Our Leadership Team
Nancy Mendez
President and CEO
Nancy Mendez is a dedicated leader in the human services field, supporting community needs, such as poverty, childhood education, and youth development. She became president and CEO of Starting Point, a Northeast Ohio non-profit youth and family services agency, in 2021.
Before leading Starting Pont, Nancy Mendez was the Vice President of Community Investment at the United Way of Greater Cleveland. Nancy was responsible for developing the department’s approach for the design, development, testing, implementation, and evaluation of community programs, and special projects. She was also responsible for ensuring an effective allocation process and grants management. Ms. Mendez also lead the 2-1-1 Helplink line that connects individuals in need with services in the community.
Nancy was named Crain’s Business “Woman of Note” and in a 2013 Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan by the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission.
Dawn Ambrose
Director of Human Resources
Bio Coming Soon
Janet Gibson
Director of Finance
Janet joined Starting Point in November 2022 as Director of Finance. She has over 20 years of experience working with non-profit organizations, including The Centers for Family and Children and Catholic Charities Services. Janet and the finance/accounting team are directly responsible for financial best practices and aligning those practices with Starting Point’s strategic plan.
Janet holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Management from Walsh University.
Alexander Leslie
Vice President of Provider Services
Alex supports a dynamic and talented team that serves countless child care centers, family child care homes, and out-of-school time programs as well as trains thousands of professionals a year; all to provide the best possible programming to children throughout our region.
Alex has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, a BA in Religious Studies from The College of William & Mary, in Virginia, and is an active volunteer with Lake Erie Ink (Chair of the Board of Directors), Cleveland Leadership Center (Co-Chair of the Cleveland Bridge Builder’s Scholarship Committee), and Cleveland Heights/University Heights Schools.
Kara Porter
Executive Vice President
Kara leads organization-wide initiatives, oversees the agency’s advancement and community engagement work, and provides project management and strategic counsel to the Chief Executive Officer.
Kara holds a Master of Science in Social Administration from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Baldwin Wallace University. She is a licensed social worker in the State of Ohio and is a member of Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2018.
James Starks
Chief Financial Officer
Bio Coming Soon
