Joel Ratner – Board Secretary

President and CEO, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

J.D., School of Law, Case Western Reserve University

Joel Ratner is President and CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, a local community development funding intermediary with over thirty years of experience investing in community revitalization work in the City of Cleveland. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress works to accomplish its vision for all of Cleveland’s neighborhoods to be attractive, vibrant communities where people from all incomes, races, and generations thrive, prosper, and choose to live, learn, work, invest, and play. Before joining Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Ratner served as President of the Raymond John Wean Foundation, leading its comprehensive effort to advance the Mahoning Valley. Prior to that, Ratner led the Neighborhood Connections Program at the Cleveland Foundation, which provides small grants to neighborhood groups working to improve their communities.

Email: JRatner@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Jaclyn Stephens Surratt – Board Member

Surratt Consulting Services, LLC

M.Ed., Elementary Education, Arizona State University BSHD

Early Childhood Development, The Ohio State University

As an experienced urban educator and school leader, Ms. Surratt is committed to turning around schools in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and across the country. She served as a founding teacher, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and School Culture, and Head of School at a successful urban charter school and has coached school staff to achieve an ‘A’ rating on the Ohio Report Card. She also served as the Director of Real Time Teacher Coaching for Teach For America’s Northeast Ohio Region. She currently consults with Cleveland area schools and districts to promote best practices in teaching and creating a positive school culture. Ms. Surratt’s passion, experience, and focus on results has driven her to success working with teachers and students in districts and charter schools serving traditionally disenfranchised students. She holds a Master’s of Education from Arizona State University.

Email: JSurratt@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Jessica V. Colombi – Board Member

Executive Director, Career Services, Cleveland State University

M.A., Psychology, Certification in Diversity Management, Cleveland State University

Ms. Colombi is a native Clevelander, born and raised in Shaker Heights. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Career Services at Cleveland State University. Before moving into the professional and career development space, Jessica was a project manager for the Division of University Engagement at Cleveland State, establishing diversity councils across campus and working as part of a team to secure the prestigious Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Previous to her tenure in higher education, she served as Chief of Staff to the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents (now the Ohio Department of Higher Education). Jessica is part of a small team that has developed cultural competence training for law enforcement officers, and to date has trained nearly 400 officers between Northeast Ohio and Michigan. She is a Gestalt Professionally Certified Coach (GPCC), has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from John Carroll University, and her favorite vegetable is an artichoke.

Email: JColombi@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Christine Eadie – Board Member

Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development, Cleveland State University

Ms. Eadie served as the manager of markets at the West Side Market, and prior to that worked for the Urban Conservancy in New Orleans and as a planner for the City of San Antonio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Tulane University and a Master of Urban Planning, Design & Development degree from Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.

Email: CEadie@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Scott Hamilton – Board Member

Director, Corporate Giving, MetroHealth Foundation

M.A., Psychology, Certification in Diversity Management, Cleveland State University

Scott Hamilton is Director of Corporate Giving of the MetroHealth Foundation. Prior to that, Mr. Hamilton served as Assistant Dean for Advancement and External Affairs at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland Marshall College of Law, and Director of Development with Hannah Perkins Center for Child Development.

Email: SHamilton@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Yan Ling – Board Member

IT Project Manager, Progressive Corporation

MBA, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

Yan Ling is an IT Project Manager and Scrum Master at the Progressive Corporation, leading multidisciplinary teams in enterprise projects.  Prior to that, Yan worked as a web applications programmer for 16 years. Having experienced language immersion as a child immigrant, Yan is passionate about multilingual education. Yan holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from Case Western Reserve University.

Email: YLing@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Jake Taylor – Board Member

Regional Manager for TEALS (Tech. Education And Literacy in Schools)

M.A. in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School

​Jake is the Regional Manager for TEALS (Tech. Education And Literacy in Schools). TEALS is a program funded by Microsoft philanthropies that supports high schools starting computer science programs by pairing software developers with classroom teachers a co-teaching model. Jake has a B.S. in Finance from Penn State University and a M.A. in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. After college, Jake spent two years working at Morgan Stanley and then transitioned to a career in education. Since leaving Morgan Stanley, Jake has spent five years teaching middle school math in Spanish Harlem and Cleveland. Jake has also spent several summers working for the Ohio Department of Education as well as the Office of Urban Planning in the City of Detroit. Jake loves education and all things Cleveland. He is excited to join the GALA board and support the school as it continues to grow and provide more students with a high quality education.

Email: JTaylor@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942

Margaret W. Wong – Honorary Board Member

President and Managing Partner, Margaret Wong & Associates Co., LPA

J.D., State of New York Buffalo Law School

Ms. Wong has built Margaret W. Wong & Associates Co., L.P.A. into a firm that is nationally and internationally renowned for its knowledge in immigration and nationality law. She is the current co-chair of the Immigration Law Committee for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and chair of the Cleveland Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section. Crain’s Cleveland Business has named her to their “Women of Influence” list and she is a member of the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. She holds a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biology from Western Illinois University.

Email: info@GALACleveland.org | Phone: (216) 315-7942