Our Staff
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Shawna Rohrman, PhD - Director
Shawna.Rohrman@jfs.ohio.gov
216-698-7596
Shawna Rohrman, PhD, is Director of the Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children, overseeing an early childhood service continuum from prenatal to kindergarten. She is a sociologist by training and brings this lens to her work to better understand how our social systems shape children’s early experiences and environments, and how we can improve these systems to ensure all children have opportunities to thrive. Shawna came to Invest in Children in 2017, serving first as Evaluation Manager and more recently as Associate Director. In each of these roles she has worked collaboratively with OEC/IIC’s lead agencies, community partners, and other County offices to help ensure a strong continuum of services for young children in Cuyahoga County. Shawna graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Sociology and Criminal Justice from Baldwin-Wallace University, received a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Akron, and has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Indiana University.
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Invest in Children works hand-in-hand with our Partner Agencies to accomplish our mission. Their work is central to our efforts and they exemplify our model as a public/private partnership.
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Alyssa Swiatek, M.Ed, PC - Associate Director
Alyssa.Swiatek@jfs.ohio.gov
216-348-3971
As Associate Director, Alyssa is responsible for overseeing programming, contracting and invoicing processes, and day-to-day operations at Invest in Children. Alyssa earned her B.S. in Psychology from The Ohio State University and a M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Alyssa is passionate about unlocking every young child’s potential, empowering parents, and providing system-level advocacy to meet the needs of all families.
Carli Cichocki – Senior Communications Specialist
Carli.cichocki@jfs.ohio.gov
(216) 533-9968
Carli Cichocki is a Senior Communications Specialist at Invest in Children. Prior to serving in county government, she contributed to communications work at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Youth Opportunities Unlimited; the Office of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and the Office of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. Carli holds degrees in photography and public relations.
Shauna Dewey, ME.d, MSW, LISW-S - Early Childhood Mental Health Central Referral Coordinator
shauna.dewey@jfs.ohio.gov
216-698-3553
Shauna Dewey serves as the Early Childhood Mental Health Central Referral Coordinator for Invest in Children. She triages incoming referrals, assesses the needs of families, links them to services and resources, and coordinates care with community agencies. She has been working with young children and families throughout her career in a wide variety of clinical settings and has a passion for advocating for their needs. She has a Master’s of Social work from Cleveland State University and a Master’s of Education from the University of Cincinnati with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis.
Stacy Garlington, MLS - UPK Program Officer
staci.garlington@jfs.ohio.gov
216-698-2214
Staci Garlington has over 25 years working in Higher Education and Medicine in Northeast Ohio and Madison Wisconsin. She joined Invest in Children in 2022 but has been with the county for over 6 years. She assisted with opening and managing a center for people with Parkinson’s disease where she assisted in the research for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for 7 years at the Cleveland Clinic and at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She earned a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies at Salmon P. Chase College of Law and a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Planning with a focus in Public Management at Cleveland State University. As Program Officer to the Universal Pre-K Program, she is determined to help mitigate the impact that implicit biases bring to underserved communities.
Jakolya Gordon, MSW, LSW - Program Manager
Jakolya.Gordon@jfs.ohio.gov
216-698-2215
As a Program Manager for Invest in Children, Jakolya will oversee several critical early childhood programs that promote the social and emotional well-being of all young children in Cuyahoga County. Jakolya's professional career, spanning over 19 years, has encompassed roles at both Cuyahoga County's Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Justice Services. She has devoted most of her professional journey to cultivating innovative child-serving program development initiatives to enhance family well-being. Jakolya's unwavering commitment to ensuring young children have access to essential services reflects her profound dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of families within the community. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Cleveland State University, specializing in community organizing and program development.
Eric Jett, MS -- Data and Evaluation Manager
eric.jett@jfs.ohio.gov
216-443-6255
As Data and Evaluation Manager, Eric works with Invest in Children staff, programs, and partners to monitor performance, manage evaluations, and communicate results. Before joining OEC/IIC, Eric spent most of his career as an educator, and he is dedicated to helping programs improve by learning from data and listening to the voices of the families they serve. Eric has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in mathematics, and he currently attends Kent State University as a PhD student in research, measurement, and statistics.
Katherine Ramirez - Administrative Assistant
Katherine.Ramirez2@jfs.ohio.gov
216-443-6577
Katherine Ramirez joined Invest in Children in 2022 and serves as our office Administrative Assistant,
with support responsibilities across all Invest in Children programs and staff. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and has prior public service, and early childhood education experience, with both the city of Fontana, and San Bernardino County,
California.
Megan Walsh, LISW-S - Family Support Program Manager
Megan.Walsh@jfs.ohio.gov
216-443-5101
Megan Walsh serves as the Family Support Program Manager, overseeing a portfolio of programs including Bright Beginnings Parent Support Department, FamilySpace, MomsFirst, Newborn Home Visiting and SPARK. She has a decade of experience providing direct service to families in the city of Cleveland as a Community Health Worker and therapist. For eight years, Megan impacted service delivery and navigated upstream strategies to address the racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality as the Deputy Project Director for MomsFirst. Megan has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Indiana University and a master’s degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University. Deeply passionate about equity and creating systemic change, Megan serves on the Board of Education in her community and on a board for a non-profit focused on early literacy.
Joy Welch-Bey, M.Ed. -- UPK Program Manager
Joy.Welch-Bey@jfs.ohio.gov
216-443-7574
Joy Welch-Bey serves as the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Program Manager for Invest in Children, overseeing the award-winning UPK program, including the budget and expenditures for all UPK sites as well as communication and policy creation for the program and maintaining strategic partnerships within the early childhood education community. She joined Invest in Children in 2023 but has been with Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services for over 10 years, where she has served the public in a variety of roles from Eligibility Specialist to Child Care Licensing Supervisor to ultimately managing the Job and Family Services Hearings Department. She holds a Master of Education degree with an emphasis on Educational Administration, from The University of Akron and is passionate about advocacy and mentoring for children and young adults in underserved communities. She has volunteered with several mentoring programs such as True2U and the College Now Mentoring Program.