Ryan Pendleton is the Executive Director of the North Coast Shared Services Alliance where he coordinates financial and operations support for northeast Ohio school districts through the Educational Service Centers of Northeast Ohio, Medina, and Lorain Counties.

Ryan is very active in state and federal issues concerning education and the potential impact on the students of Ohio. He is a member of the Fair School Funding Work Group, co-chairing both the Base Cost and Analysis and Support Groups.  As an inaugural member of the Work Group, Ryan made significant contributions to creating and advocating for Ohio’s new state funding formula.  His efforts contributed to the Fair School Funding Formula being included in the 2022-2023 Biennium Budget.

Ryan is a Leadership Akron Class 32 graduate and dedicated to serving the community, in particular the students across Ohio. Prior to working at North Coast Shared Service Alliance, Ryan was the CFO/Treasurer of Akron Public and Barberton City Schools and worked previously as a financial advisor.  

Ryan earned a BA in Business Administration from Malone College and an MBA from Cleveland State University.  

Meghan Sullivan-Homsher joined Frontline Education on Feb. 1, 2022. She was previously with the Ohio Department of Taxation and has been a great resource to Ohio schools.  Meghan had been with the Tax Analysis Division of ODT since 2005.  Her responsibilities have included providing analysis of proposed legislation and contributing to department publications.  Meghan’s specific areas of interest include property tax, school district income tax, and state/local revenue sharing. 

Stacy Overly provides direct financial services to clients. He has over 30 years of experience serving as school district treasurer, including 25 plus years of developing financial forecasting tools, and providing instruction and training opportunities attended and used by over two hundred of Ohio’s public school treasurers. Stacy works with clients to analyze trends and review local economic data to help determine a long-term operating strategy for the organization.  He holds his Master of Business Administration and his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Ohio University.

Mr. Seed devotes his practice to state and local taxation through the representation of boards of education in school finance matters, including tax valuation and classification, tax incentives, tax levy issues, and general financial issues. Mr. Seed practices extensively in administrative proceedings and litigation before county boards of revision, the State of Ohio Department of Taxation, the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, courts of common pleas, courts of appeal, and the Ohio Supreme Court in real estate tax valuation and exemption matters. 

Todd Griffith has been Treasurer of Licking Heights Local Schools since June 2017. In this position, Mr. Griffith works with the Board of Education and administration to provide prudent financial management and leadership. The Treasurer's Office is responsible for all fiscal operations of the District. This includes budgeting, forecasting, investing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, financial reporting and serving as public records custodian.

Mr. Griffith received his undergraduate degree from Ohio University and completed his Treasurer’s coursework from the University of Dayton. He holds an active School Treasurer license.  Mr. Griffith is a member of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

Aaron Rausch is the Chief of Budget and School Funding at the Department of Education & Workforce (previously Ohio Department of Education), where he manages an agency budget of more than $17 billion and administers the state’s school funding program. In 2019, Aaron received the Dick Maxwell School Finance Award from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. Prior to joining ODE in 2014, Aaron worked for the Ohio Office of Budget and Management as a budget analyst in the education section. Aaron started his career in state government as a performance auditor, focusing on school district performance audits at the Ohio Auditor of State's Office. Active in his community, Aaron serves as an advisory board member on the Columbus and Central Ohio Children’s Chorus Foundation, sings with the Choral Union at Capital University, and rides in Pelotonia every year. 

Mr. Schall joined Bradley Payne Advisors September, 2021. Prior to joining Bradley Payne, Mr. Schall lead the creation and build out of the Shared Resource Center, a council of governments designed to help public entities in Ohio develop and meet their financial goals. Dan started in corporate communication and finance before serving as a school treasurer for 22 years.

Dan specializes in long term financial planning for the public sector delivering creative and collaborative approaches to resourcing public projects and building sustainable capital plans.

Mr. Schall is a Registered Municipal Advisor, registered with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). He currently holds a Series 50 license and is a licensed school Treasurer in the State of Ohio.

