Shawna Rohrman, PhD -- Director
Email: Shawna.Rohrman@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-698-7596

Shawna Rohrman, PhD, is Director of the Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children, overseeing an early childhood service continuum from prenatal to kindergarten. She is a sociologist by training and brings this lens to her work to better understand how our social systems shape children’s early experiences and environments, and how we can improve these systems to ensure all children have opportunities to thrive. Shawna came to Invest in Children in 2017, serving first as Evaluation Manager and more recently as Associate Director. In each of these roles she has worked collaboratively with OEC/IIC’s lead agencies, community partners, and other County offices to help ensure a strong continuum of services for young children in Cuyahoga County. Shawna graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Sociology and Criminal Justice from Baldwin-Wallace University, received a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Akron, and has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Indiana University.

Alyssa Swiatek, M.Ed, PC -- Associate Director
Email: Alyssa.Swiatek@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-348-3971

As Associate Director, Alyssa is responsible for overseeing multiple programs, contracting and invoicing processes, and day-to-day operations of our office. Alyssa received a B.S. in Psychology from The Ohio State University and a M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Alyssa is passionate about unlocking every young child’s potential, empowering parents, and providing system level advocacy to meet the needs of all families. 

Shauna Dewey, ME.d, MSW, LISW-S -- Early Childhood Mental Health Central Referral Coordinator
Email: shauna.dewey@jfs.ohio.gov

Phone: 216-698-3553

Shauna Dewey serves as the Early Childhood Mental Health Central Referral Coordinator for Invest in Children. She triages incoming referrals, assesses the needs of families, links them to services and resources, and coordinates care with community agencies. She has been working with young children and families throughout her career in a wide variety of clinical settings and has a passion for advocating for their needs. She has a Master’s of Social work from Cleveland State University and a Master’s of Education from the University of Cincinnati with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis.

Stacy Garlington, MLS -- UPK Program Officer
Email: staci.garlington@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-698-2214

Staci Garlington has over 25 years working in Higher Education and Medicine in Northeast Ohio and Madison Wisconsin. She joined Invest in Children in 2022 but has been with the county for over 6 years. She assisted with opening and managing a center for people with Parkinson’s disease where she assisted in the research for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for 7 years at the Cleveland Clinic and at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She earned a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies at Salmon P. Chase College of Law and a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Planning with a focus in Public Management at Cleveland State University. As Program Officer to the Universal Pre-K Program, she is determined to help mitigate the impact that implicit biases bring to underserved communities.

Jakolya Gordon, MSW -- Program Manager
Email: Jakolya.Gordon@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-698-2215

As a Program Manager for Invest in Children, Jakolya will oversee several critical early childhood programs that promote the social and emotional well-being of all young children in Cuyahoga County. Jakolya's professional career, spanning over 19 years, has encompassed roles at both Cuyahoga County's Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Justice Services. She has devoted most of her professional journey to cultivating innovative child-serving program development initiatives to enhance family well-being. Jakolya's unwavering commitment to ensuring young children have access to essential services reflects her profound dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of families within the community. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Cleveland State University, specializing in community organizing and program development.

Eric Jett, MS -- Data and Evaluation Manager
Email: eric.jett@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-443-6255

As Data and Evaluation Manager, Eric works with Invest in Children staff, programs, and partners to monitor performance, manage evaluations, and communicate results. Before joining OEC/IIC, Eric spent most of his career as an educator, and he is dedicated to helping programs improve by learning from data and listening to the voices of the families they serve. Eric has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in mathematics, and he currently attends Kent State University as a PhD student in research, measurement, and statistics.

Megan Walsh, LISW-S –- Program Manager
Email: Megan.Walsh@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-443-5101

Megan Walsh earned a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University with a Children, Youth & Families concentration and School Social Work certificate after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a business certificate at Indiana University-Bloomington. She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker-Supervisor with 10 years of direct service experience with families living in the city of Cleveland. Four of those years were spent with MomsFirst as a Community Health Worker and then as a Case Manager. For six years, she was a therapist for families with a child that had been incarcerated and a Senior School Services Therapist in a Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school. For eight years, Megan served as the MomsFirst Deputy Project Director at the Cleveland Department of Public Health. Following a year and a half at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine as Program Manager for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Megan is thrilled to return to the early childhood space as the Family Support Program Manager for Invest in Children. She is deeply passionate about equity and creating systemic change. As the Board President for the Beachwood City School District, a board member for Daily Dose of Reading and a volunteer for various voter engagement efforts, Megan is driven by her desire to “be the change”.

Joy Welch-Bey, M.Ed. -- UPK Program Manager
Email: Joy.Welch-Bey@jfs.ohio.gov
Phone: 216-443-7574

 Joy Welch-Bey serves as the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Program Manager for Invest in Children, overseeing the award-winning UPK program, including the budget and expenditures for all UPK sites as well as communication and policy creation for the program and maintaining strategic partnerships within the early childhood education community. She joined Invest in Children in 2023 but has been with Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services for over 10 years, where she has served the public in a variety of roles from Eligibility Specialist to Child Care Licensing Supervisor to ultimately managing the Job and Family Services Hearings Department. She holds a Master of Education degree with an emphasis on Educational Administration, from The University of Akron and is passionate about advocacy and mentoring for children and young adults in underserved communities. She has volunteered with several mentoring programs such as True2U and the College Now Mentoring Program.