Dr. Sidney Childs

Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA)

Dr. Sidney Childs is the first Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) in its 89 years history. While the role is new, CMHA’s approach to its various initiatives is resident-centered with an equity mindset.

Throughout my professional career, I have been intentional about cultivating a community environment where people feel welcome and strive to create a more just and equitable world. One in which everyone sees themselves as valuable individuals and feels confident and competent in their own identities. And that is why I joined the CMHA family a little over a year and half ago. Being a part of an organization that is making an impact in the community, and to be able to interact and affect the affordable housing industry is something I feel very strongly about. More importantly, CMHA strives to have a strong impact on the residential experience. Work is underway to examine how we might better engage our residents at all levels within our residential communities. This includes a review of existing housing policies and procedures to highlight current strengths and define areas for continued growth. At the end of the day, our goal is to ensure each resident lives in a community where they not only survive but thrive.

We know there is not enough supply of housing here in Central Ohio. When an individual or family cannot afford their housing, other things begin to suffer. We know that there are over 54,000 families in Franklin County paying more than 50% of their income towards rent. While some families may choose to leave central Ohio, we know many are staying and choosing to live in a situation that is not affordable or maybe even unsafe.

As a result, CMHA continues to increase affordable housing within the community. Through our strong community partnerships, we are excited with the strategic direction we are headed to meet this critical need facing Central Ohio and beyond. One of our organizational goals is to build and/or acquire at least 500 housing units a year for the next five years through multiple business strategies. In doing so we aim to ensure that the resident is central to the overall success of each project.

But this work cannot be done alone. We have a commitment to ensure our community partners who in many cases provide direct services to our residents have organizational values that are aligned with ours.

In this role I can lead and build upon CMHA’s strong history of commitment in promoting a diverse and inclusive residential community that highlights and celebrates the rich cultures of our residents.

We recognize the benefit of DEI as a management tool as well as an operational strategy is to successfully bring together diverse groups of ideas, identities, and information to strengthen the organizational culture while we work together and develop solutions to difficult challenges we face.

Marchelle E. Moore

Senior Vice President, External Affairs

Chief Diversity Officer, President of the Encova Foundation of Ohio

Marchelle is a multifaceted, C-suite executive with over 20 years of progressive experience in highly regulated industries, including insurance and transportation. As Encova Insurance’s first Chief Diversity Officer, Marchelle leverages her broad leadership and business acumen to lead innovative efforts to make Encova an inclusive and equitable atmosphere for all associates. Marchelle is responsible for leading strategic corporate citizenship initiatives and advancing the organization’s philanthropic efforts across its geographical footprint of 28 states and Washington, D.C. Previously, Marchelle served as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Encova Mutual Insurance Group, consisting of 23 companies. In that role, Marchelle led strategic and tactical legal initiatives, including forming a mutual holding company and affiliating two large and complex organizations with combined assets of $4.5 billion. Marchelle also led regulatory affairs and industry relations.

Prior to joining Encova, Marchelle served as Central Ohio Transit Authority’s (COTA) Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs and General Counsel. She served on the company’s executive leadership team and oversaw all legal matters, including corporate governance, compliance, and ethics. Marchelle joined COTA as Senior Legal Counsel and was promoted to Interim Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations, a role she held for two years. In this role, Marchelle was responsible for overseeing all division goals and objectives, employee relations, three labor contracts, and the implementation of training, education, and employee development programs.

Marchelle currently serves on the Governing Committee of The Columbus Foundation and the Independent Review Panel of JobsOhio. She formerly served as Chair of The Ohio State University Alumni Association Board of Directors, Board Director for CampusParc, and former Co-chair of the City of Columbus Charter Review Commission.

Marchelle has a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in English from The Ohio State University. She chose to attend law school because of her lifelong affinity for justice and equality and initially hoped to work as a civil rights attorney. While her legal career took her in a different direction, she hopes her current role will allow her to have the social justice impact she aspired to make as a young lawyer. She notes, “My sincere desire is to make real and lasting change at Encova and the broader Columbus community – change that lifts all boats.” Marchelle is a member of Women Corporate Directors, is affiliated with numerous professional and industry associations and is a licensed attorney in good standing with the state of Ohio.