Meet Christina, Jody, Kathy, Jeff, Heather, and Stephanie

Christina Thomas-Lewin

I am living the ‘American Dream’ supporting my husband who accepted a promotion which led us from a small town in the UK, just south of London, to the state of Ohio! We started dating in 2007 whilst I was finishing my Accounting degree at the University of Portsmouth and coaching trampolining classes in the evening for ages 2 – 65 year olds. After obtaining my degree, I went on to work for the UK Government in London, just a few steps away from where Will and Kate got married in Westminster Abbey, and continued my studies to become a Chartered Accountant. I was promoted through several positions in the UK Government, managing several people and teams during my time and before leaving my post in 2014 I was part of an essential team reporting and managing the accounts of the Education Funding Agency. Everything was going great, challenging career, married in 2013 and then the exciting news we were moving to the USA. We were sad to leave our friends and family but it was the start of a new adventure for us and we grabbed the opportunity accordingly! We had to live apart for a few months whilst I completed some projects at the Government that I was leading on and then I applied for a 5 year sabbatical. I took some time to adjust to the USA and decided to follow some other passions of mine in cooking and interior designing. I took an online course which I completed in 7 months and now I’m a qualified interior designer. My husband and I purchased a house in Medina to put my new skills to the test and in 6 months we have renovated most of the first level including a completely new modern white gloss kitchen! The initial plan was for me to renovate and follow my passion for interior design but I was asked to help out at my husbands office in the accounts department which has turned in to a full time contracting role as their senior accountant. It’s been a huge learning curve to be involved with USA accounting but they’re an international company and luckily I come with the added experience of international accounting! We are embracing the American Dream and grasping every opportunity for as long as it may last with our visas and we are patiently waiting for our Green Card applications to be processed. Not being particularly big sports fans in the UK since moving to the USA we are most definitely Cav’s fans having been fortunate enough to attend some live games at the Quicken Loans Arena, we’ve watched a couple of Indian’s games, spent ThanksGiving in a cabin in Hocking Hills and been to Buckin’ Ohio to name just a few! People that have lived here their whole lives comment on how much we’ve seen in the past 18 months and how recognized we are in Medina by restaurant and bar staff so it was definitely a great decision for us and we are embracing every given opportunity we can and hoping we can be permanent residents here.

Jody Wheaton

Jody Wheaton is Executive Director, Client Solutions and Program Management with Corporate College, a division of Cuyahoga Community College. She engages clients in a performance consulting role in the development and delivery of holistic talent management solutions that meet unique business needs. Her consulting experience spans a variety of organizational effectiveness activities including talent assessment for selection and development, assessment centers, 360° feedback and competency based development solutions.

Jody serves on the Board of Directors for the Cleveland Society for Human Resource Management and the Cleveland Society for Human Resource Management Foundation. In this role she has had the opportunity to partner and raise money for several non-profits including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of NE Ohio, Prayers for Maria, The Gathering Place, Towards Employment and many others totaling over $120,000. Jody also serves on the Board Marketing Committee for Hospice of the Western Reserve and will serve as the 2016 Young Professional Business Chair for the Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Walk to Remember for the second year in a row. Jody is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Cleveland Society for Human Resource Management (CSHRM), the Association for Talent Development (ATD, formerly ASTD), and the HR Leadership Group.

Jody resides in Montville Township with her husband Chris and 2 daughters Megan and Emily.

Kathy Wilbraham

I am a lifetime Northeast Ohio resident.  When first married, I worked in the developmental disabilities field in a direct care position for a couple of years.  I then took a period of time off to begin planning for the start of my family.   When my daughter started first grade in elementary school, I remained a stay at home mother and enrolled at Hiram College in their Weekend College program.  I successfully graduated after four years of attending Hiram Weekend College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences.  I then began the search for social services employment.

I became employed in the developmental disabilities field again as a Case Manager for the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities in 1992 as a Case Manager and remained employed there in the Case Management Services department until 2000.  During my tenure there I decided to pursue my Master’s degree in Public Administration.  In 1998 I graduated from the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) program at Cleveland State University.  This gave me the opportunity to advance my career at the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities and I was promoted to Assistant Director of Case Management Services.

