We are pleased to welcome the Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ Global Ambassadors 2024-2025 Cohort.
CCWA’s Global Ambassadors program invites emerging leaders in Northeast Ohio on a transformative journey to think more globally and to develop a broader vision for the future of our city. The program combines CCWA’s interactive global leadership course (LEADS) with an international study tour to Finland and Spain to explore business, social, and policy issues that resonate with Northeast Ohio’s emerging professional leaders.
We are pleased to introduce the 2024-2025 cohort: Donna Friedman, Camille Genise, Anshawn Ivery, Emily Keller, Nicholas Moses Ngong, Germaine Peña, Elena Stachew, Kristen Tubbs, and Kate Warren.
Donna Friedman is a native Clevelander, currently residing in the Cudell neighborhood. With more than ten years of experience in the wastewater and stormwater sector, she strategically guides the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s relationships with 63 communities as the Manager of Community Watershed Coordination. This includes leading stakeholder and governmental engagement as well as technical input, grant review and implementation, and local infrastructure planning. Prior to serving in this role, Donna was in the field collecting water quality samples, conducting fish surveys, and tracing illicit discharges. She has a master’s degree in natural resource management from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University Chicago. She also holds a Wastewater Operator II license. Her interest in improving and providing local food access for underserved populations in Northeast Ohio brought her to City Fresh, where she serves as a board member. Donna is focused on being an informed world resident, the interconnectedness therein, and capitalizing on relationship building for the benefit of all. In her free time, she hangs out with her dog, reads, plays sports with friends, and travels.
Camille Genise is a passionate entrepreneur, community builder, leader, and advocate for other founders and creatives. After six years in academia and nearly four years in corporate America, Camille embarked on her entrepreneurial journey to embrace her natural gift as an idea creator and co-founded FELOH, a beauty ecosystem connecting industry stakeholders to the largest community of diverse beauty lovers. In late 2021, Camille accepted a role as an Entrepreneur in Residence at JumpStart Inc., where she mentors and coaches over 20 early-stage tech founders using the lessons she learned along her journey. Through her work at JumpStart, Camille also created a community pitch competition called Pitch Cypher to help early founders share their business with the community and win non-dilutive grant funding. In 2022, Camille took her passion for community building to the next level and founded Tastemakers United, a Cleveland-based organization devoted to building community for diverse Millennial and Gen Z entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives through collaborative curated event experiences. Throughout the Tastemaker's launch year, Camille led the organization to amass over 1,800 community members consisting of tech founders, small business owners, artists, and creatives. In 2022, Camille was also elected to serve as a co-founder of FutureLAND, an annual multi-day tech and innovation conference designed to uplift Cleveland's entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this capacity Camille coordinated conference and concert logistics, sourced speakers and musical performers, executed artistic activations, and helped attract over 2,000 attendees in its inaugural year. In Camille's down time, she enjoys spending time in nature going on hikes, reading, roller blading, and attending local artsy events.
Anshawn Ivery is the Principal of Garrett Morgan School of Leadership & Innovation, a Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school focused on public policy, civic engagement, and personal development. To work in the same district that educated him throughout his K-12 journey is a great joy for him. He is a leader in education and has a passion for helping today’s youth academically, socially, and behaviorally. Anshawn believes in the future of our youth and understands that it will take a realistic approach, transparency, and relationship building. Anshawn has been in education for over a decade working in private, public, charter, and Catholic schools. He founded two schools: one as an assistant principal and one as a principal. He is on the board of directors for Northwest Neighborhood CDC and serves as mentor and diversity facilitator. Anshawn is also an invited keynote speaker and facilitator. He has been asked to speak on topics such as: bullying, holistic development, special education, self-identity and collaborative efforts; he has delivered presentations in over 10 states. Anshawn holds a BA in mild moderate intervention with a minor in philosophy and reading, a master’s degree in both higher education and K-12 administration.
Emily Keller is the Director of Sustainability Initiatives at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the largest Chamber of Commerce in the nation. In this role, she is committed to advancing sustainable practices throughout the region. Emily's academic background includes a major in environmental science and minors in business administration and sustainability from the University of Mount Union. Prior to her current position, Emily served as an Environmental Coordinator at Diebold Nixdorf, a global company, where she played a pivotal role in developing and implementing the company's sustainability strategy. Her efforts not only helped reduce the company's environmental footprint but also contributed to its overall corporate social responsibility initiatives. Emily is passionate about promoting sustainability as a business growth opportunity and is dedicated to making Greater Cleveland a more sustainable and environmentally conscious community. Beyond her professional endeavors, Emily is an enthusiastic volunteer, dedicating her time to various environmental and community projects. She is also an avid lover of nature, cherishing time spent outdoors. Emily's passion for travel has taken her to many corners of the globe, where she has gained a deep appreciation for the diversity of cultures and ecosystems.
