Essentials of Leadership 2026-2027

Jennifer Bruns is the Chief Financial Officer of St. Henry Cons. LSD, where she has served since January 2016. Jennifer also serves as the Fiscal & Mentoring Specialist for Mercer County Educational Service Center. Jennifer began her School Finance career as the CFO of Riverside Local School District in Logan County. Prior to becoming a Treasurer/CFO, Jennifer worked for the Ohio Auditor of State. Jennifer has been a member of OASBO since 2012, has been very involved in the West Central Chapter, and currently serves on the OASBO Board of Directors as the Northwest Region Director. Jennifer also serves as the Chair of the OASBO Auditor of State Committee.

Ryan Pendleton is the Executive Director of the 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.  

Jared Bunting is the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Athens City School District.  He has previously worked as the Treasurer/CFO of the Jackson City School District, during 2022-2024 and the Trimble Local School District from 2014-2022.  His background includes work in the Athens County Auditor’s Office from 2010-2014 which provided extensive experience with property taxes and financial reporting.

Jared has been an active member of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO), serving on its board and leading its Legislative Committee. His leadership has been instrumental in advocating for legislative changes beneficial to school finance management. Since 2017, he has also been involved in the Fair School Funding Plan, contributing as a workgroup member from its inception and continues to advocate for fully funding the model.

Jared’s expertise in school finance can be further validated by his certification as an ASBO Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations (SFO).

Terrah Stacy serves as the Treasurer/CFO of Springboro Community City School district, where she oversees the financial operations of the district; a role she has served in since December 2013.  Mrs. Stacy graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in governmental non-profit accounting and received an MBA from Purdue University. She holds a current Ohio School Treasurer’s and Business Manager’s license issued by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). Mrs. Stacy has over twenty-nine years of accounting experience, twenty-five years of which have been in public education.

A licensed school treasurer with a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Tiffin University, a Master’s in Education from Bowling Green State University, and a Master’s in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Tennessee, Jenny brings 18 years of experience teaching business and technology courses at the secondary level. In addition to her classroom experience, she has served in several Instructional Designer roles, most recently at Miami University, and has also worked as an adjunct instructor at both Miami University and Tiffin University.

Jenny now serves as Treasurer of Washington Local Schools. She values a service-driven approach to leadership—supporting staff, listening first, and working collaboratively to ensure financial decisions reflect what is best for students. She is committed to being accessible, transparent, and a dependable resource for the district.

Outside of her professional role, Jenny is most proud of her three grown sons and her new granddaughter, Ivy. Her nontraditional path—including years spent working in manufacturing while putting herself through college—has shaped her grounded perspective, which is rooted in a strong commitment to continually improving her work in service to the district and its students.

Bill Wade has diversework experience in the field of education. Bill currently serves as the ChiefFinancial Officer (CFO) at Mentor Public Schools and previously served asDirector of Business Operations and as high school principal. Bill also servedas superintendent of Kirtland Local Schools, in addition to holding positionsas a high school principal, assistant principal and Chemistry teacher atRiverside Local Schools. Bill holds a master’s degree in Secondary Educationand Teaching from John Carroll University and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistryfrom John Carroll University as well as completing studies in Superintendencyand Educational System Administration at Cleveland State University. Bill alsoworked as an adjunct professor at Notre Dame College. 

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.

Nicole is the Treasurer/CFO of Westerville City Schools. Prior to Westerville, she served as the Treasurer/CFO of Fairborn City Schools, Assistant Treasurer at Kettering City Schools and as a Project Accountant with the State Auditor's Office. She has also served as an officer for the Miami Valley local chapter of OASBO and as a board member of OASBO's Foundation Board.