Board Of Directors

Bobbie Beshara has served on the Freedom House Board since 2011 and is a graduate from Kent State University from which she holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary and Special Education. While studying at Kent State, Bobbie volunteered with Hattie Larlham. Upon completion of her degree, Bobbie taught at Roberts Middle School and later at Tallmadge High School, and Sylvan Learning Center.

While raising a family, Bobbie invested herself in serving her community on Richfield Village Council for 15 years until 2012 when she was elected Mayor of the Village of Richfield serving two consecutive terms. She is the current City Manager of the City of Rittman and serves as Council President for the Village of Richfield. Bobbie loves spending time with her adult daughters, Julie and Lexi, her cats Lola, Beeb and Steven, enjoys cooking, cross stitching, bicycling and is a fan of our Cleveland and Akron area sports teams.

Professional affiliations

• Wayne County Land Reutilization Board
• Vice President Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Manager’s Association
• AMATS Policy Committee
• Light the Night volunteer Leukemia Society

Joezette Naomi Williams is a decorated veteran who served four years active duty in the United States Marine Corps. While serving on active duty, she completed one tour overseas, deploying to Iraq in 2003, serving under Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. Given her extraordinary work, she was awarded the Naval Achievement Medal for her exceptional assistance and peace keeping efforts in Haiti. While on active duty, Ms. Williams completed her undergraduate work at Campbell University. She furthered her educational pursuits and attained a master’s degree from Ashford University, graduating with honors.

Additionally, she has over twenty years of faithful service in the Federal Government. Ms. Williams is also a real estate investor and a licensed Realtor with Key Realty. Ms. Williams serves on the Board for the Women’s Marine Corps Association, and she is the secretary and board member for Freedom House for Women. Ms. Williams is also a proud devoted mother to her wonderful son.

Professional affiliations

• Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors
• National Association of Realtors

Cuyler C. Costanzo is a graduate from The University of Akron, in which he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and management. Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree, Cuyler began working in the banking industry in 1984, expanding his professional career by opening Banc Ohio in 1997. Banc Ohio was a full-service lender, specializing in Conventional, FHA and VA financial loans, working to assist families in obtaining the American dream of home ownership.

Cuyler obtained his master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of Akron in 2012. After graduating, Cuyler was employed with Oriana House, Inc. from 2012-2019 where he served as Clinical Administrator in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Cuyler owns Bio-One Akron, helping those in northeast Ohio with crime and trauma specialty service needs.

Jacqueline was born and raised in Toledo, OH. A graduate of Thomas A. DeVilbiss High School, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Healthcare Administration Studies and a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Policy and Management.

Jacqueline has served in the Akron area for over 30 years. She dedicates her life to others from a deep seed of passion, hope and belief that we are here to help those who cannot help themselves. She accomplishes this by using her talents and gifts as an inspirational speaker, mentor, and fundraiser. She is a member of The Light Church where she serves on the ministerial staff, the board of directors, and the director of ministry.

Jacqueline is the mother of three adult children and a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Attorney Esther Thomas has 20+ years in public service. She served as Magistrate with Summit County Juvenile Court and presided over child abuse and neglect cases. She led the team of social workers, treatment counselors, peer recovery coaches, and attorneys, in the development of the Family Reunification through Recovery Court docket, a weekly Court for parents with substance abuse issues seeking sobriety and reunification with their children.
Magistrate Thomas has previously served on the faculty of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Guardian ad Litem Education Pre-Service Committee, an Akron Bar Association Mentor and as an elected Trustee for the 69,000-member National CASA Association and served as board member of the Akron Law Library.

She is proud to work with Freedom House for Women. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Becky Ryba has spent most of her career working in the area of child welfare, with special focus on the impact of substance abuse on families involved with the child welfare system. After 17 years at Summit County Children Services, Mrs. Ryba joined Summit County Juvenile Court’s newly developed Family Reunification Through Recovery Court, a family treatment court created under the guidance and direction of Judge Linda Teodosio. This initiative sought to quickly involve families, especially young women, in treatment and other supportive services that allowed children to be returned safely to sober and safe environments after removal. It was at this time that Mrs. Ryba began her collaboration with Freedom House and its director Eva Hartwell. It now extends itself to board membership, which she is very pleased to join.

A licensed social worker and (retired) licensed professional counselor, Mrs. Ryba has served on other boards in the Akron area, most notably Legacy III and OMCDC, a branch of Community Addiction Services.

Mary Martell currently serves as the Director of Education and Training for the Pathways Community HUB Institute®. She has more than 20 years of expertise in program development and post-secondary education. Additionally, Mary has worked closely with PCHI for several years, serving as director of a Pathways Community HUB (PCH) in northeastern Ohio as well as serving as a training consultant. Mary received her graduate and undergraduate degrees in health and human services from The University of Akron and is currently working towards her doctorate in educational leadership at Youngstown State University. She is actively involved in many community based boards and national committees including the Tyler Scott Lancaster Foundation of whose focus is the awareness and education throughout the community and nation, supporting all those who have been touched by diabetes, as well as, the Risk Reduction Research Network who has an overarching goal to explore ways to expand and move research forward in support comprehensive, community-based care coordination in efforts to address health and racial inequities and improve public health.

A note from Mary –
“As a seasoned Director, I understand the importance of optimizing business process without sacrificing personal connections with students, colleagues, and the community. My diverse background possesses an extensive history of program leadership, development and administration, quality assurance to model fidelity implementation, evaluation, and strategic development to strengthen programming and ensure best practice. I have been able to operate at an extremely high level to determine organizational efficiencies, effectiveness, and overall impact. I have overseen the strategic planning process, working with various partners to determine manageable, measurable goals that directly relate to departmental strategic planning. In addition, I founded, Martell Consulting, offering services in program development and data analyzation. The Canadian writer, and one of the world’s top leadership experts, Robin Sharma said the following in reference to leadership, “Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.” So, while I may have a rich history of leadership titles, it is the impact that I have on those that I serve, the influence that I can have on those I serve with, and the inspiration that I can instill in those who serve after me that has been my greatest accomplishment in this work”.

Ebony Porter is an accomplished leader with over a decade of experience in education, strategic leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and program management. She has consistently driven transformative change across various organizations with her extensive expertise.

As a leading consultant, Ebony has excelled in fostering inclusive cultures and implementing effective workplace diversity and equity strategies. She has developed impactful training programs, conducted organizational assessments, and formulated comprehensive diversity strategic plans, significantly advancing her clients’ DEI objectives.

Deeply committed to community improvement, Ebony has fostered strong partnerships with external organizations to enhance community relations, demonstrating her dedication to driving positive change and supporting inclusive growth.

Ebony is a strategic thinker and a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. Her dedication to fostering positive change, combined with her ability to lead with vision and empathy, continues to make an impact in the communities she serves.

She is a proud graduate of Ohio University, where she earned a Master of Education in College Student Personnel and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Management Information Systems.