At the May 4-5, 2013, LWVO Convention, delegates voted in a new LWVO/EF Board for the 2013-2015 biennium.
 

LWVO/EF would like to extend our sincere thanks to our outgoing 2011-2013 Board for their service and dedication to Making Democracy Work! -- Meg Flack, Nancy Brown, Janet Kershaw, Sharon Harmer, Beverly Dorson, Nena Hankins, Ann Henkener, Yvette Duguay, Marlene Muse, Terrie Nielsen, Carol Patterson, and Kristin Vessey.

Board of Directors

Nancy Brown is currently the President of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. Nancy was the Co-President from 2011-2013 and Advocacy Chair of the League of Women Voters Ohio from 2009 -2011. Her League of Women Voters experience includes serving as President of the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus from 2003 to 2005. Nancy received a B.A and M.A. from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from The Ohio State University. Her professional career included almost 30 years with Borden, Inc., including stints as General Counsel of Borden Foods Corporation and Borden Chemical, Inc. She enjoys traveling, hiking, reading and, most of all, her three children and fourteen grandchildren.

Ann E. Henkener received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from The Ohio State University, and her Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School. Her professional experience includes serving for eight years as in-house counsel for a non-profit health care organization in Columbus, Ohio and spending over twenty years as an Assistant Attorney General, representing the State of Ohio in regulating health care and regulating public utilities. She was on the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Metropolitan League of Women Voters from 2003 to 2011 and the Board of Trustees of the League of Women Voters of Ohio since 2007. She also has been the Ohio League’s Legislative Director and focuses on redistricting and public records.

Ms. Harmer has been a League member for approximately thirty-five years. She has a B.A from University of Denver, M.A from University of Illinois and Ed.S from Wright State University. Sharon’s primary activities have been in the government, education and finance-related areas at both the local and state levels. Locally, she has been on and/or chaired various study Committees (government, education, environment, media finance, voter service), Funding and Development committee, County Government representative, MVRPC representative, Education Fund Trustee, and developed Know Your County brochures. She has taught a UD class for Retirees, twice served as Program Vice President, and as Organization Vice President and President. At the state level, she has served as Government chair and Convention manager. A resident of Dayton, she has two children, six grandchildren, and enjoys bridge, scrapbooking, opera, and travel.

Ms. Kershaw currently serves as Chair of the Development Committee for the League of Women Voters of Ohio. Janet is a graduate of The Ohio State University and is a Registered, Licensed Dietician. She has done additional coursework in business at Baldwin Wallace College and currently works in the optical industry. She has been an active volunteer in the Westlake school system and at a local hospital. Janet has been a member of League for nearly 30 years and has held numerous board positions and offices during that time. Most recently she served as Co-President of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. She is the proud mother of two adult children and loves to travel with her husband whenever possible.

Ms. Simonelli is currently 1st Vice President for the Youngstown League. She practices business and arts/entertainment law in Poland, Ohio. She is currently Solicitor for both the Village of Washingtonville, Ohio and the Village of Rogers, Ohio. Ms. Simonelli is the Co-Founder and Director of the Youngstown Film Festival. She resides in Poland with her husband, David and their four children.

Currently a member of the Oberlin League, Ms. Doup has a deep interest in the election process, fair redistricting and educating the voter. She served her local Board of Elections as a poll worker for many years. A recent member of the LWV, she is anxious to learn more. She spent 20 years in purchasing in both the manufacturing and telecommunications industries. She also served in a Postmaster Relief position for the US Postal Service. Currently retired, she and her husband of 46 years are the proud parents of three children, nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren. She looks forward to continuing in her local league as well as meeting and hearing from others throughout the state during the next two years.

Ms. Duguay retired from a thirty-year teaching career in the fall of 2007. She had taught English language and literature, French and Speech and Drama at Goshen High School in Goshen, Ohio and also served as an adjunct instructor at Cincinnati State for twenty years. So, having enough free time, she was able to join League of Women Voters Clermont County in January 2008. In August, she was asked to fill a vacancy as League secretary. Just when she was comfortable in that position, she was asked to run for president, a term she completed in May 2011. Yvette is currently completing her first term on the LWVO Board. She looks forward to continuing in her local league and to continuing with learning and growth on the state board of LWVO over the next two years.

