Roy Berko

Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, through the doctorate from Kent State, Univeristy of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer. But that’s only for now.

Roy was an actor for many years, appearing in more than 16 plays, 7 TV commercials, and 2 films. He has directed more than 30 productions.

A member of both the American Critics Association and the Dance Critics Association, Roy has been an entertainment reviewer for more than twenty years. Presently, his reviews are posted regularly on several web sites (coolcleveland.com and neohiopal.com) and are printed in the Times Newspapers, a chain of western Cuyahoga and Lorain county newspapers. His reviews have been heard on radio stations WERE- AM and WCPN-FM.

For many years he was a regular on Channel 5, ABC-Cleveland's "Morning Exchange" and "Live on 5," serving as the stations communication consultant. He has also appeared on "Good Morning America" and "Fox News." Roy served as the Director of Public Relations for the Volunteer Office in the White House during the first Clinton Administration.

Wearing his counseling hat, Roy does crisis interventions for The Crisis Care Network, which involves working with victims of suicides, rapes, robberies, murders and other types of traumas. Earlier this year, he was made Diplomate by the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy.

He is a professor of communication and psychology, at Notre Dame College and previously was on the faculties at George Washington University and Towson University and teaches in the seniors program at Cuyahoga Community College. Roy is the author of 27 books, numerous publications, computer programs and audio tapes.

He was elected to membership and then served as the President of the Elyria Board of Education.

Several years ago, he was selected by Cleveland Magazine as one of the most interesting people in Cleveland. He writes regularly for http://www.CoolCleveland.com.

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