Munira Abdullahi

Ohio House of Representative, District 9

It’s hard to tell time by revolutionary clocks.” That observation by historian Lerone Bennett Jr. in an essay about the turbulent times of the late 1960s is equally apt today when trying to properly understand the dynamics of important political representation. Ohio has been on the winning side of nearly every presidential election since 1964. With its geographic and religious diversity, the state is increasingly seen as a microcosm for American voting preference at large. Munira Yasin Abdullahi represents that diversity. She is an American politician representing Ohio House District 9. She is the first Somali American Muslim woman to serve in the state house.

Abdullahi’s family left Somalia when she was three years old and moved to an apartment in the Northside neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Abdullahi graduated from Columbus Alternative High School and completed a bachelor’s degree in political science at the Ohio State University.

State Rep. Munira Yasin Abdullahi was recently elected to serve as Vice Chair of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus (ODWLC) for the 135th General Assembly. The mission of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus is to develop and pass policies and legislation that improve the lives of Ohio women and their families; to identify and support emerging women leaders by serving as mentors; to educate and empower women and increase women’s involvement in public life and in the Ohio General Assembly.

“Women’s issues are always at the forefront of my priorities, so I am grateful to serve as Vice Chair of this caucus by and for women,” said Rep. Munira. “I am looking forward to working with my fellow caucus members in continuing to address pressing women’s issues, such as the gender pay gap, women’s right to choose, maternal mortality rates, and more, as it impacts all women and particularly as it impacts women that face additional economical, racial, and health barriers.”

Representative Abdullahi recognizes that while the country’s hypocritical immigration laws bar some residents from becoming full-fledged citizens with the attendant right to vote, people of color still account for 36 percent of all eligible voters in the state of Ohio. She provides perspective and understanding about children in immigrant families who are regularly at the center of major public policy discussions and guides constructive conversations about how to support these children and their families.

These racial and ethnic realities matter because, in a country with centuries of racial oppression and a continuing gargantuan racial wealth gap, people of color, as a group, have more progressive politics than whites. Abdullahi looks to make her mark and her name fighting for peace, justice, and equality with an unapologetic racial lens.

The demographic and campaign finance revolutions have changed the calculus and formulas for how elections unfold. While it is hard to tell time by revolutionary clocks, those who appreciate the profound changes taking place in politics have seen that Munira Adullahi’s success in becoming a State Representative for Ohio may in fact be right on time.

Trudy Bartley

Associate Vice President, Local Government & Community Affairs

The Ohio State University

Trudy represents the university with local government and community by establishing relationships with community leaders, participating in community organizations/activities and fostering community and university partnerships; monitors, researches and/or analyzes local government legislative and regulatory issues; responsible for developing high level strategies to create and strengthen local government and community relations; actively focuses on strategic university engagement and enhanced goodwill toward the university. Represents the University on supporting the OSU work on boards, committees and ad hoc groups

Chaired the Franklin County Board of Commissioners Poverty Taskforce, a group of 30 + Franklin County residents, public, private, and nonprofit leaders. The yearlong process resulted in the development and creation of the County’s Rise Together Blueprint. The Blueprint called “the people’s plan encompasses 13 goals and 120 actions to assist individuals in poverty with resources and opportunity to realize their ideas of success and a sustainable household. The taskforce led to the Franklin County commissioners passing a resolution stating “Racism is a Public Health Crisis” as well as the development of the Rise Together Innovation Center a newly created 501©3 that will align resources and innovated ideas to lessen the poverty rate in Franklin County. Trudy currently is Board Chair of the Rise Institute.

As the former Executive Director and current Board Chair of Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the comprehensive redevelopment of the Near East Side neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio; Trudy was responsible for spearheading the strategic implementation of the Blueprint for Community Investment, a detailed master plan focused on revitalizing the Near East Side. Distinguished by its bottom-up approach to revitalizing a historic neighborhood.

Prior to coming to the Ohio State University Trudy served as Deputy Director of Development for the City of Columbus. Following her career at the City she served as President of Diversified Development Group, a minority real estate development company and then moved on to work for the Ohio Department of Development, where she served as the Chief Operating Officer, as well as positions of Interim Director of the Minority Business Enterprise Division and Federal Stimulus Coordinator. Trudy currently serves on the Board of Trustees or a commission member for The Franklin County Parks and Recreation Board of Trustees (Columbus Clippers), The Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Chaired the 2022 Columbus Charter Review Commission, , Chair of the RISE Institute, Past Chair and Board member of Central Ohio Transit Authority, ADAMH, PACT, KIPP Columbus, The Neighborhood Design Center. In her past boards and commission service, she served as Chair of the New Albany Community Authority, The New Albany Planning Commission, WOSU, River South Community Authority, Columbus School for Girls, YWCA, COVA, The United Way of Central Ohio and , Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Trudy was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, a graduate of Columbus School for Girls and has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Wellesley College.