Collaborative, innovative, leader and courageous are all words colleagues used to describe August “Augie” Napoli, the retiring president and CEO of United Way of Greater Cleveland. Napoli, 70, has served in his role since June 2016, as he turned the organization around and had a lasting impact on the community, according to those who spoke to the Cleveland Jewish News.
He announced his upcoming retirement last August and will stay on through September to ensure a smooth transition for his successor, Sharon Sobol Jordan, who is a member of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors and was announced as the new leader of the United Way of Greater Cleveland on June 27.
To celebrate Napoli’s retirement from United Way and his distinguished career serving the Northeast Ohio community, United Way held an event June 28 at KeyBank State Theatre in downtown Cleveland, featuring a slide show from throughout his career and remarks from community leaders.
“It’s really an opportunity to raise a glass and give a collective thanks for his over 40 years of contributions to this Northeast Ohio community,” Aaron Petersal, vice president of resource development and chief development officer at United Way of Greater Cleveland, told the CJN May 27.
Petersal, a University Heights resident, has worked for United Way for over five years, but before that he worked with Napoli at the Cleveland Museum of Art. He described Napoli and his impact as “an absolute sea change” for the historic organization as Napoli joined with the vision to transform fundraising efforts and to address systemic issues that perpetuate poverty. He achieved this through coalition building and collaboration that will have a lasting impact for years to come, Petersal said.
“Whether it be either place, he’s very large on collaboration and can see partnerships and potential collaborations which other people might not be able to readily see,” Petersal said. “Which have really resulted in some stellar collaborations and successes in solving problems.”
One of the moments from his time at United Way that stood out was his courage to point to racism as a root cause of poverty in the community during the 2018 annual meeting, said Ira Kaplan, executive chairman of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP and vice chair of United Way
“He hit that head-on,” Kaplan told the CJN June 3. “Which I know among some might have been a controversial position to take, but it was the right position to take. And that said to me right there that what we had was a courageous leader who was going to say what was important to be said and to be heard.”
Kaplan is a Lyndhurst resident and member of The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood and Celebrating Jewish Life. Another accomplishment Kaplan pointed to was the Lead Safe Coalition working to solve the lead paint crisis in rental properties in Cleveland by collaborating with organizations and the community to change the law, and raised $100 million to help property owners make their properties safe.
“Augie has been all about confronting issues like that and all about doing it collaboratively with the community so we can actually feel it moving in a positive direction,” he said.
As to Napoli’s retirement, Kaplan said it is one he richly deserves, but he will continue to be a voice and leader.
“I’m sure he is going to be still active and still a voice in this community,” he said. “And still work to be a senior leader in this community for advice and counsel.”
Paul Dolan, chairman of the board of United Way of Greater Cleveland and chairman and CEO of the Cleveland Guardians, also pointed to Napoli’s leadership through the organization’s pivot and his annual meeting address about racism as a cause of poverty as his lasting legacy on United Way and the community.
“I immensely enjoyed my time with him and really appreciated everything he’s done,” Dolan, a Chagrin Falls resident, told the CJN June 7. “It’s been a lesson for me watching him lead this organization through a major strategic change in who we are, and how we operate, and ultimately how we impact the community.”
The pivot changed the business model of United Way in terms of generating revenue by switching to be more donor-engaged, empowered and driven, and in terms of how United Way interacts in the community by becoming more focused on the people in need, which Dolan said will have a lasting impact on the 122-year-old organization and the community it serves.
“Hopefully going forward, United Way is far more effective in leading and collaborating with others in effecting real change in our community,” he said. “And if we’re successful in that front, a lot of the credit should go to Augie.”
He also wished the retiring CEO to have some enjoyable time off, but suspects Napoli will continue to be a positive contributor in Northeast Ohio.
Napoli reflected on his time over the last five years and what brought him to United Way, as the board saw a need for change in the organization. He said he was hired as that change agent. United Way of Greater Cleveland was one of the first local United Way organizations in the country, but the model had not changed with the times.
Related
For Augie Napoli, president and CEO at United Way of Greater Cleveland, a turn to Judaism came later in life.
It took some time, but over a three-year period he outlined the why, how and what was changing in terms of the strategic plan and business model, and led United Way as it found its way and identity in the community again, he said.
“We have found our way; we’ve redefined ourselves,” Napoli, a Cleveland Heights resident, told the CJN June 10. “We haven’t forsaken our core values and mission – what we’ve done is recalibrated how we do our work to match the environment in which we live.”
Napoli – a member of The Temple-Tifereth Israel, and active in Celebrating Jewish Life after converting to Judaism about 13 years ago – said if he could do it all over again, he would have come to United Way five years earlier. “This has been an honor of my life to serve this organization at this period of time and to work with a great team of staff and the board to really bring it back to life.”
As for his retirement, Napoli plans to take some time off with a five-week trip to Chautauqua, N.Y. with a pile of books he has been saving. With his wife, Joan Katz Napoli, not yet retiring from her career as vice president of education and community programs at The Cleveland Orchestra, he plans to stay in Cleveland and contribute where he can.
“It’s hard to get to this stage of life having been driving fast and hard for a very long time, and then stop altogether,” Napoli said. “I care very deeply about Cleveland, it’s a wonderful community.”