2020 HONOREES

Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco 

Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco was appointed Hamilton County Coroner in February 2012 and later elected to the position in November 2012 and again in November 2016. She is the first female coroner and Asian Indian ever elected to a political post in Hamilton County. Dr. Sammarco was born in India, but raised and educated in Cincinnati. She is a board certified neuroradiologist having attended University of Cincinnati for electrical and computer engineering at College of Engineering and College of Medicine. Dr. Sammarco held previous faculty positions at UCLA Medical School and The Cleveland Clinic.

Since taking office, Dr. Sammarco has been very busy championing many causes and is on a number of different boards throughout the community. She has spoken to hundreds of grade school and high

school age students about the importance of staying in school, and avoiding risky behavior such as use of drugs and alcohol.

Dr. Sammarco is married to local orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Vincent James Sammarco and mother to Josi and James and their pet parrots, Cannoli, Mango and Spooky Ghost.    

David Mann

David Mann was elected in November 2017 to serve on Cincinnati City Council. He previously served on council for more than 20 years, including three distinguished years as mayor.

David’s earliest public service was serving in the United States Navy for four years. As a lieutenant, David served on the U.S.S. English (DD-696), a destroyer that was one of the first ships to reach Cuban waters during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

David attended Harvard College on a Navy R.O.T.C. scholarship and graduated cum laude with a major in biochemical sciences. After his Navy service, David attended Harvard Law School where he graduated magna cum laude. Currently, David practices law with his son, Michael, at their firm, Mann & Mann.

Liz Carter

Liz Carter leads the Scripps Howard Foundation, creating and directing its strategies and initiatives. She assumed the President and CEO role in 2015 after serving as the Executive Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Greater Cincinnati. 

The Foundation supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company and the communities it serves, with an emphasis on excellence in journalism. At the crossroads of the classroom and the newsroom, the Foundation is a leader in supporting journalism education, and most recently launched award-winning investigative journalism centers at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University. The Foundation operates one of the news industry’s best-known celebrations of American journalistic excellence, the annual Scripps Howard Awards.

Liz also oversees the foundation’s investment in local nonprofits across the country in 42 markets, including in Cincinnati, home to The E.W. Scripps Company. Across the country, the Foundation supports childhood literacy. Community grantmaking in Greater Cincinnati focuses on providing basic needs to people living in poverty. 

From 1999 to 2015, Liz led the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Greater Cincinnati. As its Executive Director, she oversaw a $15 million budget and a team of 340 employees and thousands of volunteers.  In her 15 years at the helm of St. Vincent de Paul, Liz oversaw continuous growth, increasing the agency’s budget from $1.5 million to $15 million.