Community Development Director Tania Menesse Named CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress has named the city of Cleveland's Community Development Director, Tania Menesse, as its next President and CEO. Menesse will succeed Joel Ratner, who's been at the helm of the nonprofit for nearly a decade, at the end of the month.

Menesse has been with the City of Cleveland nearly two-and-a-half years. During her tenure, she led Cleveland’s equitable development taskforce and launched the "Middle Neighborhoods initiative," which identified areas with existing assets that made them prime targets for reinvestment. Menesse was also a key player in the establishment of the Lead Safe Home Fund.

“I’m very grateful to Mayor Jackson for allowing me to serve in his administration,” said Menesse, in a statement provided to the media. “My time with the Community Development Department enabled me to see close-up how transformational this work can be for the residents of Cleveland. Taking the helm of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, the department’s most strategic partner, will allow me to continue that critical work."

According to the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress board, Menesse's top-line task off the bat will be developing a new strategic plan for the organization that continues its historic work strengthening neighborhoods but that also "embed[s] racial equity" in its core vision.

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