For more than 8 years, Donya Buchanan has been a leader and an advocate of domestic violence movements in Portage County. Donya has served on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network since 2015 and has co-chaired the Women of Color Caucus. Donya received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Kent State University and is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Donya’s current role is the Director of Domestic Violence and Visitation Services at Safer Futures. In this role, Donya brings unwavering passion and commitment to educating the community about the importance of healthy relationships, domestic violence prevention, and diversity and inclusion. Around the state, Donya has worked closely with public officials and community leaders to encourage the implementation of trauma-informed approaches and strengthen service providers’ responses to the needs of all survivors of domestic violence. As Donya continuously grows and develops her own knowledge base, her hope is that the message she spreads and the ideas she instills will change the way domestic violence is viewed by public officials and local agencies. Most importantly, Donya seeks to empower survivors to not only find their voice but also create safer futures.

Deidra Lashley, LSW MPH is the Executive Director of Bethany House, which has provided long-term transitional shelter and support services to domestic violence victims and their children in Toledo-Lucas County and Northwest Ohio for over 30 years. Deidra brings her twenty years of victim advocacy experience to the Board of ODVN because she believes our state coalition provides essential leadership and expertise to stakeholders and enhances the work of local domestic violence programs.

Dana brings over a decade of experience in accounting and staff development. She is currently working as a Manager on the Finance team at VS&Co. Prior to joining the Board of Ohio Domestic Violence Network, Dana served as Treasurer for Breath of Hope, a nonprofit lung cancer charity supporting the James Thoracic Oncology Center at the OSUMC. In her role as Treasurer, she was responsible for the areas of accounting, financial reporting, budget management, 1099 filing, technology procurement, and implementation. Dana is passionate about the mission ODVN is focused on and is grateful for the opportunity to further support the community through her position on the Board.

Sheryl Clinger serves as the Director of Advocacy/Policy and Community Engagement for The Center for Family Safety and Healing (TCFSH) and has been a part of the organization since 2005. As part of her role, Sheryl oversees the training and advocacy department at TCFSH, which offers customized family violence education and training for employers, faith-based organizations, healthcare systems, legal systems, schools, and other social service organizations. With an increase in demand over the last five years, Sheryl and her team have delivered family violence education to hundreds of systems in central Ohio and surrounding areas. Additionally, the training and advocacy department has presented at local, state, and national conferences. Sheryl serves on various local and state committees that focus on family violence and participates in case review teams. In 2018, she joined the board for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network. Sheryl earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Education from Bowling Green State University. She has a passion for helping people and strengthening our community through education and prevention.

Kelly Cooke, LISW-S, is the Executive Director of My Sister’s Place, a domestic violence program providing shelter, counseling, and court advocacy in Athens, Hocking, and Vinton Counties. Cooke has been in the field since 1997 when she attended a volunteer orientation at My Sister’s Place as a college sophomore. Kelly serves on the board of ODVN out of a drive to further justice for women who have been abused and to assist the coalition with providing needed support to programs across Ohio.

Steven Fields, Counsel, Cramer & Associates is a dynamic community engagement strategist serving the nonprofit industry. Fields previously served as Vice President, Director of Community Engagement for Huntington Bancshares, Inc. As a member of Huntington’s Community Engagement department for over 17 years, He worked intimately with Huntington’s Corporate Giving and Community Involvement programs. Steven received a Bachelor of Animal Science Degree from The Ohio State University and a Master of Marketing and Communications Degree from Franklin University. Additionally, Steven has earned certification in Corporate Community Involvement from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and is a graduate of Leadership Columbus. Before joining Huntington, he was a faculty member of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, specializing in youth development in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Steven is actively involved with numerous nonprofit, educational, and collegiate organizations. These include serving as the immediate past-chair of the OhioHealth Grant Medical Center Development Board. He is a member of the Community Involvement Roundtable at the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. In addition, he is involved with CATCO, The Catholic Foundation, Women2Women, Ohio Domestic Violence Network, and many other charitable efforts. A native of Central Ohio, Steven and his wife Amy reside in Gahanna, Ohio with their sons Jeffrey and Zachary.

Sarah Kincaid is the Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA). In her position, Kincaid’s main duty is advocating for children’s healthcare at both the federal and state levels of government. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Wittenberg University in 2008.

Dr. Cecilia Mengo is an Assistant Professor at the College of Social Work, The Ohio State University. Dr. Mengo received her Bachelor’s in Human Geography from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. She completed her Masters of Social Work from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green Kentucky. Dr. Mengo earned her Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Dr. Mengo has also received certificate trainings in Community-Based Participatory Research from City University of New York and poverty reduction strategies from Weitz Center for Development Studies in Rehovot, Israel. Violence against women is an epidemic and needs to end. Dr. Mengo’s aim is to extend and expand her research by contributing to prevention and intervention efforts that can control and end violence against women and girls. Dr. Mengo is particularly interested in exploring the intersections of individual, structural, and cultural factors that keep women in the cycle of violence and poverty.

