We are
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio

We believe that everyone has the potential to be successful, and
Boys Hope Girls Hope creates the opportunity.

 

For more than three decades, we have pioneered bestinclass programming to provide young people in under-resourced communities, within Cleveland and Akron, with the consistent, loving support they need to grow into thriving adults.

Hope happens on our 5.5 acre Campus of Hope in Garfield Heights, Ohio. The young people we serve, our Scholars, have an intense desire to learn and succeed, yet face barriers outside of their control. Committing to their journey all of the way from middleschool through postsecondary education and beyond, we provide a stable, nurturing community where young people are fully championed academically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and socially providing the foundation they need to reach their goals.

We are a proud member of the Boys Hope Girls Hope Network. Our Network Headquarters connects, provides leadership, and offers signature collegepreparatory programming to 16 affiliates.

Learn more

Our Mission

Our Mission

To nurture and guide motivated young people in need to become welleducated, careerready men and women for others.

Our Impact

Our Impact

Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio serves 145+ Scholars in our Academy and Residential pathways, and 40+ Scholars in our College and Career Success program. We are inspired by the grit, character, ambition, courage, and integrity of our Scholars. Witness stories of Scholars bringing us Hope and read how our program has supported them in reaching their goals.

Success Stories    Our Impact

Our History

1986

Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio is Established

An affiliate of Boys Hope Girls Hope is formed in Northeastern Ohio and is formally incorporated into the larger Boys Hope Girls Hope Network, which began in 1977.

1989

Doors Open in Cuyahoga Falls

Boys Hope Girls Hope opens its first residential home on the campus of Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls. This location was able to provide 5 boys – all students of the school – a structured, nurturing home during their high school career.

2000

Hope Finds a New Home

The home for boys moves from its Cuyahoga Falls location to its current location in Garfield Heights.

2003

Roots and Wings

The goals we set out to accomplish with our 1999 ‘Roots and Wings’ Campaign came to fruition. Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio opened its first home for girls on a century-old family estate in Garfield Heights, OH.

2008

Hope Prep

Our Board’s commitment to extending programming beyond our residential program was actualized with the creation of our Hope Prep program.

2009

Our Campus of Hope

The dedication of our seventh building – the O’Neil Center – marked the accomplishment of former Executive Director, Anne O’Donnell’s vision to reunify the five homes that formerly made up the Round Family estate, and transform the property into a centralized first-class campus.

2014

Growing Hope

Based on the strong outcomes of our Scholars, our Board unanimously agrees to launch a five-year capacity-building initiative that secures the organization’s future through a $10-million-dollar endowment campaign that also allows us to increase our capacity to serve 200 Scholars by 2020.

2014

Academy Pathway

Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio integrates the core strengths of our middle school, high school, and post-secondary initiatives into a unified curriculum. The becomes the newly titled ‘Academy’ pathway.

2018

Our Hope of the Future

Focus intensifies on expanding facilities in order to meet the needs of our existing program, while also allowing us to grow to make holistic and intensive programming available to more than 200 Scholars by 2020. In June, we broke ground on the Rajan Academy Center – a critical step towards achieving our goal.

2019

The Rajan Academy Center

The Rajan Academy Center opens its doors in June of 2019, uniting the Academy program under one roof. This 22,000 square-foot building includes an innovation studio, art room, study spaces, counseling areas and open spaces for Scholars to develop holistically each day and build life-long relationships.

Our Team

Our team of dedicated professionals truly embodies the mission of Boys Hope Girls Hope. Regardless of the task at hand, each member of our team acts with focus on our vision of creating best-in-class opportunities for the Scholars we serve. Each “Agent of Hope” embraces our internal core values of…

Results – We are accountable to our commitments with evidence of our best-in-class outcomes

Innovation – We think big, solve problems creatively, and take thoughtful risks

Wellness – The decisions we make consider the need for holistic wellness

Respect – Our behaviors consider and value each stakeholder’s needs

Growth – We intentionally provide our team with training and development necessary to achieve our mission

