Mayor Hicks-Hudson will discuss the city. As former Council President Paula Hicks-Hudson was sworn in as Mayor of the City of Toledo on February 17, 2015, following the passing of D. Michael Collins. Mayor Hicks-Hudson took the oath of office once again on November 24, 2015 after the voters elected her to the post for at least two more years. During a 35-year professional legal career, Paula has worked as assistant Lucas County prosecutor, assistant public defender and assistant state attorney general. Mayor Hicks-Hudson was chief legal counsel to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management under Governor Ted Strickland. One of eight children in a combined family and raised in the city of Hamilton, Ohio, Paula acknowledges that her perception of education as the pathway to success came from her father. Paula attended Spelman College in Atlanta earning bachelor degrees in political science and journalism. She went on to do post graduate work at Colorado State University where she received a Masters degree in communication development. Teaching readiness skills to underprepared students in the upward Bound Program at Central State University helped to form Paula’s empathy for the challenges youth face when confronted with the juvenile justice system and she made the commitment to pursue law as a career. After graduating with her Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa, Paula moved with her family to Toledo in 1982. As a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, she began her career at the Toledo Legal Aid Society representing senior citizens and working with several community groups. Throughout her life and in her current roll as Mayor, Paula has managed a diverse range of issues in a holistic, strategic and sensible way.