In 2000, the Geauga County Board of Developmental Disabilities recruited me to re-structure their Case Management department so I accepted the position there of Director of Community Support Services.  I successfully transitioned the department to meet the vision of the leadership of the Board.

In 2002, the developmental disabilities field made significant changes to the county board of developmental disability system as House Bill 94 redesigned Medicaid and county board services.  This legislation created the service and support administration function for county boards, and at that time the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities recruited me back to Lake County to develop and implement the Service and Support Administration department.  I developed, expanded, and maintained that department until 2011 when a new position (Director of Quality Assurance) was created at the Board, and I was requested to take on that responsibility.  This position gave me an opportunity to expand my knowledge to all program areas and departments for the agency, and to be the liaison for the agency with outside accrediting agencies.

In 2013, an opportunity came my way to lead a non-profit residential agency in Summit County that provided services to individuals with developmental disabilities, placing me on the private side of service provision.  During my tenure there I restructured their residential management services, improved relationships with partners and stabilized the budget.  Although I found this to be a rewarding experience I also learned that my heart truly was in the public sector side of the developmental disabilities and I sought to return to the county board system.  After a year’s worth of time assisting agencies in the developmental disabilities field on a short-term basis, I applied for and became employed at the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities as the Director of Service and Support Administration Director (my current position), which brings my career of providing services to individuals in the developmental disabilities field to a total of 26 years.

Jeff Worcester

Jeff Worcester is a digital marketing evangelist, veteran email marketer, data geek, speaker and all around great guy. Throughout his career he’s helped brands like Underwriter Laboratories, The Cleveland Clinic, McGraw Hill and Sherwin-Williams achieve their marketing objectives.

With nearly 20 years of email marketing experience he has spoken at many industry conferences including the

The DMA Email Experience Council, Niche Digital Conference and the Cleveland Advertising Association.

Jeff is the COO of Proximity Marketing and has his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Marietta College.

Heather Wuensch

My name is Heather Wuensch and I have more than 20 years of experience in health care public relations, marketing and community health. In 2012, I joined Akron Children’s Hospital’s External Affairs department as the director for Community Benefit, Advocacy and Outreach. I am responsible for the operational leadership and support of hospital-wide community benefit initiatives; including the development of community benefit strategies, community-based health prevention, education and promotion methods, as well as community benefit reporting. Additionally, I am responsible for injury prevention efforts, development and implementation of outreach strategies including Kohl’s Fit & Healthy Kids program, Reach Out & Read and others, as well as planning, scheduling and promoting health and wellness programs and ongoing community-based events to further improve the health status of communities served by the Hospital.

Prior to joining Akron Children’s, I served as the director of Quality Communities Partnership at Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights, OH. In this role, I led extensive healthy communities’ efforts and worked to identify community health needs; developed collaborative implementation strategies; fostered relationships with local, state and national health and human service organizations, business and industry, government officials, education systems, and community leaders; and secured almost $500,000 in grant funds to improve and enhance the quality of life for residents in six municipalities in Greater Cleveland. In 1998, while working at Southwest General, I was awarded the Greater Cleveland YWCA Women of Professional Excellence Award.

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Kent State University in 1989. My husband, Andy, and I have lived in Litchfield, Ohio for 20 years and we have two grown sons, Jake and Matt.

Stephanie Zingaro

Medina County has been my home for over 30 years. I grew up in Westfield Center and graduated from Cloverleaf High School. After graduation I attended The University of Akron where I received my Associates Degree in Business and Bachelor’s Degree in Clothing, Textiles and Interiors. My work history includes Property Manager for Mallard’s Crossing Apartments, Supervisor for Bank One in their auto loans department and Benefits Administrator/ Executive Assistant for EJB Corporation, Inc. Currently, I work for Leadership Medina County as the Emerging Leaders Director and Office Manager.

As member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority I served as Philanthropy and Education Chair while in college and later served as Membership Advisor where I received Advisor of the Year 3 years in a row. When I moved back to Medina County I became a member of Welcome Wagon later renamed the Medina County Women’s Club where I served as 1st Vice President, Hospitality Chair, Civic & Welfare Chair and Social Chair. I am a 2014 graduate of the Leadership Medina County Young Professional now know as the Emerging Leaders Program.

Currently, I live in Montville Township and enjoy participating in many community activities. My plan is to live in Medina County for many years to come.