Meet Our Team of Dedicated Professionals

Angela Altenburger

Research, Program Design & Process Specialist

(216) 553-4011 aaltenburger@bhgh.org

Taylor Amato

Master's in Social Work Intern

tamato@bhgh.org

Brenna Bacci

Marketing Specialist

(216) 553-4043 bbacci@bhgh.org

Michelle Wohlfeiler Bailin

Director of Development & Marketing

(216) 553-4045 mbailin@bhgh.org

Giovonni Braden-Dorsey

Overnight Residential Specialist

(216) 441-3980 gbraden-dorsey@bhgh.org

Shawn Byrd

Operations Specialist

(216) 441-3980 sbyrd@bhgh.org

Amanda Collett

Nutrition Services Coordinator

(216) 553-4002 acollett@bhgh.org

Shala Dabney

Overnight Residential Specialist

(216) 441-3980 sdabney@bhgh.org

Tayia Fowlkes

Master's in Social Work Intern

tfowlkes@bhgh.org

Theresa Hahn

Hospitality & Events Coordinator

(216) 553-4038 thahn@bhgh.org

Jo'Vohna Hughes

House Manager

(216) 441-3980 jhughes@bhgh.org

NaNetta Hullum

College & Career Success Coach

(216) 441-3980 nhullum@bhgh.org

Wanda Jackson

House Manager

(216) 441-3980 wjackson@bhgh.org

Elizabeth Knudsen

High School Manager

(216) 553-4042 eknudsen@bhgh.org

Nicole Koenig

Director of Operations

(216) 553-4034 nkoenig@bhgh.org

Rachel Labuda

Director of Residential Program

(216) 553-4035 rlabuda@bhgh.org

Caroline LeBel-Smith

Director of College & Career Success

(216) 553-4019 clebel-smith@bhgh.org

Emily Mann

Human Capital Manager

(216) 553-4023 emann@bhgh.org

John McBride

Executive Director

(216) 553-4028 jmcbride@bhgh.org

Emily Montgomery

Director of Staff Development

(216) 553-4024 emontgomery@bhgh.org

Rashell Morgan

Operations Specialist

(216) 441-3980 rmorgan@bhgh.org

Nada Popovic

Database Administrative Coordinator

(216) 553-4032 npopovic@bhgh.org

Brenda Pryor

MyCom Community Development Coordinator

(216) 441-3980 bpryor@bhgh.org

Antoinette Richardson

Operations Specialist

(216) 441-3980 arichardson@bhgh.org

Danielle Rojas-Taylor

Director of Academy Program

(216) 553-4021 drojas@bhgh.org

Mariah Siggers

Overnight Residential Specialist

(216) 441-3980 msiggers@bhgh.org

Andrea Turk

School Partnership & Recruitment Coordinator

(216) 553-4010 aturk@bhgh.org

Kit Wilson

Middle School Manager

(216) 553-4027 kwilson@bhgh.org

Tenisha Woods

Overnight Residential Specialist

(216) 441-3980 twoods@bhgh.org

Suzie Wray

Finance Manager

(216) 553-4036 swray@bhgh.org

Board of Directors/Emeritus Board

Andrew W. Moock

Chair

Andrew Eich

Vice Chair

Douglas E. Wells

Treasurer

Nancy C. Benacci

Secretary

Alice Armstrong

Board Member

Douglas R. Bell

Board Member

Michael M. Boeschenstein

Board Member

Isabella (Bitty) T. Dorr

Board Member

Hope Evans

Board Member

Paul Fussner

Board Member

Gregory Galvin

Board Member

Cynthia Ames Huffman

Board Member

Allyson Jimenez-Huyke

Board Member

Meredith Korner

Board Member

Francesca LaMontagne

Board Member

Michael J. Merriman

Board Member

Leah Miko

Board Member

Michael M. Murphy

Board Member

Peter M. Poulos

Board Member

Maria O’Neil Ruddock, Psy.D.

Board Member

Brian Spear

Board Member

Brian M. Brennan

Board Emeritus

Kerry Dustin

Board Emeritus

Thomas R. Eby, Jr.

Board Emeritus

Marcia P. Floyd

Board Emeritus

Howard Hanna IV

Board Emeritus

Robert E. Heltzel, Jr.*

Board Emeritus

*Deceased

John L. Hinds

Board Emeritus

Edward T. Marshall, DDS

Board Emeritus

Raymond Murphy

Board Emeritus

The Hon. John D. Ong

Board Emeritus

Daniel Sussen

Board Emeritus

Fr. Don Vettese, S.J.

Board Emeritus

The Boys Hope Girls Hope Network

There’s power in numbers. Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio is a proud member of the Boys Hope Girls Hope Network. Our Network Headquarters, located in St. Louis, Missouri, connects, provides leadership, and offers signature college-preparatory programming to 16 affiliates. As a part of the Boys Hope Girls Hope Network, our Scholars benefit from programming, resources, partnerships, research, scholarship funds, and shared best practices. Our program uniquely offers a combination of deep local impact and the benefit of diverse international perspectives and interactions. Our Scholars, Collegians, Alumni and team members come together with other impact-driven individuals, maximizing opportunities to share, support, solve problems, and serve.

Our Network includes Boys Hope Girls Hope Network Headquarters and 16 affiliates in the US and Latin America. All Boys Hope Girls Hope affiliates ascribe to the same research-supported Program Model and Theory of Change. Affiliation and services agreements link the Network to ensure mission and brand fidelity, quality operations, maximum functional capacity, consistency in training, programmatic standards, and best practices. We are proud of the support, and connections we receive from our Network!