About Liz

Councilwoman Elizabeth (Liz) Walters is serving her second term representing the citizens of Summit County as an At-Large member. She has been active on a wide variety of issues and working in partnership with her colleagues helped to navigate Summit County through the challenges of the last few years. She works hard to ensure a strong Summit County economy, support our communities and families, and innovate for a brighter tomorrow. In 2022, she was unanimously elected by her colleagues from both parties to serve a second term as Council President.

Early in her tenure she led the passage and implementation of Paid Parental Leave for county employees, the only Ohio county to pass such legislation. In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic she led the County effort to secure and distribute funding for small business and important social service nonprofits. Currently, she chairs the Summit County Environmental Sustainability Task Force, co-chairs Summit County’s Special Committee to address racism as a public health crisis and serves on numerous County boards and commissions.

Throughout her career Liz has worked with people and organizations that support working family values, including the Obama-Biden Campaign, Congresswoman Betty Sutton, We Are Ohio, and many community-based nonprofits and community organizing groups. In 2018, she founded Cuyahoga Valley Group, a small, project-focused consulting firm focused on clients working across a wide range of philanthropic, civic engagement, and political issues. In January of 2021, Liz was unanimously elected as the first woman Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party.

She is a lifetime Girl Scout and has been active with the organization as a member, employee, or volunteer since the age of five, earning their illustrious “Women of Distinction Award” in 2020. Liz serves on the Advisory Council for the United Way of Summit County’s Financial Empowerment Centers and is an alumna of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Liz earned a B.A. in History from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and her MPA from Cleveland State University.

She is a native of Northeast Ohio, a proud member of a large and loud Irish Catholic family who traces its local roots to the economic opportunity Firestone Tire and Rubber. Liz was taught the value of service by her family, and especially her mother, a career-long nurse. She and her rescue dog, Beatrice (Bea), live on the westside of Akron and enjoy walks throughout Summit’s vast array of parks. Liz always appreciates an opportunity to meet and work with voters and looks forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.