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.
Join us for the
14th Annual Breakthrough BASH
This Is Our Why
Our latest video - was released at this year's Breakthrough BASH! It offers a glimpse into the essence of the Breakthrough Public Schools mission - our 'why'. We believe in the power of education to transform lives, and we'd love for you to share in our vision.
Join for Updates
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to perform fundraising, advocacy and alumni activities that exclusively support the operations and growth of the Breakthrough Public Schools management organization and all its member schools.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2024-2025
COMMUNITY PARTNER SPONSORS
Our students receive a high-quality education and thrive with the ongoing commitment and yearlong support of our community partners!
EMERGING LEADERS
Are you a young professional looking to make an impact on Cleveland?
Click here to learn about the Friends of Breakthrough Schools Emerging Leaders group leading the charge. Get involved today!
VIDEO GALLERY
Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow
Please enjoy this story of Parice as she goes from dreaming about launching rockets to actually doing it!
Belief, Passion, Courage, Commitment
Breakthrough students are up for any challenge! And, our educators provide the guidance and support needed to be successful in life.
Meet Our
Alumni
Follow four class of 2017 students, 6th grade through college, in these short vignettes.
Realizing
Dreams
Dreams are being realized. Listen to the journey of Celeste, a Breakthrough alum, college graduate, and active Cleveland citizen!
Alumni
Encouragement
Our Alumni are such a big help in motivating and encouraging our scholars!
Semper Virens Legacy Society
The Semper Virens Legacy Society was established to recognize individuals who have made a long-term commitment to Breakthrough Schools and was created in concert with the recent formation of the Friends of Breakthrough Schools Legacy Fund of the Cleveland Foundation.
If you would like to learn more about legacy giving, which helps to ensure long-term financial stability through the preservation and investment of dollars for future benefit, click here or reach out to Susan Ertle.
Friends Board of Directors
Jeff Berlin - Chair | Dave Loomis - Secretary | Ed Bell - Treasurer | John LeMay - Vice Chair
Elle Carolan - Vice Chair | Karen Long Cascio - Vice Chair | Bill Fisher - Vice Chair
Megan Mayhugh - Vice Chair | Lauren Miller - Vice Chair | Larry Orwin - Vice Chair
Andrew Bennett | Rudolf Bentlage | Amanda Brady | Matt Brewer | Molly Brown | James Carulas | Susan Chiancone
David Cook | Jeffrey Cristal | Michael Cristal | Cosmoronde Danielly | Tom Dittoe | Mike de Windt
Traci Forrester | Free Foutz | Andrew Gehrlein | Jim Huber | Celeste Kamasa Scott | Jim Kavalec | John King | Aurora Kitko
Jim LeMay | Dan Mascaro | Laura Mimura | Craig Panzica | Mario Pena
Peter Rome | Bryan Schauer | Seku Shabazz | BJ Solaru | Sanjay Vyas
LIFETIME BOARD MEMBERS
Jeanette Grasselli Brown | David Gunning | Michael Merriman | Bridget Moreno | John Sinnenberg
Friends of Breakthrough Team
Susan Ertle, President
sertle@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-7803
Timothy Mann, Senior Advancement Officer
tmann@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2604
Karen Solomon, Senior Director of Annual Fund
ksolomon@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2795
Kelly Berg, Chief Development Officer
kberg@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2818
Colleen O'Brien, Director of Grants and Foundation Relations
cbrien@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-2688
Melodee McCrodden, Director of Annual Fund Operations and Stewardship
mmccrodden@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-8760
Kelly Clifford, Director of Board and Office Operations
kclifford@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 373-7411
Lisa Whitesell, Grants Administrator
lwhitesell@breakthroughschools.org
Beyond Breakthrough Team
Brittany Hurd, Chief Alumni Success Officer
bhurd@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 403-6029
Jillian Keller, Sr. Director of Postsecondary Success
jkeller@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 618-2224
Nate Bartley, Director of Data & Salesforce Admin
nbartley@breakthroughschools.org
Jayda Wimbley, Alumni Success Coordinator
jwimbley@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 881-1689 x283
Cullin Fish, Director of High School Success
cfish@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 618-2273
Lori Lawson, Director of High School Placement, Citizens
llawson@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 881-1689
Jenna Martinez, High School Success Coordinator
jmartinez@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 956-8551
Reginald Shumpert, Director of High School Placement, Preps
rshumpert@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 881-1689
Jessica Vaughn, Program Manager
jvaughn@breakthroughschools.org
(216) 410-1032