Essentials of Business Operations - October 2020

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.

Tim Grimm began his career in the IT industry in 2001 when he completed the first Cisco academy at Youngstown State. He's been an Information Systems and Technology Sr. Engineer and Pre-Sales Engineer for DataServ for 13 years and  specializes in Network, Wireless,  and Physical Security over IP design/installation. Tim holds many Cisco and other certifications including in Voice, Wireless, Security, and Physical Security and also has a background in Law Enforcement as a former police officer.

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.

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.  

Mike Miller has 31+ years of public school experience. His roles have included being a teacher, athletic director, principal and Director of Personnel/Student Services. He has been in Pupil Transportation Management for the past 17 years, been a Licensed School Bus Driver for the past 27 years, and a Licensed On-Board School Bus Instructor for the past 17 years.

Currently Mike is the Transportation Director for Sycamore Community Schools-Hamilton County for the past 7 years. He is a former At-Large Member of the OASBO Board of Directors, two-Time Past President of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation (OAPT), current SW Region Representative of OAPT. He is also a PDIS Instructor, National Association for Pupil Transportation; and serves on the Board of Morehead State University Alumni Board of Directors. Mike and his wife Lori have been married for 29 years and reside in Batavia, Ohio. They have two adult children.

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.

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.  

Julianna is the current Treasurer of the Food and Nutrition Chapter of OASBO, and served as President and Immediate Past President.

Julianna is the Food Service Director at Bexley City Schools since 2013. This is her 21^st year working as a director, first at The Ohio School for the Deaf and The Ohio State School for the Blind. She comes from a culinary background working in independent restaurants, as a chef, baker, and operator. 

Julianna has a degree in Business Management from Franklin University and an MBA from Franklin University. She is an Ohio Certified Public Manager, and holds a Business Manager’s License from the Ohio Department of Education.

She advocates for Ohio’s children not only through her daily work in her district, but through the state with the Food and Nutrition Chapter of OASBO, and national advocacy in Washington DC with Legislative Actions.

She volunteers locally championing issues around ecological sustainability and food insecurity.