Kathy Mull joined The Cocoon in 2012 as the Program Director and was promoted to Executive Director in 2017. The Cocoon has been providing services to domestic and sexual violence survivors in Wood County for 16 years. Kathy is a Licensed Social Worker having earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Toledo and a Master of Social Work from Eastern Michigan. Kathy brings 17 years of experience serving domestic and sexual violence survivors and is only one of only 290 individuals to complete the Advocacy Learning Center course through Praxis International. In her free time, Kathy enjoys spending time with her husband and son, reading a good book, and exploring the outdoors. Kathy believes in the power of community and knows change can be powerful when we come together and is committed to raising survivors’ voices and ending violence.

Dave Riber has over 30 years of experience as a trusted advisor and strategic partner for executive teams and law firms. He is president of Riber Security Consulting. RSC assists corporations and law firms with compliance, physical security, litigation support, civil, criminal, and policy investigations. Prior to opening his own firm, he was an executive for 17 years with a national auto glass replacement and insurance claims company with over $2.8B in annual sales. While with this company he led corporate security, enterprise risk, insurance, business continuity, and internal audit. Dave has volunteered with several non-profits and has been honored to be on the Ohio Domestic Violence Network board since 2015. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Criminology.

Kimberly Stanley is the Executive Director of the Alliance Area Domestic Violence Shelter in Stark County. She has been employed with the Shelter for 15 years, serving as the Director for the past 13 years. Stanley is also a Licensed Independent Social Worker. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and Spanish from the University of Findlay and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from The University of Akron. In 2015, Kim was honored with the yStark! Twenty Under 40 Award as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award through her alma mater, Sebring McKinley High School. In 2018, Kim received the Athena Award from the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce.

Wendy Waters-Connell has been CEO of the YWCA Hamilton since 2018. Since then, Wendy has helped the organization secure a plan for a brand-new campus with expanded housing and domestic violence shelter services. Prior to this role, Wendy served as Executive Director/CEO for the Quaker Heights Care Community for more than 18 years.

Wendy has been a board member and officer for national professional liability and healthcare insurance organizations, serving on underwriting and risk management committees. Wendy is a member of the inaugural Women of Color Cohort for YWCA USA. She is a member of the Ohio Council of YWCA Associations, serving as Secretary. Wendy is also a member of the Butler County anti-human trafficking workgroup, the Butler County infant mortality workgroup, the Butler County Homeless Coalition, and she is working to develop a Butler County coalition against hate.

Wendy has an undergraduate nursing degree from Miami University and an MS in Nursing Administration from Wright State University.

Brian Worth has extensive knowledge of human resources management as well as substantial executive leadership experience. He is currently serving as Senior Vice President to Human Resources for Cardinal Health, a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospital systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. Over his twenty-plus years with Cardinal Health, he has held several leadership positions across the human resources function. Before working with Cardinal Health, Worth worked with two other Central Ohio based corporations. He also serves as an active board member with the non-profit, Ohio Domestic Violence Network, and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Brian Worth is a graduate of The Ohio State University earning a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration majoring in Human Resources Management.

Dr. Susan Yoon is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University College of Social Work. She received her BA and MSW from Ewha Women’s University in South Korea and earned her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Yoon’s research seeks to promote resilience and well-being in children who have experienced childhood trauma, including child maltreatment.

Bridget Mahoney, the immediate past Board Chair, is an activist and advocate dedicated to the prevention and education of domestic violence and child abuse. Joining forces with educational pioneers Jim & Elsa Croucher, Ms. Mahoney presented “Dating Violence: 101” to tens of thousands of high school students and was instrumental in the passage of the Tina Croucher Act which mandates dating violence education in all Ohio schools. Ms. Mahoney and her daughter, Julie Boak, have nationally shared their family’s journey through abuse and are currently assisting the effort for Anti-SLAPP legislation in Ohio that would protect the First Amendment rights of survivors and victims who want to share their stories or report crimes without fear of a meritless defamation lawsuit. Ms. Mahoney is a graduate of The Ohio State University and was formerly a television news anchor.

Taylor Swope has been a board member for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network since 2017. She volunteered with a women’s shelter during her time at the College of Wooster and is dedicated to raising awareness about domestic and intimate partner violence in her community. Taylor has spent the last five years in advertising, working for Ologie and GSW. Currently, she is a project manager for IBM iX; she works with cross-disciplinary teams primarily on mobile commerce app development. When she is not working, Taylor enjoys taking spinning classes, volunteering, writing, and spending time with family, friends, and her cat, Emmy.