Greetings!

Voting is now open for the following Ohio Council of Family Relations Advisory Board positions – Professional Member (2), Student Representative (1), and Secretary-Treasurer (1). Voting will be open from Oct. 21 – Nov. 1, 2019. Please take the time to read through the nominee’s qualifications (see bios below) before casting your vote!

 link to ballot – https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8f86gjJjQfBwarP

Bios:

Professional Board Member #1 (January 2020 – December 2020)

Anita Armstrong – Ohio Department of Education: She serves as the Head Start Collaboration Director for the State of Ohio, where her role is to facilitate and enhance coordination and collaboration among the federal, state and local entities that serve Ohio’s most vulnerable children and their families. Her passion for education, families, and children has been expressed throughout her career in direct service and leadership roles within various government, non-profit, and school-based settings. Anita is a Licensed Social Worker with a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Leadership program at Creighton University.

Professional Board Member #2 (January 2020 – December 2022)

Stephanie Blessing, M.Ed. – Bowling Green State University: An associate teaching professor in the Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) program at Bowling Green State University. In addition, Stephanie serves as the HDFS internship coordinator and specializes in developing strong university-community partnerships. Stephanie spent seven years in the field providing intervention services for young children with disabilities and supporting diverse families in Lucas County.

Anita Armstrong – Ohio Department of Education: She serves as the Head Start Collaboration Director for the State of Ohio, where her role is to facilitate and enhance coordination and collaboration among the federal, state and local entities that serve Ohio’s most vulnerable children and their families. Her passion for education, families, and children has been expressed throughout her career in direct service and leadership roles within various government, non-profit, and school-based settings. Anita is a Licensed Social Worker with a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Leadership program at Creighton University.

Student Board Member (January 2020 – December 2021)

Kayla Bindus – Kent State University: A graduate student studying Human Development and Family Studies. Her current studies are focused on Caregiving Youth, specifically children between the ages of 8-18 who are providing care to family members for any number of reasons. She has a passion for working with children and after graduation hopes to work in a hospital setting with families.

Hannah Harnichar – Kent State University: A junior majoring in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Psychology. She is a member of the Honors College and plans to attend graduate school to pursue School Psychology. Originally from the Youngstown area, she
would ideally like to work as a school psychologist in local schools whose students are directly affected by the opioid epidemic, poverty, etc.

Ross “Chad” Nunamaker – Wright State University: A PhD candidate, with a concentration in early childhood education, studying how the self-perceptions, beliefs, and practices of early childhood professionals intersect. Chad has had a wide variety of experiences working with children, families, teachers, academics, and researchers with experience as a toddler lead teacher, child development consultant, curriculum director, kindergarten program lead, teacher and parent educator, higher ed faculty member, and researcher among other roles. He is committed to helping teachers and parents of young children learn how to be developmentally supportive and informed on infant, toddler, and early childhood mental health.

Gwendolyn West – Kent State University: Since starting her master’s degree she has worked professionally as a Certified Lactation Counselor, as an activities director for aging adults, in academia as a graduate assistant, as a lead infant teacher, and she had just started her next adventure as a support group facilitator for victims of IPV. Gwendolyn has spent most of her life in HDFS fields and looks forward to facilitating student and professional growth in human science fields. She is especially interested in family education and breaking the stigma of poverty that limits high-quality support for low-resource families. She looks forward to serving the OHCFR community from the newest student members to the highest level professionals, and everybody in between.

Secretary-Treasurer (January 2020 – December 2021)

Patrice Powers-Barker, CFLE – Ohio State University Extension: a Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Lucas County (Toledo). She has served as a Professional Board Member for OHCFR and is interested in serving the organization as the Secretary-Treasurer.

photo credit:  https://www.theholler.org/vote-now-open-box-apps/