ABOUT NLDP

Program Team

NLDP Program Staff

NLDP and its companion program the Community Development Corporation Leadership Program (CDCLP, more information here) are designed to enhance the leadership capacity of two distinct cohorts of Cleveland citizens, engaged community leaders working in the City’s neighborhoods and leaders in community development corporations. The NLDP team helps support these leaders throughout their journey in the program.

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Damien Ware, Cohort V
Photo by Lisa De Jong

Program Director

Joe

BLACK

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Joe Black


Program Director


Joe has more than a decade of experience in community organizing and philanthropy, with a focus on resident-centered engagement and equitable investment in underserved communities. He previously served as Senior Program Officer for Community and Economic Development at the Cleveland Foundation and held community investment and engagement roles at the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, where he led the Central Promise Initiative. He also co-founded and continues to lead the Reverse Ride Along, a nationally recognized initiative that immerses civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders in resident-led neighborhood experiences, strengthening cross-sector collaboration and promoting community-informed decision-making. Joe is a graduate of NLDP Cohort 8 and Leadership Cleveland '25, and he serves as vice chair of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and on the board of the Health Comp Foundation. Joe lives in Cleveland with his wife, Amber, and their two sons Jordan and Isaac.

Program Administrator

Sandra

Kluk

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Sandra Kluk


Program Administrator


Sandra is a native of Cleveland and has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Cleveland State University. Her work has mainly focused on directing and managing youth programs and social change organizations. She started her career in the Buckeye-Woodland neighborhood of Cleveland as a community organizer. There, she developed community networks and strategies on issues of housing, banking investment, affordable insurance, crime and community development. Later, Sandra turned her attention to youth advocacy and assisted in the creation and management of a career and GED preparation training academy for out-of-school disadvantaged youth. Her most recent work was as Director of Special Projects for a foreclosure prevention counseling agency.

assistant Program Director, CDCLP

Jillian

SVALA

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Jillian Svala


Assistant Program Director


Jillian realized a passion for a career in social service after graduating from Penn State University. Jillian then moved to Cleveland Ohio to pursue her Master’s in Social Science Administration at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. She began her career with the former Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners as a program officer over school-based programming. This led her to an opportunity to serve as the Managing Director with the Council of Neighborhood Leaders, a membership coalition of 14 Cleveland-based not for profit organizations and Settlement Houses, all dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals and families by offering informal supports within the neighborhood of residence for each recipient. More recently, Jillian worked with City Year as the Chief of Staff for the Cleveland site. She currently lives in Avon Lake with her husband, two children and two dogs.

assistant Program Director, NLDP

Julia

Ferra

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Julia Ferra


Assistant Program Director


Julia realized her love for volunteering and helping others at two crucial points in her life – first, at the age of 8 when she began helping at a soup kitchen on Cleveland’s west side and later, while in college, when she traveled to New Mexico to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for a week over spring break. Julia grew up in the Greater Cleveland area and has always had a passion for seeing Cleveland thrive. She is a graduate of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies with a minor in Sustainable Urban Development. Following graduation, she moved to San Francisco to serve as a member in the AmeriCorps VISTA program at a nonprofit serving those experiencing homelessness in the city. After returning to Cleveland, Julia served on the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op’s Board of Directors and chaired the board’s Volunteer Committee.

graduate support manager

Marcia

shepherd

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Marcia Shepherd


Graduate Support Manager


Marcia spent 15 years empowering parents and students and educating them on the policies and procedures of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She is willing, able, and ready to help anyone in need. Marcia has a passion for breaking barriers for parents/students, with the focus on the significant role attendance has on a quality education. She campaigned for parents to get their students to school on time, ready to learn each day. A quote commonly used by Marcia is “children can’t learn if they are not present,” which is why her daughter has perfect attendance at Warner Girls Leadership Academy. While an employee of CMSD, Marcia held a variety of positions that have added rich value to her beliefs and have provided insight to the needs of her students. This passion grew and Marcia began to use resources to connect nonprofit organizations with schools to help support and contribute to student and community success. Marcia lives by the mantra “it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice."

executive assistant

Yuolanda

MURRAY

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Yuolanda Murray


Executive Assistant


Yuolanda Murray is the Executive Assistant for The Neighborhood Leadership Development Program (NLDP), The Community Development Corporation Leadership Program (CDCLP) and The Community Development Corporation Learning Lab (CDCLL) where she primarily manages the Program Director’s professional commitments, including scheduling meetings and all other matters related to the optimum administrative operation of the programs. She has over two decades of supervisory and training experience, 20 years of executive level administrative expertise, and over four decades working for and within the non-profit community that includes the Special Olympics, American Red Cross, and Birthing Beautiful Communities, where she received doula training. Upon matriculating from Howard University with a bachelor’s in Russian Culture and a German minor, she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. She served as an Intelligence Officer for 11 years attaining the rank of Captain.