Board of Directors
Marco Sommerville
Board Chairman
Effective at the end of June 2018, City of Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan appointed Marco Sommerville to fill the vacancy on the AMHA Board left by the retirement of Leonard Foster. AMHA welcomes Marco to the board and is grateful to have his extensive experience, advocacy and long-term commitment to the Akron community as part of the housing authority’s governing body.
Marco Sommerville has been a public servant and business owner for more than a quarter of a century. His first political experience was to work on Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. Three years later, in 1987, he ran for his first political office and was elected to serve as the Council Representative for Ward 3. In 2000, his peers elected him as Akron City Council President. He served as both President and Ward 3 Council Representative until the end of 2012, when he resigned to accept his appointment as Akron's Planning Director.
Notable accomplishments as Council President and Ward Councilman include a $60 million neighborhood redevelopment in his ward that encompassed Edgewood Homes, Helen Arnold Community Learning Center and the Akron Urban League; establishment of the Akron Criminal Expungement Program; youth anti-violence initiatives; legislative support for community policing; legislative support to retain Goodyear and Firestone; international recruitment of foreign businesses; and legislative support for local businesses and first- time homebuyers.
Throughout his political career, Sommerville also owned and operated Sommerville Funeral Services, which he founded in 1982. He turned the business over to his daughter, Margo, when he accepted the Planning Director's position. His daughter also was appointed by City council to complete his term as Ward 3 Council Representative.
Marco Sommerville's contributions to the Greater Akron community also include Chairmanship of the Joint Board of Review, the oversight committee for Akron's $900 million school rebuilding project; Board of Trustees of the Akron Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau; President of the Downtown Akron Partnership; Akron Branch NAACP; and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.
Roberta E. Aber
Board Vice-Chairman
During Ms. Aber’s 25 year tenure as CEO of Planned Parenthood of Summit, Portage and Medina Counties, she was a leader in the successful merger of five affiliates. She continues her commitment to improving health and social services for the residents of Summit County through her volunteer service as a member of the Summit County Social Services Advisory Board, the Visiting Nurse Services Board and the Akron General Health Systems Board. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters Akron Area Board. Ms. Aber is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and received an MBA in Health Services Management from Boston University. She and her husband have lived in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood since 1982.
John C. Fickes
Board Member
Mr. Fickes is an attorney. He has practiced law in our community since 1985. After graduating from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Mr. Fickes earned a Bachelor of Arts from John Carroll University, in Cleveland, a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Detroit and his Juris Doctor from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. His law work is in all forms of dispute resolution, from legal counseling through trial and appeals, in both the state and federal court systems. Mr. Fickes is a member of the leading professional associations for lawyers.
Mr. Fickes’ family has lived in the Akron area since the 1920s. His grandparents established the Akron Bearing Company, Inc. in 1940 and the family continues to own and operate the company. He is the eldest of six children, all raised in the Firestone Park area, and the father of three adult daughters. Mr. Fickes resides in the University Park neighborhood of Akron and belongs to St. Vincent de Paul Church. He is an active member of the community. In addition to his tenure on AMHA’s Board of Directors, he has won nomination twice as a candidate for the Common Pleas Court in Summit County. Mr. Fickes has served as president of the Humane Society of Greater Akron, is a member of the Leadership Akron Alumni Association (Class XVI) and currently sits on the Blossom Board of the Cleveland Orchestra and the board of the First Friday Club of Greater Akron.
Thomas L. Harnden
Board Member
Mr. Harnden is a decorated United States Air Force Veteran having received the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with 3 silver and 4 oak leaf clusters. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Ohio Northern University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Akron’s School of Law. He retired from the Babcock & Wilcox Company as Assistant General Counsel and also served as the Executive Director of the Barberton Community Foundation. Mr. Harndon is a life-long resident of Barberton.
Grace D. Hudson
Board Member
A native of North Carolina, Ms. Hudson has been the Akron Civic Commons Neighborhood Fellow since 2018. One of the key components of Akron Civic Commons is civic engagement and relationships with neighbors about how to activate and enhance our civic commons spaces for all citizens. Working in partnership with neighborhood residents, as Akron Civic Commons Neighborhood Fellow, she has assisted with projects in the Summit Lake and Ohio & Erie Canal Park. Some of the projects and programs include neighborhood and community events at Summit Lake and Ohio & Canal Park. Summit Lake Community activities include a community Harvest Festival and a community Christmas Party.
In addition to her role with Akron Civic Commons, Ms. Hudson is Chair of the Summit Lake Community Development Corporation, and a Board Member of Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority and the GAR Foundation’s Community Voices Committee. The Summit Lake Community Development Corporation exists to promote housing, strengthen economic development and revitalize growth efforts in the Summit Lake community.
