Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry
Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry was elected Mayor of Massillon in 2011, 2015 and again in 2019. Prior to her election as mayor, Kathy served as the council representative for Massillon’s Third Ward for eight years.
Mayor Catazaro-Perry co-founded the Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children, where she also served as Executive Director for Operations and Medically Fragile Care. Prior to founding the Golden Key Center, Kathy served as the Director of Weight Management at Aultman Hospital, and as the Director of the Wound Healing Center at the former Doctors Hospital.
Mayor Catazaro-Perry holds a Master's degree in business administration from Walsh University, a bachelor’s degree in business management from Malone University, and an associate degree in science, (RN) from Stark State University. Kathy is also a graduate of Leadership Stark County as well as the Leadership Stark County Local Government Academy.
Mayor Catazaro-Perry is a past member and past Chairperson of both the Community Health Foundation of Massillon, and the Stark County Library Foundation. She is a member of the Stark Development Board of Trustees, Strengthening Stark Governance Board, Massillon Woman’s Club, Massillon Quota International, Massillon Homeless Task Force, The Stop Heroin from Killing Committee, Aultman’s Woman’s Board, Walsh University Women’s Committee, and is a past board member of the Massillon Boys & Girls Club. Kathy is also a co-founder of The Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children. Kathy is the founder of the American Elites “American Idols,” which is a special needs cheerleading team, where she also coaches. Mayor Catazaro-Perry currently serves as vice president of the local board for the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, an Ohio non-profit corporation that governs the State and various local governments’ use of the allocation of Ohio’s share of the opioid settlement proceeds.
Mayor Catazaro-Perry has received numerous honors for her community and public service including, the Gaetano Mattioli Cecchini Humanitarian Award, the Ohio Public Image Award, which recognizes individuals who create positive public awareness for those with disabilities, Rotarian of the Year, and induction into the Stark State University Alumni Hall of Fame. Mayor Catazaro-Perry was inducted into the YWCA Woman’s Hall of Fame in 2014 for Community Service and received the 2014 VFW Post 3124 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. Special Recognition for Exceptional Service. She also received the prestigious 2014 Athena Leadership Award, 2014 Malone University Leadership Excellence Award and in 2015 was awarded the Rabbi John Spitzer Leadership Award. 2020 Person of the Year, and 2022 NSME National Sales and Marketing Accent on Excellence award. In addition, Mayor Catazaro-Perry was awarded the MDF Harold Bostic Award for 2022 from the Massillon WestStark Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities in 2023 for her long-time dedication and advocacy for people with special needs.
Under her leadership, sixty-eight miles of roads resurfaced; 2,147 catch basins repaired or replaced; city vehicles (snowplows, police cruisers, etc.) were replaced; Streetscape project at 2.5 million dollars and Duncan Plaza Renaissance project at 1.6 million dollars were both done using mostly grant funding.
Registration has closed for the 2023 Parade. We look forward to working with you next year!
