AKRON, Ohio — During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced four new appointments.
Mayor Malik announced that Montrella Jackson has been appointed as the new Director of Human Resources, filling out the Mayor’s Cabinet. Additionally, Anthony Ingram will be joining as the city’s Public Safety Strategist. Summer Hall has been appointed as the city’s first Cultural Engagement Coordinator and Alexis King is taking on the role of Digital Media Manager.
“One of the biggest goals of my 100-day plan is to build a team to help oversee and execute the work ahead for my administration,” said Mayor Malik. “Today, we are one step closer to achieving that goal by filling out the Cabinet and several key positions. I’m incredibly proud to welcome Montrella Jackson, Anthony Ingram, and Alexis King to the team and to appoint Summer Hall to a new position in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Each of these individuals bring experience, passion, and deep knowledge to their roles and I’m grateful to have them.”
Previously, Mayor Malik announced 13 appointments just days after taking office.
Below is information on the appointees as provided by Mayor Malik's office:
Montrella Jackson – Director of Human Resources
Montrella S. Jackson, Esq. has over 25 years of public service experience at the county and local levels. She currently serves as the Chief Executive /Court Administrator for the Akron Municipal Court appointed by the Judges to that role in November 2012. Her primary duties include managing the overall operations of the court and supervising the court’s division managers, magistrates and staff attorneys for the probation, bailiff, traffic and small claims court services. She serves as a model court and human resources expert training courts statewide on diversity efforts and recruitment strategies/ planning. She recruits, hires and oversees training of all court personnel. Ms. Jackson monitors and updates personnel policies to ensure compliance. She is an Ohio Judicial College faculty member focusing on human resources and policy management training curriculums.
Previously, Jackson served as an in-house attorney with the Summit County Children Services Human Resources, Administrative and Legal Services Department for over 13 years from 1999 to 2012. She has experience with court litigation, human resource law and various administrative legal issues affecting government agencies. While in that role, she created personnel policies and managed the agency’s over 600 accredited policies. She also trained managers on employment law and compliance. Jackson further represented the agency in labor negotiations; conducted disciplinary investigations/ grievance hearings; supervised attorney and paralegal staff; and provided back-up for General Counsel. She further served as the agency’s civil rights officer, HIPAA privacy officer and compliance manager relative to federal and state mandates/ audits / funding.
Jackson was born and raised in Chattahoochee Florida and moved to Battle Creek Michigan as a teenager. She attended the University of Michigan from 1991- 1994 and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with extensive study in international politics and Japanese language & culture. She has expertise in international cultural exchange having worked for the Takasaki Japan government as well as travelled the countries of Thailand, Hong Kong and Korea.
After working for two years in Takasaki, Japan as an English Instructor / Sister City Ambassador for the Takasaki Board of Education, she moved to Akron to attend The University of Akron School of Law in 1996. She also worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan in 1997 researching criminal, civil and international law. She clerked for Judge Carla Moore at the Akron Municipal Court in 1998. Jackson finished her law degree and passed the Ohio bar exam in 1999.
Jackson has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work championing diversity and inclusion, and she has also served on many community boards. She currently serves on the boards of the Women's Network Leadership Institute, Ohio Board of Bar Examiners and Akron Children’s Hospital.
Anthony Ingram – Public Safety Strategist
Anthony Ingram previously served as the Manager of the Specialized Dockets Programs and the Statewide Drug Court Coordinator at the Supreme Court of Ohio. Prior to this position, he served the Akron Municipal Court for twenty-four years; first as a probation officer and later as Chief Probation Officer, where he managed several specialized dockets and court programs.
While serving as Chief Probation Officer, Ingram worked on several community boards and task forces. These included the Change Direction Mental Health Faith Committee, the Ohio Supreme Court Domestic Violence Advisory Committee, and the Summit County Trauma Informed Care Coalition. He was appointed to the Mayor’s Youth Violence Task Force in 2018, and the Mayor’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Task Force in 2020.
Ingram is the proud father of two amazing daughters. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1989 from Ohio University and received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Akron in 2003. As part of his continuing education, he attended classes offered by the Ohio Supreme Court and became a Certified Court Manager and is currently in their Certified Court Executive Program. In his spare time, Ingram enjoys attending sporting events with his family and coaching high school girls’ golf and fastpitch softball.
Alexis King – Digital Media Manager
Alexis King is a proud graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati, where she obtained her B.S. in Early Childhood Education in 2017. She is also a proud former Jesuit Volunteer with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and served in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Alexis was the Digital Marketer for the Akron Area YMCA and YMCA Camp Y-Noah, where she oversaw all digital media and assisted in other marketing efforts. A notable accomplishment of King’s tenure was securing a sizable donation from Drew Carrey for Camp Y-Noah via Twitter.
Originally from Avon, Ohio, King moved to Akron for the first time in 2016 as a Summer Camp Counselor at YMCA Camp Y-Noah. She moved to Akron permanently in August of 2019 and has been calling West Akron home with her husband, two cats, and 4-month old daughter since 2022. Alexis is a Torchbearer (Class of 2022) and currently serves on the Board as a MarComm Committee Liaison.
Summer Hall – Cultural Engagement Coordinator
Summer L. Hall was born in West Akron and graduated from John R. Buchtel High School and attended the University of Cincinnati. She was taught the importance of community by her mother, the late Sabrina Hall, grandmother, the late Marian T. Hall and great-aunt Helen Arnold.
Hall started with the City of Akron in 2016 as Secretary to the Mayor where she performed many administrative duties. In 2018, she was asked to facilitate the Mayor’s Citizens Institute and the Mayor’s High School Townhalls. In 2020, she was promoted to the Community Outreach Liaison for the Office of Integrated Development and the Public Arts Liaison. Her engagement efforts have included projects like the Akron Innerbelt and the city’s Public Art Commission.
Hall has a wide variety of experience in the community serving on numerous boards and committees. She currently serves as an Associate Board member for the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition. She is on the Donor and Fundraising committee and Arts Committee for the Akron Civic Commons 2.0 Summit Lake and Lock 3 initiative. She served as a member of the Akron NAACP and is an active trustee at the New Exodus Christian Fellowship Church, Pastor Gregory E. Partridge Sr. (Hall’s father). She also serves on the LeBron James Family Foundation Advisory Board and was recently elected as an Akron Public School Board Member.
Hall’s new role will have an increased focus on areas of Diversity Equity and Inclusion across the city and she will serve under the leadership of the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Esther Thomas.
In her spare time, Hall enjoys spending time with her family and loves to travel. Hall is a proud mother of two daughters.
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