Long before he became a civic leader helping guide some of Northeast Ohio’s most visible community and cultural initiatives, Greg Peckham (MNO ’09) was an undergraduate student in Columbus studying criminology. At first glance, it may seem like an unlikely starting point for a career in nonprofit leadership, urban development and public space. But in hindsight, the connection is clear.
“I think what I learned much later was that what I was interested in is the way that environments shape the way that people live their lives,” Peckham said.
After graduation, he worked in the Ohio State Senate as a legislative aide, gaining firsthand experience in public policy and advocacy. But it was graduate school at Case Western Reserve University that helped bring his interests into focus. Initially accepted into the social work track, Peckham quickly realized he needed a different path. With help from an advisor, he found it in the joint master’s degree program in nonprofit management housed within the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and Weatherhead School of Management.
That pivot proved transformative.
Peckham credits the program’s interdisciplinary structure—drawing from business, social work and even law—with broadening both his perspective and his career possibilities. Through internships with organizations including Reaching Heights and the Alcoa Foundation, he gained exposure to philanthropy, fundraising and cross-sector leadership. Just as important, he began expanding the network that would stay with him throughout his career.
“Many of the people I still connect and collaborate with are somehow connected back to Case Western Reserve,” he said. “I really loved the MNO program, in part because the faculty are so unbelievably networked across the nonprofit spectrum.”
That broad foundation launched a career defined by impact. At University Circle Inc., Peckham worked on a major civic visioning initiative that brought together planning, public engagement and neighborhood development. It was there, he said, that his interests in urban development, parks, green space and community-building “clicked together.”
Later, at Cleveland Public Art, Peckham deepened his belief in the role arts and design can play in shaping cities and connecting people. He eventually led the organization through a merger with ParkWorks to create LAND Studio, where he spent years helping the small but nimble nonprofit “punch above its weight” on projects that transformed Cleveland’s public realm.
That phrase captures much of Peckham’s leadership philosophy. Rather than seeking the spotlight, he believes in creating partnerships, building trust and leading collaboratively.
“If we worked smart, we could orchestrate enormous things to accomplish for the city,” he said.
Today, as president and CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Peckham continues that work on a regional scale. The Conservancy serves as a strategic partner to one of the country’s most-visited national parks, helping broaden educational access, cultural programming, philanthropy and the visitor experience.
For Peckham, the work is still about people and place—and about making sure Northeast Ohio fully understands the extraordinary asset in its backyard.
“We’ve been referring to the park as a sleeping giant,” he said. “It’s this incredible natural resource, economic generator and driver of tourism.”
From Case Western Reserve to Cleveland’s neighborhoods to the Cuyahoga Valley, Peckham’s career reflects the power of interdisciplinary education, civic imagination and leadership that quietly builds behind the scenes to move communities forward.
