CIA welcomes new community, business leaders to Board of Directors

The Cleveland Institute of Art recently welcomed five members to its Board of Directors. These leaders—with backgrounds in product design, construction, administration, law, finances and entrepreneurship—represent CIA’s 2024 Board cohort. Combined, their experience and diverse perspectives will help shape CIA for years to come. Each new member may serve up to three three-year terms.

“As we continue to reimagine and reposition CIA for the future, it is more important than ever that we have Board members who possess the skills and strategic thinking needed to guide and oversee our institution,” says Cynthia Prior Gascoigne, chair of the CIA Board of Directors. “I am particularly pleased with this year’s class of directors, who bring a range of perspectives from backgrounds in law, finance and operations. I am confident that their leadership will positively impact our institution.”

Lisa Codispoti is the Chief Operating and People Officer for the Cleveland Museum of Art. She is responsible for all visitor-facing operations, including Visitor Services, Protection Services, Volunteer Services, Building Services, Retail Operations, Catering Services, Special Events, and the Human Resources and Employee Communications functions of the museum. Her career has been focused on both operations and human resources in diverse industries, leading teams both domestically and internationally.

Codispoti started her career at GE Capital and then worked for KeyCorp. After leaving Key, she was the Chief Human Resource Officer for OSI, a global outsourcing firm. Before joining the CMA in 2019, Lisa worked for ERC as the Head of Consulting, assisting organizations with cultural transformation, leadership development, change management, coaching and employee engagement.

Jim Keene started Keene Building Products (now Keene, Inc.) in his basement, and ever since, he has continued to build on a premier construction industry company. One of the larger privately held building products groups, Keene, Inc. makes waterproofing, coatings, underlayments and noise-control materials with 200 employees and 450,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The company is growing through technical innovation by developing many patented and branded products (DRIWALL, Easy Fur, Viper Vent, HippoCoat, for example) marketed as Keene Ideas. Along the way the company has added brands through acquisition that include MortarNet, The Barrett Company, Cru Performance Coatings, Floorprep.com, Gypsum Floors of America and Keene Village Plastics.

José Longoria is a refugee from communist Cuba. He arrived with his family in Florida in 1970. His interest in art was accelerated by the fact that he couldn’t speak a word of English in seventh grade. Unable to read or write in English, he could only excel in art or math. Art worked better. Longoria graduated from CIA in 1981 after majoring in Industrial Design and minoring in Painting. He studied under CIA icons such as Viktor Schreckengost '29, Julian Stanczak '54 and Bob Jergens '60.

Longoria founded Longoria Design in 1987. At first a one-man product-design firm, it evolved into a licensing business. International companies such as Conair, Hasbro and Fisher-Price have looked to Longoria Design to license patented innovations that make their product lines more competitive.

Svetlana M. Loshakov, CFA is the Chief Investment Officer of Ridama Capital LLC. As a CIO of a single-family office, she is responsible for the overall performance of a global, institutional investment portfolio that spans various asset classes. The family has been an early adopter of alternative investments, with the first allocations dating back to the late 1980s.

Prior to joining Ridama, Loshakov spent nearly four years with Clearstead Advisors, LLC, an institutional consulting and private wealth management company. There, she led the Investment Office overseeing asset allocation, conducting investment manager due diligence and market research, producing relevant newsletters and whitepapers, and working closely with Institutional Consulting and Private Client Groups to create value for client portfolios.

Susan Stone is co-chair of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP’s Student & Athlete Defense/Title IX Practice Group. She also co-chairs the law firm’s Criminal, Cyber & White-Collar Practice Group. Her life work is to help students in crisis and to meet their legal needs. Recognizing the need for legal services dedicated to protecting students, professors and individuals with disabilities, Stone handles matters ranging from special education issues to student disciplinary matters and Title IX investigations.

Stone has the knowledge and experience required to navigate due process complaints and the shaping of 504 Plans and Individualized Education Programs. She also handles student matters involving hazing, bullying and social media, and over the years, she has gained a national reputation for representing students and professors in Title IX cases.

Image: The Cleveland Institute of Art's 2024–25 cohort of Board of Directors consists of, clockwise from top left, Lisa Codispoti, Jim Keene, José Longoria, Svetlana M. Loshakov and Susan Stone.