Managing Partner—Midwest Office, BroadView Talent Partners

A leader by example, Christie Angel has spent three decades engaging her community, building relationships and advising leaders—all while transforming organizations. She specializes in leadership development and integration, helping senior-level executives drive positive shifts within their organizations. As Managing Partner, her focus is not only on helping clients identify their next best leader, but also coaching both clients and candidates through the onboarding and transition processes, nurturing positive relationships and lasting impacts.

Prior to joining BroadView Talent Partners, Christie founded Halo Partners, a leadership coaching firm, and served as CEO of YWCA Columbus. There, over five years, she reinvented their brand, a transformation that aligned with the national conversation on women’s equity and inclusion. Prior to the YWCA, Christie’s past professional experiences spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including Principal for public affairs firm, Calfee Strategic Solutions and VP in the consulting firm, Sean P. Dunn & Associates where she served on numerous search and transition committees for nonprofit organizations.

Christie served as a Legislative Analyst for Columbus City Council, and—supporting the transition teams for three mayors—served as a trusted advisor to city and state leaders. She was recruited to Deputy Chief of Staff by Mayor Coleman in 2012. With a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in applied communication from Franklin University, she is a contributing board member to numerous local organizations, including Campus Partners, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Equity Now Coalition, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council, where she serves as board chair.

A three-time recipient of Columbus Business First’s “Power 100,” Christie was also named a YWCA Women of Achievement in 2015 and selected by her peers as CEO of the Year in the large nonprofit category (2020). She is the 2020 recipient of the Nancy Jeffrey Advocate Award from the Community Shelter Board, and the Dorothy I. Height Award from the National Council of Negro Women. Inducted into the Leadership Columbus Hall of Fame in 2013, she resides with her husband in downtown Columbus.

Director, City of Columbus Office of Violence Prevention

Rena is a native of the Youngstown, Ohio area. She is a second generation Greek-American, raised in a bilingual household. She currently resides in Central Ohio with her husband, young son, and two rescue dogs.

Rena went to The Ohio State University, where she studied Political Science and International Studies. She was a Morrill Scholar, receiving a full-tuition scholarship through the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Rena was heavily involved in community engagement during her time at OSU, working for the John Glenn School of Public Affairs and for the American Cancer Society in government relations and advocacy.

Ms. Shak then attended Capital University Law School. Rena was a program coordinator for the Criminal Law Association, legal intern for the Legal Clinic, member of the Women’s Law Association, and a writer and editor for the Capital University Law Review. During this time, Ms. Shak also spent a summer in Florence, Italy studying international human trafficking and criminal law.

Rena graduated Capital University Law School and began her career as an attorney at the office of the Franklin County Public Defender. Rena represented individuals in every type of criminal matter, ranging from traffic offenses to aggravated murder. She has worked with the specialty dockets, including the human trafficking and drug courts. Rena Shak spent the majority of the last decade in at least one of the Franklin County courthouses advocating on behalf of indigent clients in need of legal representation and connecting them to resources.

In 2021, Rena was a judicial candidate for the Franklin County Municipal Court. Ms. Shak then began working for the office of Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther as In-House Counsel and Assistant Policy Director in June of 2022. In that role, Rena led efforts to strengthen Columbus gun laws and worked on other public safety-related issues including juvenile justice.

In March of 2023, Mayor Ginther appointed Ms. Shak to be the Director of the Columbus Office of Violence Prevention, the first office of its kind in the City and the State of Ohio. Rena is honored to have been entrusted by Mayor Ginther to lead the Office of Violence Prevention. She is committed to working collaboratively with city departments, community partners and residents to reduce violence and enhance safety initiatives in Columbus.

Deputy Director, City of Columbus Office of Violence Prevention

Dr. Joanne Lunceford earned her Doctor of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California with her studies focusing on race and cognition. She obtained her Master of Science in Social Administration (MSW-equivalent) from Case Western Reserve University and her Bachelor of Arts from Miami University (Oxford).

Dr. Lunceford has worked as a macro/mezzo social work and criminal justice professional for over 25 years. She has held volunteer, organization, leadership, direct service, board, management, and administrative positions- most recently being appointed by Mayor Andrew J. Ginther as the inaugural Deputy Director of The Columbus Office of Violence Prevention. In 2006, she became the founding Executive Director of The Peace Project- a grassroots violence prevention organization, and in 2023, she founded The RCB Initiative, LLC.- a racial justice business with training, public speaking, and consulting capabilities.

Dr. Lunceford has served as an Adjunct Professor of Social Work, an Adjunct Instructor of Criminal Justice, Sociology, and General Studies, and has been faculty through the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Probation Officer’s Training Program. Her career work is focused on the intersectionality of Race, Social Work, and Criminal Justice with an emphasis on addressing trauma and eradicating racial inequalities with service providers and service users; and her academic work, further enhances this notion with strategies to overcoming racial inequality in all systems and disciplines.

