meet our team
Staff
Zac Kohl
Executive Director
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 a home for less than $5,000 and rehabbed it into a home for their three sons, Parker (8), Beckett (5), and Greyson (2). As if rehabbing homes wasn’t hard enough, 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.
Curtis Minter, Jr.
Operations Director
Curtis, aka Lil Curt is the son of a preacher man. He’s an Ak-Town reppa tell the day he dies, born and raised in the Rubber City Capital of America! Westside! Follow him around town and 9x out of 10 he’ll find somebody he knows. In 2014, Curtis left us for the Mile High, but couldn’t stay away too long. After a decade in the nonprofit sector, he’s got the skillset to accomplish any task. Liiiiikkkkkkeeee adaptively reusing 100-year old churches and building out launch kitchens!
Kelly McHood
Fund Development Director
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 their two cats, Chestnut and Peanut, on Akron’s northside where they enjoy being outside, eating local food, and conversing about late-stage capitalism, regenerative systems, and yoga philosophy.
Reuben Auck
Housing Manager
Reuben moved to Akron in order to study Construction Engineering Technology. After quickly growing to love the people and place of Akron, he and his wife Heidi moved into the Middlebury neighborhood in 2013. Reuben is part of the Housing Team at The Well CDC and is grateful for the opportunity to use his education and skills to benefit his neighbors. Outside of work, Reuben enjoys spending time around a campfire, hiking, playing basketball, and building with Legos.
Eric Razo
Compass Manager
Eric was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio but has called Akron home since 2010. After falling in love with this city and graduating with a degree in Education from UA in 2014, he decided to put it to good use and work as a barista for two years before coming on staff at The Well. He and his wife, Lindsay, have lived in Middlebury since 2016 with their two dogs Geno (3) and Sidney (1) who function as their children until they have kids one day. Eric has a passion for running, coffee culture, people, and is confused about his sports teams because of the location of his birthplace Youngstown.
Kelly Ashley
Business Manager
Kelly grew up in Northeast Ohio but was drawn back to her family roots in Akron, where multiple generations of her family lived and still lives. Kelly first came to the Well as an AmeriCorps VISTA which led to her current role, where she uses her administrative skills and mild obsession with finances and all things organization to help maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. She loves deep conversations and enjoys supporting the dreamers and visionaries from behind the scenes. She cares deeply about addressing systemic change for the flourishing of all people and loves that she can be a part of that mission at The Well CDC.
Nick Simonetti
Kitchen Manager
Nick was raised in the Firestone Park neighborhood of Akron. Nick attended Ohio University in Athens, OH where he earned a degree in Fine Arts. Upon graduation, Nick moved to Columbus, OH where he lived for the next seven years. He settled into a job at a custom sign company as a project manager. When the company relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada and Nick followed. Five years later, Nick and his wife Tara decided to move back to his hometown to be close to relatives and raise their daughter. Nick and his wife opened Twist Candy Co. in 2016 and have operated it for the last 3 years that can be found at local community events, and Acorn Alley in Kent, Ohio.
Rob Moore
Housing Assistant
Rob is a true Akronite and a Middlebury resident. He grew up exactly 148 ft From The Well CDC. Now he is invested in serving the Middlebury community and volunteering at a youth ministry in the Kenmore neighborhood. Rob is the Lawncare manager/Housing for The Well CDC! And is willing to talk Cleveland sports at any given moment!
Chris Norris
Housing Coordinator
Before serving with The Well CDC, Chris worked diligently to start and maintain a thriving property management and housing restoration business. He worked with commercial and residential clients as well as various churches/non-profits. After six years in the construction industry, Chris became a great addition to our staff full-time. 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 connect and grow our Housing team.
Jen Vilet
Community Engagement Coord.
Jen is a friendly force here at The Well CDC. She’s smiley, friendly, has a heart for others and Akron. It became her home six years ago when she came to the University of Akron. She graduated with a degree in Education and stayed in because of her love for the city, the people, and of course Zippy. Jen has a heart for children, teachers, schools, and people. Jen is a servant leader, an encourager, and loyal friend. In her free time you can find her sipping coffee, playing sports or board games, eating ice cream or cuddled up watching Friends.
Ken Evans
AmeriCorps VISTA
Ken Evans is a second-year VISTA focusing primarily on the Community Tool Library and Home Maintenance Classes. He spent his first VISTA year at East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation trying to improve food security in the East Akron Neighborhood. Originally from a rural community Ken now calls Akron home and is dedicated to making it the best city in Ohio. He is most excited to help to give people the tools they need (literally and figuratively) to improve their homes and better their community. Outside of The Well CDC Ken enjoys being politically active, nature/conservation, retro gaming, comics, and amateur archaeology.
