Susan Jaros and Cindy Fink served together on the senior management team at the Cleveland Museum of Art during its $350 million transformational capital campaign. After each left the museum to create her own independent consulting practice, they continued to collaborate with their unique approach of integrating strategies for fundraising and communications to drive revenue and secure sustainability. Since 2010, they have recruited other highly accomplished leaders in fundraising and communications and unified their consulting practices into JarosStrategy. The firm singularly focuses on nonprofits, counseling mission-driven organizations of every size and sector.
For over 30 years, Susan has provided exceptional fundraising counsel and guidance to diverse nonprofit organizations. She has designed and executed major comprehensive and capital fundraising campaigns, provided strategic leadership and managed day-to-day development and external affairs functions for educational and cultural institutions.
Susan served as the Deputy Director for Development for the Cleveland Museum of Art. In that role, she was responsible for planning and implementing a strategic campaign to fund the museum’s transformational expansion and renovation, the first significant capital campaign undertaken in the museum’s history and the largest ever launched by a cultural institution in Ohio. During her tenure, the museum raised $217 million. Prior the Cleveland Museum of Art, Susan was Associate Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs at Case Western Reserve University. She was instrumental in planning and executing the university’s $350 million campaign, completed in 1994 with an attainment of $417 million. A Cleveland native, Susan earned a BA from Denison University and a JD from Case Western Reserve School of Law. She practiced law and taught at CWRU Law School. Susan’s civic and professional affiliations include Order of the Coif, former trustee of Cleveland Public Art (now LAND studio) and the Court of Nisi Prius. She was in the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2003 and received the Northern Ohio Live Rainmaker Award in Community Service in 2007 |
Cindy is one of the most highly experienced and creative communicators for nonprofits with an unmatched versatility. She has created communications and marketing strategies for capital campaigns, annual giving programs, audience development initiatives and institutional milestones for some of Cleveland’s most treasured nonprofits. She has served as a marketing and communications strategist for civic institutions, cultural organizations and other nonprofits around the country.
Prior to evolving her independent consultancy into JarosStrategy, Cindy was on the senior management team with oversight of marketing and communications at both the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum. At each institution, she developed successful communications campaigns for annual and capital fundraising campaigns, reputation building, audience development and earned and contributed income growth. At the Cleveland museum, strategic projects included leading communications for the museum’s $350M capital campaign as well as developing events and marketing campaigns to celebrate the openings of the campus transformation project. Cindy also has a decade of agency experience with a large public relations firm and an independent advertising agency. She created the Public & Community Affairs practice group at Dan Pinger Public Relations, Inc. in Cincinnati and managed the work of eight consultants serving nonprofit, cultural, government, education and civic affairs clients with a focus on integrated marketing, contributed income campaigns, reputation management and crisis communications. Cindy holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Miami University. |
Jessica's experiences as both an executive director and a development director inform her ability to help clients build campaigns and strategies that are mindful of their resources, leadership and staff abilities.
Jessica combined her successful consulting practice with JarosStrategy in 2017 after working with clients including Ohio City Inc., The Intergenerational Schools, Cleveland Leadership Center, and the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. She also served as campaign consultant for the Children's Museum of Cleveland, securing more than $10 million in funding to open its new facility in 2017. Jessica is an accomplished grant writer with more than $12 million in secured grants to her credit. Jessica served as executive director of Fairmount Center for the Arts, leading it through a successful campaign and rebuilding its infrastructure. She served as the director of development at The City Club and a foundation relations officer at Case Western Reserve University. She is an active community volunteer. Jessica earned her BS in journalism and her masters of public administration from Ohio University. |
Julie's communications work across diverse industries and organizations brings a valued perspective to JarosStrategy clients as she partners with organizations to define and persuasively tell their stories. She is recognized for her effective communications plans and her ability to help client missions and programs resonate with target audiences and align with fundraising goals.
Julie dedicated her early career to public relations agencies, including Cohn & Wolfe in New York and Dan Pinger Public Relations in Cincinnati. Since then she has immersed herself in Northeast Ohio’s cultural organizations and nonprofit institutions – working with Heights Arts, Ronald McDonald House, Akron Civic Theatre, and the Young Leaders program at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, among others. She serves as an Advisory Board Member for the “We Solve Problems Essay Contest,” which brings together Northeast Ohio high school students, business and civic leaders to solve a significant issue impacting the community. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Miami University and is an accredited member (APR) of the Public Relations Society of America. She has led a variety of training seminars on public relations and employee communications and engagement. |
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Debra Hollander
Project Management Lead |
Debra has a keen understanding of the interplay between fundraising and communications culled from two decades of work with nonprofit organizations of all sectors, including a large community foundation.
Prior to joining JarosStrategy, Debra was an independent consultant, producing creative and strategic marketing solutions for some of our area’s most respected institutions, including Montefiore, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Bellefaire JCB and Gilmour Academy. Her client work resulted in increased awareness, funding, admissions and reach for these mission-driven organizations. She has an extensive design portfolio and strong experience with event planning and social media marketing.
She spent the first part of her career at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland where she developed and implemented its strategic marketing plan. Debra graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Prior to joining JarosStrategy, Debra was an independent consultant, producing creative and strategic marketing solutions for some of our area’s most respected institutions, including Montefiore, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, Bellefaire JCB and Gilmour Academy. Her client work resulted in increased awareness, funding, admissions and reach for these mission-driven organizations. She has an extensive design portfolio and strong experience with event planning and social media marketing.
She spent the first part of her career at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland where she developed and implemented its strategic marketing plan. Debra graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Photographs on this page taken on site at the stunning Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. Learn more about MOCA here.