From left: Colleen Clark-Sutton, Lisa Dopman, Michael J. Callahan, Vice President Betsy Bergen Shaughnessy and President Nora Katzenberger. Credit: David Schwartz Photography
President Nora Katzenberger Remarks:
View remarks made at Jan. 6, 2025 Organizational Meeting
Board Responsibilities:
Acts as a policy making body functioning according to the mandates of state law;
Represents the state of Ohio and the citizens of Lakewood on all matters and decisions dealing with public education;
Conducts itself as a nonpartisan and nonsectarian body as it speaks and acts for the community; and;
Acts as a committee-of-the-whole on matters requiring official decisions. No Board member has independent authority to speak for the Board.
In Lakewood, the Board of Education usually holds two regular Board meetings per month. These meetings are usually held on the first and third Monday of each month, but the Board can change meeting dates, times and locations. Regular Board meetings have an agenda prepared in advance and sent to each Board member. This agenda is also circulated to media and any other interested parties. The Board usually reviews all items at the first monthly meeting, but takes no action on most items. At the second monthly meeting, most items are acted upon by the Board.
Special Board meetings can be called anytime by the President of the Board, the Treasurer of the School District, or by two members of the Board. The agenda as presented must be followed unless altered by the Presiding Officer. All special Board meetings are open to the public. Executive sessions may be held to consider such items as personnel, purchase or sale of property, negotiations, conference with attorneys, details of security arrangements and matters required to be kept confidential by federal law.
The Board my adjourn or recess at any time. If the adjourned meeting is reconvened, it shall take up its agenda at the point where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. The same is true if the Board recesses the meeting. A recess is usually called for a shorter period of time than an adjournment, which can be reconvened at a future date.
The Board and its committees can meet privately in executive session to discuss one or more of the following issues exempted from public session:
A. consideration of the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee, official, or student;
B. investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or student unless such employee, official, licensee or student requests a public meeting; except that consideration of the discipline of a Board member for conduct related to the performance of his/her duties or his/her removal from office shall not be held in executive session;
C. consideration of the purchase of property or sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure or information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest;
D. discussion, with the Board's legal counsel, of disputes involving the Board that are the subject of pending or imminent court action;
E. preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of employment;
F. matters required to be confidential by Federal law or rules or State statutes; and
G. specialized details of security arrangements where disclosure might reveal information that could be used for the purpose of committing or avoiding prosecution for a violation of law.
No official action may be taken in executive session. An executive session can be held only at a regular or special Board meeting. After the Board meeting is convened, any member of the Board may make a motion for an executive session, and must state the purpose or purposes of the session by citing one or more of the reasons above. Upon receiving a second to the motion and a majority roll call vote of those present and voting, the Presiding Officer shall declare the Board in executive session.
Public comments addressed to the Board are taken after the Discussion of Agenda Items portion of the meeting. No sign-in is necessary. The President will call for statements from the audience. An individual must be recognized and must state name, address and subject for discussion. Comments should be relevant and concise. The Board President will be the judge of time and relevancy of the remarks.
It is not possible to answer all visitors' questions immediately at the meeting. In instances where additional information may be required, the matter will be referred for study. A school official will then get back to the individual as soon as possible.
The Treasurer of the Board shall notify and provide agendas for regular Board meetings to the media and all interested parties who have requested notification no later than two days in advance of the meeting. Notice of meetings shall include the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
Notice of special Board meetings shall be at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting specifying time, place and purpose of each special meeting.
Emergency Board meetings, which require the immediate official action of the Board, shall result in immediate notification of the media and interested parties by the member(s) calling the meeting specifying time, place and purpose of the meeting.
If you would like to be put on a mailing list to receive notice of all Board meetings, please contact the Treasurer's Office at 216-529-4096.
Nora Katzenberger has lived in Lakewood for a total of more than 20 years, first renting from 1996-2004 before moving to Los Angeles with her husband. She moved back to Lakewood in 2011 with her family and bought a house in 2012. Ms. Katzenberger grew up in Parma and graduated from Valley Forge High School in 1988. While a student at Valley Forge, she participated in choir and numerous clubs, and earned a National Merit Scholarship.
Ms. Katzenberger went on to University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 1992, earning a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She was editor of Penn’s literary magazine and worked with the alumni relations department. While living in Los Angeles from 2004-2010, she earned a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA Extension.
After moving to New York City in 1992, Ms. Katzenberger worked in Corporate Communications for the Bank of New York, where she produced all of the employee communications. She then worked in Public Relations for New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she coordinated a CEO speaker series and served on the admissions committee. She moved back to Cleveland in 1996 and worked in Development for University Hospitals, where she edited “Legacy,” the hospital’s donor magazine, produced Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital fundraising telethon, and planned the cancer center’s Five Star Sensation fundraiser. In 1999, she began working at Progressive Insurance in Public Relations, then led the Web Creative Group, producing the progressive.com website.
Ms. Katzenberger has served on the boards of the Lakewood Ranger Education Foundation, the Lakewood Foundation, the Lakewood Council of PTAs, the City of Lakewood Citizens Advisory Committee, Theater Alliance of the Beck Center. She has also served as PTA president of Horace Mann Elementary, is a LakewoodAlive volunteer, and was a member of Lakewood City School's Gifted Services Committee, School Branding Committee, Makerspace Committee, and numerous other committees and focus groups. In 2020, Ms. Katzenberger chaired the District's school levy campaign, which passed with 77% of the vote.
