Public Schools Cybersecurity Symposium

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.

Dr. David Axner joined the BASA staff on January 1, 2015 and became the executive director in 2021. Prior to BASA, Dr. Axner began his administrative career in Sandusky City Schools and then accepted a job in the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District where he served that district as high school principal and superintendent for a total of 17 years. From Chagrin Falls, Dr. Axner was hired at Dublin City Schools and was the Dublin City School Superintendent from 2007 – 2013. After 35 years in education and retirement, he worked for one year with the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA) and then joined the BASA staff. 

Dr. Axner is a graduate of The University of Akron and defended his dissertation successfully at Akron on Instructional leadership. As a superintendent, Dr. Axner was active in BASA chairing a number of committees, serving on the Executive Board and represented BASA for two terms on the Educators Standards Board. He and his wife Chris have six children and seven grandchildren.

Dedicated visionary, offering a strong commitment to success, Mark is committed to building rapport by creating support systems for leaders and the organizations they lead. Mark is tenacious in building teams, securing quality, and forging strong relationships with educational and business partners. Mark holds a BA in Agricultural Business and Applied Economics from The Ohio State University, and a MBA from the Fisher College of Business from The Ohio State University. As well, he earned certification in Non-Profit/Public Leadership from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. 

Presently, Mark serves as the Director of Member Relations for the Ohio School Boards Association, with a focus on professional development and membership expansion. Mark was recently appointed as Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Leadership Columbus, a non-profit organization that provides education and training for emerging and existing leaders in the Columbus area.

Bill Daggett is the founder of both the Successful Practices Network and the International Center for Leadership in Education. He recently co-chaired the AASA LEARNING 2025: National Commission for Student-Centered, Equity-Focused, Future-Driven Education and is now leading the National Demonstration Network for AASA. 

Dr. Daggett is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move preK-12 education systems towards more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for all students. For 30 years, he has crisscrossed our nation, as well as the industrialized world, to lead school reform efforts to effectively prepare students for their future.

Dr. Daggett began his career as a teacher, local administrator, and then director with the New York State Education Department. He spends much of his time providing leadership and guidance to the National Dropout Prevention Center and the Career and Technical Education Technical Assistance Center, which are part of the Successful Practices Network.

As the Cincinnati Cyber supervisor, Mr. Lawson is responsible for overseeing all criminal and national security computer intrusion investigations affecting the southern district of Ohio. Mr. Lawson is also responsible for Cincinnati's computer forensics (CART) program, as well as the Computer Scientist and Data Analyst programs.

Prior to his FBI career, Mr. Lawson served for 8 years as an enlisted member of the United States Air Force. Mr. Lawson served as an intelligence analyst focusing on foreign military capabilities, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operations, and Middle Eastern affairs. Mr. Lawson served one tour in Baghdad, Iraq during that time. Mr. Lawson received his bachelor's degree in International Studies with a Minor in the Study of the Islamic World in 2009 from the University of Illinois

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

Michael Ugljesa is President of Hylant Administrative Services and the Program Administrator of the Ohio School Plan.  Mike has extensive financial and insurance operational experience that he has amassed throughout his nearly 30 year career.   Mike’s experience spans a variety of insurance and risk-bearing entities.  As the Program Administrator of the Ohio School Plan, Mike oversees all facets of the Ohio School Plan’s operations which include underwriting, claims, risk management, and sales.

The Ohio School Plan provide comprehensive coverage and risk management solutions to public educational institutions and boards of developmental disabilities across the State of Ohio.  In addition to offering traditional coverage, we have responded to evolving member insurance needs by developing specialized coverages including violence, fiduciary, and finding for recovery.

With extensive experience in the insurance industry, Alex is a Cyber Risk Advisor and serves as a resource for all things Cyber, Technology, and Media. Alex engages both clients and colleagues to assist in the placement of coverage, enhancing the understanding of cyber and emerging risk, and pre and post breach readiness through incident response planning.

As a Cyber Risk Advisor, Alex takes a hands on approach not only placing coverage with the correct carrier, but making sure our clients know how to utilize the policy, how to prevent incidents, minimize payouts, and execute incident response plans come claim time.

Jeff Knight is an attorney in the firm’s Education Law, Privacy and Data Protection, and Intellectual Property groups and he devotes a significant part of his practice to exploring the intersection of technology and law, particularly as it relates to fast-emerging technologies on campus and in business.  He advises institutions of higher education, school districts, and ESCs, as well as e-commerce, technology, advertising, and gaming companies on how to achieve and maintain compliance with an ever-changing privacy and data security landscape.  He counsels clients on the nuances associated with FERPA, Children’s Online Privacy Protections Act (COPPA), the FTC Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLBA), and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as myriad state privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and industry guidelines and standards.  Beyond assisting with proactive compliance and risk mitigation strategies, Jeff also regularly assists those that are experiencing significant data security incidents and data breaches, from the initial response as a breach coach through remediation efforts.  

Chris Gordon leverages his experience as a federal law clerk to deliver results through all stages of litigation, with experience advocating in high-stakes briefing to trial and appeals. Chris litigates business disputes, including corporate shareholder disputes, oil and gas lease disputes, construction and design-defect claims, guaranty and loan disputes, public bid disputes, and fiduciary-duty litigation. Clients rely on Chris to provide honest, business-savvy advice along with sophisticated courtroom representation.

Prior to entering private practice, Chris served as a law clerk for both federal appellate and trial court judges. As a law clerk, Chris worked on matters ranging from First Amendment claims to class action litigation to excessive-force claims. He clerked under the Honorable James L. Graham of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and under the Honorable Alan E. Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Mr. Ryan Stechschulte is the Treasurer/CFO for Toledo Public Schools. He has been with the school district, which is the top four as far as enrollment in the State of Ohio, since July, 2015.

Prior to making the move to Toledo Public Schools, Mr. Stechschulte served as the Treasurer/CFO of several other school districts, including Ada Exempted, Patrick Henry, Ottawa Hills and Lima City. Throughout his career, he has gained valuable experience in the areas of school law and finance. He has also been involved in setting district policy and being on contract negotiating teams.

Mr. Stechschulte is a past president of the board of directors for OASBO and has presented at numerous local, regional and national conferences on varying topics having to do with school finance. 

Mr. James R. Gant, Esq. is the Deputy Superintendent for Toledo Public Schools. He assumed this position in 2018 and provides leadership support to the Superintendent, is the liaison for the Board of Education, oversees daily operations and manages upper level directors. Gant started at TPS in 2010 as the Chief Business Manager, where he supervised a number of key departments including construction and maintenance facilities, food service, transportation, security and computer services.  Gant was also responsible for oversight of the district’s budget. 

The Apollo Career Center Board of Education announced the appointment of Maria Rellinger as Treasurer/CFO of the Apollo district August 2017. Rellinger has served as the Treasurer/CFO of Paulding Exempted Village Schools since 2009.

Prior to her tenure with the Paulding district, Rellinger was the treasurer for Continental Local School District, and also served as an auditor for the Auditor of State of Ohio. Her professional affiliations are extensive including Ohio Association of School Business Officials, Board of Directors; Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council, Board of Directors; and Superior Credit Union Board of Directors.

She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Ohio Northern University, and an MBA from the University of Findlay.

Rellinger was raised in Delphos, Ohio and currently resides in Kalida, Ohio with her husband Bruce and two children.