Essentials of Business Operations 2022-2023

Drawing on more than 20 years in the insurance industry, Melody is responsible for developing long-term relationships with school districts and public entities by providing superior customer service and dedication. She understands the unique exposures and risks associated with school districts and public entities which makes her a valuable resource to clients. Melody is a licensed property & casualty agent in the state of Ohio.

Travis has an extensive loss control background and he designed the loss control protocols for the field risk managers. He and his department provide extensive risk management services to our public entity and educational institution clients. Travis has worked with hundreds of municipal and school clients. His professional specialties include: Emergency Action Planning / Accident Investigation / Safety Management System.

Travis earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio.  In addition, he is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) and a Certified School Risk Manager (CSRM).

Jennifer Oiler has worked with Ohio employers to manage workers’ compensation programs for 23 years, working to build best practices that preserve relationships and control costs associated with workers’ compensation claims.  Jennifer spent 2 years with Sedgwick MCI's (formerly CompManagement Health) third party administration team as a Hearing Representative, representing employer interests on contested issues.  Today, she is deeply involved in Sedgwick’s service delivery for OASBO members. 

Jennifer, a daughter of a Navy Service Member, spent her first 5 years in three different stateside ports before settling in her parent’s hometown in Sandusky.  She is a Perkins High School alum and attended the University of Toledo.  She has one daughter in the Dublin City School District and one at West Virginia University. 

Daniel M. Romano is Treasurer/CFO at West Clermont Local Schools in Southwest Ohio in August 2020. He is also CEO and a Co-Founder of Edventures in Learning, Inc. a strategic learning and communication company. Prior to his current roles, Dan spent 23 years in the public sector holding positions as Treasurer/CFO and Business Manager in both Toledo and Sylvania City School Districts in Ohio.

In 1997, Dan was recruited to serve as an international consultant assisting Fortune 500 companies in bringing their strategic plans to life through a methodology that democratized data and dialogue to all parts of the organization. In 2012 Dan, was again recruited. This time by Forecast5 Analytics, a start-up company focused on building a business intelligence and forecasting platform for the Public Sector. Serving as SVP, he was responsible for the development and growth of new and innovative business intelligence and analytic tools to a multistate market of local governments that included Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. In 2016, Dan resumed the full-time helm at Edventures in Learning. More recently the company has expanded its service delivery of innovative tools and resources to engage employees and stakeholders in the critical issues of their organization.

Dan is an active member with OASBO serving on various committees. He also assisted in the development of several of the “Essentials” curriculum which is a major component to an alternative pathway for Ohio school treasurer and Business Manager licenses.

Dan received both his Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo.

Tom Munson the Director of Strategic Partnerships with DataServ. He has held numerous sales, sales leadership, product management and channel program positions with various technology organizations. Tom has spent most of his 40 year career working in the public sector with focus on education.

Tom and his wife, Lisa, live in Dublin, Ohio. They have three adult children – two in Chicago and one in Orlando. Tom is a high school varsity basketball official. He enjoys traveling, golf, running and training

Tom Mitchell is founder and President of Bonefish Systems.  Mr. Mitchell has spent 26 years in the financial services sector holding numerous technology and business roles in large banks and insurance companies. 

In 2007, Tom started Bonefish Systems.  After working for large corporations for close to two decades, Tom wanted to bring fraud prevention and detection technologies to smaller organizations that could not otherwise afford them.  Bonefish Systems now serves hundreds of school districts and municipalities across Ohio and has recently expanded into Florida, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  Tom is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.  He earned his undergraduate degree at Kent State University in Computer Science and also holds a Masters of Business Administration graduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management.

Jim Rowan is the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. He has spent the past five years as OASBO’s Executive Director providing support and services to school business officials throughout Ohio. A long-time OASBO member, Jim served as the association's President during the 2002-03 membership year, and as ASBO International President in 2007.

Todd Puster brings more than a quarter century of experience as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Ohio school districts. Currently, leading the fiscal operations of the Orange City School District in suburban Cleveland, he has served the following school districts: East Liverpool, Streetsboro, Ashland and West Geauga. Todd is considered among the leading commentators on Ohio school finance and is the author of several professional articles.

