Sharon Sobol Jordan (ALI 2018, LC 2003)
President & CEO, United Way of Greater Cleveland
Sharon has served in top leadership, strategy, business, and advisory roles in a wide-ranging career that has crossed sectors, disciplines, and boundaries. Before her appointment as the first woman to lead the United Way of Greater Cleveland as President & CEO, she was Founder & CEO of OpenSpace Solutions LLC where she served as a hands-on strategic partner and advisor helping transformational leaders reimagine what’s possible. As part of this array of customized services, Sharon served as Interim CEO of DigitalC, a nonprofit digital equity tech startup.
She previously served as President and Board member of Unify Labs, a nonprofit tech innovation lab with the mission of powering inclusive prosperity, after serving as Chief of Staff for Cuyahoga County where she drove key strategic initiatives including early childhood education expansion, workforce systems transformation, the first unified strategic plan, and formation of the first Innovation Office.
Sharon was the first woman to serve as President & CEO of The Centers for Families and Children, one of Ohio’s oldest and largest non-profit human service corporations, which tripled in size and reach under her leadership to employ over 550, serve more than 25,000 people each year, and earn over $55M annual revenue.
She served as Cleveland’s Law Director and Special Counsel to Mayor Michael R. White after starting her career in the private practice of law with the firm now known as Schneider Smeltz Spieth Bell where she became a partner.
Sharon serves on several boards including Bruening Foundation, City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland Jewish News, Cleveland Transformation Alliance, PolicyBridge, Temple Tifereth Israel, and University Hospitals East Market Regional Board.
She received her J.D. and M.B.A. from The Ohio State University, and her B.S. in public administration and management from Indiana University. Sharon is married to attorney David Wallace, a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister. They have three children.