Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s cabinet may be one of the most diverse in Ohio history. He has nominated 13 women and 5 African Americans to cabinet positions. Cabinet agency leaders are in charge of multi-million dollar budgets and thousands of state employees.
Ronald C. Todd has been named to serve as the Governor’s Minority Affairs Liaison. Mr. Todd most recently served as the Minority Affairs Liaison in the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office under Secretary Husted. He is the Chairman and CEO of SEEP, LLC., an Insurance Brokerage Agency
ANNETTE CHAMBERS-SMITH
ANNETTE CHAMBERS-SMITH, Nominee for Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction — Chambers-Smith is currently the General Manager of Payment Services for JPay Incorporated, A Securus Technologies Company in Miramar Florida, which works to connect friends and family with incarcerated loved ones through a variety of corrections-related services in 35 different states. She has also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the same company.
Chambers-Smith served for over two decades in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, most recently as Deputy Director in the Office of Administration. In that role, she managed the business organizational operations. During her time at ODRC, she worked to create a more efficient environment in the department, reducing staff resource needs by 55 percent and cutting millions in waste from the operating budget.
URSEL MCELROY—Nominee for Director of the Department of Aging. McElroy has a wealth of experience in both local and state government with specific focuses in eldercare and programs aiding those in poverty. Her career began at the Franklin County Department of Jobs and Family Services and was also a Case Management Supervisor for the Franklin County Office on Aging. She served as the Chair of the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective services through 2008 and worked in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General for 10 years as the Deputy Director of Education and Policy where she managed the establishment of the Ohio Elder Justice Initiative. She has also held key roles at the Ohio Department of Youth Services and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
McElroy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, both from The Ohio State University. She resides in Columbus.
KIMBERLY HALL—Nominee for Director of the Department of Jobs and Family Services. Hall presently serves as senior vice president of administration and general counsel at Columbus State Community College. Hall joined Columbus State in 2012, and she provides executive guidance on College policy, administration and strategic initiatives. Her leadership portfolio includes supervision of the Legal Office, Human Resources Department, Equity and Compliance Office, Police Department, Facilities Management Division and the Shared Governance Office. She also serves as liaison to the Board of Trustees for the development and implementation of board policy.
Prior to joining Columbus State, Hall served as deputy chief counsel for Attorney General Mike DeWine. Kim has served as deputy chief counsel for the Ohio Department of Education and, early in her career, she practiced as a labor and employment attorney with the Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease firm and the Littler Mendelson firm. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Columbus School for Girls and the YWCA of Columbus.
Kim is the founder and president of the Olive Tree Foundation for Girls, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring, enrichment programs and scholarships for young women. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and her Juris Doctorate from Fordham University School of Law.
ALISHA NELSON, Director of RecoveryOhio
Nelson currently serves as the Director for Substance Use Policy Initiatives in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Nelson co-chaired the Ohio Joint Study on Drug Use Prevention Education which developed the Drug Use Prevention Education Resource Guide, which has been shared with schools and community prevention organizations statewide. She has also served on Attorney General DeWine’s Insurer Task Force to assist in the development of recommendations to help eight of Ohio’s largest healthcare insurers address the opiate epidemic. Prior to her appointment in the Attorney General’s Office, Alisha worked for the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board of Franklin County.
Ervan Rodgers, II—Ohio Chief Information Officer, Department of Administrative Services. Rodgers currently serves as the Chief Information Officer in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office where he focuses on developing IT strategies to help better serve and protect Ohioans. He has experience providing IT consulting to global Fortune 100 companies and a successful track record of leading teams and leveraging technology to position companies for growth. Rodgers has hands-on experience with digitizing core business processes, e-business, developing value- added solutions, change management, and mentoring management teams. He serves on the board of directors for Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program, an organization that encourages the creation of digital geographic data of value, HandsOn Central Ohio, a nonprofit resource referral agency, Ohio Attorney General CyberOhio advisory board and the Franklin University Cybersecurity and Public Safety advisory board.
Jack Marchbanks, Nominee for Director of the Department of Transportation
Jack Marchbanks is currently the assistant director for business and human resources at the Department of Transportation where he is responsible for the management of the department’s 5,000 employees and the development of ODOT’s $3.3 billion dollar budget. Jack is responsible for the strategic direction of the agency’s finance, human resources, IT, legal and communications divisions and the opportunity, diversity and inclusion programs. In addition, he has served as the department’s district six deputy director twice.
Previously, Marchbanks worked in the private sector as a Marketing Director for PRIME AE Group, a minority-owned architectural and engineering firm.
GENERAL JOHN C. HARRIS, JR.
GENERAL JOHN C. HARRIS, JR., Nominee for Adjutant General
Major General John Harris has served as the Assistant Adjutant General for Army since January 11, 2011. He began his military career in 1981 when he enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard. He received a commission in 1984 through Officer Candidate School. General Harris has commanded at the platoon detachment, company, and squadron levels while serving in staff assignments at the battalion, squadron, and joint force headquarters level. Recent assignments include Chief of Staff (Joint Force Headquarters), Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (Joint Force Headquarters), and Commander of Task Force Lancer in Kosovo.
