Ricardo León was appointed yesterday as interim president of the Cuyahoga Land Bank following the sudden passing of its founder and longtime president Gus Frangos last weekend (Cuyahoga Land Bank). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Interim leader chosen after Frangos’ sudden passing
At an emergency meeting held yesterday, Cuyahoga Land Bank’s board of directors appointed Ricardo León as interim president of the organization after the sudden passing of its longtime leader and founder Gus Frangos last weekend.
León has served as the Land Bank’s chief operating officer for nearly three years. Beyond working side by side with Frangos during this time, León brings with him more than a decade of professional leadership and community development experience, specifically as it relates to Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Officially called Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp., the land bank serves to repurpose blighted and underutilized properties.
“The immediate goal is to maintain continuity of our work and stability,” León said in a written statement. “Ultimately, though, we want to continue Gus’ decades-long work to bolster our county and its residents and the mission he established at the land bank. He left a legacy that everyone in our organization is committed to continuing.”
Cuyahoga Land Bank Board Chair and Mayor of Warrensville Heights, Brad Sellers, said he has unwavering confidence in León’s ability to lead the land bank through this difficult time and transition.
“Ricardo has illustrated his vast experience and steadfast leadership since day one of joining the Land Bank,” Sellers said. “Further, Gus’ leadership focused on fostering growth and giving agency to his team, which will serve Ricardo well as he takes the helm. While we will continue to mourn this loss for a long time, we place full confidence in Ricardo to move the land bank’s mission forward.”
The organization suffered an unexpected loss on Saturday afternoon when Frangos, the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s president and general counsel, died of an apparent heart attack according to his older brother, Louis Frangos. Gus Frangos, of Hudson, was 69 years old. Frangos founded the land bank in 2009 and, as an attorney, previously wrote legislation establishing enhanced-capacity county land banks that was passed by the Ohio General Assembly.
The Cuyahoga Land Bank already had a lot on its plate. The day before Frangos passed away, the land bank won its largest score of Ohio Brownfield Program grants to repurpose blighted, long-fallow properties. More than $67 million was awarded by the Ohio Department of Development to the land bank to carry out more than 1,000 structural demolitions county-wide, most of which are residential, plus clean-up of large commercial sites so they can be repurposed with productive uses.
As COO of the land bank, León oversaw the day-to-day operations of the organization, supervised the senior leadership team, and worked to build and maintain relationships across the community. He earned a bachelors of arts in economics from Baldwin Wallace University and a master of science in urban studies with a concentration in economic development from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.
León’s career has spanned the startup, corporate and consulting industries prior to joining the nonprofit sector, including serving as a trustee for the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. There are 30 trustees of the conservancy.
He extended his leadership and community focus outside of the office through his participation on the MetroHealth Foundation board of directors, Fund for Our Economic Future board, Front Steps Housing and Services board, Neighborhood Family Practice board, Hebrew Free Loan Association board, CHN Housing Capital advisory board, and other community-focused committees.
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