2022 Election Info
Members of Northwest Neighborhoods CDC can vote in our organization’s elections. Become a 2022 member here.
Our 2022 Election will take place during our virtual Annual Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 24, at 6pm. Members will receive instructions for voting in advance. Results will be announced live during the Annual Meeting, presented online at nwneighborhoods.org and on Facebook Live.
Voting members should review the Board candidates and proposed amendments below before submitting their election ballots.
Board Candidates Info
The following individuals are eligible applicants for our Board of Directors.
Institutional/Commercial: Charles Slone
Charles Slone is the founder and CEO of First Choice which is located in the service area at 1457 West 117, a home healthcare and medical staffing firm established in 1998. Charles also went on to establish Dyrect Therapy Inc. in 2009 specializing in comprehensive home health contract services. In 2016 Charles founded Slone & Co. Funeral Directors serving Cleveland’s West side. He also owns several apartment buildings on Clifton Blvd. and West 110th. Charles has served on the board of trustees for Saint Augustine Health Ministries since 2007. Charles also served as President of the Cudell Improvement Board and has been a board member since 2011. He is very vested in the service area. Outside of work Charles enjoys cycling and traveling.
SW Residential: Matthew Thomas
Matthew Thomas is a proud Cudell homeowner for the past six years. Matthew is the GIS & Research Specialist at the Cuyahoga Land Bank where he focuses on the real estate tax foreclosure process to help facilitate the transfer of vacant and abandoned homes to owner-occupants, community development corporations, non-profits, and other partners. He previously worked for Detroit Shoreway CDO & Cudell Improvement, Inc. helping create affordable and safe housing for residents of our three neighborhoods as the Housing Development Manager. He is dedicated to improving the health, vibrancy, and diversity of our neighborhoods and has helped coordinate voter engagement efforts as well as neighborhood get-togethers and cleanups. He has served on the Northwest Neighborhoods Board (and previously Cudell Board) since 2020 and is a member of the Governance, Housing & Asset Management, and Personnel Committees. He looks forward to the opportunity to continue serving on the NNCDC Board.
SE Residential: Luciana Salles
After moving from Boston and experiencing downtown Cleveland living for 4 years, Luciana chose to settle down in Cudell with a primary residence purchase in 2019. Since joining the neighborhood, Luciana attended Cudell Improvement Inc board meetings regularly to understand how residents could drive change in their neighborhoods, just as she had done as a member of the Downtown Cleveland Residents CDC. When a vacancy on the Cudell board happened, Luciana was appointed to fill that seat. Since then, Luciana has held the role of Secretary for Cudell and Northwest Neighborhoods and she has helped with the successful organizational merger. Consider Luciana for a full term on the NNCDC board and continued leadership as Secretary.
NC Residential: Tim Krueger
Tim Krueger has lived in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood for the past 12 years and joined NNCDC’s board (then DSCDO) in 2019. He currently serves as the organization’s Treasurer and Chair of the Board’s Finance Committee. Tim’s work background is in progressive policy advocacy and corporate innovation. He currently works at a venture accelerator within PNC bank. He hopes to continue helping NNCDC remain a financially healthy organization that protects and expands housing affordability in the Detroit-Shoreway, Cudell, and Edgewater neighborhoods.
NE Residential: Trish Parham
I have lived in the Sylvia Building on Franklin Avenue with my Daughter ReRe for over 6 years. What I love most about living in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood is the smell coming from the local restaurants as I walk the neighborhood. I love the access to Edgewater Park and I love the people in the neighborhood. It’s very diverse and I appreciate how welcoming people are. I also like fishing and motorcycles. I volunteer at many Northwest Neighborhoods events and programs every year. One of my favorites was being a tour guide for two months during the Undesign the Redline Exhibit at Aspen Place, which talked about race and real estate and it was very eye opening for me. It was exciting to meet so many people that walked into the exhibit space from the neighborhood and all the people that traveled far and wide to see it. I feel that as a tenant of Northwest Neighborhoods and as a woman of color that I bring a fresh new and valuable perspective. I appreciate being around people doing things in this community and spending time meeting new neighbors. I love learning from everybody but I also like to put in work!
NW Residential: Lisa McGovern
Lisa McGovern has been happy to be part of the Detroit Shoreway/Cudell neighborhoods since 2007. She values the close-knit community, the proximity to the lake and downtown, and the cultural and business amenities. Lisa’s career has focused on community development and affordable housing in particular. She worked for DSCDO focusing on affordable housing development and the Capitol Theatre renovation, and currently serves on the Housing and Asset Management Committee of NNCDC bringing institutional memory and an understanding of the real estate the organization owns and operates. Lisa lives with her husband and two kids on West 103rd, and works at RBC Capital Markets as an underwriter investing in affordable housing throughout the country.