Dr. Lunceford is a member of the NAACP, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of Black Social Workers, American Probation and Parole Association, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, National Council of Negro Women, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She has received honors and acknowledgements for her leadership, service, and humanitarian efforts and is an eager, dedicated professional on a life-long journey to transform herself into a productive, innovative instrument of advocacy and change. She is no longer accepting the things she cannot change, but changing the things she can no longer accept, loves softball and writing, and lives by the motto, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

ENC Chair & CEO of APDS

Jerry Saunders, Sr., Chief Executive Officer of Africentric Personal Development Shop, Inc. (APDS) which is a behavioral healthcare center specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and education classes to prevent, treat, and eliminate substance abuse and domestic violence. In addition, APDS provides community outreach which includes male and female support groups and a 9-week SMART 2.0 Summer Enrichment Program for youth ages 6 to 13. APDS has a staff of 23 including 10 seasonal employees. APDS is certified by Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS).

Jerry serves on the board of trustees for Creative Housing and the board of directors for Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity.

Jerry has more than 35 years of personal and community development experience. Saunders has an extensive history of serving on governing boards of public entities and 501(C)3 non-profit community development organizations.

Prior to joining APDS in April 1997, Saunders served ten years as executive director of the Eldon W. Ward YMCA Branch of Central Ohio.

The Oberlin College graduate is the recipient of numerous awards including the Columbus Urban League Award of Excellence, 100 Black Men of Central Ohio Mentor of the Year, and Greater Columbus Community Helping Hands, Inc. Ambassador of Health and Wellness Award. Saunders received the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow of The Rotary Foundation from Columbus Rotary.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Jerry attended Mohawk Junior-Senior High School. He is married to E. Gayle Saunders and they have one son, Jerry Jr.

Director of Community Affairs, WBNS 10TV

Angela Pace is the Director of Community Affairs for WBNS-10TV, serving as a liaison between WBNS and the Central Ohio non-profit community since 2006. She was raised and schooled in Columbus (Capital University and Columbus City Schools), and has worked in central Ohio all her life.

Angela anchored the 6PM and 11PM editions of 10TV Eyewitness News for 13 years, beginning her on-air duties in March of 1993.

She previously worked at WCMH-TV for 13 years. For five of those years she anchored the weekday 6PM, 7PM and 11PM newscasts. During her career at WCMH-TV, she worked first as a floor director and later as a reporter. Angela also worked at WCLT Radio in Newark, where she was a news director and reporter.

Angela currently serves on the boards of the Lincoln Theater Association and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts. Her past board involvement includes: Capital University trustees; Capital University Alumni Association; Mid-Ohio Food Bank; Jazz Arts Group; the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation; and I Know I Can. Her work with the United Negro College Fund included hosting their annual telethon from 1987 to 1991 and serving as grand marshal for their walk-a-thon for four years.

Among her awards and honors: 1992 Columbus Public School Hall of Fame; 1994 YWCA Women of Achievement Award; 1992 Governor's Award for Journalism and Community Service; Columbus Education Association's Martin Luther King Junior Humanitarian Award; the Capital University Outstanding Alumni Award; 1996 Toastmaster’s International Leadership Award; 2006 Community Service Award from the Columbus Urban League; Lifetime Achievement Award from the Columbus Association of Black Journalists; 2006 Music Educators Lifetime Achievement Award from the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; In 2011, the Angela was inducted into the NATAS Ohio Valley Silver Circle for broadcasters with more than 25 years in the industry. The Columbus Bar Association has established a foundation in her name. A large portion of the funds from that foundation was used to help build the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where the Welcome Room has been named in her honor. Angela has won three Emmys and a regional Telly award. In January 2012, Angela Pace was named one of the Top 50 Icons in Columbus by the Columbus Bicentennial Guide. Angela’s image is featured on the Long Street Cultural Wall of Fame in the historic King Lincoln district on Columbus’s near east side.

CEO, Signal Ohio

A highly accomplished attorney, transformational leader, and community changemaker, Rita McNeil Danish possesses more than 30 years of professional legal experience across a range of industries and business sectors. In her roles as partner, consultant, and now nonprofit CEO, Rita has fostered intercultural interactions that embraced and celebrated diversity, equity, and inclusion, resulting in communities that were both empowered and strengthened. Leveraging her breadth and depth of insights into municipal and government law, she has a proven history of building bridges across party, racial, and gender lines, fostering open cultures, dismantling prejudices, and empowering individuals to uniquely contribute to society.

Rita’s work is that of passion and history. Her mother, an English professor, and her father, a Chicago criminal defense attorney and civil rights leader, established a foundation committed to community, advocacy, and justice and that fueled Rita’s pursuit of law. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Howard University and her Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law. Her law career began at Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn (now Ice Miller) before she moved to the Governor’s office as Assistant Deputy Legal Counsel. She then transitioned to the Ohio Department of Commerce as Chief Legal Counsel & Acting Superintendent of the Division of Real Estate, a role in which she thrived.

In 1994, Rita served as Magistrate of Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic & Juvenile Division before she was invited by the Attorney General to serve the Ohio AG’s Civil Rights Section as Section Chief. In 1998, she moved to the City of Dayton as City Attorney & Director of Law where she began her work forging positive relationships with police. This work proved pivotal when in 2002 she moved to the City of Cincinnati where she served as City Solicitor. There she negotiated and implemented one of the nation’s landmark and most notable memorandum of agreements with the Department of Justice, delivering critical police reform.

