Northeast Region Chapters' Joint Workshop 2022

Rick Manoloff has served as legal counsel to Ohio school districts for more than 26 years on bond, note and lease financings, ballot issues, contracts, and other matters; chairs his law firm’s Ohio K-12 Public Schools Finance Team; co-authors the Ohio School Law treatise published by Thomson Reuters each year; co-presents the “Legal Update” at OASBO’s Annual Conferences; is called upon to draft levy and other legislation; served on a school board; and has written numerous articles for OASBO’s SBO over the years.  In the community, he served as President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and Cleveland Bar Foundation.

Mike Sharb is a partner with Squire Patton Boggs in the firm’s Cleveland office and in the firm’s nationally recognized Public & Infrastructure Finance Practice Group. Mike specializes in public finance, acting as bond and disclosure counsel in public finance transactions for school districts, as well as providing advice and counsel to school districts in election, contracting, ethics, sunshine law and other matters.  He has significant experience in drafting state legislation on behalf of clients.  Mike is a frequent presenter on these and other topics and is a co-author of Thomson Reuters’ Ohio School Law.

Dr. Kiehl is a veteran non-profit executive who joined the OHSAA in 2020 as its new Chief Operating Officer after the OHSAA reorganized its operating structure based on extensive analysis and leadership review. In this key leadership role, Dr. Kiehl is responsible for oversight of day-to-day operations, strategic planning and policy making, and for maintaining organizational effectiveness. The COO collaborates with the Executive Director and the Board to refine and implement the Association’s recently adopted strategic plan while ensuring that the budget, staff and priorities are aligned with the Association’s core mission. The COO handles the Executive Director’s duties in his absence.

Dr. Kiehl, who grew up in Corning, NY, was selected after a thorough nationwide search.  In making the announcement of Kiehl's hire, then Board President Jeff Cassella said, “We are excited to have Dr. Kiehl join the OHSAA. She has broad experience and a solid track record of leadership in the operations of non-profit institutions that support an educational purpose.  She will serve our members well."  Cassella also noted, “Throughout her career, she has been responsible for everything from program development to revenue growth, membership to janitorial services, volunteer services to building partnerships.”
 
Dr. Kiehl is an accomplished non-profit leader and former educator.  She served as Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center where she led all operations of three early childhood schools located in the Smithsonian museums in the Washington, DC area.  She also served two stints with the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, most recently as Senior Vice President of Experience & Operations and was Director of the Museum of Ohio Project at the Ohio History Connection.  Dr. Kiehl was a tenured faculty member at The Ohio State University for nearly a decade. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State University.

Laura Vermilya joined OHSAA as Controller on January 4, 2021.  Laura is a Certified Public Accountant and brings an extensive background in accounting, non-profit leadership, and athletics to this role.  

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer,  Laura is responsible for overseeing and directing all day-to-day finance, accounting and reporting activities.  She is involved in presentations to the Board finance and audit committees and works closely with the senior leadership team. 
 
In her 30 years of professional experience, Laura has worked in all aspects of the accounting functions for a variety of different organizations. Her roles have included serving as Senior Auditor with Ernst & Young, Director of Finance for The American Ceramic Society and Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and in Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis positions for Limited Brands, Things Remembered, and Alliance Data.
 
An Ashland native, Laura earned four varsity letters in softball and was selected to the First Team All-State in softball in 1986 - the first year the OHSAA selected all-state players for girls fast pitch softball.  Laura held records for most runs and most home runs. She attended Baldwin-Wallace College and earned three varsity letters and All-American honors in softball and earned two varsity letters in soccer.  While in college, Laura served as a ball girl for the Cleveland Indians. Laura was inducted into the Ashland County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
Laura resides in Worthington with her partner, Holly, and their two dogs. In her free time, Laura enjoys cycling, pickleball, book club and rooting on the Cleveland Browns and Indians.

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. 

Prior to becoming an attorney with the firm, Ms. Reedy served as chief legal counsel of the Ohio School Boards Association. She brings her depth of experience in education law and knowledge as association counsel to provide comprehensive legal representation of public schools and nonprofit entities. Ms. Reedy’s work with boards of education includes drafting and negotiating vendor contracts, drafting policy, interpreting Ohio’s ethics laws, public records, litigation, and representing boards before federal, state, and local agencies. She has extensive publication and speaking credentials. She is trained in mediation. Ms. Reedy represents districts on a full spectrum of education law issues and is a member of the firm’s School Finance, Municipalities & Public Law, and Special Education Practice Teams.

Kevin has been a Fraud Investigator with the Auditor of State since 2016.  During this time, Kevin has worked numerous investigations leading to the prosecution of corrupt public officials, including the City of Youngstown investigation of business developer, Dominic Marchionda, and the Strongstown City School District investigation of the maintenance supervisor. 

Kevin has been in law enforcement for over 42 years.  Kevin retired from Parma Police Department after 32 years of service, 22 of those years in their SIU/Narcotics Unit.  After retiring from the Parma Police Department, he spent four years as a detective for the MetroHealth Police Department. 

Currently, Melissa is a Senior Forensic Audit Manager and Kevin is a Fraud Investigator for Auditor of State Keith Faber’s Special Investigations Unit. The Special Investigations Unit is responsible for conducting limited scope fraud and investigative audits of state and local government subdivisions to examine allegations of fraud, theft, and/or misappropriation involving public funds. 

Melissa has been involved in identifying fraud, waste, and abuse since 2008, including the investigation of Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, the Columbus City Schools Data Integrity audit, and the nearly million-dollar embezzlement by the Village of Mount Sterling’s Village Administrator.

Melissa has been with the Auditor of State’s office since 2002, beginning her career as a financial auditor.   Melissa is a graduate of Cedarville University and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Ryan is a Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager at RedTree Investment Group. He has over 25 years of investment experience in the fixed income markets. Specifically, over the past 19 years, Ryan has been assisting public entities and other agencies with their fixed income investment needs. At RedTree, he is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment process along with communication of the unique investment strategies for the firm’s clients.

Ryan obtained his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and his MBA in Finance from Xavier University. He has received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a current member of the CFA Institute. He currently serves on the Ohio GFOA Board and is on their Education Committee. 

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.