Mr. Schall received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Dayton with a concentration in Finance and a Masters in Business Administration from the Ohio State University.

Anne Arnold is Treasurer/CFO at Gibsonburg Exempted Village Schools in Sandusky County.   She oversees the financial operations of the district with a general fund budget of almost $11 million dollars.

Before coming to Gibsonburg, Anne was the Treasurer/CFO at Edison Local School District in Milan and prior to that at Benton-Carroll-Salem in Oak Harbor. 

Anne graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism.  After a career in retail management, she decided to pursue public education and became the Accounts Payable Coordinator at Fremont City Schools.  While there, she obtained her School Treasurer’s License in May 2003. 

Anne has been involved with OASBO for many years and has served on a number of committees, served as an officer for the Northwest Chapter and been a presenter at several professional development meetings.  She was also named Outstanding Treasurer/CFO of the Year for 2017. 

Anne lives in Lindsey, Ohio with her husband and son.  In her spare time, she enjoys day trips with her family and friends and spending lots of time at the lake.

Matt Feasel has been facing the issues of school finance for over thirty-six (36) years now.  Currently he is serving as CFO/Treasurer of the Pike Delta York Local School District in Northwest Ohio.  Prior to that, Matt’s professional path has taken him through the Perrysburg Exempted Village, Hilliard City, Fremont City and Elmwood Local Schools.

Matt has served as the OASBO President during the 1997-98 year.  He remains an active member of OASBO serving on several committees.   He’s a past board of education member serving eight (8) years as a member of the Elmwood Board of Education in Wood County.  He enjoys working with K-12 Business Consulting and school business professionals across the state, providing forecasting and treasurer search services.   Mentoring new treasurers and providing needed and necessary professional development have been a high priority for him his entire career.  He enjoys playing golf, traveling and spending time with his family and seven (7) grandchildren.   

Katie Johnson is the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Katie is the seventh Executive Director and the first woman to lead the organization since its inception in 1936.

Katie was the Deputy Executive Director for OASBO prior to being named Executive Director. In that role, she served as legislative lead and in-house legal counsel for the association, keeping staff and members abreast of legal and regulatory compliance issues in school business. In addition, she has served as the chief learning officer, developing curriculum to support OASBO’s strategic plan and the Ohio school business profession.

Katie also serves on boards and committees focused on public finance, including serving as a member on the Finance and Appropriations Committee for Columbus City School District, as Treasurer of the Confluence Community Authority, and as past President of the Ohio Chapter of Women in Public Finance.

Katie holds a bachelor's degree in Business Finance from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in Education from The Ohio State University, and a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Jennifer Bruns is the Treasurer/CFO for St. Henry Consolidated Local Schools where she has served since January 2016. Prior to coming to St. Henry Consolidated Local Schools, Jennifer served as the Chief Financial Officer of Riverside Local School District in Logan County. Before beginning a career in school finance, Jennifer spent fifteen years working for the Ohio Auditor of State's Office and supervised numerous financial audits.

Jennifer has been active in OASBO for many years. She is a past President of the West Central OASBO Chapter, and currently serves as the Chair of the Auditor of State OASBO Committee and as the Northwest Regional Director on the OASBO Board of Directors.  Jennifer is a graduate of Bluffton University with a Bachelor Degree in Accounting. 

Cynthia Ritter is a School Business Consultant with K-12 Business Consulting, Inc. and Grant Consultant to Envision Ed Plus. Cynthia has served as a consultant to Ohio Department of Education with the Academic Distress Commissions and Education Reform. She has over 32 years of successful leadership and management experience as treasurer/CFO for several school districts.

She has been a member of the Education Standards Board Ohio Department of Education, OASBO Board President, served on the Auditor of State Regional Advisory Committee, Board member and treasurer of the Pickaway County Employees Benefit Program, speaker and presenter at numerous OSBA, BASA, OASBO and ASBO seminars.

She has received many awards and recognitions including the Rich Unger Professionalism Award, Distinguished Service Award and was a Herb Brum Scholarship recipient.

