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).

David Laurenzi

CEO/Consultant, Finding Leaders

B.S. - Mount Union College

M. Ed. - Cleveland State University

In addition to serving as a consultant for Finding Leaders, David Laurenzi is a Director of Leadership Services for the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Cuyahoga County. Prior to joining the ESC, Mr. Laurenzi served as Superintendent of the Independence Local School District.

He has served in three school districts in the State of Ohio including 20 years in the Independence School District. The first seven years were spent as high school principal and the last 13 as superintendent. Prior to that time, he spent seven years in the Medina City School District, two years as assistant high school principal and five as principal. Mr. Laurenzi began his career as a biology teacher and guidance counselor in the North Royalton City School District.

Mr. Laurenzi is a past President of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and has served on the Governing Board of the American Association of School Administrators. He has received advanced leadership training through the Ohio School Leadership Institute and has received the Buckeye Association of School Administrators Exemplary Leadership Award. Mr. Laurenzi has served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Northeast Ohio Technology Association as well as on the Board of the Lakeshore Northeast Ohio Computer Association.

Mr. Laurenzi resides in North Royalton, Ohio with his wife Rita. They have three grown children, Michael, Matthew, and Jessica.

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

Ed Vittardi, Former Superintendent and Middle School Principal, Now the Principal of a Private Elementary Schools

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.