[email protected]
88 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 42315
Phone: (800) 345-2519

David B. Thompson, CPA, graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accounting.    He is a Certified Public Accountant and has over thirty five years of governmental experience. Most of that experience is with the office of Auditor of State dealing with complex accounting, budgetary and reporting issues of local governments in the State of Ohio. Dave also served as Chief Project Manager of the Southwest Region of Local Government Services for over twenty years. 

[email protected]
30 West Spring Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-7090

Susan Willeke is an accomplished government - relations professional with more than 20 years’ experience in public affairs, communication and public speaking.  Susan joined the Ohio Ethics Commission in 2005 as the Education and Communications Manager where she oversees and conducts educational and communication outreach.  In that position, Susan presents approximately 200 speeches annually, develops information strategies regarding agency programs and represents the Ethics Commission to Ohio citizens, the media and the Ohio legislature.  Prior to joining the Commission, Susan served in the communications office at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives.   

Susan is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio.  In 2011, she was selected to present at TEDx Columbus, a conference for “Ideas Worth Sharing” and identified as one of Central Ohio’s “Leading Thinkers and Doers.”

[email protected]
419 West High Street
New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663
Phone: 330-340-8119

Renee is responsible for leading the firm’s Human Resources Consulting Services practice by providing HR guidance, compliance, and best practices to support a portfolio of clients within the organization. At Rea, Renee specializes in supporting clients in employee relations, policy development, strategic talent acquisition,employee retention, federal & state HR compliance, performance management,benefits, and compensation. She is also active with Ohio SHRM both at the state and local levels. She holds a SHRM Senior Certification (SCP) since 2018 and SHRM-CP since 2014.

[email protected]
40 Public Square
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43550
Phone: 740-393-9517

Matthew Starr (Matt) has been the Mayor for the City of Mount Vernon since 2020 and was a member of the City Council prior to that.  His background is in psychology and he is the CEO of the independent film making company, Kokosing River Productions.  Matt’s passion for public service pulled him into serving on several boards for non-profit organizations in Knox County and eventually to public office.  He is currently working on his DBA in Strategic Management through LIGS University.

[email protected]
17 S. High Street
Suite 750
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 224-4411

Jonathan Downes has over 30 years of experience in practicing labor and employment law in Ohio and has successfully negotiated over 500 labor agreements and has presented over 100 impasse proceedings and 100 arbitrations. He represents cities, townships, counties, school districts, and public officials throughout the State of Ohio. Jonathan also represents private employers in employment matters. He has argued cases before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Jonathan is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Jonathan is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Jonathan has been selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America – Employment and Labor Law” every year since 2010, as an “Ohio Super Lawyer” every year since 2004, one of “Central Ohio Top Lawyers” since 2009, and received the OHPELRA “Award of Excellence” in 2016. He is also certified by the Ohio State Bar Association (“OSBA”) as a Specialist in Labor and Employment law.  He lectures frequently on many topics including state and federal employment and labor law developments, civil rights, civil service, arbitration, and collective bargaining. Jonathan served on the Civil Service Review Commission for the State of Ohio, authored “Civil Service Law in Ohio,” and edits the Westlaw annual publication of the “Ohio Civil Service and Collective Bargaining Laws and Rules Annotated.” Jonathan was a member of the OSBA’s Board of Governors for the Labor and Employment Law Section, is a member of the Ohio Management Lawyers Association, and a charter member and past president of the Ohio Public Employers Labor Relations Association. Jonathan volunteers in his community in various capacities including serving on boards of a public library and two charter schools and advises a high school mock trial team.

[email protected]
100 East Broad Street, Suite 1340
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: 419-707-0164

Jamie Beier Grant, Director of Economic Development Planning. Jamie Beier Grant provides corporate site location, economic development planning, site development and workforce development services based upon her 20+ years of local, regional, and state economic development experience. Ms. Beier Grant serves public and private sector economic development clients throughout the U.S. with the development of virtual job fairs, developing economic development strategies and industrial site development strategies in Ohio and Michigan, developing infrastructure finance strategies for industrial and mixed-use development clients, and the provision of economic development advisory and project financing services for several local governments, developers, and large institutional land holders. Ms. Beier Grant is a member of statewide economic development associations in Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri along with regional associations such as the MidAmerica Economic Development Council. Ms. Beier Grant is a graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Bachelor’s Degree in German and has completed leadership programming at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, and is pursuing an MBA from the University of Cincinnati’s Linder College of Business.

[email protected]
5100 Darrow Rd
Hudson, OH 44236
Phone: 330-655-5522

Tom is recognized as a leader in municipal communications. He possesses a deep understanding of the issues that impact local governments and has developed and implemented communication strategies to help communities reach their goals.  

Tom has successfully managed dozens of municipal outreach and school district information campaigns throughout Ohio. Marketing based on proven research methods ensures a public engagement is on the right track. Tom’s background in political science and qualitative and quantitative research techniques provides clients with an in-depth understanding of the audiences they are trying to motivate.  

