The Village of South Russell is a legislative form of government. The Village’s Mayor and six Council Members are elected and hold 4 year terms.
The Mayor officiates the Council meetings. The Mayor works closely with Council and Department Heads to handle village business. The Mayor has no vote unless there is a tie vote from Council.
Council adopts Village Ordinances, which are known as laws of a permanent nature and review various village issues that come before them. Council elects a President Pro Tem yearly. The President Pro Tem handles the Mayor’s duties in their absence but can still vote on issues at Council Meetings.
Council Meetings are held the first and third Monday of each month at 7:00pm at Village Hall. Meetings in June, July, August and December will be held on the third Monday of the month only.
Learn about our Elected Officials below. Please include your contact information when sending an email to our Mayor or Council Members.
The Village of South Russell elected officials are committed to provide an effective, fiscally responsible local government focused upon serving our residents. We have adopted the following mission statement to stay focused upon the most crucial aspects:
The Mission of South Russell Village
Providing a high level of essential services.
Planning for future needs while preserving the character of the Village.
Promoting an attitude of professionalism and impartiality among Village officials and employees in a fiscally responsible manner.
Mayor Dr. William Koons
Dr. Koons was elected to Council in 2006 and was elected as Mayor in 2016.
Biography: Bill grew up in St. Marys, Ohio, graduated from Bowling Green State University and earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Kent State University. He began his thirty-nine-year career in public education with the Orange City Schools, retiring as superintendent of the Chagrin Falls Schools in 2012.
Past president of the Chagrin Valley Jaycees and Chagrin Valley Rotary, he is a past recipient of the Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.
Elected to council in 2005, Bill has chaired numerous council committees. Elected as mayor in 2016, he won a second term in 2020. He represents Geauga County municipalities as a member of the board of directors of NOPEC and represents villages on the Ohio Public Works Commission Executive Committee.
Married to Nancy, a retired educator, they have lived in the Chagrin Valley since 1977. Their daughter Betsy Ploenzke is a pre-school teacher at Orange.
Council Member Misha Alexander
Elected to Council in 2026.
Committees: Misha serves on the Building, Finance, Safety, Safe Bicycle and Pedestrian Transport, and Admin/Technology Committees.
Biography: Misha has lived in South Russell since 2021. She grew up in Northfield, Vermont, graduated from Northfield High School and attended Castleton State College. Misha’s professional experience includes 15 years in banking, specializing in homeowner assistance. Misha lives on Chillicothe Road with her family. She enjoys spending time with her family, including their four cats, reading, theater, art, and spending time outdoors walking and hiking. Misha is grateful to live in South Russell and is honored to serve on Council.
Council Member Christopher Bell
Elected to Council in 2022.
Committees: Chris is the Chair of the Streets and Safe Bicycle and Pedestrian Transport Committees. He also serves on the Human Resources and Admin/Technology Committees.
Biography: Chris grew up in the Chagrin Valley and graduated from Chagrin Falls High School in 1994. He earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of Akron and his master’s degree in Public Relations from Kent State University. After spending the early years of his professional life living in Cleveland’s inner ring, Chris and his wife Meghan (a SRV native) moved with their two children back home to South Russell.
Chris has served the community by coaching youth sports, serving as the president of the 105-home Kensington Green Homeowners Association, and sitting on the South Russell Board of Zoning Appeals.
Professionally, Chris is a marketing communications executive and serves on the leadership team at a mid-size Cleveland-based manufacturing company. He volunteers with a handful of trade organizations
Council Member Chris Berger
Elected to Council in 2020 and selected as Pro Tem in 2026.
Committees: Chris is the Chair of the Human Resources, Public Utilities, and Admin/Technology Committees and serves on the Finance and Streets Committees.
Biography: Chris Berger and his wife, Kimberly, have lived in South Russell since November 1994. His professional experience involves positions in management and international business to include President (divisional level), Vice President of Sales and Marketing (corporate level), Vice President for Human Resources (corporate level) for an international firm of 500+ employees, and entrepreneurial businesses as a sole founder, partner, and consultant. Additionally, he has taught business management classes at Lakeland Community College and Lake Erie College at the undergraduate and graduate level from 2001 to the present.
