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Committees

Finance and Investment Committee

The Finance and Investment Committee plays a critical role in protecting and growing the community foundation’s endowment for the good of the community. The committee’s main responsibility is to oversee the community foundation’s financial operations and ensure its investment portfolio is managed prudently. Other responsibilities of the Finance and Investment Committee include:

  • Developing investment policy guidelines with a focus on long-term growth
  • Selecting asset classes and establishing an asset allocation policy
  • Reviewing management and investment costs that affect the community foundation’s portfolio
  • Evaluating the community foundation’s investment performance by comparing it to portfolios with similar assets and total value
  • Selecting investment managers and allocating assets among those managers
  • Analyzing the performance of investment managers relative to their respective benchmarks and peer groups
  • Replacing any investment managers that are not following the community foundation’s policies or achieving its objectives

Finance and Investment Committee members

Mike Zeleznik
Chair
Mike Zeleznik

Managing Member, Zeleznik & Associates
Board member since 2014

Mike Zeleznik has more than 30 years of experience as a CPA and licensed life insurance advisor. His expertise is broad and includes business and estate planning, wealth transfer, business succession planning, business valuation, estate and income taxation, and litigation consulting/expert witness matters. In addition to his professional experience, Mike has also volunteered with the Society of Financial Service Professionals, the Regional Prosperity Initiative, the Tax & Estate Planning Council of Akron and the American Heart Association of Akron’s Heart Ball.

Tommy Bruno
Tommy Bruno

General Manager, 91.3 The Summit
Board member since 2010

As general manager and executive director of WAPS-FM 91.3 “The Summit”, Tommy Bruno is skilled in developing one-of-a-kind media services, collective fundraising, and strategic marketing. He leads the Akron based non-profit organization responsible for the development, and creative content on the award-wining channels: Summit Flashback, KIDJAM! Radio™ and Rock and Recovery™. Tommy is a graduate of John Carroll University, and is a member of Leadership Akron Class XXVI. He currently serves on the boards of Summit Education Initiative, and Northern Ohio Golf Charities.

Steven Cox
Steven Cox

Partner, Roetzel & Andress LPA
Board member since 2008

An attorney at Roetzel & Andress, Steven Cox specializes in business and tax matters and estate and succession planning. He was recognized as one of the area’s top lawyers by The Best Lawyers in America® and Akron Life magazine. Steven has numerous professional affiliations, including the Akron Bar Association, Tax and Estate Planning Council of Akron, and the National Committee on Planned Giving. In the community, Steven is a graduate of Leadership Akron, chairman of the board at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, and an active board member of Embracing Futures and Children’s Family Care.

Rick Fedorovich
Rick Fedorovich

CEO and Managing Partner, Bober Markey Fedorovich
Board member since 2012

Rick Fedorovich is a certified public accountant with more than 30 years of experience in accounting and business advisory services. His professional affiliations include the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and PKF International. Rick is a longtime community volunteer and currently serves on the boards of BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Greater Akron Chamber, Welty Family Foundation, Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron Automobile Club and Akron General Health System. He is also a graduate of Leadership Akron.

Bennett Gaines
Bennett Gaines

Senior Vice President of Corporate Services and Chief Information Officer, FirstEnergy
Board member since 2016

Bennett Gaines is the senior vice president of corporate services and chief information officer at FirstEnergy, where he has been employed since 2006. Bennett is responsible for the delivery of information technology services, including the corporate IT strategy and governance process, as well as the communications/data network. He is also responsible for corporate security (both physical and cyber), flight operations and supply chain. Prior to FirstEnergy, Bennett was employed in various IT positions in Kentucky, Dallas and the United Kingdom. He has a bachelor of art degree from Baldwin-Wallace College and a master of arts degree from the University of Phoenix.

John T. Petures Jr.
Ex Officio
John T. Petures Jr.

President and CEO, Akron Community Foundation
Staff member since 2008

The majority of John’s nearly 40-year professional career has been spent in the nonprofit sector. In primarily senior development roles, he has helped organizations raise nearly $1 billion for the betterment of communities where he and his wife, Cindy, have lived, worked and raised their three children. John has previously worked with the United Way and the Arthritis Foundation, and studied at Penn State and Geneva College, where he earned a degree in communications and journalism.

Jim Pickard
Jim Pickard

President, Pickard Commercial Group
Board member since 2017

With over 30 years in the commercial real estate industry, Jim Pickard has an extensive background that includes office and industrial brokerage, construction and facilities management as well as sales support. He has served as councilman for the Village of Silver Lake and as Board Chairman for Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. He is a past chairman of the AABOR commercial industrial committee and has served on the board of directors for United Disability Services, Community Support Services and various other advisory boards. Jim is a graduate of Leadership Akron Class XI. He earned his bachelor’s degree in logistics/operations management from Michigan State University and an associate degree in accounting from Lansing Community College.

