Tim Tramble to head Saint Luke’s Foundation

Veteran community leader to head major area foundation

Timothy L. Tramble Sr., who has championed economic and community development for the past two decades in the Central and lower Kinsman neighborhoods — Cleveland’s most impoverished communities — was announced today as the new President and CEO of Saint Luke’s Foundation. Tramble will assume his new role on June 1, 2020.

Timothy L. Tramble Sr.

Tramble is well known and widely respected for his mission-driven leadership in empowering local citizens who have been most harmed by society’s racial, social and economic inequities. Among the highlights of his twenty-year tenure as executive director of Burten Bell Carr Development Inc. [BBC] are new housing development, the creation and launch of the low power community radio station WOVU-FM/95.9 [livestreamed here], and several economic development projects, including a new strip mall along Kinsman at East 72^nd St that houses BBC’s headquarters, Cornucopia Place, and a Cleveland Public Library branch; and BoxSpot, the innovative small business incubator that opened last year at 8005 Kinsman.

BBC grew under Tramble's leadership from a fledgling organization with an annual budget of $120,000 to a comprehensive community development corporation with a $3.1 million annual budget. He successfully built a coalition of allies and partners to support BBC’s community revitalization initiatives, projects, and programs that facilitated community transportation without displacement or gentrification. BBC stands today among the most highly regarded CDCs in Ohio and is nationally recognized for its work.

“Tramble’s energy and passion for finding innovative solutions for neighborhoods and communities is an inspiration. We are thrilled to have him join us as the new President and CEO of the Saint Luke’s Foundation,” said Colleen Cotter, SLF board chair and executive director of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

Tramble was chosen following a national search process that included input from partners, grantees, and the community. A national firm specializing in nonprofit organizations, Sally M. Sterling Executive Search, supported the Foundation’s process.

We listened closely to representatives from the Saint Luke’s neighborhoods and across Cuyahoga County. We heard what qualities were most important in the Foundation’s next President and CEO,” said Tania Menesse, SLF’s board vice chair and community development director for the city of Cleveland, who chaired the search committee.

The Foundation is expected under Tramble to sharpen its focus to ensure that the vision and mission guide its strategic work in the pursuit of health equity in the neighborhoods surrounding Saint Luke’s and throughout the county.

In accepting the position, Tramble said, “the opportunity to lead the Foundation is one I have prepared for my entire life. I grew up in a low-income neighborhood of Cleveland and spent my entire career supporting the overall health of our communities. My pledge to the board, staff and broader community, is to serve with a listening ear and a humble heart in steadfast support of work that successfully mitigates social and economic disparities impacting health outcomes in our communities.”

The Foundation’s former CEO, Anne Goodman, announced her departure last September. She remained in her role until April 3. She will serve as a consultant to SLF to ensure a smooth transition.

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