its work through outlets such as the New York Times and Al Jazeera English. Kim Foreman holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University. She is also a licensed lead risk assessor and Roots of Success instructor.

Ms. Haqq joined the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in 2005 as Director of Communications and Community Relations. She currently serves as Director of Administration and External Affairs and is responsible for the organization’s internal and external communications, public outreach and education, media relations, customer service, and government affairs functions. Ms. Haqq has held several leadership positions in her career, including Executive Director of both INROADS/Northeast Ohio, Inc. and the Nordson Corporation Foundation. A native of Cleveland Ohio, she holds a bachelor's degree from Tufts University and a masters degree from Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Science. She has served on numerous philanthropic boards including: Ohio Boys Town, Inc., Karamu House, Inc., Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, and Business Volunteers Unlimited. Ms. Haqq currently represents the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District on the Commission for Economic Inclusion’s leadership committee

Ms. Huber is a social entrepreneur and the Executive Director and Founder of Drink Local. Drink Tap., Inc. She has a 17 year history of civic engagement, project management, working with youth, mentoring, leadership, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, and academic accomplishments proven by an extensive list of awards and honors. In 2017, she was voted ‘Best Activist‘ by Cleveland Scene Magazine, selected to present at bigBANG! in 2013, named one of Cleveland’s Most Interesting People of 2012 by Cleveland Magazine, inducted into the 2012 Mentor High School (Ohio) Alumni Hall of Fame, awarded the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Urban College at Cleveland State University, featured a water action figure by Circle of Blue and was chosen as one of Cleveland Scene’s People July 2016. Huber is the Executive Producer of the 2014 documentary, “Making Waves“, and advocates for safe water through speaking engagements domestically and designing and building safe water projects globally in east Africa. Her mission is to protect our water and save lives.

John Mitterholzer is the Foundation’s Senior Program Officer for the Environment. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2008, he was a program officer at the Cleveland Foundation. He also has served as executive director of Great American Downtown, the downtown revitalization program in Nashua, N.H., and Historic Nashville, a nonprofit historic preservation organization and as a field representative for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baldwin Wallace University and a Master of Arts in history from the University of Memphis.

Jenita McGowan Warner is the Sustainability Manager for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District where she is responsible for programs related to the District’s vision to be fully sustainable by enhancing social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and materials management. Previously she served Mayor Frank Jackson as Chief of Sustainability, advising on policies related to sustainability and the oversight of the Office of Sustainability; leading the coordination of Sustainable Cleveland 2019 to develop new strategies that allow Cleveland to use sustainability as an innovation engine for economic growth, and reducing the City’s ecological footprint with solutions that also save the City money.

As Chief of Public Affairs for the Department of Public Utilities, Dr. Jason A. Wood is responsible for communications, legislation, community outreach, and government affairs. He also advises the Director on internal and external policy and process matters. He has spearheaded key departmental initiatives that have produced measurable results, including developing customer contact strategies for Cleveland Water’s meter upgrade program and monthly billing transition, as well as the development of a customer web portal. Prior to this appointment, Wood worked on Cleveland Water’s Customer Service Turnaround Project as Deputy Project Manager, taking the lead on communication issues. Previously, Jason worked in two city administrations, including serving as Special Assistant to Mayor Frank G. Jackson for Policy and Research. In addition to his government service, Dr. Wood ran his own consulting company and spent several years as a graduate adjunct instructor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Wood holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science (PhD) with a focus on American Politics and Quantitative Research Methods from the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, he holds a Master of Applied Politics from the University of Akron and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from Kent State University.