Tom specializes in:

• Winning (Community Engagement Initiatives – Campaigns)

  • ·      Writing (He has had a lifelong passion for the written word)
  • ·      Government and corporate (internal/external) communications
  • ·      Qualitative and quantitative research and polling
  • ·      Crisis communications
  • ·      Political strategy and campaign management
  • ·      Organizational Strategic Planning and Guidance
  • ·      Executive Leadership

Tom received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Ohio University and his Master of Arts in Political Science from The University of Akron. Tom, his wife Shannon and their 2 children reside in Kent.  Tom is a history buff and a fitness nut. He has a passion for ancient and modern history, and has written his first novel “Hannibal – The Forging.”

[email protected]
5701 Greendale Road
Johnston, Iowa 50131
Phone: 515-339-8321

Joined Sedgwick in November 2017 as an IT Risk Control Specialist III. Has 20 years experience in the information technology field.

With an educational background in computer network administration and criminal justice, Colette has a broad understanding of information security and is experienced working to enforce and enhance security measures for both public and private industries including government, human services, IT consulting, marketing, banking, insurance, pension, energy and manufacturing.

Some of Colette's prior experience has included:

1.) Information Security and Disaster Recovery

2.) Intrusion Detection and Incident Response

3.) Document and Records Management

4.) Server Administration, Imaging and Workflow

5 .) State and Federal Law and Regulation

Colette is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) with ISACA. She has also been A+ certified with CompTIA for20 years.

[email protected]
6125 Memorial Drive
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: 614-923-1151

James McCourt joined the fixed-income investment management team at United American Capital Corporation in June 2008, and has over 11 years of financial industry experience. His duties include the daily management of UACC’s client portfolios, executing trades, and participating in the development of the firm’s overall fixed-income strategies. In addition, he is responsible for maintaining the performance records for the firm and conducting market research. Prior to joining UACC, Jim was a credit analyst in the Business Banking division at JPMorgan Chase. Mr. McCourt earned a B.S. degree from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Capital University. He is also an active member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Columbus. 

[email protected]
6125 Memorial Dr
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: 614.923.1152

Nick Vaccari joined Meeder in 2011, with an early focus in his career promoting government sponsored investment programs. Today he serves as an Advisor, working with institutional clients, helping each meet their goals while providing a top notch customer experience. Nick currently holds a Certified Fixed Income Practitioner designation, FINRA Series 6, and FINRA Series 65.

[email protected]
100 South Third Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 227-8861

Matt Stout is a partner in and co-chair of Bricker Graydon's Public Finance group and practices in the areas of public finance and public law, emphasizing school and local government law. He assists and advises with the documentation and issuance of general obligation and revenue bond transactions for municipalities, school districts, and other political subdivisions; assists and advises municipalities, school districts, and other political subdivisions with tax-exempt lease purchase financings; and provides general counsel assistance to political subdivisions.  Matt received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and his JD/MBA from The Ohio State University.

[email protected]
88 East Broad Street
5th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-728-7237

Mary DeGenaro is the Chief Legal Counsel for Auditor of State Keith Faber, the third branch of government in which she has served Ohio.  For 18 years she served in the judiciary as the 159th justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and as a judge on the Seventh District Court of Appeals, comprised of Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning, Monroe and Noble Counties.  Prior to that she was a member of Poland Village Council.  

Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1986, Mary is also admitted to practice in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from Youngstown State University and her law degree in 1986 from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, where she interned with U.S. District Judge George White.

Mary’s extensive community and professional service includes President of the Ohio Women's Bar Association and founding member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Specialty Certification Board, which administers the specialty bar examination and certification.

Past service includes: Adjunct faculty member for the political science department at Youngstown State University; Member of the statewide Voter Education & Public Funding Working Group to further judicial impartiality, a court-policy initiative of former Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, which addressed issues involving judicial races and preserving the integrity of Ohio’s judiciary; Member of the external advisory committees for the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service at Cleveland State University and Youngstown State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences; the Ohio Judicial Conference as a member of the Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the Judicial Ethics and Professionalism Committee.

[email protected]
88 East Broad Street
5th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-728-7237

Mr. Stanton joined the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office in the summer of 2019 as an Assistant Legal Counsel. A native of Northwest Ohio, Mr. Stanton received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in May 2014 and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law (ONU Law) in May 2017. Additionally, Mr. Stanton completed a post-professional Master of Law (LL.M.) degree in Business and Tax Law at Notre Dame Law School in May 2019.

As a law student, Mr. Stanton served as Articles Research Editor on the ONU Law Review.  Prior to joining the Auditor of State’s Office, Mr. Stanton was a legal fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington D.C., where he assisted in the preparation of the institute’s U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs. After his time at the Cato Institute, Mr. Stanton served as a compliance associate in Northern Virginia, where he was responsible for implementing the provisions of the 2018 Dodd-Frank partial repeal at a large banking institution.

He currently resides in Dublin, Ohio, where he enjoys golfing (when the weather permits) and attending Buckeye sporting events with his family and friends.