Our Staff
THOMAS JACOBS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
(234) 571-3244 ext: 1
Tom Jacobs, Executive Director for Summit Housing, has been the Director since 2003 . His primary duties include overall management and operation of Summit Housing Development Corp. including protection of the organization’s financial assets, and ensuring compliance with Board directives. He has experience in development and construction of new facilities, property acquisition and overseeing operational needs of all existing facilities.
Tom has held his State of Ohio real estate license since 1988, with millions of dollars in sales. He has experience in commercial leasing, sales and property management and has owned and managed over 200 apartments, and a Holiday Inn Express.
Tom attended the University of Toledo where he majored in business.
HEATHER RICE
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
(234) 571-3244 ext: 2
Heather was hired with Summit DD as an Administrative Assistant in 2013 to assist the Director of Operations and Executive Director of Summit Housing with various administrative duties including property management, leasing, and inspections of all commercial and residential properties. In February 2017, Heather transferred to exclusively working for Summit Housing Development Corporation as the Executive Administrative Assistant. In April 2019, Heather was promoted to Property & Operations Manager. Most recently in December 2022, she was promoted to Director of Operations and directly oversees all employees in the office, as well as the daily operations of the office and all SHDC homes, schedules maintenance and repairs, coordinates all capital improvement projects with contractors, regularly inspects all SHDC properties to ensure everything is in good working order, and quickly resolves emergency maintenance issues.
Heather has been in the administration field for 25+ years. She was employed at The Village of Silver Lake as a Bookkeeper/Administration Clerk for over 17 years. She has also been employed at the City of Norton as the Payroll Administrator.
Heather has always enjoyed baking cakes in her spare time and most recently ventured into owning The Dreamsicle Ice Cream Truck. She enjoys reading, being outside and enjoying the sunshine, and spending time with her family and friends.
Kate Blair
Assistant property manager
(234) 571-3244 ext: 3
Kate was recently hired with Summit Housing as the Assistant Property Manager. She handles the incoming work order requests, tours the properties for needed improvements and handles the state funding paperwork.
Kate has 13 years of retail management experience where she managed over 100 employees at a high volume store. Her passion is customer service and taking care of her people that she works with and for. Her biggest professional strength has been developing her team to their full potential. While not at work you can find Kate with her 2 young kids and husband or reading a book.
Stephanie Ducote
accounts receivable Specialist
(234) 571-3244 ext: 4
Stephanie was recently hired with Summit Housing as the Accounts Receivable Specialist. She handles the leases and tenant accounts.
Stephanie has 15 years’ experience in bookkeeping and accounting. She was previously employed at Carter Lumber Corp. for 10 years. Outside of her work life, Stephanie was recently married and enjoys spending time with her family.
Despina Mulrooney
accounts Payable Specialist
(234) 571-3244
Despina Mulrooney serves as a part time bookeeper at Summit Housing Development Corporation. In her role, she handles a variety of tasks including entering invoices, paying bills, issuing checks, processing work orders for homes, and coordinating utility setups for new home purchases.
Despina brings a wealth of experience from her diverse background in finance and administration. She has previously worked as a bookkeeper, substitute teacher, and real estate appraiser. With a Master of Business Administration in Management from the University of Akron and a B.A. in Accounting from Walsh University, Despina has a strong educational foundation that supports her professional skills.
Outside of work, Despina enjoys spending time with her husband and son, her two dogs, Thunder and Lovey, and her friends. She loves listening to audiobooks and podcasts, watching movies, and meeting new people. Despina is also an enthusiastic member of her book club, where she enjoys engaging in thoughtful discussions about various literary works.