Leta Obertacz (Chair)
Leading Strategic Individual and Organizational Giving at Cleveland Zoo Society. Senior executive whose duties have encompassed corporate partnerships, individual giving, foundation giving, general operating support, event planning, management and sponsorships, community relations, public speaking, expansion strategies, brand management, press and social media, volunteer management and performance. “As a transplant to Cleveland, I am enjoying getting to know more about this very philanthropic and exciting city. I am appreciative of the welcoming nature of all the new people and companies I have met over the past couple of years in Northeast Ohio.”
Alexa New (VP)
Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & External Affairs at The Centers, CFRE
Maya Simek (Secretary)
Managing Legal Director at Equality Ohio. Staff attorney/clinical lecturer & co-director of human trafficking at Case Western Reserve University at the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic.
Steph Hronek (Treasurer)
Member agency of the United Agencies Insurance Group, CPCU. Real estate development at Belden Street Partners. Motorcycle parts, painting, customizing, and restoration at Chelsea Motorworks.
A lifelong Clevelander, I have always gravitated to the city; the hustle, bustle and grittiness of it. Even though my life and career has led me to college and into the family insurance agency business I never let my basic industrial arts education from the Parma school system go to waste. My past has included many years enjoying a classic car hobby restoring British sports cars and the many challenges such a task entails.
I met Skidmark at the very first benefit in 2019 and dove head first into the wonderful motorcycle community that it is. I have learned that there are very few similarities between cars and motorcycles but one critical commonality is critical thinking and problem solving, from my understanding the central focus of the Motogo teaching philosophy. My past has also included board positions with Playhouse Square Partners, Young Friends of the Art Museum, President of the Cleveland Jaycees Foundation (now defunct), and treasurer and finance chair of Plexus LGBT chamber of commerce.
Mark Fiala
Mark Fiala is the President of Organizational Architecture, Inc., a veteran-owned Human Resources consulting firm located in Cleveland, Ohio. He currently rides a BMW R1150R, a Honda CB1100, and a Suzuki Tu250.
Mary Champa
Senior Development Communications Specialist, Institutional Relations & Development at University Hospitals.
Nolan Beck-Rivera
Visual designer and art director, owner of Heyhey Studios.
A graphic designer who specializes in brand strategy, letterpress, and printed matter. He has worked with Fortune 500 Companies, startups, and numerous individuals.
Rachel Ciomcia
Executive Vice President, Cleveland Leadership Center
In her role, she provides oversight for all evaluation and community impact work of CLC, development of custom programs and strategic opportunities, and the design and implementation of all CLC programs. She is a certified TetraMap® Facilitator, Strategic Doing™ Certified Workshop Leader, IDI® Qualified Administrator, and has presented nationally on evaluation, impact, and engagement.
Rachel graduated from Ohio University in 2002 with a BA in Psychology and continued her education at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, graduating in 2005 with a Master of Science in Social Administration (MSSA). Rachel has worked as a social worker at MetroHealth Medical Center and as a Program Coordinator at Care Alliance Health Center. Through her work at Care Alliance, she designed, implemented, and measured a federally funded evaluation program and collaborated with nine other programs across the country. She has a special interest in social work issues with the HIV/AIDS community and healthcare.
Rachel is a graduate of the Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2010 and is a member of the Cleveland Leadership Center Alumni Association. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the MetroHealth Foundation, and a Program Committee member with Courage to Caregivers. She has served on the associate board of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, most recently as Chair and on the Outcomes Committee with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. She was named a Top 25 under 35 Mover and Shaker in 2013 by the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club. She and her husband Matt, along with their son Carson, love Cleveland and enjoy all the community has to offer!
Edward Stockhausen
Senior VP of Advocacy and External Relations at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.
A skilled project coordinator and writer, passionate about issues related to city and regional planning, sustainability, and quality of life. Prior to Open Doors, Edward spent 4 years in Legislative Aid in the Ohio State Senate
Robert Vail
Former owner and president at VN Services and VN International.
Bob is an expert at planning, organizing and controlling construction projects, with more that 40 years of experience. His company performed scheduling services for the rebuilding of One World Trade Center in New York City. As an active educator, he brings his expertise to more than 80 construction related seminars and has taught graduate courses as a professor for the Civil Engineering Department for the University of Akron.
Bob is also an avid motorcycle builder. Read about Bob’s bikes.
Pawan Divakarla
Pawan Divakarla works at Progressive Insurance and is currently a business leader in IT where he oversees an organization called DATE {Data, Architecture and Technology Enablement}. His team’s vision is to help MAKERS MAKE!