Mrs. Griffith has 21 years of experience in Ohio public school district finances. Prior to Whitehall, she served as the Assistant Treasurer of Olentangy Local School District, a position she held for over 5 years. She began her career in school districts at Circleville City Schools where she was Assistant Treasurer for 9 years before going to Dublin City as Certified Payroll Clerk, then Payroll Supervisor at Chillicothe City Schools, and treasurer at Belpre City Schools. Mrs. Griffith received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from DeVry University, Columbus, Ohio.

Currently Treasurer/CFO of Benjamin Logan. Prior to Benjamin Logan, Jennifer was assistant treasurer for Lima City Schools and Fiscal Support/Treasurer for NOACSC, the ITC that serves North West Ohio school districts.  Before public service, she worked in the financial industry for 10 years. Jennifer also currently serves on the OASBO Board as the At Large Director of Transportation.

Diana focuses her practice on all aspects of public law, including government relations, litigation, education law, employment, regulatory, and compliance matters. As part of her practice, she counsels small and large companies, government organizations, and nonprofit entities on legislative and legal matters in a diverse range of industries. She also has experience in all aspects of litigation, including pleadings, motion practice, discovery, and trial preparation.

Before attending law school, Diana worked in Washington, D.C. for a member of Congress where she staffed key committees including the House Committee on Rules, the Judiciary Committee, and the Energy and Commerce Committee. She also worked at a government relations firm in Washington, D.C. where she represented clients before Congress and the Executive Branch on a variety of federal issues, including those related to health care, education, and transportation.

Matt Stout is a partner in 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.

Becky started her career as the assistant treasurer for her Alma Mater, Martins Ferry City Schools. After 12 years, she accepted the treasurer/CFO position for the Wellsville Local School District. Her love of the Central Ohio area found her accepting the assistant treasurer position at the fastest growing school district in the state of Ohio - Olentangy Local Schools. After a year and a half she was promoted to the Treasurer/CFO role. The district grew over twice its size to over 16,000 students under her financial leadership. After nine years with Olentangy Schools, she was recruited by the New Albany-Plain Local Schools and has been with this district for ten+ years. Becky has had the fortune of leading districts considered both wealthy and poor which gives her a unique perspective on the various challenges diverse districts face.

During these career transitions, Becky also helped lead OASBO. She held the offices of Board Southeast Region Director, Vice-President, President Elect, President and Immediate Past President. Through the years she has served on numerous committees and continues to serve on the Legislative Committee as well as many focus committees. Becky is also asked to speak on a variety of topics not only for OASBO seminars but other state organizations as well. 

With many years of experience in the investment industry, Joe has had exposure to both equity and fixed income markets. Much of this time has been spent working with fixed income products and portfolios. He brings a focused and detailed approach to portfolio management.

Much of his day-to-day involves working closely with current clients and fostering new relationships. His experience in portfolio management combined with the knowledge of relevant sections of Ohio Revised Code gives him the ability to serve RedTree’s clients to the fullest.

Originally from Tampa, FL where he spent most of his childhood, Joe now resides in Northern Kentucky with his wife, Rachel, their daughter, Rosie, and two dogs, Overton and Sable. He enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking, golfing, and when time allows, traveling the world.

Kara is the Superintendent for the Hardin and Union County Boards of DD.  She has been working with OASBO since 2015 to deliver training including 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Leadership at the Speed of Trust, and Crucial Conversations.

Kim Laugherty, a Certified Association Executive, is OASBO’s COO and has served the association since 2005. She works collaboratively with senior staff, administrative staff, the board of directors, and volunteer leaders to drive initiatives to support the organization’s mission and strategic goals.

As COO, Kim directs the association’s learning programs and annual conferences; the mentoring program for new SBOs; and membership recruitment and retention. She also oversees IT, manages software implementations and special initiatives; and provides support for corporate partners and sponsors.

 She has a B.A. in English from Bowling Green State University, graduating cum laude. Her career prior to association management was in information technology training and consulting sales, and marketing. 

Katie Johnson is the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Katie is the seventh Executive Director and the first woman to lead the organization since its inception in 1936.

