Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer / VP, Community Engagement, United Way of Central Ohio

Originally from the Cleveland area, Kourtni has lived, worked, and served in central Ohio since 2010, committed to engaging and learning from her Columbus community. To date, she has nearly 10 years of community service and advocacy experience.

Kourtni is the HR Manager at United Way of Central Ohio, where she leads an organizational strategic goal focused on creating a culture of continuous improvement and accountability, oversees benefits administration, and works closely with diversity and inclusion to assess and provide diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives to staff.  She also serves as a member of the organization’s Leadership Team.

Kourtni is a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) and in 2018, she received her SHRM certification.  She is passionate about reinvesting in central Ohio, demonstrated through her completion of UWCO’s Project Diversity program, as a fellow of the 2020 African American Leadership Academy class and volunteerism at Community Shelter Board, and Godman Guild Association’s mentoring program. Kourtni has previously served on the Hilliard/Ray Patch YMCA Advisory Board and as the secretary of the Board of Trustees for Bridgeway Academy.

Former Mayor of Columbus, Director of Business & Government Strategies, Ice Miller

Michael B. Coleman has established a national reputation as a transformational leader in business, law and government. Skilled at bringing people together, Michael has a history of collaboration craftsmanship leading to viable solutions of complex problems. His long history of transformational leadership is manifested in leading roles in a nearly 400-attorney law firm and multiple corporate boards and as the City of Columbus’ longest-serving and first African American mayor.

Michael’s leadership in law is recognized through his role as Partner in Ice Miller’s Government Affairs and Regulatory Law Group and listing as a Government Relations Practice Best Lawyer in America in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Michael blends advocacy with strategy to create dynamic partnerships between business, government, real estate development and urban policy furthering the city’s vibrant and thriving reputation. Michael represented 5 of the region’s top 10 real estate developments in 2019 and some of the city’s largest developers in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 totaling over $1B in real estate development value.

Michael’s leadership in business is evidenced by his work on the board of directors of Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) serving as the chair of the Sustainability Committee and a member of the Governance Committee and Michael previously served as a member of the Audit Committee. Michael also serves as an organizing board member of Adelphi Bank, a minority-owned and controlled bank. Michael serves as the Lead Director, a member of the Governance Committee and Loan Committee. Michael also serves as a member of the Cambridge Holdings Advisory Board, a Dallas-based real estate firm practicing in the development ownership and management of healthcare facilities. Michael is repeatedly recognized as one of the top business leaders in both the city of Columbus and the State of Ohio.

US House of Representatives, Ohio's 3rd District

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is a native Ohioan with a strong history of connecting people, policy, and politics to make a difference. Since 2013, Beatty has proudly represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District. In the 117th Congress, Beatty served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

In the 118th Congress, Beatty serves on the exclusive House Committee on Financial Services as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. The Financial Services Committee oversees the entire financial services industry, including the nation’s banking, securities, insurance, and housing industries, as well as the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Prior to her service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Beatty was senior vice president of outreach and engagement at The Ohio State University and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for five terms. During her tenure in the Ohio House, she rose to become the first female Democratic House Leader in Ohio’s history and was instrumental in spearheading and enacting legislation to require financial literacy in Ohio’s public school curriculum, to expand STEM education, and to secure funds to help under- and uninsured women access breast and cervical cancer treatment.

Beatty is a vocal leader and advocate for the issues impacting Black Americans, including voting rights reform, police brutality, financial inequality, diversity and inclusion, healthcare access, and gun violence prevention. In July 2021, she was arrested while protesting for voting rights in the U.S. Senate. That same year, she was pepper sprayed in Columbus while protesting the murder of George Floyd.

As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Beatty was instrumental in the crafting and passage of key bills and Executive Orders. In 2021, she was credited with uniting Democratic Congressmembers in support of the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, which will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. That same year, she helped achieve a decades-long goal of enshrining Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday when President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. She also served as a key advisor to President Biden as he drafted his 2022 Executive Order addressing police brutality.

As a vocal advocate for women, Congresswoman Beatty served as a key supporter of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her vetting and nomination periods and even testified on her behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A sought-after public speaker and the recipient of numerous awards, she was previously named one of Ebony Magazine’s 150 most powerful African-Americans in the United States.

Congresswoman Beatty serves as a Member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and is active in The Links, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Columbus Urban League, The American Heart Association—where she previously served on the board—and numerous other organizations. 

Larry Price serves as President of the Commission with a term expiring January 31, 2026. Outside of the Commission, Mr. Price serves as the founder and CEO of L. Price & Associates, which provides consultative services to private, public, and faith-based organizations, specializing in helping to ensure inclusion and diversity for minority business owners in acquiring state and local contracts. Mr. Price's passion for community outreach has led him to serve on boards of several organizations, such as Boy Scouts of America, the NAACP-State of Ohio, and founding the Urban Crime Advisory Committee in Columbus.

Mr. Price also brings a wealth of skills and knowledge from over 30 years of experience in public service, which includes working in the Ohio Senate, the Office of the Mayor, and being elected in 2003 as State Representative of the 26th District in the State of Ohio House of Representatives.

Mr. Price received a bachelor's degree in Journalism from The Ohio State University

Interim Director, Economic Development & Planning, Director, Office of Justice Policy & Programs, Franklin County

Ruchelle is an award-winning servant leader with almost two decades of expertise in criminal justice, youth services, consultancy, and leadership. She lends her intellectual property to a myriad of national, state, and local groups to support justice-related projects with an emphasis on racial equity, community health, and economic mobility.

