Staff Board of Trustees
Susie Kaeser
Farewell and Thanks!
They say that time flies when you're having fun. It seems to apply to my 18 years with Reaching Heights. It has been a wonderful journey. Our programs bring out the best in people and they make a difference to our students, educators and our community. I am very proud of what we've been able to create from a simple idea that our pubic schools deserve the support of a citizen organization that can mobilize the community as a resource for its public schools!
This is a perfect time for new leadership and we've found the person who is right for Reaching Heights today. Patrick Mullen is committed to our children, our public schools, and our community. He is a communicator, listener, bridge builder and optimist. He's got energy and vision and lots of connection. I'm excited for him and for Reaching Heights.
I appreciate everyone who has helped make this labor of love rewarding every step of the way. The experience has increased my respect for our educators and the honorable work that they do on our behalf. It has also confirmed my belief in democratic institutions like public schools, and the essential role that citizens play in contributing to their quality.
It’s been a true honor to do this work.
Click here for additional comments by Susie Kaeser.
Patrick Mullen, Executive Director
Patrick Mullen’s service as executive director of Reaching Heights began Oct. 15, 2007. Raised in Syracuse, New York, Mullen and his family moved to Cleveland Heights in 1995, when his wife began medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He currently has two children attending the Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools, one at Boulevard Elementary and one at Roxboro Middle School, and a daughter at Western Reserve Academy who attended Coventry School and Roxboro Middle School. Mullen is a graduate of Fordham University in the Bronx with a degree in English.
Prior to joining Reaching Heights, Mullen balanced work as a freelance writer and editor with his duties as a stay-at-home dad. He has been a classroom volunteer for the last eight years in the Heights schools, served as PTA co-president at Coventry School, and is PTA Treasurer at Boulevard School.
Joy
Henderson, Assistant Director
Joy Henderson joined the Reaching Heights staff in 1999. The Mentor High School graduate moved to Cleveland
Heights in 1991 after working in Denver, Colorado as a geologist
for British Petroleum. Her children attended Fairfax Elementary School and Roxboro
Middle School. Her son attends Heights High and her daughter graduated in 2004.
Before joining the Reaching Heights staff where she is in charge of the Neighborhood Newsletter project and Thank-A-Teacher program, she was a volunteer writer for the Fairfax Neighborhood
Newsletter. She is now employed part-time as the Parent Community Liason for Heights High. She is a graduate
of Ohio University.
Krista Hawthorne, Staff Associate
Krista Hawthorne joined the Reaching Heights Staff in 2006. She and her husband have lived in Cleveland Heights since 1988. Their two daughters attend Coventry and Roxboro Middle School, and they have hosted five AFS exchange student daughters who attended Heights High.
Krista is a graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Rhetoric and Communication. She is also a busy, local volunteer as Area Team Chair for AFS Cleveland-East, treasurer of Coventry P.E.A.C.E., and an usher at The Cleveland Playhouse.
Before joining the Reaching Heights Staff where she coordinates the Patti Music Scholarships and office administration, Krista worked as an administrator for Allen Technologies, Inc. and spent 10 years as Franchise Marketing Manager for Proforma, Inc. and Management Recruiters, Inc.
