ILENE SHAPIRO

Ilene Shapiro is serving her second term as Summit County Executive.  As Executive, she leads ten unique departments and serves as the chief fiduciary officer for the County, managing a budget of over a half billion dollars. In holding this office, Executive Shapiro strives to make a positive impact on the lives of all Summit County residents. She is the first woman in Ohio to serve as county executive.

 

Executive Shapiro is a champion for innovative projects and initiatives that foster collaboration and position Summit County and its 31 municipalities to succeed. Under her leadership, the county has led the charge in negotiating the largest financial settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors, utilize innovative tactics to attract new and existing business investment, improve security conditions at the county jail, implement cost saving measures for a new, state of the art consolidated 9-1-1 dispatch system and place emphasis on workforce diversity. While leading the county forward, she exercises responsible financial management practices and continues to maintain Summit County’s strong credit rating. 

 

Faced with the multi-faceted challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, Executive Shapiro swiftly invested $94 million in federal CARES Act aid directly into the community to help ensure those residents, businesses, nonprofits, school districts and others were not left behind. Through the lingering impact of the pandemic, she remains equally focused on the future and prioritizing major projects that benefit the entire County, like a regional dispatch center and a broadband fiber ring to provide high-speed internet access to every community. To ensure every resident benefits from these projects, Executive Shapiro proudly champions diversity, equity and inclusion efforts internally and externally.

 

Executive Shapiro previously served on Summit County Council for ten years, three of those leading the county’s 11-member policymaking body as Council President. Prior to her career in public service, Executive Shapiro worked in the corporate business world and was a small business owner. She is well-known for her support of women in business and philanthropy.

 

Executive Shapiro’s influence is felt at the local, state and national level though service on several board and commissions governing agencies, nonprofits and more in the sectors of government, social services, education, economic development, women empowerment, among others. Her distinguished work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. Spanning her business career to her time as a public servant, Executive Shapiro has received recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Women's Network, ATHENA International, the Akron Urban League, Crain’s Cleveland, Team NEO and Direction Home. In 2022, she received the Greater Akron Chamber’s H. Peter Burg Award and the Victim Assistance Program Bernard Rosen Community Service Award.

 

Executive Shapiro is a longtime resident of Summit County and currently resides in Akron.