Roxanne Qualls
Roxanne Qualls was originally elected to Cincinnati City Council in 1991 and served three terms as mayor from 1993-1999. During her terms in office, she led the city’s efforts to redevelop the central riverfront and create the new downtown neighborhood that later became known as the Banks. She prioritized cleaning up neighborhoods, improving safety, and increasing homeownership. She emphasized openness and transparency in governance and established “Mayors Night In,” where once a week anyone could meet with her on any subject.
After leaving office because of term limits, Qualls went to Harvard University, where she served as a fellow in the Institute of Politics, a Loeb Fellow in the Graduate School of Design, a Malcolm Weiner Fellow in Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, and in 2002 earned a mid-career MPA. She returned to Cincinnati in 2004 and taught in the Master of Public Administration program and was Director of Public Leadership Initiatives at Northern Kentucky University until 2007.
In 2007, she was once again elected to Cincinnati City Council and served until December 2013. She was Vice Mayor from 2009-2013. During her 3 terms on council, she focused on initiatives that were fundamental to enhancing the quality of life in neighborhoods and building a globally competitive local economy. Under her leadership, Cincinnati adopted its first Comprehensive Plan in 30 years, incorporated form-based coding into its zoning code, and adopted its Homeless to Homes Plan that produced four new full-service homeless shelters to serve youth and single individuals.
Roxanne currently is a Senior Sales Vice President for Sibcy Cline Realtors in Cincinnati Ohio.
Prior to serving in elected office, Ms. Qualls served as director of the Cincinnati office of Ohio Citizen Action, executive director of Women Helping Women, and the director of the Northern Kentucky Rape Crisis Center.