Kelly Manderfield (LC2 2020, LC 2019)
Chief Marketing Officer, Cleveland Metroparks and
Kelly Manderfield is the Chief Marketing Officer for Cleveland Metroparks and leads all marketing initiatives across its 18 reservations, eight golf courses, dining, retail and nationally-recognized Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
Under her leadership, Cleveland Metroparks has developed and executed several transformative brand campaigns, including Cleveland Metroparks 100 Year Centennial campaign, Time to Explore campaign and the rebrand of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to bring wildlife conservation to the forefront. Most recently, she launched the Find Your Path campaign, designed to encourage exploration and inclusivity across the nearly 25,000-acre park system and included the launch of the Cleveland Metroparks mobile app. The brand awareness campaigns have led to record visitation of more than 19 million recreational visits over the last three years.
As Chief Marketing Officer, Manderfield has created a culture of strategic data-driven decision making to support the agency’s goals and initiatives and drive revenue. She manages overall marketing from end-to-end, including communications, advertising, research, special events, event rentals, corporate partnerships, retail, and creative services.
Manderfield has been instrumental in fostering strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with major organizations including CrossCountry Mortgage, KeyBank, MetroHealth and more to elevate special events including Cleveland Metroparks Summer Concert Series and the record-breaking Asian Lantern Festival that draws over 150,000 guests to the Zoo each year. In 2022, Manderfield helped steer the City Edition collaboration between Cleveland Metroparks and the Cleveland Cavaliers to elevate the Park District on the national stage and reach new audiences. Most recently, she led a partnership with Netflix to launch the livestream show “Baby Gorilla Cam” to bring worldwide attention to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s dynamic gorilla troop.
Prior to her joining the Cleveland Metroparks, Manderfield served as Vice President, Senior Marketing Manager and Strategist at KeyBank where she oversaw marketing programs, advertising and public relations campaigns.
Manderfield received a Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Bowling Green State University. She is a Leadership Cleveland Class of 2019 Graduate and has also served as a LC2 Fellow. Manderfield currently serves on the board of the Burning River Foundation, as a College Now and Engage! Cleveland mentor and as a Steering Member of Cleveland Metroparks Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) committee.