Lilleana (Lilly) Cavanaugh, MBA, CPM

Executive Director

Ohio Latino Affairs Commission

Lilly serves as Executive Director for the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, with the mandates to advise the Governor and legislators on issues impacting Hispanic Ohioans, to connect Latino and Latino serving organizations across the state, and to build capacity and leadership among Latino serving organizations in Ohio. Mrs. Cavanaugh has been directly engaged with the Latino community in Ohio for 26 years; the last fifteen serving in a statewide capacity with the Commission. She has played a key role in building collaboration and partnerships among government entities, community-based organizations, and the private sector to improve the quality of life and opportunities for Hispanic Ohioans and other ethnic minorities. She is originally from Costa Rica and has lived and worked in Latin America, Africa, South East Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Currently, Lilly serves on the National Hispanic & Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Board, Mount Carmel Foundation Board, the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) President’s Diversity Advisory Council. She is a member of the Ohio’s Secretary of State’s Diversity and Empowerment Council and served in the COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force Team under Governor Mike DeWine.

Among her current roles in other advisory boards, she serves on the Ohio Department of Education Whole Child Advisory Committee, Ohio’s Council on Maternal Health and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Disparities and Cultural Competence Advisory Committee, the Ohio Institute of Communities of Color, and the President’s Advisory Council on Race at Otterbein University.

Lilly is a Certified Public Manager and has an associate degree in Business from Sinclair Community College, a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Phoenix, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Capella University.

Erika Clark Jones

Chief Executive Officer

Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH)

Collaboration has been a guiding principle for Erika Clark Jones throughout her more than 22 years as a public servant in local government, working on behalf of marginalized populations across central Ohio.

With a strong faith background and concern for communities, Erika has a record of inclusive leadership rooted in humility and transparency with an emphasis on execution, quality improvement and meeting targeted outcomes that improve lives.

Erika notes that the brightest moments in her career were earned working with coalitions of public, private, non-profit and community stakeholders. Highlights include reducing infant deaths in Franklin County by 23 percent over three years, improving health care access with the construction and support for two federally qualified community health centers and the current development of a $59 million community behavioral health crisis care facility.

A Columbus native, Erika’s leadership experience spans across public health, public affairs and public policy. Her career includes 19 years in the Office of the Mayor for the City of Columbus including time as Deputy Director of the Community Relations Commission, Policy Director, and Director of the Office of Homeless Advocacy. Additionally, Erika led the CelebrateOne initiative to reduce infant mortality in central Ohio and the Southern Gateway initiative to improve neighborhood conditions on Columbus’ South Side.

In January 2020, Erika became CEO for the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH). She is the first CEO of color since the agency was founded in 1968.

ADAMH leads the planning, funding and evaluation of mental health and addiction services for residents of Franklin County and contracts with more than 30 non-profit behavioral health providers to deliver quality services in neighborhoods across the community.

ADAMH is supported through a voter-approved property tax levy, providing $80 million or 73% of the agency’s $122 million budget in 2023. Levy dollars, leveraged with federal, state, local and philanthropic funds, ensure that mental health and addiction prevention, treatment and recovery support services are available, regardless of race, income, zip code and insurance status.

As ADAMH CEO, Erika has navigated the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and secured the passage of a five-year, 2.2 mil operating levy with 70% approval from Franklin County voters. During her tenure, ADAMH has helped to redefine and fund lifesaving pathways for those in crisis. The cornerstone of this work is the new Franklin County Crisis Care Center, which began construction in April. When it opens in 2025, a no-wrong-door approach will ensure that any adult arriving at the crisis center receives services regardless of ability to pay.

Erika’s commitment to bringing people together to get things done extends to her volunteer work. She currently serves on the boards of Capital University and the Columbus YWCA and chairs the OneOhio Region 1 Committee to distribute settlement funds to communities ravaged by the national opiate epidemic. Erika also served on the board of the Columbus Metropolitan Library for 14 years and led multiple voter registration and mobilization efforts.

Erika earned a bachelor’s degree from Capital University and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. She also completed the Harvard University Young American Leadership Program. Erika and her husband Mark have a blended family of five children and a dog named Keno.

Edwina Blackwell Clark

Executive Editor

Columbus Dispatch

With a view of the Ohio Statehouse from her office window, Edwina Blackwell Clark can see a lot about Columbus. As the new Executive Editor of the Columbus Dispatch, it’s her job to know what is happening in the city so the Dispatch reflects the people and the issues impacting Columbus and Central Ohio.

