Board of Directors

BOARD PRESIDENT, Plexus Chamber of Commerce David is the Director of Social Catering at The Ritz-Carlton. His responsibilities include booking all social and non-profit events for all event space. Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland, David owned and operated David's Gourmet. Learn more about David’s personal and professional journey in his 2012 Cleveland TEDx Talk. Born in Cleveland and living in the Warehouse District, David and his guide dog, Harry, can be seen walking the city.

BOARD PRESIDENT, Plexus Education Foundation 
Brian (he/him) elevates & expands Candid’s reach across the Midwest region as well as key national relationships. He builds partnerships & strategies that strengthen the social sector through comprehensive data, training & philanthropy insights. Brian also assists partners in providing local nonprofit communities with access to Candid resources, nonprofit trainings & the opportunity to connect with like-minded social sector professionals.  
He is also an Ohio LGBTQ Funding Ambassador on behalf of Funders for LGBTQ Issues & on the United Way of Greater Cleveland funding committee for Basic Needs. 
 

Nolan Andersky leads the cold beverage brand marketing division at Nestlé and is a proud leader of the Nestlé Pride Alliance. Nolan enjoy pairing his passion for DE&I with impactful marketing campaigns that entice audiences and increase revenues while building loyalty for brands. He is proud to be the co-chair for the Plexus Young Professional Committee and serve as a board member on the Plexus board of directors. 

Isaac is the Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator for Stark MAHR. His responsibilities are centered on the improvement of Cultural and Linguistic Competency. Isaac is a certified trainer for Cultural Competency in Health and Human Services through the Cross-Cultural Health Care Program. 
His passion to work with those in need has been the reason why he pursed a career in Public Health. This has given him the opportunity to work with different groups such as: The Akron Non-Discrimination Steering Committee, Summit County Ohio Minority Health, Stark County Latino Committee, and Akron Pride Festival Steering Committee.

In my 35 years working in Fortune 500 companies, I've been fortunate to participate in some amazing growth stories.  I've also seen leaders and organizations try to wish growth into existence without any specific plans, or worse, they unintentionally get in the way of their own success.

Alex Cruz (ABR, GRI, CNE, AHWD) is a highly accomplished REALTOR®, bringing over a decade of retail management and business operations experience from South Florida to his thriving real estate career in Cleveland. Dedicated to sales and customer satisfaction, Alex excels in providing exceptional service. Beyond real estate, he holds key positions in various organizations, including Director of Education for the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance and Director for Ohio REALTORS®. Actively contributing to diversity, equity, and inclusion, he chairs the Akron Cleveland Association of REALTORS® DE&I Committee and serves as RPAC Trustee. Alex's commitment extends to education; he developed a state-approved CE course in Ohio, focusing on effective relationships with LGBTQ+ consumers. Actively teaching this course at local and state associations and conferences, he embodies a trusted REALTOR® who positively impacts both clients and the real estate industry.

She is the Manager of Cavs Youth Basketball Operations  & CEO of GameHer, that connects women in gaming. 

Lynn has a combined total of over fifteen years auditing and compliance experience. She has attained the educational credits necessary to sit for the CPA exam and have obtained my CFE.

Dan has utilized Plexus as a resource in his past ventures in helping to implement LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Groups and wants to strengthen that partnership while also finding ways to expand his impact into the greater Cleveland community. 

Shanelle Johnson serves as the onboarding resource for applicants seeking services from JumpStart and its network of partners. Her role involves engaging with early-stage and small business clients, identifying their service needs, providing value-added feedback, maintaining continued engagement with clients and partners to track continued progress made and making referrals within JumpStart and to our other external services partners. Her primary focus will be Core City: Cleveland clients.

Steve is a First Vice President, Portfolio Management Director and co-founder of The 200 Public Square Group at Morgan Stanley.  With more than 30 years of experience, Steve combines his deep analytical skills with an educational approach to help guide clients towards the achievement of their financial goals.  Steve’s desire to help others is equaled only by his dedication to his community, his firm and his family. He is the President of the Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, is a current Board Member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and a member of University Hospitals Health System’s Diamond Advisory Group.  At work, Steve is an active member of Morgan Stanley’s Great Lakes Diversity Council, as well as the firm’s Wealth Management Pride & Ally Focus Group.

Katie focuses her practice on the representation of management in all aspects of labor & employment law. 

Luz is a skilled software consultant with Xerox Corporation for more than 20 years where she currently holds the position of Business Systems Analyst. She is a subject matter expert for ReqDirect Plus Core products. In her role, she provides software support to a wide of array clients spread across the globe. These clients represent diverse industries including healthcare, financial institutions, retail, insurance, and manufacturing.

Passionate about optimizing global supply chain processes and fostering diversity within corporate environments. 

BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS - Michelle is Chief People Officer at FIT Technologies, a full service Managed IT Services firm headquartered in downtown Cleveland. FIT was certified as an LGBT-owned business until recently when FIT became an employee owned company in 2018. She fancies herself a cheerleader for Cleveland, eager to be involved in the on-going transformation of the City by being an unofficial ambassador.

Shannon is an uplifting encourager that facilitates others to know they belong, are enough & matter through Positive Human Resources strategies & tools.

April  is a nonprofit & foundation consultant, equity & social justice champion, writer & speaker.

Through teaching, writing & podcasting, Avery is dedicated to a liberatory pedagogy that centers marginalized groups.