Alana Jochum (she/her/hers) is an attorney and Executive Director of Equality Ohio. She received her B.A. in English and B.S. in Psychology from Baldwin Wallace University and has been passionately engaged in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality at the local, state, national, and international level for more than a decade.

Alana spent time in Mumbai, India volunteering with the Humsafar Trust, a nongovernmental organization working to advance LGBTQ+ equality in India. After returning home, she worked at United Way of Greater Cleveland and continued her LGBTQ+ volunteer work through the Human Rights Campaign.

Alana attended Cleveland Marshall College of Law where she served as Editor in Chief of the Cleveland State Law Review. She became an Associate at Squire Patton Boggs, LLP where she focused her legal practice on complex civil litigation, international law, product liability disputes and other commercial litigation. She also represented clients in habeas proceedings before the Sixth Circuit and at the District court level.

Alana left Squire in 2014 to work with Equality Ohio full time where she has the privilege of advocating for LGBTQ+ equality statewide. She also proudly serves as a Board member for the Equality Federation, a national organization focused on capacity building and support for statewide LGBTQ+ organizations across the country.

[email protected] Siobhan Boyd-Nelson (she/her/hers) serves as Deputy Director for Equality Ohio. She received her B.A. in Legal Communication from Howard University in 2002. She returned home to Columbus and earned her J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2005. Her involvement in Columbus’ LGBTQ community began shortly thereafter and has included leadership positions on the boards of LinkOUT, Scarlet & Gay (the OSU GLBT Alumni Society), and the Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation. Siobhan practiced law in the domestic, probate, and appellate fields before entering the nonprofit sector in 2012. At Kaleidoscope Youth Center, Siobhan served as the development and marketing manager before moving to Stonewall Columbus where she led the community center’s capital campaign. Siobhan joined Equality Ohio as the Director of Development in 2018. Siobhan has served on numerous community boards and is currently serving as a board member for Black, OUT & Proud. She is a member of the Columbus Business First 40 Under 40 Class of 2019 and a recipient of the Create Columbus Visionary Award. Siobhan has lent her voice to discussions about LGBTQ+ identity, race, and the intersection of identities in forums across the state including Cincinnati Black Pride, the United Way of Central Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Ohio Diversity and Leadership Conference.

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Maya Simek (she/her/hers) serves as the Legal Director at Equality Ohio, where she she has spent the past year developing and launching a state-wide legal clinic for the lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer (LGBTQ+) community. Ms. Simek further serves as a Clinical Law Professor and Co-Director of Case Western Reserve’s Health & Human Trafficking Clinic.

Ms. Simek focuses her practice on legal issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community and human trafficking prevention and victim redress. Other areas of interest for Ms. Simek include community lawyering and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with social services, on the efficacy of legal practice. The focus on these areas of interest inspired Ms. Simek’s spearheading of a law clinic for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS engaging in case management services at the Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center in 2012.

Ms. Simek earned her J.D. in 2010 from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, her M.S.S.A in 2007 from Case Western Reserve’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and her B.S. in 2000 from John Carroll University. Ms. Simek is admitted to the bar in Ohio and California. In addition, she is an Ohio Licensed Independent Social Worker with Supervision designation(LISW-S).

 

[email protected] Raisa Mathis (she/her/hers) joined Equality Ohio in September 2013 and is a recent grad of Bowling Green State University with a degree in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She got her start in the movement as a student organizer on the One Bowling Green Campaign in 2010. Her experience with One BG ignited a fire and love for social justice work which led her to work as a volunteer on a few campaigns and issues until she earned a spot on the Equality Express Tour, a project of Equality Ohio in 2012.Immediately preceding her joining Equality Ohio, she worked as a fellow with the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce on a campaign to pass ENDA. Raisa is proud to devote her skills and talent to making Ohio a welcoming place for all who live, work and play here