Over the years, Ruchelle has been instrumental in piloting several initiatives, one currently recognized as a specialty docket by the Supreme Court of Ohio. She is a fierce agitator for prison reform and disrupting the business of mass incarceration. After conducting research and continuing her advocacy for equitable justice, she became a full voting member with the European Forum for Restorative Justice in Belgium representing the USA.

Admired as a woman who speaks truth into change, Ruchelle became the first black woman appointed as Director by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners to lead the Office of Justice Policy & Programs (OJPP) and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County. With a stellar track record of leadership, strategy, and organizational management, Ruchelle recently earned dual directorship following her appointment as Interim Director of Franklin County Economic Development & Planning.

Ruchelle is a distinguished Orator, Doctoral Candidate, Certified Professional Coach, Certified Diversity Executive and Co-Author. Her philosophy of stewardship and service is simple, “How you see people is how you serve people, make sure your vision is 20/20”!

Chip Spinning, Executive Director of Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) since 2011, is a nationally recognized child welfare advocate and one of the leading champions in Ohio on protecting children through stronger family connections.

Under Mr. Spinning’s leadership, FCCS has been at the forefront of child protection by implementing several initiatives designed to sustain the agency’s stable and diverse workforce of child welfare professionals, prioritize the need for children in the agency’s care to remain in family-like settings, and provide mentoring and prevention services to connect both youth and families with community-based resources and supports to keep more children healthy and safe.

Recognizing that the goals of child safety and family preservation are truly community-wide responsibilities, Mr. Spinning has developed and strengthened lasting partnerships between FCCS and several essential organizations such as Franklin County Juvenile Court, the Community Shelter Board, Columbus City Schools, Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services, and the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities

Over the past decade, Mr. Spinning has been a prominent voice and thought leader, serving on numerous local and national boards and committees, including Co-Chair of the National Partnership on Child Safety, the Casey Family Program’s Metro Race Equity Group, the American Public Human Services Association’s Executive Peer Exchange Committee, the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators’ Executive Committee the Board of Trustees for the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, the Partners for Ohio’s Families Advisory Board, and the Franklin County Family and Children First Council.

Inspired by his grandmother who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, Mr. Spinning began his career in community service as an administrator for nursing homes and assisted living facilities. His experience and commitment to meeting the needs of our most vulnerable populations led him to serve as the Director of the Madison County Department of Job and Family Services (in London, Ohio) where he worked for 11 years before he was recruited to Franklin County.

A graduate of Ohio University, Mr. Spinning has a bachelor’s in health care and a master’s degree in health care administration.

The Ohio State University 

Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. was appointed as the 17th president of The Ohio State University by the Board of Trustees on August 22, 2023. He began his tenure at Ohio State on January 1, 2024.

As president, Carter leads the state’s flagship, public research university with six campuses in Ohio and a student body of more than 65,000. Ohio State’s largest campus is in Columbus, the state capital and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Additionally, the university has campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark and Wooster, as well as the nationally recognized Wexner Medical Center, a global research enterprise and leading athletics program. 

Director, Child Enrichment and Volunteers, Franklin County Children’s Services

Eboni Partlow is an innovative, creative, and data-driven Public Administrator and leader with 15 years of experience working in nonprofit, government, human, and social services. She has worn many hats throughout her career but simply identifies as a community advocate and servant leader, with a singular mission to assess and address systemic inequities to improve the lives of marginalized communities.

Senior Development Manager, American Cancer Society

Isabelle Castillo-Anderson is a dedicated non-profit professional serving as a Senior Development Manager with the American Cancer Society in Columbus, Ohio. Growing up in an immigrant family with ties to the Caribbean and Latin America, she quickly developed a passion for community building and advocacy, particularly supporting communities of color. This passion led her to The Ohio State University, where she earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Strategic Communications and Political Science, specializing in Inequality and Justice Studies.

Isabelle's career in the nonprofit sector includes roles in grassroots field organizing, DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), social media strategy, and program management. Post-grad, she has developed a focus on public health roles while maintaining her laser-focus on equity and inclusion. In her current role, she leads event planning, development, and volunteer coordination for ResearcHERS: Women Fighting Cancer of Ohio, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Columbus, Men Wear Pink Columbus, OSU Relay for Life, and the OHWV Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Director of Regional Integrated Marketing, American Cancer Society

Lindsey is currently the Director of Regional Integrated Marketing for the American Cancer Society after serving in multiple roles at Kids In Need Foundation, an organization focused on providing free school supplies and learning resources to teachers and students in under-resourced schools. Prior to roles at the American Diabetes Association and a boutique marketing agency, Lindsey directed corporate communications for the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints. Lindsey’s skillset includes strategy and execution for corporate partnerships, branding, marketing communications, social media, events, media relations, and influencer relationships.

In November of 2023, she was elected to the North Canton City School District Board of Education. A graduate of the district, she believes investing time, energy, and resources in our students’ education is the most important action we can take for our collective future. She is committed to the bond between the North Canton community and its school district and will be a leader as the district continues to evolve to ensure staff, teachers, and students have the resources they need to thrive.

Advocacy work has become a priority for Lindsey outside of her full-time job. She is the Legislative Lead for Akron/Canton for Moms Demand Action, working to advocate for legislation to end gun violence. She has also spent time canvassing and phone banking for local candidates, with a focus on those who have prioritized human and civil rights and education as a part of their platforms. Lindsey serves as a fundraising and communications specialist for SheJumps. She volunteers locally with Queer in Canton and is on the board of directors of StarkFresh.

Lindsey is an avid lover of the outdoors and serves as a City Project Leader for the Outbound Collective, working to create community through nature in Northeast Ohio.Lindsey graduated from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania where she also played tennis.