DSAS Year in Review

NATASHA PIETROCOLA
Director, Division of Senior and Adult Services

ADVISORY BOARD BUSINESS

JANET KEELER
Advisory Board Chair

Janet has worked at the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD) for over 27 years in a variety of leadership positions.  She is currently the Director of Community Development and oversees work that increases individuals’ access to competitive employment, community membership and independent community travel.   

CHRIS HALL
Advisory Board Member

Christopher T. Hall is a dedicated professional with more than 20 years of experience at Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA), where he currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer. His work aligns seamlessly with the mission of the Division of Senior and Adult Services (DSAS), focusing on assisting seniors and adults with disabilities to stay in their homes through various forms of aid, including information and assessment for services, care management, food security, caregiver respite and more.

During his previous term on the Cuyahoga County Advisory Board for DSAS, Christopher was instrumental in creating the plan for Livable Cuyahoga and currently serves as Co-Chair for the Transportation subcommittee on that project. His career has consistently involved working with those in need, including a decade in nursing homes and operating an optical business for low-income adults in Cuyahoga County.

Christopher's extensive experience in the aging arena continues to be an asset to the DSAS board, and he is committed to contributing to its mission by developing innovative ways to support the residents of Cuyahoga County. Christopher holds a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation, which underscores his expertise in financial management and accounting.

WRAAA BROCHURE

BETH SIPPLE
Advisory Board Member

Beth Sipple is a graduate of Mount Union College holding a Bachelor of Arts in Social Services and has a Master of Social Service Administration from CWRU. She is licensed by the State of Ohio as an independent social worker with supervision designation.

as the Director of Community Services and Programs for the Eldercare Services Institute of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. She provides management and program evaluation to the Social Work Department, the Senior Companion Program, Intake Services, and the Behavioral Health Department. Prior, she had provided in-home social work and mental health case management to the Benjamin Rose clients in Cuyahoga County. She has over twenty-eight years of experience working with caregivers and older adults as hospital, nursing home, and home health social worker. Also, Beth serves on the Institutional Review Board of the Margaret Blenkner Research Center at The Benjamin Rose Institute On Aging. She joined the PsychoSocial Therapies counseling agency part-time in 2005 and provides counseling to nursing home residents.

BENJAMIN ROSE SLIDE

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

EMILY CAMPBELL
Emily Campbell serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for The Center for Community Solutions, a nonpartisan nonprofit policy and research think tank focused on health, social, and economic conditions. Campbell previously worked for a U.S. Congressman, and she has consulted with numerous nonprofits, foundations and government agencies to provide data and public policy decision support. Her work on poverty has appeared in every major newspaper in Ohio and she has been interviewed by a wide variety of media outlets including The Economist, The New York Times, ESPN.com, MSNBC, and NPR. She serves on the Board of United Way of Greater Cleveland, the steering committee of First Year Cleveland, and several other Boards and committees in Cleveland and beyond. She was recently named one of Cleveland’s “Power 150” and a Woman of Note by Crain’s Cleveland Business. Campbell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Case Western Reserve University.

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

DISCUSSION PANEL

EMILY MUTTILLO
Panel Moderator

Emily Muttillo serves as a Director of Research, Williamson Family Fellow for Applied Research. As the Williamson Family Fellow, she guides staff members examining a variety of health, social and economic conditions. Emily has worked on a number of Age Friendly initiatives in Ohio including Age Friendly the cities of Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Worthington and Stark, Summit, Cuyahoga, Licking and Lucas Counties.  Additionally, Emily has worked with both Direction Home and Lorain County Office on Aging to conduct older adults needs assessments. While Emily continually works toward her goal of becoming an older adult herself, she has spent much time and energy working to understand the needs of this population. Muttillo received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from John Carroll University and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

VANESSA JACKSON
Panelist

Vanessa Jackson spent 40 years in corporate America in a variety of roles, from bill collector to project manager. Parallel to this, she began volunteering at age 9, serving on her first board at 23, contributing in every capacity from clean-up crew to board chair.  Her first non-profit professional experience began 20 years ago at a small senior program in Atlanta.

Since then, she’s worked as part of a funding organization helping to fund nonprofits, worked with animal welfare organizations and with senior programs in various capacities.  Vanessa is now serving as Senior Wellness Manager at May Dugan Center.  In addition, she is Champion Consultant for Case Western Reserve University Office of Interprofessional and Interdisciplinary Education and Research and serves on the Cuyahoga County Division of Senior and Adult Services (DSAS) Advocacy Committee, Cuyahoga County’s Livable Cuyahoga Social Engagement Committee, Cuyahoga County Senior Services Network (CCSSN) and is a member of the Council on Older Persons (COOP) Program Committee.

ALYSSA PETERS, MSW, LISW-S, CCM
Panelist

Alyssa Peters MSW, LISW-S has been a practicing social worker for over twelve years. During this time, she has worked across several care settings including LTC, discharge planning, patient experience/advocacy, and dementia care. She received her undergraduate degree from Miami University and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Cincinnati. For the past four years, she has worked as a Clinical Social Worker and Program Coordinator for the VA Northeast Ohio’s outpatient Memory Care Clinic. This clinic provides specialty care services to Veterans living with dementia and their caregivers. Alyssa is a new member of the Cuyahoga County DSAS Advisory Board and is excited to further serve aging Veterans in our community.

CATHERINE RUSH, MBM
Panelist

Catherine grew up in a small farm town in Indiana. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education/Multicultural Education from Ball State University and a Master’s degree in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has nearly 45 years experience as a teacher in schools, at the college level and life enrichment classes for many years as well. She was named as one of the top 150 Aging/DD experts in the world in 2002. Catherine is the author of the book, “In Pursuit of Danny”, a story of a little boy born with disabilities in the 60’s and the difficult decisions his family had to make at that time. She’s passionate about assisting people of all ages and abilities in developing their creative outlet and strives to learn new skills each and every day. She is not retired, but rewired, and serves as a consultant for persons with disabilities as well as seniors, teaches life enrichment classes and has a sewing business, selling at craft shows among other places. Serving on many boards in the past and present, she is most excited to be part of the DSAS and L’Arche boards.

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