The Team

Paul E. Pendleton

In addition to being the owner of Finding Leaders, Paul Pendleton is a former Co-Director of Leadership Services at the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Cuyahoga County. Previously, he has been the superintendent of the Danville Local Schools, Mt. Gilead Exempted Village Schools and Nordonia Hills City Schools. He was also part owner of the Santa Rita Collaborative which assist school districts with community engagement activities.

He has served the education community as a social studies teacher, football coach, athletic director, guidance counselor, assistant middle school principal, high school principal, superintendent and consultant. Mr. Pendleton has also served as an adjunct faculty member for Kent State University, University of Akron, Ashland University and Mt. St. Joseph College. He is the past Executive Director of the Mohican Institute, Executive Director of the Ohio Council for Academic Excellence, chair of the North Coast Quality Collaborative, board member of Ohio’s ASCD and served on the Board of Trustees at Baldwin-Wallace University. He resides in Sagamore Hills, Ohio with his wife Miriam. They have two grown sons, Paul Jr. (Ret/ Air Force officer, Executive with Lockhead Martin) and Ryan (Executive Director, North Coast Shared Services Alliance and Connect ITC).

Edward Vittardi

CEO/Consultant, Finding Leaders

B.A. – Cleveland State University

M. Ed. – Kent State University

In addition to serving as CEO and a consultant for Finding Leaders, Edward Vittardi is principal of Saint Albert the Great School for the past eleven years. During his time SATG School has been recognized ten consecutive years as a Top Workplace by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and a featured prominently twice. He previously served as superintendent of the North Royalton City Schools. with over 4,300 students. Ed had been very involved with middle school leadership at the local, state and national levels. He was elected to the National Middle School Association Board of Trustees (now AMLE) serving the north region. He is a former president of the Ohio Middle School Association. Additional past and present involvement include his role on the National Middle School Leadership Institute Teaching Team, the Ohio Department of Education State Superintendent’s Advisory Committee, and the development of the Ohio Middle School Association Development Network.

Ed’s work with Finding Leaders has enabled him to assist countless districts throughout all of Ohio. He has led many searches as well as providing board development for numerous districts.During his tenure as an educator, he has hosted over 200 visitations while giving over 250 presentations from neighboring communities to Vancouver, Washington. These presentations allow him to share his passion for all levels of education. Under his leadership, North Royalton City Schools, North Royalton Middle School, Independence Middle School and Medina Claggett Middle School have been recognized countless times for successful practices. In addition,during his tenure as principal, Independence Middle School was one of six featured in the National Association of Secondary School Principals study of highly successful middle schools. Ed has been recognized as the Ohio Middle School Association Educator of the Year, OMLA Gordon Vars Distinguished Educator Award, National Middle School Association Distinguished Educator and the Ohio State Principal of the Year, along with being a finalist for National Principal of the Year.

Mr. Vittardi resides in North Royalton, Ohio with his wife Jackie. They have two grown children, Eric and Holly and three grandchildren.

Royalton

Additional Consultants Include:

Russ Bennett- Former Superintendent, now Director of Leadership Services at the ESCNEO

Patti Cleary, Former Superintendent, now Director of Leadership Services at the ESCNEO

Steve Farnsworth, Former City and Career Center Superintendent, ODE Executive Liaison and Now Owner of Leadership and Learning Consulting Firm

Laura Garrett, Former Superintendent,

Charlie Irish, Former Superintendent, Author and Kettering Foundation Advisor

Dave Kircher, Former Superintendent, Now a Representative of an Architectural Firm

Marty Motsco, Former Superintendent,

Neil Roseberry, Former Middle School and Elementary Principal, Now a Private Consultant

John Thomas, Former Superintendent, Now Owner of John Thomas Associates

Kelly Spivey, Former Superintendent and President of BASA, and Now Executive Director of High Aims Consortium

Jim Betts, Former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Lawyer and Politician

Ryan Pendleton, Presently the CFO of Akron City Schools

Dr. Adrienne James, Former Superintendent of Sycamore Schools

Dr.Deborah S. Delisle former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of All4Ed, former president Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) and former assistant secretary of education for elementary and secondary education

Dale McVey, former Ohio superintendent and BASA executive

Bill Wagner, former Ohio superintendent and ESC NEO First Ring Director

Among the staff of Finding Leaders are authors who have written a number of books about public engagement and leadership. Published by The MASTER Teacher®, these books include:

When the Choir Began to Sing: A Story About Awakening the Leader Within Each of Us
The Power of Public Engagement: A Beacon of Hope for America’s Schools
Putting the Power of Public Engagement to Work for Your Schools and Community

A cumulative administrative experience base of more than 150 years is brought to each search. Our promise is to aggressively seek out the highest caliber of leaders.