Davida Russell is the founder and Executive Director of Ohio ACE – which she established in 2021. After years of seeing a revolving door of Get Out the Vote (GOTV) investments parachute into Cleveland and leave after Elections with no lasting impact, she founded Ohio ACE to create a structure for long-term and transformational community engagement.
She currently serves on Cleveland Heights City Council and is serving as the only Ohioan on President Joe Biden’s transition meeting team. Davida is a Commission Member of the Cuyahoga County Charter Review Commission appointed by Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Executive Board Member of the Gateway Economic Development Corporation of Greater Cleveland one of two single appointments of Mayor Frank Jackson.
Davida Russell is the State President of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a Vice President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, a State Executive Board Member, and President of the Northeast Ohio District of the Ohio Association of Public-School Employees OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4/AFL-CIO), Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the North Coast Area Labor Federation, and Vice President of the Cleveland North Shore Federation of Labor AFL-CIO.
Well known for her dedication to working people, she has been at the forefront of organizing, educating, training, increasing political awareness among workers, campaigning for pro-labor politicians, and operating and managing the largest canvassing operation in the state of Ohio since 2000. Davida has been entered in several editions of Who’s Who as One of The Most Influential Black Women in Cleveland Celebrating African American Achievement. She’s the author of the book “The Birth of a Union: The Legacy of Noridean McDonald” published in 2007.
She is a graduate of the Cleveland State Labor-Management Relations Center Program and a graduate of Leadership Cleveland Class 2004. Davida graduated from the George Meany National Labor College with a double major Bachelors in Labor Studies and in Union Leadership and Administration. Davida is also a Substitute Teacher and bus driver for South Euclid Lyndhurst City School Districts.
