Mayor Sutherland has served as Mayor of the City of Bay Village since October 2000 when she was appointed to complete the unexpired term of the previous mayor.  She has been subsequently elected to two 4-year terms since then.  Prior to her mayoral appointment, Mayor Sutherland served 4 ½ years as the City Council representative for Ward 2.
 
During Mayor Sutherland’s tenure, much has been accomplished in the City of Bay Village including a new Family Aquatic Center, new police station, a joint Bay School/City Community gym, a jointly owned Avon Lake/Bay Park and the first new commercial development in 30 years.

Mayor Sutherland has quickly become one of the leaders of Northeast Ohio being elected President of the Cuyahoga County Mayors and Managers Association in 2006 and re-elected in 2007. In that position, she has worked to improve Northeast Ohio in economic development and alternative energy. Mayor Sutherland is currently Chairman of the West Shore Council of Governments and was recently appointed by the Speaker of the Ohio House to the Great Lakes Compact Advisory Board.  She has also served as a representative to NOACA. Her efforts were recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of 2007’s “Women of Note” and in 2007 as one of the 50 most influential people in Northeast Ohio. In 2008, she was sited in Inside Business’s “100 Most Influential People” and by Cleveland Magazine as one of 50 “Influentials” changing life in NEO.

Mayor Sutherland is currently working on her Masters in Public Administration at CSU’s Levin College of Urban Affairs.  In 2002, she was selected as “Outstanding Fellow” for CSU’s Leadership Academy XI.  In 2003, she received the Westshore League of Women Voters “Woman of the Year” award and was selected for the prestigious Leadership Cleveland Class of 2004.  In 2006, the Mayor received the Community Service Award from the Western Region of the Cleveland Clinic.  Her other notable community service includes: member of the Board of Trustees for Fairview/Lutheran Hospital; member of the Board of the Cleveland Restoration Society; member of the Board of Kids in Flight; past chairwoman of the Westshore Council of Governments; campaign member on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

Mayor Sutherland has a BA from Bowling Green State University and spent many years in retail management and retail executive recruitment. She and her husband of 25 years, Bob, also a 1972 Bay High graduate, have two daughters, ages 22 and 18.