Welcome to the following new Council members who have recently assumed their duties on the board.

Ann Armstrong (Fairborn) is Administrator of Publications at Sinclair Community College. She directs college publications, oversees campus newspaper production, and works on public relations events. She is also an adjunct instructor of various design courses. Armstrong serves on local historical societies’ boards, lectures on the lifestyles of the 18th century, acts in many regional stage productions, and reenacts 18th century regimental campsite life.

J.D. Britton (Toledo) is the Director of the Local History Office of the Ohio Historical Society. In this capacity, he administers and supervises statewide technical assistance to historical societies and history museums and the activities of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums. He has served as editor of The Local Historian, a newsletter published by the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums, since 1988.

Donna M. DeBlasio (Youngstown) is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Youngstown State University. She was previously the site manager in developing the Ohio Historical Society’s Center of Industry and Labor in Youngstown, served as an historian at the Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office in Columbus and at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Cincinnati.
Terry Grundy (Cincinnati) is Director of the Vibrant Neighborhoods & Communities Vision Council for the United Way & Community Chest of the Cincinnati area, where he has worked since 1991. He is responsible for organizing broad coalitions and partnerships for community development and problem solving, and for managing a multi-million dollar portfolio of investments for non-profit organizations involved in community-building activities.

Yoshinobu Hakutani (Kent) is an internationally renowned scholar and has served on the faculty of Kent State University for more than 30 years. With his knowledge of Asian, Western, and African American literature, he has been engaged in the humanities as student, teacher, lecturer, and scholar for over four decades. Hakutani has published a multitude of books, articles, book chapters, reviews, and conference papers.

Louise F. Mooney (Berea) works as the Communications Coordinator for the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University. She is a skilled communicator and helped establish professional programs that relate the humanities with various occupations. She is a board member of the CSU Poetry Council, The Poets’ and Writers’ League of Greater Cleveland, and the Novel Club of Cleveland.

Charles J. Ping (Athens) is President Emeritus and Trustee Professor of Philosophy and Education of Ohio University. He is the executive director of the Manasseh Cutler Scholars Program, an endowed merit scholarship program, and director emeritus of the Charles J. Ping Institute for the Teaching of the Humanities at Ohio University. President of Ohio University from 1975-1994, he has also served on the board of directors of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, administering the Fulbright Scholars Program.