Summit County Children Services Board of Trustees
Names Cassandra Holtzmann as Next Agency Executive Director
AKRON, Ohio – March 2022 – Cassandra Holtzmann, JD, Executive Director of Crawford County Job and Family Services (CCJFS) was officially named the next Executive Director of Summit County Children Services (SCCS) at a special Board of Trustees meeting on March 14. Ms. Holtzmann succeeds Julie Barnes who is retiring as SCCS Executive Director at the end of April after leading the agency for more than eight years.
At CCJFS, Ms. Holtzmann led a quadruple-combined agency including Human Services, Ohio Means Jobs, Child Support Enforcement, and Children Services. Before becoming Director there in 2017, she had served as Director of Ashland County Job and Family Services from 2011 to 2016.
Ms. Holtzmann is a labor and employment law specialist, certified mediator and Certified Labor Relations Professional. She has served as adjunct professor for Ashland University teaching family and community mediation. She has a passion for improving the child protective services system, and under the leadership of Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PCSAO) and the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association (OJFSDA), she has worked with colleagues to drive changes in the system at the state and local levels. Ms. Holtzmann also serves as Secretary for the PCSAO Board of Trustees and as vice president for the Northwest District of the OJFSDA.
Ms. Holtzmann received her bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University in 1989 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law in 1999. She was licensed to practice law in Ohio in 1999 and in the Northern District of Ohio Federal Court in 2002.
"The Summit County Children Services Board of Trustees is pleased that Cassandra Holtzmann has agreed to become the agency's next Executive Director," said Board Chair Anne Connell-Freund. "Her years of experience in and passion for Child Welfare is exactly what we need to further the great work that this agency provides to our community. Cassandra is known across the State as a strong advocate for children and families, with extensive leadership experience. These attributes, among others, will create a smooth transition in leadership at SCCS, following the legacy left behind by our current executive director, Julie Barnes."
Ms. Holtzmann will officially begin her new duties by no later than May 1, and her two-year contract calls for a salary of $150,000 per year.
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