In a historic step toward greater representation, the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Cuyahoga DD) has appointed Derek Topola and Dennis Roberts to its seven-member governing board, whose volunteers each serve four-year terms. With Topola’s appointment, Cuyahoga DD becomes the largest county board in Ohio with two members who receive services through the developmental disability system, marking an important milestone in elevating the voices of those directly impacted by the services the board oversees.
More than 1.6 million Ohioans have experienced disabilities, according to the American Community Survey. Cuyahoga County is now the first county in Ohio to give people with disabilities a greater voice in how services are provided to their community.
Cuyahoga DD is part of Ohio’s statewide network of county services, overseen by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities supporting individuals and families in the developmental disability community. For both Topola and Roberts, joining the board represents an opportunity to bring meaningful perspective and advocacy to the work.
Derek Topola: Elevating the Voice of Self-Advocates
Topola currently serves as a substitute teacher for both the Independence School District and the Brecksville–Broadview Heights School District. His leadership journey began through his involvement with the Cuyahoga DD Leadership Council, where he served as the organization’s first chair. In that role, Topola worked closely with fellow members to help build the council from the ground up while strengthening opportunities for individuals to share their perspectives.
Topola believes those early experiences helped lay the foundation for his current role on the board.
“People might not feel that they have a voice, so they can be hesitant about advocating for themselves,” Topola explained.
Now serving as a board member, he sees his role as helping ensure those voices are heard.
“It’s my duty to listen to what people say,” he shared. “I’m optimistic that together we can make a real impact.”
Dennis Roberts: A Personal Commitment to Families
Joining Topola on the board is Roberts, chief strategy officer for the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Roberts brings extensive professional experience as both an attorney and a real estate professional — expertise that will help guide strategic decision-making for the organization.
For Roberts, however, the work is deeply personal.
He and his wife are parents to a daughter with disabilities, giving him firsthand experience navigating the systems that support individuals and families. That experience has shaped his commitment to ensuring services are accessible, effective and responsive to the needs of those they serve.
Roberts also credits one of his earliest professional mentors with shaping his perspective. The mentor, who originally hired him at the Land Bank in 2009, also had a daughter with disabilities. Seeing firsthand how personal experience informed leadership left a lasting impression and reinforced Roberts’ belief that advocacy and service must remain grounded in lived experience.
As he begins his work on the board, Roberts says his early focus will be simple but essential: listening.
He believes that creating a strong feedback loop with the community will provide meaningful insight into what individuals and families truly need. Roberts emphasized that he and his fellow board members are committed not only to hearing those voices, but also to taking action based on what they learn.
Together, Topola and Roberts hope to provide a powerful combination of lived experience, professional expertise and commitment to service. By prioritizing listening, advocacy and meaningful community engagement, they said, they hope to strengthen the systems that support people across Cuyahoga County and ensure that services continue to evolve to meet the real needs of the community.
For more information about the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and the services it provides, please visit www.cuyahogadd.org.
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