Katie was the Deputy Executive Director for OASBO prior to being named Executive Director. In that role, she served as legislative lead and in-house legal counsel for the association, keeping staff and members abreast of legal and regulatory compliance issues in school business. In addition, she has served as the chief learning officer, developing curriculum to support OASBO’s strategic plan and the Ohio school business profession.

Katie also serves on boards and committees focused on public finance, including serving as a member on the Finance and Appropriations Committee for Columbus City School District, as Treasurer of the Confluence Community Authority, and as past President of the Ohio Chapter of Women in Public Finance.

Katie holds a bachelor's degree in Business Finance from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in Education from The Ohio State University, and a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Chris has over 38 years of proven successful governmental finance and management experience and is a licensed school treasurer, business manager, and holds an Ohio Health, Life and Variable Annuity license. He began his career at the Ohio Auditor of State's Office as an examiner and field audit supervisor leaving that position to become Treasurer/CFO and Executive Director of Business Affairs of public school system in 1984. He has served district from $30 million to $200 million in budget and has managed both CFO and Director of Business Affairs simultaneously in Dublin and Springfield CSD. Chris has received many awards during his career including Ohio School Treasurer of the Year, Ohio School Business Manager of the Year and the Virginia Ramsay Award for Distinguished Service to the profession. He brings considerable expertise to school clients in five year forecast assistance in areas of modeling, projecting and presentation; levy analysis; school comparison studies; efficiency reviews; budget preparation and monthly financial report preparation; superintendent and treasurer executive recruiting; mentoring for school business officials, and strategic planning.

Chris earned a MBA majoring in finance and administration, along with a BS in accounting from Miami University of Ohio, and an AS in business administration from Edison State College. He also holds a designation of Registered School Business Administrator and holds the Ohio Financial Accountability Certificate issued by the auditor of state's office. 

Becky started her career as the assistant treasurer for her Alma Mater, Martins Ferry City Schools. After 12 years, she accepted the treasurer/CFO position for the Wellsville Local School District. Her love of the Central Ohio area found her accepting the assistant treasurer position at the fastest growing school district in the state of Ohio - Olentangy Local Schools. After a year and a half she was promoted to the Treasurer/CFO role. The district grew over twice its size to over 16,000 students under her financial leadership. After nine years with Olentangy Schools, she was recruited by the New Albany-Plain Local Schools and has been with this district for ten+ years. Becky has had the fortune of leading districts considered both wealthy and poor which gives her a unique perspective on the various challenges diverse districts face.

During these career transitions, Becky also helped lead OASBO. She held the offices of Board Southeast Region Director, Vice-President, President Elect, President and Immediate Past President. Through the years she has served on numerous committees and continues to serve on the Legislative Committee as well as many focus committees. Becky is also asked to speak on a variety of topics not only for OASBO seminars but other state organizations as well. 

Jenni Logan is the Treasurer/CFO of Sycamore Community City Schools. Prior to this, she was the treasurer/CFO at District Lakota Local School District January 2011 to August 2022.  Before that she was a Director in the Public Finance Department of Robert W. Baird & Co.  Ms. Logan has over 20 years of experience serving school districts in Ohio, which include an ESC, JVSD, CSD, LSD and an EVSD.  She has been involved with several state committees for OASBO and served the organization as its state president in 2005-06.    

Dolores, an OASBO past president, had a successful career as an Ohio school district treasurer/CFO for over 30 years in various districts around the state. Upon retirement, she worked as a Fiscal Support Manager for an Information Technology Center. In addition, she spent five years as the Professional Development Curriculum Writer and manager of OASBO’s Mentoring program for new SBOs.

Prior to joining K-12 Business Consulting in 2019, where she performs treasurer searches for school districts, she spent 4 years as an end-user tester for the State Software Redesign project.

Cynthia Ritter is a School Business Consultant with K-12 Business Consulting, Inc. and Grant Consultant to Envision Ed Plus. Cynthia has served as a consultant to Ohio Department of Education with the Academic Distress Commissions and Education Reform. She has over 32 years of successful leadership and management experience as treasurer/CFO for several school districts.