[email protected] Jen Scott (she/her/hers) is a native Ohioan from Forest Park, Ohio. She attended Northwestern University earning a degree in Chemistry.  After returning to Ohio, she embarked on a successful career in information technology and established her own consulting firm. In 2015, she began another path in life, that of a community organizer and grassroots activist. She became very involved with the atheist and secular movement, driven by a passion for separation of religion and government. She believes strongly that an individual’s right to religious freedom should not infringe on the rights of others. In 2016, she co-organized a campaign which drew international attention to raise awareness of the anti-LGBTQ hiring practices of a tourist attraction in Williamstown, Kentucky. In 2018, she was recognized as Activist of the Year at the national convention for American Atheists, and now serves on their board of directors. In 2019, she co-founded the Community of Reason (COR): Atheists and Humanists of Ohio and Kentucky based in Cincinnati. COR envisions a secular society that values science, reason, integrity, compassion and true equality for everyone. She also serves on the board of Cincinnati Pride as co-chair of the Parade Committee and represents Equality Ohio on the board of Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati.  Through her volunteer roles, Jen learned how to use personal passion to empower a community to make a real difference in the lives of others.  She brought this passion to Equality Ohio when she joined the team in 2019 to establish and expand our work in the southwest Ohio region.

[email protected] Joseph Soza (he/him/el) was brought to this work with a passion for social change, and a vision for a more equitable and affirming Ohio. He graduated with a BA from Malone University where he studied history, global-international studies, and sociology. Additionally, he studied Mandarin and Chinese cultural history at the Dalian University of Foreign Languages in 2017, where he also taught English language. In 2019, Joseph was accepted into the Ohio Legislative Service Commission Fellowship program where he worked for State Senator Teresa Fedor and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko. He later served as a full time legislative aide in Senator Fedor’s office before joining the Equality Ohio team in December 2020 as the Central Ohio regional organizer. Currently, Joseph also serves as a board member of the Ohio League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) as well as a member of the National LULAC LGBTQ Affairs Committee. He was recently accepted into the 2022 cohort of the Columbus New Leaders Council. He envisions continued bridge-building between LGBTQ and Latiné leadership and activist spaces as a way to better serve others who live at the intersection of queerness and Latinidad. Joseph looks forward to contributing to lived and legal equality for LGBTQ Ohioans, and hopes to see an Ohio that genuinely nourishes and values all people.

Kathryn Poe (they/she) is Public Policy and Communications Organizer with Equality Ohio. They joined the team in 2021. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from Capital University, with a focus on health policy, bioethics, and disability studies. Kathryn has volunteered with organizations such as Be the Match, T1International, and the Arthritis Foundation on rare disease and health care advocacy in Ohio. They are excited to join the Equality Ohio policy team to help organize Ohio for better LGBTQ+ protections.

Kieran Robertson (they/them) joined Equality Ohio as a Development and Data Associate in March 2022. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Kieran came to Columbus to study at The Ohio State University. Here they earned a Master's Degree in Public History in 2015. Prior to joining the Equality Ohio team, Kieran was a Curator at the Ohio History Connection, where they managed the LGBTQ+ archival collection. They are excited to continue in the legacy of the many LGBTQ+ advocates that they have encountered in the archives!

[email protected] Madison Flading-Mayberry (she/her) has a passion for social justice and for helping people feel connected, loved, and valued. Madison is a grad student pursuing her MASJ (Masters of Social Justice) from MTSO with a focus on social justice for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. She grew up in Marysville, Ohio and has lived in several other Ohio cities, now residing in Columbus. Madison hopes as Pride Coordinator to help those in the community experience joy and freedom, as well as be fully seen and heard this pride season.

[email protected] Emily Meyer (she/her/hers) is a Staff Attorney in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. She graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2008. After a number of years practicing law in Cincinnati, including both transactional and litigation work, she returned to graduate school to pursue an M.A. in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati. An Ohio native, Emily counts herself lucky to have resided all across the Buckeye State including in Dayton, Columbus, Cambridge, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Emily is committed to LGBTQ+ equality as well as gender and racial justice—and the intersections therein. She is a founding member of both the Cincinnati Women’s Fund’s Engagement Committee and the YP Board of Cincinnati Works, a local nonprofit working towards poverty reduction by connecting job seekers with employment training and opportunities. Emily is admitted to practice in the State of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She is based in Equality Ohio's Cincinnati office.