Proposed Bylaw Amendments
Our Board of Directors have recommended the following amendments to our Code of Regulations.
BALLOT ITEM 1: To allow NNCDC Special Directors to declare intent to run in uncontested elected board seats
The Board of Directors seeks Membership approval for a bylaw amendment that allows for Special Directors - whom the Board has already determined are qualified and provide a needed skill, expertise, perspective, or other representation on the board and have already been appointed to the Board of Directors - to declare their intent to run for an elected Board seat after the 90-day deadline to declare intent has passed. This is applicable only in the event the Special Director already qualifies for the elected seat (as a resident of the sector or as an institutional/commercial representative) and the seat is otherwise open and uncontested. This would allow the board to further assess and utilize the limited appointed Special Director board seats available in service of the goal to build an inclusive, diverse, and representative Board of Directors. Proposed amended language in the Code of Regulations (changes in red):
Article II Section 2, Part C. Eligibility to Serve as an Elected Director. (begins in the 2nd sentence): In the event that there is a vacant, uncontested elected Director seat during an election cycle, a current Special Director may transition to run for the elected seat prior to the January Board of Directors meeting, provided they meet the eligibility requirements of the seat.
BALLOT ITEM 2: To amend instances of gendered language in the NNCDC Code of Regulations
The Board of Directors seeks Membership approval for a bylaw amendment that removes all instances of gendered language within the current Code of Regulations (e.g. gender pronouns and professional titles), to be replaced with gender-neutral language. Proposed amended language in the Code of Regulations (changes in red):
Article II, Section 2, Part C: Eligibility to Serve as an Elected Director. To be eligible for election as an Elected Director, one must (1) have been a paid Member of the Corporation for at least ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting, and (2) have notified the President in writing of their interest in running for election as a Director at least ninety (90) days prior to the meeting, which notice shall include a biographical statement, resume, or statement of qualifications.
Article VIII, last paragraph: A Director or employee shall not use their position with the Corporation to enhance, promote, or market their services.
BALLOT ITEM 3: To define all NNCDC’s residential tenants as Residential organizational members and waive dues.
The Board of Directors seeks Membership approval for a bylaw amendment which would allow all residential tenants of properties owned and managed by NNCDC to become Members without a requirement to pay membership dues. Proposed amended language in the Code of Regulations (changes in red):
Article I, Section 1: Designation and Classification of Members. (begins in the 4th sentence): Residential Membership is open to any adult 16 years of age or older residing in the Corporation’s service area and residential tenants of any rental property owned in part or in whole and managed by the Corporation or its subsidiaries.
Section 2. Dues. Yearly dues to be paid by Members in accordance with the following schedule:
Residential $5.00
Residential fee is waived for current residential tenants of any NNCDC rental property
Institutional $15.00
Commercial $50.00
Yearly dues, or in the case of an NNCDC residential tenant, written or verbal registration to become a Member of the Corporation, shall entitle the person or entity to the benefits of Membership for the calendar year when paid or elected. However, dues must be paid or appropriate registration be made prior to the "Call to Order" of a meeting to entitle the Member vote at that meeting. Each Member shall be entitled to one vote.
BALLOT ITEM 4: To establish a designated Special Director Tenant Representative position on the NNCDC Board
The Board of Directors seeks Membership approval for a bylaw modification to create an additional Special Director board seat designated to be filled by a residential tenant living in any property owned and managed by NNCDC and its subsidiaries. This change is meant to ensure that the NNCDC Board of Directors continues to benefit from the perspectives of NNCDC’s residential tenants and to empower those tenants as valued stakeholders of the organization and the neighborhoods it serves. Proposed amended language in the Code of Regulations (changes in red):
Article II, Section 2: Number, Term of Office, Elections and Removal of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of not more than twenty-six Directors.
Article II, Section 2, Paragraph E: Special Directors. At the January Board of Directors meeting each year, the Board may appoint up to six additional Directors to the Board (“Special Directors”) for a term of one year. Special Directors shall be appointed to provide needed specialized expertise or skills or to provide other beneficial attributes. One of these Special Director positions will be designated solely for a residential tenant currently living in any property owned by NNCDC and its subsidiaries.