She has been a member of the Education Standards Board Ohio Department of Education, OASBO Board President, served on the Auditor of State Regional Advisory Committee, Board member and treasurer of the Pickaway County Employees Benefit Program, speaker and presenter at numerous OSBA, BASA, OASBO and ASBO seminars.

She has received many awards and recognitions including the Rich Unger Professionalism Award, Distinguished Service Award and was a Herb Brum Scholarship recipient.

Ryan Pendleton is the Executive Director of the North Coast Shared Services Alliance where he coordinates financial and operations support for northeast Ohio school districts through the Educational Service Centers of Northeast Ohio, Medina, and Lorain Counties.

Ryan is very active in state and federal issues concerning education and the potential impact on the students of Ohio. He is a member of the Fair School Funding Work Group, co-chairing both the Base Cost and Analysis and Support Groups.  As an inaugural member of the Work Group, Ryan made significant contributions to creating and advocating for Ohio’s new state funding formula.  His efforts contributed to the Fair School Funding Formula being included in the 2022-2023 Biennium Budget.

Ryan is a Leadership Akron Class 32 graduate and dedicated to serving the community, in particular the students across Ohio. Prior to working at North Coast Shared Service Alliance, Ryan was the CFO/Treasurer of Akron Public and Barberton City Schools and worked previously as a financial advisor.  

Ryan earned a BA in Business Administration from Malone College and an MBA from Cleveland State University.  

In addition to being the owner of Finding Leaders, Paul Pendleton is a former Co-Director of Leadership Services at the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Cuyahoga County. Previously, he has been the superintendent of the Danville Local Schools, Mt. Gilead Exempted Village Schools and Nordonia Hills City Schools. He was also part owner of the Santa Rita Collaborative which assist school districts with community engagement activities.

He has served the education community as a social studies teacher, football coach, athletic director, guidance counselor, assistant middle school principal, high school principal, superintendent and consultant. Mr. Pendleton has also served as an adjunct faculty member for Kent State University, University of Akron, Ashland University and Mt. St. Joseph College. 

Patty Gordon is an Employer Education Sr. Coordinator with State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) of Ohio.  She’s been employed with STRS for 11 years, with eight of those years in Employer Education.  Prior to working for STRS, Patty was in Human Resources and Payroll.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.  Growing up in Ohio, she has been a lifelong Buckeye fan.  She enjoys travelling with her husband and 2 daughters, gardening, baking and listening to music.

Todd Wolford is an Employer Education Sr. Coordinator with STRS Ohio, where he develops and hosts training opportunities to assist STRS Ohio employers in all aspects of employer reporting.

Todd has worked with STRS Ohio for over 14 years and prior to his current position Todd was a Retirement Reporting Specialist and a Sr Reporting Coordinator where he became an expert in annual reporting, retirement reporting, and payroll reporting.  

In his free-time Todd enjoys coaching youth sports in the Columbus area and spending time with his family. 

Katie Talbert has served in Employers Services at the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) for 12 years. She currently serves as an Employer Outreach Specialist at SERS.

She provides customer service to employers who call with inquiries regarding their roles and responsibilities as well as conducts both virtual and in-person trainings. She also has been instrumental in creating a variety of instructional guides for employers and web tutorials to help train employers.

Talbert graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelor of Science in Business degree. 

Carlisa Holman is the Supervisor of Employer Outreach at School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS). She supervises the development of communications and education programs for Employers.  She has worked 20 years at SERS, prior to joining the Employer Services Department, Carlisa worked in the Member Services Department where she provided retirement education for the members and retirees. 

Michelle Richards is the newest Employer Outreach Specialist at the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS). Michelle assists with developing educational programs and training new payroll officers about roles and responsibilities when reporting to SERS. She has been with SERS for one year. Prior to joining the Employer Services Department, Michelle worked at Ohio Public Employees Retirement System as an Employer Outreach Specialist.