2017 Cleveland State University's Distinguished Alumni Awards Recipient: Matt Zone
MATTHEW C. ZONE was elected to Cleveland City Council in 2001,
representing Ward 15. He currently serves as president of the National
League of Cities, the nation's oldest and largest organization representing
19,000 cities, towns and villages and serving more than 218 million
Americans.
Regionally, he is a past president of the Northeast Ohio City Council
Association and serves on the steering committee of the Regional
Prosperity Initiative, which is working to create a "Smart Growth" plan for
Northeast Ohio.
Locally, he is a tireless advocate for alternative energy and green building
-his ward is home to the only EcoViliage in Ohio and one of the first in
the country.
Mr. Zone has been the driving force behind the development of the
Gordon Square Arts District and authored the city's "Percent for Arts"
legislation, which requires applicable capital improvement projects to set
aside 1.5 percent of the total budget to include artists in their design.
He earned a bachelor of arts in urban studies in 1999 and lives in
Cleveland with his wife Michelle.