Currently serving as the president of the League of Woman Voters of the Tiffin area, which is very active and known for its Candidates" Night and Officials" Guide. She served on the former State Education Study Committee with Barbara Brothers. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Education from Bluffton University, her M.A. in Social Studies and Elementary Education from Bowling Green State University, and her doctorate from The University of Toledo. She taught in the public schools for six years and then taught in Higher Education for thirty-two years. Before joining the graduate faculty at Heidelberg University, she served as the Director of the Center for Teacher Education and Director of Graduate Studies at Ohio Northern University. Ms. Haynes has two children and two grandchildren.

Ms. Lehman is an accomplished attorney with extensive experience determining and directing litigation and resolution strategy in a variety of civil cases.

Marlene Muse, LWVCA, has served on the LWVO state board as chair of the Personnel Committee for the past two years. She looks forward to working with members around the state, especially in the areas of development and membership. Marlene has held board positions in development and program in 3 local Leagues, as well as serving as president of the Omaha, NE and College Station, TX Leagues. She has enjoyed being a member of LWV for nearly 40 years, as well as a community volunteer, while living in several states. She also serves on the board of the Fuller Center for Housing International and is a deacon in her church. Her B.A. degree in education and history is from the University of Akron. She loves to read, garden, cook for friends and family, travel with her husband, hike with her dog and just enjoy her 3 children and 5 grandchildren.

Ms. Tarchinski-Nielsen earned her B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan in 1985 and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1988. She practiced law as a litigation attorney for fifteen years. After making a quality of life decision, she entered the world of higher education working at Hiram College. Terrie has been on the League Board since 2007 and is on the membership development, personnel and by-laws committees. In addition to being a sports wife and mom, she is the Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Kent, finance chair for the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County and liaison to the Family and Community Service Board and on the Mantua Township Board of Zoning Appeals.

Ms. Tootle is a retired educator. She earned three degrees from the Ohio State University, a B.A. in History, a B.S. in Comprehensive Social Studies and a Masters in Humanities Education. She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study environmental issues in Brazil. Ruth has chaired the Natural Resources Committee and has served as Program Chair of the Chillicothe/Ross County League.

Ms. Vessey joined the League in Mayaguez, PR (1966-1969) and edited a bilingual VOTER. In Ohio, she’s served three terms as president of the Bowling Green League, one as LWVO treasurer (1977-1979), coordinated Ohio elections returns in 1980 for ABC News, based on exit polls by LWV members (pre-cell phone days!) and co-chaired the LWVO Land Use Study in 1999. She has a PhD in developmental genetics from BGSU and was a faculty member there in the Center for Environmental Programs. Natural Resources are her chief interest in League and she’s the current Land Use Specialist in our Lobby Corps.

Meg G. Flack , LWV-Metro Columbus, has served on the LWVO state board as president, secretary and chair of the Advocacy Committee. She looks forward to continuing to work with members throughout the state to bring about change through membership development, voter-service and advocacy efforts. Meg has a long history of community volunteerism and has held leadership positions with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County (CASA), VOICES for Children and Families and the Junior League of Columbus. Flack holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management and a Doctorate in Sociology from The Ohio State University, where she formerly taught sociology.

In February 2012, Carrie Davis joined the League of Women Voters of Ohio as Executive Director, bringing to the League her extensive experience as an advocate for voting rights and good government at the Statehouse, in the courtroom, and in local communities. Prior to joining the League, Carrie served as staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, where she worked on a variety of issues including voting rights, free speech, criminal justice, racial justice, LGBT rights, reproductive freedom, and government accountability.

Carrie has litigated numerous election law and good government cases including the 2008 case Project Vote v. Brunner that obtained a court order keeping open the Ohio window for simultaneous registration and early voting. She was also part of the legal team in the case Boustani v. Blackwell that struck down a 2006 Ohio law requiring naturalized citizens to produce a certificate of naturalization if challenged at the polls.

Carrie is a native Ohioan and has a BA in philosophy and public policy from Albion College and a JD from Case Western Reserve University. Carrie interned on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as part of a Women in Public Policy program and later worked as a Congressional Aide. Carrie returned to Ohio to attend law school and enter public service. During law school, Carrie worked as a legal intern with the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and served as Editor-in-Chief and Bureau Chief of The Internet Law Journal.

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