Leadership
Team
Leadership
Team
JACKLYN A. CHISHOLM, PH.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jacklyn A. Chisholm, Ph.D. is President and Chief Executive Officer of Step Forward, the largest Community Action Agency in Ohio. Step Forward is a private nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives through education, personal and professional development programs, and support services. Additionally, Dr. Chisholm is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of It's Worth It Consulting, L.L.C., the author of the book Leadership Lessons: Notes From and For the Journey, and an inspirational blogger at drjacklynchisholm.com.
Prior to joining Step Forward, Dr. Chisholm served as Vice President of Planning and External Affairs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Museum’s strategic plan, management of government relations and community outreach activities, and Project Director for the construction of the Rock Hall’s $13 million Library and Archives. Dr. Chisholm also served as Associate Vice President for Community Partnerships at Case Western Reserve University, where she developed the Center for Community Partnerships.
She is the recipient of numerous awards including YWCA Women of Achievement, Crain’s Cleveland Business Women of Note, YWCA Women of Professional Excellence, Women of Color Foundation ISIS Award, Council for Opportunity in Education National TRIO Achiever, Cleveland Educators Forum Alumni Achievers Hall of Fame, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Great Lakes Region Community Honoree, City of Cleveland Black History Month Honoree and Who’s Who in Black Cleveland. Dr. Chisholm is an alumna of Leadership Cleveland and a past member of The Western Reserve Chapter of Links, Inc.
A Cleveland native, Dr. Chisholm is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where she earned three degrees: Bachelor of Arts in medical anthropology, Master of Arts in psychological anthropology and a doctorate in psychological anthropology with an emphasis in educational anthropology. Most recently, she earned executive education certificates from the Harvard Business School in authentic leadership development, women’s leadership forum and strategic perspectives in nonprofit management, as well as from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in nonprofit leadership, nonprofit financial stewardship, creating public value and performance measurement for effective management of nonprofit organizations. She has earned additional certificates from Cornell University Administrative Management Institute and the HERS/Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration and was selected as a University of Pennsylvania Wharton Executive Fellow.
Dr. Chisholm has served on numerous boards, and currently serves on the Ohio Urban Community Action Network (OUCAN) as board chair, and on the Cuyahoga County Early Childhood Education Partnership Council. She is an advisory member of the PRE4CLE Early Childhood Compact and United Way’s Council of Agency Executives.