Ward 15

About Jenny Spencer

Councilmember Jenny Spencer was was elected November 2021 to a four-year term. Spencer is a 14-year resident of Ward 15, is committed to public service and has a decade-long track record of success in community development. Ward 15 neighborhoods include Edgewater, Cudell, Detroit Shoreway and parts of the Ohio City and Stockyard neighborhoods.

Councilmember Spencer was raised in Shaker Heights where she graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1996.

She holds an undergraduate degree in political science from The Ohio State University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Urban Planning from the Harvard Kennedy School. From 2005-2007, she served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, South America, where she met her husband Mario.

In 2008, Jenny began work with Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) as Project Manager for the world-renowned Gordon Square Arts District. In this role, she oversaw the re-opening of the Capitol Theatre, established the first Special Improvement District in a city neighborhood, and managed streetscape development and parking expansion.

From 2012-2014, she worked at Team NEO as a project manager to drive business attraction in Northeast Ohio. In 2014, Jenny returned to DSCDO to accept the position of Managing Director, where she supervised staff providing services ranging from economic development, planning and housing to marketing, events, organizing, youth services and crime prevention.

In 2018, Jenny’ began work with Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (now Norwest Neighborhoods CDC) as Project manager. 

Councilmember Spencer has worked on multiple political campaigns and considers her vocation to be community organizing. She and her husband Mario happily reside in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. In their free time, they enjoy gardening and hiking, as well as spending time with Jenny’s mom Flo (a Cleveland Heights resident) and Jenny’s brother Andrew and his family (Ward 6 residents).

She replaced Councilman Matt Zone in November 2020 who resigned to become senior vice president and director of the Thriving Communities Institute at Western Reserve Land Conservancy.