Berger is a past member of the Whitetail Run Community Association Board from 2006 to 2020 including President from 2008 to 2020. He has been involved with multiple leadership committees for the United Methodist Church of Chagrin Falls for the past 25 years and is active with the CASA and Hearts and Hands of CASA programs with the Geauga County Juvenile Court.
The Bergers have been married since 1994 and have two dogs, Deiter and Hanzi. For the past ten years, the Bergers have served as statisticians for the Kenston Bombers Varsity Football Team. Berger has travelled extensively and enjoys playing Tennis, piano, bass, and guitar.
Council Member Gerald Canton
Elected to Council in 2016.
Committees: Gerald is the Chair of the Finance and Safety Committees and member of the Building and Properties Committees.
Biography: Gerald was born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and graduated from Kent State University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He began his thirty-eight-year teaching career at Howland Local Schools in Warren, Ohio. He taught at Berkshire Local Schools and as an adjunct professor at Kent State University. Before entering his teaching profession, Gerald worked for the Copperweld Steel Corporation in Warren, Ohio.
Gerald is a member of the Chagrin Falls Village Schools Senior Advisory Board. After his retirement, Gerald became a member of the substitute teaching faculty at Chagrin Falls Schools.
Elected in November of 2015, Gerald and his wife Darleane reside on Manor Brook Drive in South Russell Village. They are parents of seven children and eleven grandchildren.
Council Member Ruth Cavanagh
Elected to Council in 2022.
Committees: Ruth is the Chair of the Building and Properties Committees and serves on the Public Utilities and Safety Committees. She is also the Council representative to the Park Committee and serves on the Planning Commission.
Biography: Ruth grew up in Paw Paw Lake. Her grandfather, Wade McIlrath (1879 – 1954) bought the 100-acre Dave Robinson farm and developed it into lots in 1921.
Ruth graduated from Chagrin Falls High School, 1971; Kent State, 1975; went back to school and earned her RN, 1991.
Ruth is a Chagrin Falls Alumni Association founding/life member; a Chagrin Falls Historical Society life member; and a proud member of Molly Chittenden Chapter, DAR. Ruth also loves history.
Ruth worked as Newbury Schools’ Nurse for a quarter-century until its closure in 2020. At that time, she retired.
Ruth is happy to be serving on SRV Council once again, as she did from 1995 – 2000. She considers this a privilege.
Council Member Mary Rensel
Elected to Council in 2026.
Committees: Mary serves on the Human Resources, Properties, Public Utilities, Streets, and Safe Bicycle and Pedestrian Transport Committees.
Biography: Dr. Mary Rensel grew up nearby in Mayfield Village. She graduated from Gannon University and earned her MD from the Medical College of Ohio. She returned to the Cleveland area and completed her Neurology and Neuroimmunology training at the Cleveland Clinic. She began her career at Cleveland Clinic in the 1990s, and continues her clinical and research in Neuroimmunology over 30 years later. She is an associate professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University. She has published multiple papers, lectured, taught, and shared her clinical expertise. In 2019, she began a new chapter of her life as a business founder for a company which provides mentoring for women in medicine, national speaking and career coaching.
She has served the Chagrin school system in many roles; Chagrin Falls Education Foundation for 10 years, Girl Scout leader to 3 troops for each of her daughters, annual toy drive to memorialize James Edmonds and as room mom or holiday volunteer in the classroom. She has served locally for her favorite organizations: the Chagrin Art Festival and Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. She has served on her neighborhood social committee over the years, helping build a cohesive neighborhood community. She has spent her time on local, state and national level committees and boards. She currently serves on the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society Ohio Board and recently completed her term on the American Academy of Neurology Advocacy committee where she has enjoyed years of advocating in DC for patients living with MS.
She is married to Bob Kosmides, also a Cleveland Clinic neurologist, and has raised four kids, Tessa, Sophia, Elise and James, in South Russell since 2000. Her favorite activities include family time, travelling, walking in South Russell Park with her dog, Leo, golfing or planning fun craft parties.