[email protected] Kate Mozynski (they/she) is an attorney in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. They are a Dallas native, and have made Ohio a second home. Kate attended the College of Wooster, where they earned a degree in International Relations, and are a 2016 graduate from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Prior to joining the Equality Ohio team, Kate's practice included international human rights law, immigration law, international criminal law, and inmate civil rights litigation. Kate is passionate about working with members of the LGBTQ+ community and working to extend legal representation to individuals across Ohio. When they are not at work, Kate also coaches high school policy debate, and is devoted to helping make Ohio debate a supportive educational environment for LGBTQ+ students. They are based in the Cleveland office.

Veronica Hodges (she/her) is a legal intern from Columbus, Ohio who loves to call Ohio home (even after traveling to several different states and countries). Veronica has a BA in marketing from  Notre Dame College in Cleveland. She worked in social media marketing/ research before transitioning into human resources where she assisted in staffing needs, and later found a passion for law. Veronica is currently attending Capital University Law School for her Juris Doctorate degree.   She decided to work towards becoming an attorney during a time of massive social change because she has an inherent voice to speak up in situations where people are being wronged. She uses her voice and shares it for others who deserve representation. Veronica is excited to be working alongside LGBTQ+ Ohioans this summer. She has been an ally from a very young age and is now excited to call it a profession. When Veronica is not advocating for human rights she is hanging out with her two dogs, making candles, reading, or walking around downtown for fun.

[email protected] Dominic Detwiler (he/him/his) is a graduate of Ohio University where he studied Sociology with Minors in Psychology, Political Science, and Music. The focus of his research was on the relationships between environmental and LGBTQ movements. As Public Policy Consultant, Dominic works primarily on advancing Equality Ohio's objectives at the Ohio Statehouse, including passing the Ohio Fairness Act and protecting minors from so-called "conversion therapy". Dominic has worked with Equality Ohio in various capacities since 2017 and served as Public Policy Strategist until 2021. Dominic is excited to work with lawmakers and other public officials to promote lived and legal equality for LGBTQ+ Ohioans.

[email protected] Leslie Johns (she/her)  is the Intake Specialist in the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic. In addition to her role as Intake Specialist, Leslie is a criminal defense attorney and a Magistrate at Shaker Heights Municipal Court. Leslie was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio and now resides just down the road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Leslie attended Bowling Green State University, where she earned her degree in Criminal Justice in 2011. Leslie returned to Cleveland after completing her undergraduate degree and attended Cleveland State University’s Cleveland Marshall College of Law where she graduated in 2014. When Leslie is not working and serving on boards and committees, she is soaking up precious time with her family and friends.

[email protected] Kim Welter (she/her/hers) is CEO of KLW Consulting, LLC which supports LGBTQ+ and affiliated advocacy organizations with policy expertise. Her primary client is Equality Ohio where she holds the responsibilities of Director of Finance and Special Projects after previously serving as Deputy Director and Director of Programs and Outreach while on staff. She also briefly served as interim Executive Director; with over ten years of experience with the organization, she is Equality Ohio’s most seasoned consultant. She joined the organization as staff in 2008 after serving as the Executive Director of Equality Toledo for over 2 years. A graduate of University of Michigan, she got her secondary teaching certificate through the University of Findlay and her Master of Arts and Education from the University of Toledo where she taught composition for 3 years. Kim is a 2009/2010 graduate of the Center for Progressive Leadership. In 2010, Kim took a leave of absence from Equality Ohio to serve as Campaign Manager for the ONE Bowling Green Campaign in Bowling Green, Ohio which successfully defended two local non-discrimination ordinances from a ballot initiative to repeal.  In 2019, Kim completed her Capstone Project to earn a Certificate in LGBTQ Juvenile Justice as a fellow with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform out of Georgetown University.  Kim vlogs about LGBTQ issues as kimperfecttv. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with her wife and pets and frequently visits her children and grandchildren in Indiana.  

[email protected] Mary Zaller (she/her/hers) joined Equality Ohio in November of 2014. For the previous 3 years she was the Director of Development for the ninth quadrennial international Gay Games, which were held in Cleveland and Akron in August, 2014. She oversaw all fundraising for Gay Games 9, which were the first Gay Games in history to finish in the black and with a surplus. Mary has worked in the LGBTQ Community in Cleveland since 2003, and is a strong advocate for social justice and systemic change. Previously she worked in the broadcast special effects industry in Europe and Los Angeles. Mary is a Cleveland native and resides in Ohio City.