Chris McCloskey is chair of Bricker Graydon’s Public Sector industry group and is a partner in the Construction Law group. He focuses his practice on construction-related contracting and disputes, as well as general business and litigation. He is experienced in researching and drafting motions for construction lawsuits, preparing and reviewing construction contracts, construction claims, change orders, purchase orders, project analysis, mechanic's liens, bid strategy and project coordination. He represents school districts with all facets of their capital projects with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

Sean Lehman is a construction attorney who represents public and private sector owners throughout the entire project life cycle. Sean counsels clients on the various delivery models and guides them through the processes to procure design and construction professionals, drafts and negotiates complex design and construction contracts, advises and assists clients during the administration of the contracts, and zealously advocates for clients to resolve disputes with contractors, design professionals, and local governments, should they arise.

In addition to his construction practice, Sean advises the firm’s public sector clients on other areas of the law which may be implicated during the construction project, including election law as it relates to levy and bond issues, Ohio ethics law as it relates to public contracting, Ohio public records law as it relates to project documentation, the Ohio open meetings law as it relates to meetings of public owners, and more.

Prior to joining Bricker, Sean worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as a law clerk for Judge Timothy S. Horton with the Tenth District Court of Appeals for the State of Ohio.

Jeff Eble is currently Director of Business Services for Worthington Schools in Central Ohio.  Jeff has spent 42 years in four school districts as the business manager/administrator.  He has approximately 1.6 million square feet of new construction spread over 8 buildings and 26 major building renovations in his career.

Jeff has served OASBO as a committee member, workshop director, Chapter Officers, and Board Member since the early 1980s.  

Beth Weber is the Treasurer/CFO of the Sycamore Community Schools in Cincinnati.  She is retiring in July with 34 years of service in public education, 32 of those years as Treasurer.  Weber earned undergraduate degrees in finance and business economics, as well as a Masters in Business Administration, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is a long-time member of OASBO, serving on its Education Finance/ODE Advisory and Editorial Advisory committees along with sharing her experience as a new Treasurer/CFO mentor.  

Randy Snyder is Transportation Manager for Westerville City Schools, accountable for the overall transportation operation of the district, which is located in Central Ohio. Mr. Snyder has almost twenty years of experience in pupil transportation of which eighteen have been in administration and department management. Westerville’s transportation department is comprised of 101 school bus routes, twenty MyVan routes that serve students with specialized transportation needs, four office support staff, eight mechanics, and three assistant managers.

Mr. Snyder believes that a safe and successful transportation operation must include excellent recruiting, training, equipping, and the empowering of its employees. Transportation professionals play a vital role in the educational process and are important members of the communities in which they serve. He also believes that all school business professionals should seek to better understand their district’s transportation operations and find ways to support and encourage their team members whose charge is to oversee their transportation operations.

Currently, Mr. Snyder serves as Immediate Past President of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation (OAPT). He continues to serve as the communication and technology committee chair and serves as the election committee chair. Along with the other OAPT Board members, he helped lead their association and its members through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carolyn "CJ" Thornton recently retired from Mason City Schools this year with 45 years experience in the pupil transportation field. Her previous position was with Princeton City Schools. She has served on the Regional and State Roadeo Committees, chairing the event at both levels. She has been an active member of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation since 2001 serving as Regional Representative several terms and as Director at Large. She has been a member of OASBO since 2002 and is a graduate of the Leadership Academy class VII.

CJ believes in sharing her extensive knowledge of the transportation industry with her peers and newcomers to the industry. She has mentored several new transportation directors during her tenure.  A firm believer in "you don't know what you don't know," she tries to help people fill in the gaps and learn what they need to know to be successful in the transportation field.

Edwina (Winnie Brewer) just recently joined the New Leaf Organization which manages Buckeye Community Schools in Marion, Mansfield and London, Ohio.   Food Service Management has been the focus of her career for the past 30 years with industry experience at Marion City Schools, Ridgedale Schools, Starbucks and NorthPointe Conference Center.  Many of the programs operating under her direction have been awarded distinction such as "Summer food program of the year" by Children's Hunger Alliance and "Manager of the quarter" several times with Starbucks.   

A firm believer in helping others, community service goes hand in hand with every position she has held.  She is an agency council member for Mid Ohio Food Collective and she has served as a commissioner for service and volunteerism under Governor Kasich's time in office.  Winnie has mentored several districts with program development and places a focus on collaboration for success.  "Knowledge is power", she will say, "and the more information you can gain will help to make good decisions". 

Winnie has been an OASBO member for the past ten years and is currently the Vice President of the Food and Nutrition Board.