Board of Trustees

Jerry Coleman has spent his entire legal career in child welfare and became director of Stark County Job & Family Services in March 2023.

After graduating from the University of Akron School of Law in 1999, he served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Summit County. While with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Jerry represented the Children Services Board in dependency, neglect and abuse actions from 1999 until 2001.

In 2001 Jerry joined Stark County JFS as a staff attorney. In that position he was responsible for prosecuting dependency, neglect and abuse actions while also being responsible for the agency’s appellate docket. In 2007 he became the attorney supervisor of the Children Services Division. In 2013 Jerry was named chief legal counsel for that division. In May 2016, he became the assistant deputy director of legal services for Stark County Job and Family Services and then was named agency director in 2023.

Jerry has been a member of the PCSAO Legislative Committee since 2013. In December 2017, he was named chair of the committee. Jerry is also a member of the PCSAO Rules Committee.

He grew up in Orrville and graduated from Orrville High School. He attended the University of Akron, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Juris Doctor degree.