As Superintendent and CEO of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD), Dr. Amber C. Gibbs and her team support more than 15,000 Cuyahoga County residents with developmental disabilities and their families each year to live, learn, work, and play in the community. Gibbs worked in mental health before moving into direct care, supporting people with DD at an agency provider before joining Cuyahoga DD in 2008. She served in a variety of supervisory and leadership roles before becoming Superintendent and CEO in 2023. Notable accomplishments include leading a major effort to eliminate the Medicaid waiver waiting list in Cuyahoga County and building collaborative relationships that enable the community to better support people of all abilities. Gibbs fosters a culture of service excellence among the agency’s 600 employees, and she champions the voices of people who receive services from Cuyahoga DD, making sure they have a say in decisions the agency makes that affect them. Amber ensures that Cuyahoga DD is an example of inclusion for other community organizations by employing people with disabilities and including people with disabilities on the Cuyahoga DD Board. In addition, she ensures that the work the agency does has input from people it serves through an innovative Leadership Council that advises directors on strategic projects. A leader at the state level with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and other county boards, Gibbs was recognized in 2018 with the Ohio Association of County Board’s Partners in Excellence Award for her groundbreaking work to eliminate the statewide Medicaid waiting list. She serves on a number of statewide workgroups focused on improving waiver services and fiscal sustainability.  Gibbs serves on the board of directors of Community Fund Ohio, a nonprofit organization that serves as a Trust Advisor for people with disabilities throughout the state. A native Cleveland resident, she is an active volunteer in the community and has served on various nonprofit boards and as a certified foster parent. Gibbs is active in the Beaumont Parents’ Club and is a member of the Wittenberg University Alumni Board. Gibbs holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wittenberg University, a master’s degree in social science and psychology from the University of Chicago, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Dayton. She lives in Cleveland with her husband and three daughters.

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As Superintendent and CEO of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD), Dr. Amber C. Gibbs and her team support more than 15,000 Cuyahoga County residents with developmental disabilities and their families each year to...

Amber Gibbs, CEO Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities

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