Pawan has a Masters in Geotechnical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Pawan’s hobby is to tinker and loves to bring old Honda motorcycles back to life.
Brett Lindsey
Brett Lindsey, former CEO of Everstream, a business only fiber network raising the bar for connectivity, and Founder & Advisor for SNIP Internet, LLC, now works as a Senior Consultant for PSG Equity. PSG invests in growth-stage software businesses and the founders and management teams that drive them.
Brett and wife Teresa’s Lindsey Family Fund has supported many Cleveland area projects through their mission, “Caring for children and families through faith, play and hope.,” including the addition of the Lindsey Family Play Space at Edgewater with the Cleveland Metroparks, and they support the students of Motogo.
Ken Beck
Chief Operating Officer for Lake Erie Electric, Inc.
Lake Erie Electric, Inc. is a Cleveland based nationally ranked electrical contractor. Ken began his career in a school-to-work program in electricity and transitioned to leadership roles.
Ken wants to help young people understand the opportunities that shop class can expose them to in their future careers.
His interests include motorcycles, anything with an engine, his grandkids, building, farming, and horses. He is also active in supporting preservation of natural areas in Northeast Ohio and Northwest lower Michigan.
Andrea Vullo
Community Investment Manager, Lubrizol
As Community Investment Manager, Andrea is responsible for Lubrizol’s global corporate social impact strategy, charitable contributions, and volunteerism. She fosters relationships with nonprofit and community organizations, supports local community investment councils and team members who serve on boards, and advises employee resource groups on their community investment efforts.
Before joining Lubrizol, Andrea spent 3 years working on the collective impact team that designed Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s (CMSD) Planning and Career Exploration (PACE) initiative and the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium (GCCC).
Her prior career journey was at GE Lighting, where she last served as the Public Affairs Manager. For 12 years, she led all the business’ public affairs, community relations, and citizenship efforts, including the first-of-its-kind partnership with MC2 STEM High School, which was embedded on its corporate campus. She also had roles as Recruitment Manager, Pricing Systems Operations Leader, and IT Project Leader and is a 2002 graduate of its Information Management Leadership Program.
Andrea is a community advocate for education and increasing representation and diversity in STEM.
Donna Pacchioni
Donna Pacchioni is retired as the CFO of Hawken School. Prior to that, she worked for 20 years at National City Bank. Post-retirement, she has held several interim positions and consulted with Independent Schools on business operations. Donna's experience includes strategic financial planning, bond financing, financial analysis and presentation, merger and acquisitions, budgeting, governance, human resources management, and facilities management. Donna has served on the boards of Judson Retirement Community, NBOA (National Business Officer Association), Family Connections, Dougbe River School in Liberia, and is currently serving on the board of GroundWorks DanceTheater.
Donna rides a BMW F650, which shares space in the garage with her husband's 12 motorcycles.
Shanette Buford-Brazzell
Starting December 2024
Shanette Buford-Brazzell joined the Cleveland Foundation in December 2022 as a Philanthropic Advisor. In her current role, Shanette focuses on fostering and strengthening relationships with individuals, families, organizations, and corporations by advising and engaging them to achieve their philanthropic goals. Prior to joining the foundation, Shanette served in various roles focused on development/fundraising and event management in nonprofit and higher education/college athletics.
Most recently, she worked as Director, Annual Giving for the YMCA of Greater Cleveland. Other organizations she worked for include Weatherhead School of Management/Case Western Reserve University, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and The Jerome Schottenstein Center/The Ohio State University.
Throughout her career, Shanette has been committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, philanthropy and giving back her professional and personal time to the community. She is currently a board member for WISE Cleveland (Women in Sports and Events), member of Junior League of Cleveland and BSP Cleveland. She has served as advisory board member of TJ Carrie Foundation, Rainbow Babies Associate Board and Ronald McDonald House of NEO Emerging Leaders. Shanette has participated in several leadership and professional development programs. She recently completed Weatherhead School of Management’s Executive Leadership and Development Experience (2024), the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio’s LeadDIVERSITY (2023) and Cleveland Foundation’s Foundations for Philanthropy (2023). Other programs she completed are Cleveland Leadership Center’s Civic Leadership Institute program and YWCA Women’s Leadership Institute Bootcamp.
Shanette earned a BA in Journalism and Promotional Communications from Cleveland State University, certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from University of South Florida and certificate in Sports Philanthropy from George Washington University’s School of Business.