Board + Staff

Zac has long considered Akron to be the epicenter of the universe. Growing up in the Westside of Akron, he traded over to the Eastside in 2012. That is where his wife, Beth, and he bought and rehabbed a home for their three sons.  Zac founded The Well CDC in 2016 and decided to repurpose a hundred-year-old church building. When he isn’t coming up with awesome ideas, he loves investing in his local church as a pastor and coaching his sons’ soccer teams.

Kelly grew up on the southside of Akron not far from where her grandparents lived when they were children. While she has spent a significant amount of time traveling throughout the United States and abroad, she found her home right back where she started. She lives with her partner, Steve, and thier four cats. They enjoy being outside, eating local food, and conversing about late-stage capitalism, regenerative systems, and yoga philosophy.

Jen is originally from Toledo, Ohio but has called Akron home since her freshman year at UA in 2013. She graduated from The University of Akron with a BA in Education and stayed in Akron because of her love for the city, the people, and of course Zippy. She started and currently manages The Well CDC’s Akron Hope program, oversees the Resident Services team, and supports the Fund Development team. She has 8+ years of experience working in philanthropy and loves that she gets to support students, teachers, and families with her daily work.

Jen received The Greater Akron Chamber 30 for the Future Award in 2021, The University of Akron’s 5 under 35 in 2022, is an associate board member for the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition, and serves as a steering committee member for Akron Public School’s College and Career Academies.

Before serving with The Well CDC, Chris worked diligently to start and maintain a thriving property management and housing restoration business. His pursuit of giving back has been evident through the use of his talents and resources. Over the past few years, Chris has had the opportunity to do remodeling projects in multiple states, work on disaster relief teams, and even do building projects overseas. Starting with a background in ministry and business, Chris has allowed his passion in the field of construction and serving others to fuel his work at The Well CDC.

After graduating from The Univeristy of Akron in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Anna decided to combine her love of coffee with her desire to invest in her community at The Well CDC as a Compass barista. Five months later, she came on full-time as the part-time Finance Coordinator and part-time Lead Barista. Now she assists in managing The Well’s social media, communications, and special usage, but you can still find her most mornings down in the cafe practicing her latte art.

In her spare time, Gwen is a professional cook specializing in southern cooking. She is a proud mother of two sons who she brags about constantly. Gwen states her favorite thing about working at The Well CDC is the people who she works with side by side.