Derrick Ransom
Derrick Ransom

Vice President & Senior Financial Planner, KeyBank
Board member since 2017

Derrick Ransom has nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry with specialization as a registered representative and licensed insurance agent in Northeast Ohio. Derrick is the director of Copley-Fairlawn Youth Football and servces as a board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, Info Line and the Fairlawn Community Foundation. Derrick is a seven-year veteran of the NFL, a graduate of Leadership Akron and has been recognized in “Who’s Who in Black Cleveland”. He earned his BA in finance and international business from the University of Cincinnati.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing all of the community foundation’s yearly audit processes, internal control systems and public financial information. The committee is composed of independent directors that are not associated with any major vendors or customers of the community foundation. In addition to overseeing audit matters, the committee provides an open line of communication between the auditors and the board of directors. Committee members also have the power to conduct investigations into the community foundation’s internal financial systems, ensuring that the community foundation operates with the utmost transparency and fiscal integrity. 

Audit Committee members

Steven Cox
Chair
Steven Cox

Partner, Roetzel & Andress LPA
Board member since 2008

An attorney at Roetzel & Andress, Steven Cox specializes in business and tax matters and estate and succession planning. He was recognized as one of the area’s top lawyers by The Best Lawyers in America® and Akron Life magazine.  Steven has numerous professional affiliations, including the Akron Bar Association, Tax and Estate Planning Council of Akron, and the National Committee on Planned Giving. In the community, Steven is a graduate of Leadership Akron, chairman of the board at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, and an active board member of Embracing Futures and Children’s Family Care.

Rick Fedorovich
Rick Fedorovich

CEO and Managing Partner, Bober Markey Fedorovich
Board member since 2012

Rick Fedorovich is a certified public accountant with more than 30 years of experience in accounting and business advisory services. His professional affiliations include the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants and PKF International. Rick is a longtime community volunteer and currently serves on the boards of BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Greater Akron Chamber, Welty Family Foundation, Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron Automobile Club and Akron General Health System. He is also a graduate of Leadership Akron.

Mark Krohn
Mark Krohn

Founder and Managing Partner, The Law Office of Mark E. Krohn, Esq., LLC
Board member since 2014

Mark Krohn is an attorney, executive, entrepreneur and leader at The Law Office of Mark E. Krohn, Esq., LLC with more than 15 years of experience representing small- to medium-sized businesses in critical strategic initiatives. In addition to being an accomplished attorney, he serves in a variety of visionary and operational roles for three local companies. Mark is passionate about philanthropy and has been recognized for his leadership and community service. He also serves on the boards of the United Way of Summit County, the Akron Rotary Foundation and the First Tee of Greater Akron. 

Derrick Ransom
Derrick Ransom

Vice President & Senior Financial Planner, KeyBank
Board member since 2017

Derrick Ransom has nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry with specialization as a registered representative and licensed insurance agent in Northeast Ohio. Derrick is the director of Copley-Fairlawn Youth Football and servces as a board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, Info Line and the Fairlawn Community Foundation. Derrick is a seven-year veteran of the NFL, a graduate of Leadership Akron and has been recognized in “Who’s Who in Black Cleveland”. He earned his BA in finance and international business from the University of Cincinnati.

Stephen Strayer
Stephen Strayer

Senior Vice President, PNC Bank
Board member since 2009

An expert in banking and financial services, Stephen Strayer is a Senior Vice President and a Market Director of PNC Bank's Institutional Asset Management Group and a Managing Director at PNC Capital Advisors. He is a graduate of the University of Akron and has been active on several nonprofit boards, including Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens and the St. Hilary Foundation. His professional affiliations include membership in the Financial Planning Society of Northeast Ohio and the Leadership Akron Alumni Association.

Mike Zeleznik
Mike Zeleznik

Managing Member, Zeleznik & Associates
Board member since 2014

Mike Zeleznik has more than 30 years of experience as a CPA and licensed life insurance advisor. His expertise is broad and includes business and estate planning, wealth transfer, business succession planning, business valuation, estate and income taxation, and litigation consulting/expert witness matters. In addition to his professional experience, Mike has also volunteered with the Society of Financial Service Professionals, the Regional Prosperity Initiative, the Tax & Estate Planning Council of Akron and the American Heart Association of Akron’s Heart Ball.