Jeffrey D. Dillman, Executive Director
Jeffrey D. Dillman is the Executive Director of the Housing Center. He obtained his B.A. in 1986 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his J.D. in 1989 from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2002-2005 he was an Associate Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he taught and supervised law students in the civil litigation and immigration clinics. He has also taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Dayton School of Law and as an Adjunct Professor and Supervising Attorney at the University of Michigan School of Law.

Jeffrey was a Staff Attorney at Housing Advocates, Inc., a fair housing organization in Cleveland, Ohio, and for six years was in private practice in Michigan, with a practice focusing on prison civil rights litigation. Among the cases Mr. Dillman co-counseled were Glover v. Johnson, an equal protection case involving women prisoners in Michigan; and Doe v. MDOC, a class action involving HIV+ prisoners who were being denied community residential placement based on that status.

Carrie Bender Pleasants, Associate Director
Carrie Pleasants is the Associate Director at the Housing Center. She received her B.A. in Geography with a minor in Cartography from Kent State University in 1997, and her Master’s Degree in Geography with a specialization in urban geography from Kent State University in 2001. Carrie has been with the Housing Center since 2000, and was the Director of Research & Investigation since 2001 until becoming the Associate Director in January 2008.

She has served as the testing coordinator or supervisor for all testing projects performed by the Housing Center since February of 2000 and has supervised more than 2,000 rental, lending, sales, insurance, and accessibility tests. In addition, she has conducted a number of research projects at the Housing Center related to housing and lending discrimination, payday lending, and impediments to fair housing.

Darlene English, Education & Outreach Coordinator
Darlene English joined the Housing Center in January 2008. She is responsible for all the education and outreach efforts, including developing workshops, conferences, and special events. Darlene also creates program agendas, recruits speakers, coordinates event logistics and organizes continuing education credits for attendees so they may uphold their professional licenses. In addition, she is responsible for design and coordination of marketing materials for the agency, including the quarterly newsletter and brochures.

Prior to joining the Housing Center, Darlene worked as a marketing generalist for Lake Hospital System, and spent four years promoting homeownership with the Living in Cleveland Center. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Cleveland State University. In 2006, she was named Greater Cleveland Community Shares’ Volunteer of the Year.

Samantha Hoover, Fair Housing Research Associate
Samantha Hoover is the Housing Center’s Fair Housing Research Associate. Her responsibilities include designing, undertaking, and writing research reports related to fair housing and fair lending matters, including reports detailing housing trends, population trends, mortgage lending trends, foreclosure trends, and related matters.  She is also responsible for maintaining the organization’s website. Samantha is a graduate of Kent State University’s Honors College, earning dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Sociology, with a certificate in Nonprofit/Human Services Management and a Writing minor.

Samantha’s focus is on civil rights, urban planning, and public policy. Her experience includes an internship with the Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs and an honors thesis on predatory lending and home foreclosures. She also interned for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and the Mahoning County Children Services.

Stephanie Surratt, Fair Housing Specialist
Stephanie Surratt joined the Housing Center in May 2009, as the Fair Housing Specialist.  She is an attorney licensed in Kentucky and a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. She obtained her B.A. in Business Administration/Marketing from The George Washington University at Mount Vernon College. Stephanie's responsibilities at the Housing Center include intake and processing of fair housing complaints and assisting with testing projects. She is also responsible for assisting with various research projects.

Stephanie has experience in civil rights and employment discrimination, having previously served as the State EEO Coordinator and Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Personnel Cabinet of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Dana Cohen, Fair Housing Intern
Dana Cohen is the Housing Center's newest intern.  She is a graduate of The Ohio State University, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, with a minor in city planning. She is currently studying for the law school entrance exam and plans to simultaneously pursue a master's degree in city planning. Previously, she interned with Slavic Village Development Corporation and wrote her thesis paper on "Mortgage Fraud in Slavic Village."

Irving Graves, Office Assistant
Irving has worked part-time for the Housing Center since October 2002. He came to the Housing Center through a program of the AARP. He is responsible for the administrative functions of the office, including mailings, copies, and data entry.