Posted September 12, 202010:27 am
Written in Crain's Cleveland Business on 09/12/2020
The oldest of four children, Tanzalea Daniels has always been a leader who looks for a common goal and then empowers stakeholders to participate in accomplishing that goal.
"Tanzie isn't just a leader in finance and administrative operations, but she adds value, insight and wisdom well beyond her incredible expertise in money to all we do," said Colleen Cotter, executive director of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
Daniels said: "I like to ask questions that are thought-provoking, not finger-pointing. You have to get through the layers of a problem by understanding the perspective of the people involved."
A graduate of Butler University, Daniels joined The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland in October, after working at the Detroit Zoological Society, and is at the hub of everything that goes on, said Stephen Fazio, treasurer for The Legal Aid Society board and a partner at Squire Patton Boggs LLP.
Only six months after joining the organization, the pandemic hit, and Daniels stepped up. The nonprofit didn't have technology to support everyone working remotely, but she drove around town collecting and distributing equipment to staff. Then she came up with a plan to allow for limited in-office operations.
"We had to come up with an entirely new service model," Fazio said. "She helped analyze what was going on with our market portfolio, completed the budget for next year and played a critical role in the organization being able to continue to provide services to the constituency we serve - without a hitch."
Outside the office, Daniels and her husband, Lawrence, are raising, motivating and teaching four children, ages 4 to 19. To break the monotony of COVID quarantines, the family started a garden.
"It gives us something to look forward to each day," she said. "I'm learning how to prune."
Click here to read the full article in Crain's Cleveland Business.