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 External Affairs 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.

Sam Gilley, Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, is a commercial litigation attorney who started his legal career in federal court. Sam has quickly become a go-to for clients looking for representation in financial industry, construction, manufacturing, benefits administration, and healthcare matters. He has been named to Ohio Super Lawyer’s Rising Stars list each year since 2020. Sam has assisted survivors in legal matters pro bono for the last two years. With his board service, Sam joins his wife, an elementary school teacher, in the quest to assist those who need our help the most.

Helena Josue is Chief Human Resources Officer for The T. Marzetti Company, the largest food and beverage company headquartered in Central Ohio. Helena brings more than 20 years of human resources management experience to the board. Before joining T. Marzetti, she worked at Procter & Gamble and Wendy’s, where she was accountable for several large, complex assignments on increasing responsibilities across five countries in Europe and the United States. A native of Portugal, Helena attained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration at Catholic University of Portugal.

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.

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.

Allma Miller is a Senior Attorney at Legal Aid of Western Ohio. She works in the Safety and Independence for Survivors practice group providing representation to domestic abuse survivors. Prior to joining Legal Aid, she served as the Executive Director of Northwest Ohio CASA, a non-profit organization that trains volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children. She also spent several years in private practice focusing on family and juvenile law matters, including working as a Parenting Coordinator, Mediator and Guardian ad Litem. She was also a Research Assistant for Praxis International where she worked in conjunction with the Battered Women’s Justice Project and has also served as a victim advocate.

Tia Payne is the Executive Director of Legacy 31 and has had 12 years of successful experience advocating on behalf of others who have experienced Intimate Partner Violence. Legacy 31 was founded to begin breaking the silence on intimate partner violence that happens in the church. Legacy 31’s mission is founded in the scripture Proverbs 31:25 “She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future”. Tia released her first book “reflections of a PK” breaking the silence on growing up with a father who was a Pastor, but also an abuser. Tia is a strong believer that speaking louder and breaking the silence will begin to bring light to hidden issues of intimate partner 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.

Amber Scott is the President/CEO at Turning Point Domestic Violence Shelter providing advocacy and support services in six counties including Marion, Delaware, Wyandot, Crawford, Union, and Morrow. Amber has over 17 years in the nonprofit sector, with experience working in workforce development, adult and teen prevention, re-entry, and transitional housing programs.

She is a Certified Instructor/Facilitator through the Langevin Learning Center and holds a Lethality Assessment certification to support law enforcement with the successful transition of survivors. She holds certifications as a Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), Certified Life Coach (CLC) and Certified Goal Attainment Coach (CGAC) Amber is an adult literacy instructor for group-based learning in the area of workplace essentials and GED connection. She is also a proctor of the National Work Readiness Examination.

Amber has a bachelor’s degree in Pre-law with a minor in Criminal Justice and holds a master’s degree in the area of Adult Education and Curriculum Design. She is currently enrolled in the School of Education Ph.D. program through Capella University. She is also a member of The Professional Association of Resume Writers (PARW), and The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP).

Janet Wells was married and became a mother of two children at a young age and attended college at age 30. Her first job was as a Child Protective Case Worker. She started work at Eve, Incorporated in 1997, holding different job titles within the agency, and presently is the Executive Director. Eve, Incorporated is a domestic violence and rape crisis center providing shelter and supportive services in Washington County. She is honored to serve as a board member of ODVN as she feels this coalition is improving Ohio’s domestic violence programming.

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.