County Executive Chris Ronayne is set to appoint two new board members to the embattled Cuyahoga Arts and Culture in March 2024. Charna Sherman, a vocal opponent of CAC executive director Jill Paulsen, is term-limited. Karolyn Isenhart could be re-appointed.
The Ohio Revised Code clearly states that at least two members of the board of trustees “shall be persons who devote a major portion of their time to practicing, performing, or teaching any of the arts.”
Kelly Woodard, Department of Communications in County Executive Chris Ronayne’s office, stated in November about the upcoming board appointments:
“The Ronayne Administration recognizes the need for a strong and healthy Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) board and organization, continued funding for the arts, and a strong arts and culture ecosystem. With the upcoming board appointments, we will continue to ensure that the membership of the Board of Trustees meets the letter and spirit of the Ohio Revised Code and CAC’s bylaws. We encourage members of the public, especially members of the arts community, to submit applications.”
Isenhart, whose term is expiring, is a resident of Lakewood and graduated from Baldwin Wallace University with a BA in political science. In February 2022, Shontel Brown announced Isenhart as the new executive director of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.
“Ms. Isenhart has worked in the auction industry for the sales of fine art and estates and as a live auctioneer, pro bono, for dozens of benefits,” said Brown. Her career includes seven years at Ulmer & Berne LLP, working in marketing and recruiting, managing the charitable giving budget and website, and coordinating events. Ms. Isenhart worked at Xerox as a project manager and most recently at Penton Media, doing project management and producing webinars for their manufacturing brands.”
Earlier this year, Ronayne appointed Daniel Blakemore, philanthropy director for the nonprofit Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to fill the seat vacated by former dancer Jenita McGowan and re-appointed Michele Scott Taylor, leaving the five-member board without a full-time artist.
Blakemore graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Political Science degree and an MPA in Public and NonProfit Management and Policy from the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He joined the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park as philanthropy director in January 2020. He was promoted to Vice President of Philanthropy in 2023. His term on the CAC Board runs through March 31, 2026.
Dr. Michele Scott Taylor received her doctorate in higher education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008, a graduate degree in higher education from Kent State University, and undergrad degrees in sociology, political science and French from the University of Akron. She is president of College Now Greater Cleveland, a nonprofit that provides guidance to area residents interested in post-high school education opportunities. She will serve as vice president of the CAC Board through March 31, 2026.
At the December CAC board meeting at the downtown Cleveland Public Library, Taylor called community members at the meeting, some of whom came to speak during he public comment period, “crazy,” saying “The crazy out there in the community says we shouldn’t have a levy; we can’t have a levy. The money is being stolen.” She later apologized for her comments.
Earlier in the meeting, Board President Nancy Mendez read a statement, apologizing to the community on behalf of herself and director Jill Paulsen for confusion about the purpose and challenges of CAC. Later in the meeting she admitted that Cuyahoga Art & Culture had deliberately not paid out individual artist grants totaling more than $400,000 in 2018 and 2019, after many months of denying it. Sherman added that CAC “cheated artists out of another $140,000 in December 2021.”
Mendez, appointed to the board by former County Executive Armond Budish, received an undergraduate degree in socio-economic history from Williams College, and was appointed president and chief executive officer of Starting Point, a nonprofit organization with comprehensive child and youth development programs in, 2021. She will serve on the CAC board through March 31, 2025.
Neither Taylor, Blakemore, Isenhart nor Mendez have any practical experience in the arts, nor do they spend much, if any, of their time working in the arts, despite the legal requirements for at least two of the board members to be artists.
Cleveland artist/curator Michael Gutierrez is among those who have submitted their application to be on the CAC Board. He told CoolCleveland that, if appointed, he would push for transparency, equity, balance and more community engagement.
“I would move meetings out of downtown into a rotation of community libraries at a later hour while also making it my objective as a board member to speak to students, groups and artists at events and elsewhere while providing pathways for people to become engaged and active,” said Gutierrez. “I would use my community organizing experience to do just that: organize.”
Gutierrez further said that he would work with the board and Assembly for the Arts to distribute funds and monitor the subsidiary, or pass-through organizations, within their community, to ensure all people within their communities are aware of opportunities.
He wants a quick distribution process to get the money to the community.
“I want to serve, work, and be a voice for creative people, to use my experiences as an artist, curator, former gallery owner, and recruitment manager to help inspire others,” said Gutierrez.
Artists and members of the arts community interested in serving on the CAC Board are urged to submit their applications at cuyahogacounty.gov/boards-and-commissions/boards-and-commissions-application.
Bruce Checefsky is a filmmaker and photographer, and published writer. He is the recipient of three Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, a Creative Workforce Fellowship, and four CEC ArtsLink Fellowships.
2 Responses to “New Board Members Could Change Direction for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture — Or Not”
Kathleen Cerveny
I would hope that the County Executive would consider restructuring and perhaps enlarging CAC’s board to not only include working artists, but also experienced board members from small, medium and larger arts organizations. The current structure of five people, none of whom have worked intimately with artists and arts institutions, has clearly not worked well.
Virginia Garcia
Get artists on the Board. Fire all the current ones who are not artists. They have done an unforgettable disservice to my arts community.