The Center for Community Solutions is appointing three distinguished individuals as Visiting Fellows. Rachel Cahill is being appointed as a Visiting Fellow, Public Benefits; Gayle Channing-Tenenbaum, Visiting Fellow, Children and Youth; and Zulma Zabala, Visiting Fellow, Community and Racial Equity.
The knowledge and experience these three leaders bring to Community Solutions is extraordinary. Each of them, over the course of their professional lives, has sought to improve the lives of vulnerable persons at the individual, neighborhood and system level. They are committed to involving clients, family members and neighborhood residents in their work, making sure their voices are heard and respected.
The knowledge and experience these three leaders bring to Community Solutions is extraordinary.
Rachel Cahill is a nationally recognized expert on the nation’s number one anti-hunger program: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She has worked with Community Solutions to develop a Benefits Access Partnership with the Cuyahoga County Department of Job and Family Services, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland to coordinate local and statewide advocacy and policy reform. Her previous professional experience includes roles with the Benefits Data Trust, Drexel University’s Center for Hunger Free Communities, and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. She also consults with state agencies and national organizations. Rachel has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Gayle Channing-Tenenbaum has spent over 40 years working on programs to support children, youth and their families focused on preventing abuse and neglect, providing behavioral health services and preventing custody relinquishment. For 35 years of those years, she directed policy and legislative strategy for the Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio. She has extensive experience in human services advocacy and public policy, strategic planning and in coalition building. She has received numerous awards. Most recently she has served as a consultant to Community Solutions on issues related to multi-system youth. Gayle has a Masters’ of Social Work from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology from the University of Cincinnati.
Zulma Zabala currently serves as chief executive officer for East End Neighborhood House, a multi-service family and community resources center serving the Cleveland community since 1907. She began her social services journey under diverse titles including service in youth development, women leadership/support services, HIV/AIDS awareness, Hispanic/Latino engagement, prisoner's advocacy with an emphasis on community corrections and organizing. As a speaker, advocate and educator, she is known for her fervent commitment to raising awareness about cultural humility—implementation, authentic engagement of all voices and historical and present impact of neighborhood centers work. She is a graduate from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law's dual degree program of Juris Doctor of Law and Master of Public Administration.