Nicholas Moses Ngong is a Democracy Fellow for Cleveland Votes. In this role, he helps facilitate the Democracy Collective Incubator Program, a 9-month long, experiential leadership program designed to expand and build the participants’ capacity for, and commitment to, equitable civic engagement. He is passionate about building community, especially across lines of race, class, and age difference. After graduating from Centre College in 2018, Moses served as a volunteer with Peace Corps Mexico for two years before moving to Cleveland in 2021. He quickly fell in love with the city, working in the Community Development sector for two years, building relationships with grassroots actors and public officials. He now does community and local political organizing, working to build inclusive third spaces for communities to gather in. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Social Work at Case Western’s Mandel School, where he is a Mandel Fellow. He is the curator of Global Shapers Cleveland, a member of the Northwest Neighborhood Board of Directors, a foodie, and language enthusiast.
Germaine Peña is the Manager of Post-Secondary Initiatives at Esperanza, Inc. In her current role, she has successfully expanded program offerings, enhanced their impact, effectiveness and reach. Germaine has played a crucial role in improving services for college campuses and leading impactful programs at Lakeland Community College, Case Western Reserve University, and Cleveland State University. She has established key partnerships with educational institutions and corporations to advance Esperanza’s initiatives, focusing on empowering underrepresented communities in academic, professional, and financial areas. Germaine’s influence is not only local, but also global. Germaine conducted a survey on immigration administered across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Africa. She has shared her expertise as a TED Talk speaker in Peru, addressing immigration issues from an international perspective and participating in initiatives funded by the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Peru. For over 20 years, Germaine and her family have been actively involved in a missionary initiative in the Dominican Republic. She was recognized as one of Cleveland’s remarkable Latinos in the "40 Under 40" class, has been featured among the "100+ Latinos Cleveland Must Know", and honored as a Cleveland Council on World Affairs Pogue Fellow. A Cleveland State University alumna, Germaine has dedicated her career to enhancing student success in higher education.
Elena Stachew is the Northeast Ohio Strategy Consultant for Power a Clean Future Ohio and is the Founder & Principal of Adenium Consulting, a social impact strategy firm that works to build technical capacity of mission-oriented organizations in the areas of strategic planning, sustainability & environment, and engagement & facilitation. As a Northeast Ohio Strategy Consultant, Elena works with 12+ cities in clean energy, energy efficiency, transportation electrification, and land use that contribute to wide scale decarbonization. She is finishing her PhD in Integrated Biosciences and Biomimicry at The University of Akron and has a B.S. in Polymer Science Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Elena has worked in both mining and manufacturing and in ecological restoration, as well as a volunteer engineer and project manager for Engineers Without Borders. Elena has been a Global Shaper since 2017, a Climate Reality Leader since 2022, and a Climate Fresk facilitator since 2023.
Kristen Tubbs is SVP of the Senior Housing and Skilled Nursing Treasury team that sits within the KeyBank Healthcare Real Estate Capital Group. She joined KeyBank’s Treasury group in 2016 and serves as a team lead over a national book of business made up of publicly traded REITS, owner/operators, and third-party management companies. Kristen specializes in driving consultative engagements and in-depth process assessments that focus on delivering value-add solutions across the financial operation. Her team facilitates operational efficiency through the deployment of fintech solutions, core treasury advisory, and liquidity strategy. Her scope has expanded within KeyBank’s Real Estate business into the Income Property and Affordable Housing Group space. Kristen grew up on Long Island before attending Williams College where she majored in Legal Studies and Psychology, and played on the women’s ice hockey team. Prior to working at KeyBank, she worked at two private firms and volunteered in the Middle East on various occasions to support several initiatives related to Iraqi and Syrian refugees. In 2023, she completed her international MBA and took on a volunteer role as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) within Cuyahoga County. This organization improves the lives of children and families involved in the juvenile justice, child welfare, and family law system with CASA volunteers. She loves travel, pickleball, staying active, reading, and watching her hometown New York Yankees and Islanders.
Kate Warren is the Special Assistant to the Chief of Integrated Development in the Office of the Mayor at the City of Cleveland. In this role, she manages major cross-departmental initiatives that improve development processes at the City. She is especially focused on projects that create economic opportunity and strengthen Cleveland's neighborhoods. Prior to her time at the city, she worked on research and policy advocacy at The Center for Community Solutions, a local nonprofit think tank dedicated to improving health, social and economic conditions. Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Religious Studies and a Master of Public Administration with a Graduate Certificate in Urban Economic Development from Cleveland State University. She is a proud resident of Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood, where you might find her supporting local businesses, walking her dog Lucy in the Metroparks, or zipping around on her e-bike, Betty.
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