Executive Bios

Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Pianalto’s tenure at the Fed spans 20 years in positions including vice president of public affairs and COO. Before that, she served as an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and on the staff of the Budget Committee of the United States House of Representatives.

She is on the boards of United Way Services of Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, Leadership Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the Akron Center for Economic Education.

Pianalto earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Akron and a master’s degree from George Washington University.

Catherine Henry, M.D.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Henry joined the Clinic in 1994 after practicing medicine at the Henry Ford Medical Group in Detroit. She has joint appointments at The Clinic in the departments of General Internal Medicine and Otolaryngology and Communicative Disorders. Her specialty is women’s health.

Henry has served as president of the American Medical Women’s Association and lectures on topics including heart disease in women and domestic violence. She is clinical assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Henry earned her bachelor’s degree from Alma College and her medical degree from Wayne State University.

Barbara Danforth, executive director

YWCA of Greater Cleveland

Danforth’s career experience is in law and public service. She was assistant attorney general for the state of Iowa, and in Cleveland, was chief counsel and acting law director and later became the city’s chief prosecutor. Danforth served in Mayor Michael White’s cabinet, then became legal administrator of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.

She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and earned her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been active in Harambee Services to Families, East Side Catholic Shelter, the board of directors of Youth Visions and Project Friendship, and is president of United Way’s Council of Agency Executives.

Under Danforth’s leadership, the YWCA completed a major renovation project at the North Central branch and moved its headquarters to the YWCA Women’s Center.

Maureen Cromling, president and CEO

Ross Environmental Services.

Cromling runs a family-owned business in Elyria founded in 1949 by her father. Ross Environmental Services is a sister company of Ross Incineration Services and Ross Transportation Services, also owned by the family.

Cromling is a founder of the Ohio Environmental Services Industry and a member of the Environmental Technology Council Board of Directors based in Washington, D.C.

She has served on the boards of the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, the Lorain County Community College Foundation, Leadership Lorain County, Team NEO, the Nord Mental Health Foundation and the Ross Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports education programs in Lorain County.

Rose Jenne, president and founder

Jenne Distributors

Jenne Distributors is a telecommunications products distributor in Avon. Jenne’s previous entrepreneurial ventures include The Party Shoppe and N2Net Inc. Under her leadership, Jenne Distributors grew from $2.4 million in sales in 1986 to more than $50 million today.

Her company’s growth and success netted Jenne The Weatherhead 100 Award for three consecutive years. Other awards include the Top 20 Women Business Owners in Northeast Ohio, Lorain County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year, the Golden 30 Award for five consecutive years and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award.

Jenne sits on the board of Light House Inc. and is a member of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce.