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Sharon Sobol Jordan – Chief of Staff, Cuyahoga County, Ohio Sharon Sobol Jordan was appointed as Chief of Staff for Cuyahoga County by County Executive Armond Budish at the beginning of his first term in January 2015. Cuyahoga County is the 29th largest County in the United States and the largest County in the State of Ohio, with nearly 1.3 Million residents and over $1.3 Billion annual revenue. As Chief of Staff, Jordan leads the County’s top team, directly supervises the cabinet officers, and serves as chief strategy officer and policy advisor to the County Executive. Before joining the County team, Jordan served as President and CEO of the Centers for Families and Children (The Centers), one of Northeast Ohio’s oldest and largest non-profit human service organizations.
Jordan was the first woman to serve in this role at The Centers, which doubled in size and reach under her leadership to the point where it now employs over 500 and serves more than 25,000 people each year. The Centers offers a wide range of health, education and supportive services to give people access to the opportunities, relationships, resources and networks they need to be successful. Jordan was appointed to this role in September 2006 after serving as The Centers’ Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for over 6 years. Jordan’s career also has spanned the private and public sectors.
She served in an eight-year public career with the City of Cleveland as Law Director and special counsel to Mayor Michael R. White,playing a key role in many critical issues including the effort to keep the Cleveland Browns team, name and colors from leaving town; the dispute over development of the Chagrin Highlands; and protecting the community from the adverse impacts of the acquisition of Conrail by Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads. Prior to that, Jordan entered the professional services field by way of the Cleveland law firm of Schneider Smeltz Ranney & LaFond where she became a partner. Jordan’s commitment to the community is shown through her volunteer service and activism. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, The City Club of Cleveland, Global Cleveland, Medical Mutual of Ohio Charitable Foundation, Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, PolicyBridge, Temple Tifereth Israel and United Way of Greater Cleveland. She is a member of In Counsel with Women and the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2003.
She was recognized as one of the Smart 50 leaders in Northeast Ohio by Smart Business in 2017, Nortech’s Innovative Leader of the Year and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2014, Crain’s Woman of Note in 2013, and YWCA Woman of Achievement in 2012. A Cleveland native, Jordan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Indiana University and Juris Doctor degree from the Ohio State University College of Law. She currently is pursuing an Executive Master in Business degree from the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University (expected Spring 2018). Jordan is married to Cleveland attorney, David Wallace, a partner with Taft Stettinius & Hollister. They have three children.