The change in leadership is noticeable. When Blackwell Clark was appointed last June, she became the first African American and woman to lead the Dispatch after 150 years. It is a distinct honor rooted in decades of media experience and multiple executive leadership roles for her. Being the Dispatch Executive Editor however is extra special, she said, because the opportunity to make a significant impact in the community is so great. “Ohio is my home and to have the chance to lead the state’s leading news organization is a chance of a lifetime,” Blackwell Clark said. “Columbus is a wonderful, diverse, growing metro area and at the Dispatch we want to make sure that our content reflects those issues, trends, and problems our community is faced with. But that is nothing new. We also continue to hold elected officials accountable and keep being truth seekers in this community,” she said.

Recently, the Central Ohio Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded the Dispatch the First Amendment Award for an investigation into the state medical board and doctors who sexually abuse or harass patients. It’s an example of the impactful journalism the Dispatch continues to do, she said.

More recently the newspaper kicked off a nine-month look at gun violence in the community. “Every week it seems we talk in our news meetings about someone else being killed primarily through gunfire. This community must have a larger conversation about the proliferation of guns and the violence occurring. We’re going to use the power of our multi-media storytelling to help the community understand what is happening in our neighborhoods and our schools. Then I hope the Dispatch can be a conduit to seek broader solutions,” she said.

People turn to the Dispatch for all types of coverage, whether it is coverage of the state legislature, The Ohio State University and the Buckeyes or things to do. Dispatch.com has the largest online audience in the region and Blackwell Clark said she will continue to accelerate the newsroom’s digital-first approach. Her priorities are simple: strong local journalism, continued digital innovation and deeper community engagement. She said the great thing is that news and information are delivered in multiple ways - print, video, audio podcasts, email newsletters and news alerts.

Each month, an average of 3 million visitors read news on Dispatch.com. That shows the power of the Dispatch’s brand.

As the Dispatch prepares to enter its 152nd year of serving this community, Blackwell Clark said it’s more important than ever to have a strong local media source that can provide a balanced view on important issues.

Janelle Coleman

Vice President of Community Engagement

President AEP Foundation, Leadership of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

American Electric Power (AEP)

When AEP approached Janelle Coleman about stepping back into the corporate world in the fall of 2020, she had just left a 13-year career of leading community relations at L Brands to join a nonprofit.

“We were in the middle of a pandemic and had witnessed the brutal murder of George Floyd. My husband and I talked it over, and he asked, ‘where are you going to make the biggest impact -at AEP or at the non-profit where I had recently taken a senior leadership role?’ ” recalls Coleman, who was also influenced by a widely published letter AEP’s then-CEO Nick Akins wrote about George Floyd.

Coleman joined AEP as vice president of community engagement and president of the AEP Foundation. In less than a year, she also took on leadership of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“Although DEI was not a part of my title and daily work, it is inherent in community engagement. Our philanthropy addresses disparities often created by systems that have held people back for generations. For me, it was a natural extension of making a difference,” Coleman said.

Under Coleman’s leadership and with support from her team, the CEO, senior executive team, and AEP Foundation board, AEP has made great strides, including the following.

• Creating the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility (IDEA) Summit, which featured New York Times Best-Selling author and Harvard professor Robert Livingston. Dr. Livingston presented his book “The Conversation” to more than 200 leaders.

• Launching AEP Foundation’s Delivering on the Dream grant to support social and racial justice. AEP debuted its first social justice commercial in 2022. The awareness campaign reached an audience of 3.2 million across AEP’s 11-state area.

• Establishing the AEP Foundation Center for Racial Equity with a $1 million Delivering on the Dream grant to the YWCA Columbus.

• Grew participation by 4% in employee resource groups in 2022, year over year. So far in 2023, ERG membership has jumped another 4%. ERGs provide a workplace community for employees with shared interests and identities.

Focusing on improving lives where AEP’s customers and employees live, AEP’s giving totaled more than $30 million in 2022 to support education, hunger, housing and social justice.

This year, AEP launches 25 by 25 to grow volunteerism to at least 25% of its employees by 2025. “We have a giving culture, and employees are doing great things that help our nonprofit partners and our communities. We’re measuring it and recognizing employees for it,” Coleman said. Coleman brings more than 20 years of experience in community engagement. She serves on the boards of Ohio University, Experience Columbus, YWCA Columbus, National Veterans Memorial and Museum and the KIPP Columbus Foundation.

The Ohio native is excited about the future of Columbus and our region. “We are growing and become a more diverse and vibrant city. I love it! We need to ensure that we are creating opportunities for everyone to be successful and to create a sense of belonging and ownership of our community. That’s how we’ll continue to be a great community.”