Annie McFadden currently works as Chief of Staff, Impact and Communications at United Way of Summit & Medina. As Chief of Staff, she works directly with the president and CEO, and as a key strategic leader, fosters collaborative and meaningful relationships with community leaders and partners. McFadden also oversees all UWSM programming to drive long-term positive changes in the education, income, and health outcomes for Summit & Medina residents. Prior to joining United Way, Annie served as Deputy Mayor for Administration and Chief of Staff to Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. She oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Office of the Mayor, Cabinet priorities and functions, as well as strategic initiatives and special projects as designated by the Mayor. Annie also managed the City’s communications staff, which oversees public relations, press relations, and social, digital, and traditional media communications.

Annie is a graduate of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a Greater Akron Chamber 30 for the Future Awardee, a member of Leadership Akron Class 37, and a Board Member at Habitat for Humanity of Summit County and at ArtsNow. She is a native of Akron and a 2000 graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies & Advertising from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. She currently lives in West Akron with her husband, son, and Labrador retriever.

What types of arts and cultural activities do you enjoy the most (e.g., theatre, music, dance, visual arts, literature)?
My family and I enjoy quite a variety of arts and cultural activities! Mostly, we spend time in the Metro Parks as a family with our dog, Gus. We love musical events at the Civic, Knight Stage, and EJ Thomas Hall. We take advantage of the Akron Art Museum, Akron Children’s Museum, and events in Lock 3. We visit Stan Hywet for the Christmas lights in winter and gardens in the summer. We almost always attend the Akron Pride Festival and definitely PorchRokr.

Share a memorable experience or moment you’ve had while attending an arts and cultural event in Summit County.
Even though it was quite a few years ago, my husband and I still talk about the Hall and Oates concert we went to at the Civic. It was such a memorable night! The songs were on point (obviously), the people watching was outstanding, and it was such a great venue for a music concert!

In what ways do arts and culture contribute to your personal well-being and mental health?

Fundamentally, I truly feel that exposure to arts and culture is vital to everyone, and not just a nice-to-have amenity for a community. Now, more than ever, we all need spaces in our increasingly polarized lives where we can appreciate beauty, get back to nature, experience something that is culturally significant, and share those moments together. As an Akronite who spends much of her time in service to others, it’s key that I personally take in experiences that fill me up like a show at the Civic Theatre, calm my mind like a walk in the Metro Parks, and broaden my perspective like a new exhibition at the Akron Art Museum. Taking time to balance my life makes me a better person, worker, wife, and mother.

Can you recall a time when arts and culture helped you see the world from a different perspective or challenged your assumptions?
As many may know, we just recently cut the ribbon on the new Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza located on United Way of Summit and Medina property. This plaza, and the Truth Statue that adorns it, was a labor of love for many, many people in our community. This project brought a variety of people together, all with vastly different lived experiences, opinions, and ways of working, but all with one goal of bringing the plaza and the statue to life. As we worked through the seemingly endless number of decisions, it occurred to me that while we all had one shared goal, we all had our own “why.” I learned that in ideation or creation, sometimes the “why” is just, if not more important, than the “how.”