Malik announces additional Cabinet appointments
Mayor-elect Shammas Malik has announced the appointment of three more Cabinet members, as well as an additional appointed position.
Malik has designated Esther Thomas as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); Casey Shevlin in the newly created role of director of sustainability and resiliency; Stephanie Marsh as director of communications; and Patricia Porter in the appointed position of digital media assistant.
If those names don’t sound familiar, here is some background on Malik’s newly appointed staff.
Esther Thomas — Director of DEI
An Akron native and lifelong student of justice and equity, Thomas joins the city of Akron with more than 20 years of public service.
She has previously held the positions of director of diversity, equity and inclusion with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office; magistrate with Summit County Juvenile Court; and human resources director with Community Action Akron Summit. Additionally, Thomas has been the chair of the Akron Civil Rights Commission for three years.
While at the Sheriff ’s Office, Thomas was the project director for year-round Faith & Blue events, designed to unite community and public safety professionals. She said in a news release that she looks forward to working with city of Akron employees in courageous conversations and increasing equity in city government.
Casey Shevlin — Director of Sustainability and Resiliency
As the city’s first director of sustainability and resiliency, Shevlin will be responsible for helping coordinate and grow the city’s focus on environmental issues.
Shevlin most recently served as the senior sustainability analyst in the Corporate Responsibility department at FirstEnergy, where she was responsible for improving the company’s performance on a range of sustainability topics, including climate change. Shevlin has previously worked in a variety of communications, research and academic positions.
Shevlin serves on the Women’s Network Leadership Institute’s Advisory Council and on the Board of the Conservancy for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Stephanie Marsh – Director of Communications
Before joining Mayor Dan Horrigan’s communications team in 2019, Marsh was a senior customer content specialist at PR Newswire/Cision and was the president of Cision’s global LGBTQ+ employee resource group. She was promoted to her current position as the city’s chief communications officer in early 2022.
In her current role, Marsh oversees city of Akron professional communications, event coordination and press relations from the mayor’s office. She leads citywide marketing strategy as well as ideation and execution of city communications initiatives, community engagement and events.
Marsh also serves as one of the LGBTQ+ liaisons to the mayor’s office and is a board member and advocacy committee chair at CANAPI (Community AIDS Network and Akron Pride Initiative).
Patricia Porter – Digital Media Assistant
Born and raised in Akron, Porter obtained a Bachelor of Science in visual communication and a diversity studies certificate from Ohio University. She graduated in May 2023 magna cum laude and will join the mayor’s communications team in January.
While in college, Porter worked as the marketing and communications manager at a local arthouse theater from 2019-2023.
In her new role with the mayor’s office, Porter will work with other communications team members to create, design and deliver public relations, marketing and informational materials for the mayor’s office. She will assist with written material and all digital collateral as well as aiding in content creation. She will also assist with social media management, including community engagement and feedback.