Leadership

Suzanne Burke is President and Chief Executive Officer of Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio. She has served in this position since 2005.

Suzanne is among the most active advocates in Ohio’s aging network, meeting regularly with legislators, local elected officials, and community groups in southwestern Ohio to keep them informed on aging issues and the need for reform of Ohio’s long-term care system. She is past President of the Board of the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Previously, Suzanne worked for Hamilton County for 17 years, including serving as the County Budget Director, Acting Hamilton County Administrator, and Director of the Department of Job and Family Services.

Suzanne has a master’s degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing with a minor in Gerontology from Miami University. She also serves on the board of the Leadership Council of Human Services Executives.

In 2021, Suzanne received the Cincinnati Business Courier’s C-Suite Award for CEO of a large non-profit organization and was recognized among other area CEOs for pandemic response efforts.  

Jacqueline Hutsell is Vice President of People Services at COA. She oversees the Human Resources, Training and Front Door Operations departments at COA.

Jacqueline has more than 30 years’ experience in the field of Human Resources and Training Development, including work for GE Capital and Cincinnati Financial Corporation. Before coming to COA in 2008, she was Director of Human Resources for Beech Acres Parenting Center.

Jacqueline has a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Marketing and a master’s degree in Human Resource Development, both from Xavier University. She is certified as a Professional in Human Resources by the Society of Human Resource Management, and as a Human Capital Strategist through the Human Capital Institute. In addition, Jacqueline holds a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University and is an SAOL Certified Consultant.

Jacqueline is a C-Suite Award honoree (Cincinnati Business Courier, Venue Magazine and Lead Magazine) and has been recognized as a YMCA Black Achiever and a YWCA Rising Star. She is a mentor through Xavier University’s Executive Mentoring Program and has served on several community and educational boards.

She is the author of the children’s book, Asha’s Journey to Her Incredible Self.

Ken Wilson is Vice President of Program Operations for Council on Aging. Ken is responsible for several departments, including non-Medicaid long-term care services (Elderly Services Program); Provider Services; and Transitional Care Services.

Ken received his master’s degree in Gerontology from the Scripps Center at Miami University. Prior to coming to COA in 1994, he worked at several retirement communities.

His publications include journal articles on quality and outcome measurement, the development of the Provider Quality and Performance Report, Ohio’s Aging Fact Book, and county demographic profiles of the older population. He is a frequent speaker at national conferences and meetings on aging policy, strategic planning, outcome measurement, and quality.

Ken is a recipient of the W. Fred Cottrell Distinguished Alumni Award from the Miami University Scripps Gerontology Center. The award recognizes outstanding leadership in the field of aging. Ken serves on the Board of Trustees of Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services.

Ken was named Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education’s (OAGE) 2021 Practitioner of
the Year. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that either have improved services to older adults through research and evaluation or have developed noteworthy partnerships with institutions of higher learning for the betterment of Ohio’s elders.

Judy Eschmann is Council on Aging’s Vice President of Community and New Business Operations. In this position, she oversees COA’s Aging and Disability Resource Center, Technology and Innovation Service Department, Project and Innovation Department, home52 Transportation Program, Community Wellness programs and new business activities.

During her time at COA, Judy has led multiple initiatives that use technology to improve COA’s programs and services and enhance the client experience. One of these was transitioning previously in-person health and wellness programs to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, with the home52 Transportation Program, she is leading the rollout of a unique-to-southwestern Ohio centralized transportation system. It will coordinate multiple transportation providers for on-demand and advance-scheduled trips to medical appointments and for other vital errands for older adults and people with disabilities.

Judy joined COA in 2019 as Director of Program Operations after retiring from Clermont County Job and Family Services (JFS). In all, she spent more than 33 years working for JFS agencies in Clermont, Clinton and Hamilton counties. She served as director at both the Clinton and Clermont county agencies.

Judy is active in the community as an executive board member for the Clermont County Safety Net Alliance, an advisory board member for the Cincinnati Museum Center and Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s SAVE Project and is a member of the Regional United Way Emergency Food and Shelter Program board.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of Cincinnati.

Ronnell (Ronnie) Spears is Chief Financial Officer for Council on Aging. Ronnie is a proud Navy Veteran who holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Ronnie began his 29-year career in home care in 1992, serving as CFO and part owner of Caring Hearts Home Health Care, a family-owned business. In 2011, after successfully completing an acquisition, Caring Hearts became part of Home Care by Black Stone. Ronnie subsequently became an integral part of the executive team at Black Stone, assisting the company in various capacities such as CIO, market leader and area executive director over the course of nine years.

After 29 years of service within the aging network, Ronnie transitioned his experience to Netsmart Technologies, a national healthcare IT organization. In his role as senior client sales executive, he assisted large post-acute organizations by strategically aligning them with electronic medical record (EMR) solutions.

For many years, Ronnie has supported the aging community through his leadership, participation on various boards and through political advocacy. In 2019, Ronnie received the Distinguished Servant Leadership Award from the LHC Group.

Ronnie is active in his community, serving as a longstanding board and trustee member of his church, as well as treasurer of the Christian day school. In his spare time, Ronnie enjoys spending time with his family.

Brooke Gully is Vice President in Training for Aging Services at Council on Aging. In this role she oversees several Medicaid and Managed Care long-term services and supports programs including Aetna MyCare Ohio, Molina MyCare Ohio and Aetna Specialized Recovery Services Program.

Prior to this position, Brooke served as COA’s Director of Medicaid, where she oversaw programs within the Medicaid division supporting older adults and those with disabilities, including MyCare Ohio programs, PASSPORT, Specialized Recovery Services and Positive Choices.  

As Director of Medicaid, Brooke was a key member of the Medicaid Operations team overseeing risk management strategies and ensuring operational compliance in all Medicaid programs. She has overseen several successful audits with the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).  

Brooke has been a licensed social worker for more than 15 years and became credentialed as a Certified Case Manager (CCM) in June 2021. Throughout her career, she has worked in a variety of settings including home- and community-based services, community mental health and protective services and school systems.  

In addition to her work at COA, Brooke is a trained Child Forensic Interviewer and a 2022 graduate of the WE Lead Leadership Development Program through the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. She has in the past been a member of the Little Miami Schools Traumatic Event Crisis Team and the Warren County Crisis Intervention Team.