Trustees & Staff

The Ohioana Library is governed by a Board of Trustees and run by a staff of full-time and part-time employees. Find out more about our trustees and staff below.

Board of Trustees

(As of October 2023)

Honorary Chair

Fran Dewine

Elected

President: John Sullivan, Plain City

Vice-President: Katie Brandt, Columbus

Secretary: Bryan Loar, Columbus

Treasurer: L. Bradfield Hughes, Columbus

Amelia Adams, Logan

Ashley Bethard, Dayton

Rudine Sims Bishop, Columbus

Helen F. Bolte, Columbus

Dionne Custer Edwards, Columbus

Mary Curran Hackett, Cincinnati

Negesti Kaudo, Columbus

Helen Kirk, Maumee

Todd Kleismit, Columbus

David Siders, Cincinnati

Caroline Stevens, Columbus

Emily J. Taft, Columbus

Kerry S. Teeple, Findlay

Deborah Urton, Westerville

Rekha Voruganti, Dublin

Betty Weibel, Chagrin Falls

Jay Yurkiw, Columbus

Appointed By the Governor of Ohio

Carol Garner, Mount Vernon

Amy McClure, Dublin

Brian M. Perera, Upper Arlington

Tracey S. Monroe-Winbush, Youngstown

Trustees Emeritus

Ann Bowers, Bowling Green

Christina Butler, Ph.D., Columbus

Cynthia Puckett, Columbus

Daniel Shuey, Westerville

Robert Webner, Columbus

Ohioana Staff

Kimberlee Kiehl

Executive Director

Dr. Kimberlee Kiehl joined Ohioana in May 2024. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Penn State University, an M.S. in Special Education from the College of St. Rose, and a B.S. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the State University of New York at Geneseo. Kim was an Associate Professor in the College of Human Ecology at The Ohio State University, serving as Associate Dean for Academic Programs and an Extension faculty. She joined the nonprofit world in 2000 and served two tenures at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), one as Chief Strategy and Operations Officer (2000-2012) and returning later as Senior Vice President for Experience and Operations in 2018. Following her first term at COSI, she served as the Executive Director of the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, and in 2016 she returned to Ohio to assume the position of Director of the Museum of Ohio Project at the Ohio History Connection where she was responsible for the planning of the Ohio: Champion of Sports exhibition. Most recently Kim served as Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Kim was born on Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. She comes to the Ohioana Executive Director position with a lifelong love of books, and a passion for story, memory keeping, and historical collections.

Kathryn Powers

Assistant Director
Kathryn holds a B.A. in English from Ohio University, graduating summa cum laude in 2007. She became part of the Ohioana team in 2013 as Office Manager, moving to the Assistant Director role in 2021. Kathryn also writes and illustrates and is the Regional Advisor for the Central & Southern Ohio chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

Courtney Brown

Librarian
Courtney has been the librarian since 2017. She reads a lot and enjoys interacting with Ohio readers and writers.

Miriam Nordine

Program Manager
Miriam graduated with a B.A. in English from Ohio State University, graduating summa cum laude in 2020, with minors in Education and Studio Art. She joined the Ohioana team in 2021 as Library Assistant, and was promoted to the Program Manager role in 2023. She is passionate about supporting Ohio's authors and illustrators, and describes herself as an artist and writer.