Ms. Katzenberger resides in Lakewood with her husband, Kim, and their two daughters, who both attend Lakewood High School; Shannon, a senior who will graduate this year and plans to attend University of Pennsylvania in the Fall, and Bridget, who is a sophomore.
Ms. Katzenberger was elected to the Lakewood Board of Education in November 2021 and is serving her first term on the Board.
Betsy Shaughnessy graduated from Lakewood High School in 1965 and received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Ohio University in 1969 and a Master of Business Administration from Cleveland State University in 1987. She is retired after a successful career with UH-St. John Medical Center.
Mrs. Shaughnessy is a past president of the Lakewood Alumni Foundation (now the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation) and served as a member of the Lakewood Public Library Board of Trustees prior to her election to the Lakewood Board of Education. She has been active in PTA, serving as Vice President and President of both Lincoln Elementary School PTA and Horace Mann Middle School PTA. Mrs. Shaughnessy is a member of the Lakewood Foundation, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, and League of Women Voters. She is a past member of Lakewood Kiwanis and Project H.E.A.L. She has also served as the Board representative on the Buildings and Sites Committee, on the Education Committee, and on the Citizens’ Advisory Committee. Mrs. Shaughnessy has also participated in the Youth Master Plan.
Mrs. Shaughnessy and her husband Charles have a son and daughter, both Lakewood High School graduates. Mrs. Shaughnessy served as president in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021 and 2022. Mrs. Shaughnessy has served on all standing committees. She is serving her eighth term of office.
Michael J. Callahan is a lifelong Lakewood resident. Mr. Callahan and wife Kristyn (Kadow) have three children. The oldest, Liam, is in ninth grade at Lakewood High School. Their second child, Kenna, is in seventh grade at Garfield and their youngest, Mary Frances, is a second-grader at Emerson Elementary.
Mr. Callahan has worked most of his professional career in the parks and recreation field, and is currently employed full time with the City of Bedford, Parks & Recreation Department. Mr. Callahan is a Certified Parks & Recreation Professional with the National Recreation & Park Association and a member of the Ohio Parks & Recreation Association.
Prior to working with the City of Bedford, Mr. Callahan worked for the Orange City Schools Community Education & Recreation Department. He also worked for the Lakewood City Schools Community Recreation & Education Department for nearly 10 years in a full-time capacity and many more years part-time. During that time he served in different roles managing aquatics and athletics programming for the department. Mr. Callahan also spent several years working in the banking industry.
Mr. Callahan has served the community in various volunteer capacities including a seat on the City of Lakewood Active Living Task Force (2014-2016), as a volunteer youth sports coach, and a city block club leader.
Mr. Callahan earned an MBA from the University of Akron in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University. He attended St. Edward High School.
As a hobby and part-time job, Mr. Callahan serves as a public address announcer for various collegiate sports teams in the area. He also enjoys running, having completed several marathons, and competes in triathlons.
Mr. Callahan served as Board President in 2023 and 2024.
Colleen Clark-Sutton and her husband (Tom) have lived in Lakewood for 30-plus years. Their two children attended the Lakewood City Schools and graduated in 2015 and 2019. Mrs. Clark-Sutton is an active volunteer in Lakewood, and beyond. She spent time in her children’s classrooms and served on districtwide committees to improve the Lakewood City School District for all students and residents. She was part of the leadership team for three bond issues and three levies for the District, all of which passed solidly. Mrs. Clark-Sutton sees serving on the Lakewood School Board as a culminating opportunity of her community service.
Mrs. Clark-Sutton is an adjunct professor of sociology at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C).
Mrs. Clark-Sutton's formal education includes: a graduate certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice through the University of Colorado; graduate level coursework at Baldwin Wallace University to earn an Ohio principal’s license for grades 7-12; a master degree in education with a teaching license in social studies for grades 7-12 and a bachelor of science in political science from John Carroll University. Mrs. Clark-Sutton grew up in South Euclid and graduated from Brush High School.
Mrs. Clark-Sutton has worked for non-profit organizations, the City of Cleveland, and public school districts. This included teaching 11th and 12 grade social studies and heading up professional development activities for colleagues. As a classroom teacher, Mrs. Clark-Sutton's primary focus was making students aware of the relevance of history to their own lives and opportunities for active participation in our democratic government at all levels.
Mrs. Clark-Sutton is a big supporter of local theater, especially Beck Center for the Performing Arts and Karamu House.
Lisa Dopman graduated from Lakewood High School in 2003, making her the third generation to graduate from LHS. She went on to Baldwin-Wallace College earning a Bachelor of Science in Middle Childhood Education with concentrations in math and history, as well as a reading endorsement. A Master's of Education was later received, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction. Mrs. Dopman spent seven years teaching middle school math in Maple Heights. During this time, she served on building committees, including PBIS, and was a union building representative. Currently, she is a language arts teacher at Ohio Connections Academy following a five-year hiatus to raise her three young children.
Mrs. Dopman and her husband, Mike, who is also a lifelong Lakewood resident, have three children. Sixth-grader Emma, who attends Harding Middle School, fifth-grader Maddie and second-grader Mason, who both attend Hayes Elementary. Each of the students are very active in sports. Emma and Maddie are both avid soccer players with Cleveland Force Soccer Club. They also both play basketball for Lakewood in the travel and recreation leagues. Mason loves spending his time playing in Lakewood's Peewee Basketball League and learning to play football. The Dopmans can most typically be found at a practice or cheering at the sidelines of a game.
Mrs. Dopman is an active member of the Hayes Parent Teacher Organization, serving in various roles on the executive board. Supporting the teachers in the school is always a top priority.
