Grant Varian, MD
Chairman of the Board
Director of Medical Staff, Mary Rutan Hospital
Deborah Parris, PhD
President
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University
Robert Brueggemeier, PhD
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University
John Kessler
Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer,
Motorists Insurance Group
John Kessler is the senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Motorists Insurance Group. John joined Motorists after graduating from University of Mount Union with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, concentration in Business Administration. Since then, he has served the company in many capacities, including spearheading the strategy and launch of Motorists Insurance, the group’s new commercial lines company built on state-of-the-art technology.
John is active in numerous technology groups and industry organizations, including TechStrategy of Central Ohio, Columbus Insurance Leaders, CIO Solutions Gallery, Insurance CIO Forum, Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council and Guidewire Strategic Advisory Council. He was recognized at the 2018 Central Ohio Tech Power Player Awards as a prominent technology leader, innovator and influencer in Central Ohio.
In addition to his industry involvement, John has also been an active member in his community as a school board member and president, high school basketball coach, founder of local youth league athletic programs and a youth league board member. He currently serves on the board of trustees for Ohio Cancer Research, and in December 2018 he joined the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio’s board of trustees.
Joyce Ritter
Susan Cole, PhD
Assoicate Professor, The Ohio State University
Jeanette Altenau
Director of Community Relations
TriHealth
Jeanette Altenau currently serves as the Director of Community Relations for TriHealth, one of Cincinnati’s largest healthcare organizations and the fourth largest employer within the city. In this role, she has responsibility for all community collaborations and engagement across extensive geographic areas in which TriHealth physicians practice and their patients live, work and enjoy life. Prior to her current role, she was Director of Strategic Community Initiatives for Local 12, WKRC Television in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the nation’s top CBS affiliates and #1 local station in the tri-state area.
Jeanette currently serves on the Board of Directors for Cincinnati Arts Association, Cincinnati Ballet, Interact for Health, Marvin Lewis Community Fund and Spirit of Cincinnatus. She has formerly served on the Board of Directors for Crayons 2 Computers, Freestore Foodbank, Neediest Kids of All, St. Ursula Academy, Cincinnati Union Bethel, Queen City Foundation, Patty Brisben Foundation for Women’s Sexual Health, WAVE Foundation at the Newport Aquarium, Cincinnati State STEM Academy, and Cincinnati May Festival. She served as a national Special Contribution Fund Trustee for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for nine years and served on the NAACP Image Awards committee. She has also served on several national development committees and capital campaigns, including the United Negro College Fund and NAACP.
Jeanette has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Dedication Award by the Northern Kentucky Branch of NAACP; the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau Spirit of Cincinnati Champion Award; and the Silver Crime Stopper Challenge Coin (the second highest award given by the organization) in recognition of her work with the non-profit organization. She is also a two-time Emmy nominee and in 2012, she was recognized as one of the “100 Minds – Thought Leaders in the Greater Cincinnati Region”, recognizing individuals who excelled in thought leadership within their industry, their ideas/personality as an individual and/or their involvement within the community. In 2013, she received the Cincinnatus Award, in recognition of civic virtue, service to community, family values and ongoing support of the tri-state community. In 2016, she was awarded the Friars Award in recognition of her leadership and assistance to the organization in an exceptional manner while exemplifying her life in the Franciscan tradition of service to others, and in 2017, she received the Ovarian Cancer Alliance Teal Power Caring Community Champion Award, recognizing an individual or group from the community who has stepped up to help in the fight against ovarian cancer.
Jeanette lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and has two daughters, Kristen and Laura.
Lynn Elliott
President
Columbus Window Cleaning Company
Lynn Elliott is the President of Columbus Window Cleaning, a certified Women’s Business Enterprise providing window-cleaning services to high-rise, commercial, residential, and construction properties statewide. An entrepreneur with leadership and administrative experience in both the public and private sectors of the Columbus community, Ms. Elliott is active in such diverse areas as education, human services, industry, and the cultural arts.
Prior to taking the reins at Columbus Window Cleaning, Ms. Elliott served over twenty-five years as a public schools fine arts educator and administrator, and as a coordinator for school/business/community partnerships. She acted as Project Director for the early childhood care and education program entitled “Learning Begins Right from the Start,” an initiative of the 1992 Education Committee funded by the Columbus Foundation, which provided technical assistance to community organizations to expand strategic alliances and secure corporate contributions for the initial six program sites. She subsequently served as Director of Development and Communications for Action for Children, a Columbus, Ohio-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to originating, developing and promoting early learning initiatives.
Ms. Elliott currently serves on the Board of Trustees of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. She was recognized as a 2012 Woman of Achievement by the YWCA of Central Ohio, and was honored with a 2011 Ohio Cancer Research Associates Star Award. She has been named a Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation Champion, is a recipient of the 2010 Smart Business and Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service, and the 2008 National Association of Women Business Owners Visionary Award.
Ms. Elliott is a resident of the German Village district of Columbus, and in her free time is writing two books: a non-fiction work for parents on teaching children the value of money and philanthropy, and a murder mystery featuring spies, domestic terrorists, and of course, window cleaners!