The 2 1/2 Minute Video
Meet Our Alumni
Join Our List
Welcome, Friends!
Friends of Breakthrough Schools is a non-profit development and advocacy organization. Friends of Breakthrough is responsible for closing the gap in public funding needed to provide quality education to thousands of children in Cleveland each year, as well as working with community, business, and political leaders to build city-wide support for high-quality public school options for all children in Cleveland.
Summer Newsletter 2017
Read our latest newsletter! Highlights include:
--Interview with Breakthrough’s first college graduate
--BASH 2017 recap
--Volunteer spotlights and opportunities
On behalf of all our students, staff, volunteers, and entire community, thanks to everyone for your support!
Did You Know?
High-performing, non-profit public charter schools in Ohio only receive about 1/2 the funding of traditional district schools.
Friends Board of Directors
William Koehler
Chair
Michael Cristal
Vice Chair
Charlie Lougheed
Vice Chair
Richard Pace
Vice Chair
Thomas Rudibaugh
Vice Chair
Brian Tucker
Vice Chair
Jeff Berlin
Treasurer
Jennifer Grossman
Secretary
Suresh Bafna
Frank Bird
Julia Bolton
Don Bullock
Denise Carkhuff
Jim Carulas
Timothy Coughlin
Jeffrey Cristal
Karen Davies
Martin Gates
Robert Gillespie
Vipin Gupta
Jim Kavalec
Andrew Kline
Andrew Lee
John LeMay
David Lowman
Michael Merriman
Alfred Miller
Bridget Moreno
Jane Outcalt
Peter Rome
John Sinnenberg
William Vogelgesang
George von Zedlitz
Brent Zimmerman
Contact Us
Friends of Breakthrough Office
Phone: (216) 539-9349
3615 Superior Avenue, Suite 3103A
Cleveland OH 44114
Our Staff
John Zitzner, President
jzitzner@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-7801
Susan Ertle, Executive Director
sertle@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-7803
Karen Solomon, Director of Annual Fund
ksolomon@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2795
Katie Emerson, Director of Engagement and Donor Relations
kemerson@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2685
Doniell Gill, Gifts and Grants Administrator
dgill@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 539-9349
Samantha Sopko, Director of Grants and Foundation Relations
ssopko@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2688
Sam Steinfeld, Director of Resource Development
ssteinfeld@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2646
Kelly Berg, Director of Volunteer Relations
kberg@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2818
Liz Hass-Hill, Director of Accounting
lhasshill@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 539-9349
Melodee McCrodden, Accounting Coordinator
mmccrodden@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 539-9349
Michelle Camou, Grants Associate
mcamou@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 539-9349