Cuyahoga County committee advances slate of reappointments and appointments to full council

The Cuyahoga County Human Resources, Appointments and Equity Committee on March 4 voted to advance a group of reappointments and new appointments to the full County Council under second-reading suspension.

The committee approved resolutions to reappoint Judge Donna Congini Fitzsimmons and Chief Dorothy A. Todd to the Cuyahoga County Diversion Board, to appoint Xiomara Merced and Sahara Rivera to the Cuyahoga Regional HIV Prevention and Care Planning Council, to appoint Adam G. Jacobs to the MetroHealth System Board of Trustees and to reappoint Tanisha Warren to the Child Abuse and Child Neglect Regional Prevention Council. Committee staff read each resolution and Ben Schafer, speaking on behalf of the County Executive, requested that each nomination move to the full council under second-reading suspension; the committee moved, seconded and approved each item.

Why it matters: these boards and councils advise or govern programs that touch criminal diversion, HIV prevention and regional child-abuse prevention efforts, and MetroHealth governance. Advancing nominees under second-reading suspension sends them directly to the full County Council for final confirmation.

What committee members heard and asked Ben Schafer, representing the County Executive's office, introduced multiple nominations and repeatedly cited county code and charter authority for the appointments. "Pursuant to section 208.04 of the Cuyahoga County code and section 6.04 of the Cuyahoga County charter," Schafer said when recommending reappointments and appointments.

On HIV prevention nominations, Sahara Rivera, who introduced herself as "a PrEP navigator and trans health navigator at MetroHealth main campus," described outreach to younger people and Black trans women and explained PrEP basics: "PrEP is pre-exposure prophylaxis...anyone who is HIV negative can take PrEP...there's pill versions and there's also injectables...and there's always labs and checkups every 3 months." Councilmembers asked whether federal funding is secure; Rivera said programs were continuing but that "there are a lot of threats about funding freezes and cuts, nothing has been done yet."

Adam G. Jacobs, the MetroHealth nominee, described nonprofit and finance experience and said his priorities on the board would balance service to patients and staff, regulatory compliance and fiscal responsibility. "If we can meet those 4 goals — staff, our clients, the regulatory environment and our budget — then I think we could do a good job at our mission of helping people," Jacobs said. Councilmembers asked how he would approach financial sustainability given changes in Medicaid and pharmacy reimbursement; Jacobs said scenario planning with board colleagues and staff would be needed.

Votes at a glance - Resolution 2025-0085 (reappoint Donna Congini Fitzsimmons to Cuyahoga County Diversion Board, term 03/01/2025–02/29/2028): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved. - Resolution 2025-0086 (reappoint Chief Dorothy A. Todd to Cuyahoga County Diversion Board, term 03/01/2025–02/29/2028): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved. - Resolution 2025-0087 (appoint Xiomara Merced to Cuyahoga Regional HIV Prevention and Care Planning Council, term 02/01/2025–01/31/2028): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved. - Resolution 2025-0088 (appoint Sahara Rivera to Cuyahoga Regional HIV Prevention and Care Planning Council, term 04/01/2025–03/31/2028): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved. - Resolution 2025-0089 (appoint Adam G. Jacobs to MetroHealth System Board of Trustees, term 03/06/2024–03/05/2030): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved. - Resolution 2025-0084 (reappoint Tanisha Warren to Child Abuse & Child Neglect Regional Prevention Council for Great Lakes Region, term 01/24/2025–01/23/2027): moved to full council under second-reading suspension, committee approved.

What’s next: Each nomination advanced under second-reading suspension will appear on the full County Council agenda for final confirmation. The committee did not record numerical roll-call tallies in the transcript — members indicated approval verbally with "Aye." The committee closed without additional miscellaneous business.

Sources: committee proceedings and nominees' statements recorded in the March 4 committee meeting transcript.