In 2008, Rita transitioned to Vice President for Government Affairs for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, and in 2010 she was recruited to the City of Greensboro to serve as City Attorney / Corporate Counsel. In 2014, she was appointed by then-Governor John Kasich to serve as a Judge in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Domestic & Juvenile Division.

Throughout her career, Rita has worked as Of Counsel & Associate with Crabbe, Brown & James where she transformed the culture to better encompass DEI. Additionally, Rita serves clients as the Founder, CEO, and Principal of JD2 Strategists, LLC, and formerly as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Business Partner at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP. In both roles, she diligently supports and provides counsel to small, minority- and women-owned businesses. Through collaboration and communication, Rita engages elected officials, state legislators, community stakeholders, and business leaders to find a foundation of unity on which to build systems that deliver safer communities with justice for all.

Most recently, following a comprehensive national search, Rita was appointed CEO of Signal Ohio, a new nonprofit organization rallying local support for community-centered journalism. Building and leading a statewide team, Rita is focused on launching newsrooms across the network to achieve the organization’s mission of delivering quality, unbiased information accessible to all Ohioans. With Rita’s onboarding, she now serves as part of one of the largest nonprofit news organizations.

While Rita’s professional contributions to DEI, MWBE, and community advocacy are prolific and significant, she is equally adept at combining her legal acumen, budgetary leadership, and business management to deliver strategies and vision that transform businesses. This unique set of skills is why often she is sought after to contribute to boards including her recent 5-year term appointment on the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Additionally, she served the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the National Civic League, and Women’s Small Business Accelerator, and she is the Chair of the Public Contracting Committee of the ABA Section of State and Local Government Law and Chair for Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD).

Rita’s work includes publications that highlight municipal law and the government’s potential to provide constituents with economic equality for all. Licensed in Ohio, Illinois, and the United States Supreme Court, Rita’s vast experiences have generated recognition from Columbus Monthly where she was the cover feature and she was a Best Lawyers in America Honoree.

CEO, Color Coded Labs

Doug McCollough is CEO of Color Coded Labs, which targets underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized communities, seeking gritty working adults to present new, transformative career pathways in the technology industry. Through collaborations and partnerships he has worked to connect people to opportunities, remove barriers, and promote change in initiatives ranging from Smart and Connected Cities, IT Workforce Development, and expanding broadband access. He has spoken as a subject matter expert and advocate on technical subjects, and using technology for community and economic development.

Prior to his current work, Doug held positions within the State of Ohio Departments of Public Safety, Commerce, Industrial Commission, and Medicaid. He served as the Director of Information Technology for the City of Richmond, Virginia, and as CIO for the City of Dublin, Ohio. He is on the boards of Per Scholas Columbus, TECH CORPS, and Jewish Family Services of Columbus, is a cofounder of Black Tech Columbus, and a Trustee for the Central Ohio Transit Authority.

Director of Community and Public Relations, Harvest of Ohio

Jeané Holley currently serves as the director of community, public and government relations for Harvest of OH, a medical cannabis company, as well as, The AKA Team, a diversified construction company built upon a continuing legacy of innovation, character, and integrity.

Jeané’s goal for both companies is to build relationships with residents, patients, clients, local businesses, local government and legislators within the communities that they serve. Jeane’s team is committed to being actively involved within the community on all levels, bringing awareness to the issues at hand throughout our communities and being advocates for our communities, working to ensure that not only are our businesses thriving, but the community as well.

Jeané graduated from The University of Akron with a Bachelor of Arts in mass media communication.

Jeané is currently a member of the following organizations: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Board Member for the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio; Nordonia Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (NDEIC); and BRAVE Engagements (Mentor Recruitment Committee).

Serial Entrepreneur, Founder of ColumbusBlack.com and Myle.com

Kevin Lloyd, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder of Lloyds of Columbus, LLC, ColumbusBlack.com, MYLE (Make Your Life Entertaining), Co-Director of BLK hack Columbus, Co-Founder of Venture Suite and Co-Founder of The Ohio Collective. He has successfully established these brands along with lifestyle brands including The Mid Month Mixer, HEREFRIDAYS and assisted with emerging brands BLK_hack, Color Coded Labs, Venture Combine and 1921 Ventures.

Lloyd is known for an exemplary career as a highly successful Retail Executive with more than 20 years of Operational and Customer Service experience in his prior career. His experience consists of high levels of operational excellence resulting in business results exceeding $400M annually while effectively leading teams in excess of 1300 employees.

As an entrepreneur over the past 15 years, Lloyd has acquired a reputation for establishing strong brands and innovative marketing campaigns by leveraging lifestyle-based marketing, social media and event activation engagement strategies.

Lloyd is an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and Organizer with Can’t Stop Columbus. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Tuskegee University and is the Past President of the Columbus Tuskegee Alumni Club and 1st Assistant Director for the Tuskegee National Alumni Association, North Central Region.

Executive Director, Westerville Area Resource Ministry