Advisory Council
George Wood
George Wood is principal of Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio and serves as the Executive Director of The Forum. Dr. Wood’s 30-year career in public education includes work as a classroom teacher, school board member, professor of education, and school principal.
He is the Founding Director of Wildwood Secondary School in Los Angeles and has served as principal of Federal Hocking for 17 years. Federal Hocking is a rural school in Appalachian Ohio which has been recognized as a Coalition of Essential Schools Mentor School, a First Amendment School, and as one of America’s 100 Best by Readers’ Digest. He authored Governor Ted Strickland’s (OH) K-12 Education Transition Paper as well as the books Schools That Work, Time to Learn, and Many Children Left Behind (ed. with Deborah Meier).
Patricia Frost-Brooks
Patricia Frost-Brooks, a teacher in the East Cleveland City School system, is serving her first term as President of the Ohio Education Association. Prior to being elected to the presidency, Patricia served as OEA Vice President for six years. She also served on the OEA Board of Directors for 16 years.
As President, Patricia represents OEA on several National Education Association groups and committees, including its Mid-Atlantic Partnership, the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education Council, the NEA Great Lakes Committee, the NEA National Council of State Education Association’s Matrix Committee and the NEA NCSEA Committee. She is the OEA’s representative on the Transformational Dialogue for Public Education, a public-private group co-sponsored by the NEA.
She serves on the boards of the Ohio Appalachian Educators Institute, the New Teacher Project, the Ohio Advisory Leadership Council, the Coalition for Public Education, the AFL/CIO Partnership, the OEA/Ohio Department of Education Partnership, and the Ohio Democratic Party Executive Committee.
As Vice President, Patricia chaired the Legislative and the Legislative Strategy Committees, the PERS, SERS and STRS Screening Committees, served as vice chair of the FCPE State Council, and served as co-chair of the Comprehensive Education Committee which produced the document, Quest for Quality.
Patricia’s focus is on school reform and school transformation, along with preparing students with improved teaching and learning conditions, preparing them with 21st century skills for greater success and opportunity.
George Hufford
George Hufford is the Coordinator of Hunger, Health and Housing Concerns for the Presbytery of Cincinnati.
Michael Charney
Michael retired from teaching Social Studies in the Cleveland schools in 2005 after 32 years. He served on the Cleveland Teachers Union Executive Board for 17 years where he edited the CTU newspaper, the Critique, and the Ohio Federation of Teachers newspaper, the Ohio Teacher. He also was the CTU Professional Issues Director and coordinator for teacher leadership of the Cleveland Teachers Academy, an independent district/union/business professional development collaborative.
He co-edited the Rethinking Schools book, Transforming Teacher Unions: Fighting for Better Schools and Social Justice and the curriculum guide, First Steps towards an African Centered/Multicultural Curriculum. He co-founded the national Coalition of Education Activists and Policy Matters Ohio, a progressive think tank focused on working class issues.
Beth Sullivan
Beth Sullivan is President of Education Voters of America and Education Voters Institute. Before launching Education Voters, Beth worked as a strategic and political consultant for major non-profit organizations helping with organizational development and creating strategic political programs. Her clients included non-profits focused on issues of poverty, political empowerment and environmental issues.
As Executive Director of the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund from 1996-2002, Beth built LCVEF, and developed LCV’s first Independent Expenditure campaigns, known as the Dirty Dozen.
Previously, Beth served on an election observation mission to French West Africa. From 1985-1995 Beth and her business partner built Campaign Design Group, which was instrumental in the election of Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Senator Patty Murray of Washington State as well as helping to elect over 100 members of Congress, state legislators, mayors and city council members.
Beth holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from George Washington University and a B.A. in Philosophy from Dickinson College. She serves on the Board of Ocean Champions Voter Fund.
Jeff Rusnak
Jeff Rusnak has consulted on more than 100 successful campaigns over the course of his career and has provided strategic guidance for nonprofits, corporations, foundations and candidates (including U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and Ted Strickland) on communications, ballot initiatives, organizational development, public affairs and marketing needs. Most recently, Jeff served as the lead consultant in the successful effort to secure a stable source of public funding for arts and cultural organizations in Cuyahoga County. He also helped launch several independent expenditure organizations that have played a critical role in turning Ohio around. Recognized early on by Campaigns & Elections Magazine as a rising star in American politics, Jeff started out in various campaign posts for candidates at all levels of government. He is a board member of the National Jewish Democratic Council, The Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland, and the Ingenuity Festival.
Greg Moore
As Executive Director, Mr. Moore is responsible for the overall coordination of national programs designed to promote voter rights, election reform and issues that are critical to the NAACP and its branches, while also increasing voter education and participation among African Americans and communities of color throughout the US.
Mr. Moore has a long history of political empowerment and advocacy, serving in a number of leadership positions throughout his 28 years of issue advocacy. Most recently, Mr. Moore served five years as the Chief of Staff to the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, US Representative John Conyers (D-14, MI). He served as Deputy Political Director for the Democratic National Committee, where he was instrumental in developing the Voter Registration and outreach programs while also overseeing Base Vote Constituency programs and activities nationally. While at the DNC, he also served as the Liaison to the Training division and targeted Coordinated Campaigns, strategic planning and implementation of the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election campaign.
Mr. Moore has also served as the Executive Director of the Citizenship Education Fund, the civic educational arm of the National Rainbow Coalition. Private sector involvement includes the founding of GTM Consulting Services, a political consulting firm, where he served as its President and CEO, and TriCom Associates Advertising Firm, where he served as Senior Vice President for Government Relations. Mr. Moore received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Communications, Ohio University.
Ray Sawyer
Was a partner in the Cleveland based law firm of Thompson Hine LLP and the head of its Business Transactions practice for several years before his ‘retirement’ at the end of 2001,. He led the firm’s corporate practice for two Cleveland based Fortune 50 manufacturers and one of its major regional banks.
In 1983, he took what would become a four year leave of absence from the firm to join the new administration of Governor Richard Celeste of Ohio, first serving as the first Executive Director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and then as Counsel to the Governor, and for the last two years of Celeste’s first term as his Chief of Staff. That service culminated in Celeste’s reelection with 60% of the vote in 2006. In 1997, he was appointed by the Governor to a nine year term on the Ohio Board of Regents, where served for two of those years as the Board’s Chairman, and in 1989-90 served as the Chair of the Governor’s Commission on Housing.
Since 2001 Ray and his wife Kit have become investors in a variety of theatrical productions on Broadway and around the world, and enjoy the excitement and challenges of that involvement.
Ray is also personally involved with two major institutions in Cleveland. He is a trustee and the Secretary of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, and a trustee of the MetroHealth System, Cuyahoga County’s outstanding and publicly owned safety net hospital, Ohio’s largest Medicaid provider. He has also maintained a relationship with the Juilliard School in New York City.
Richard Spangler
Richard Spangler is running for State Representative in Ohio House District 72 in the 2010 election. He ran for this same office in 2008 and received 49 1/2 percent of the votes which was 267 votes shy of winning the seat. This will be his third campaign for this office.
Over the years he has raised a wonderful family, took part in a myriad of after-school activities, and participated in local Democratic politics. But most importantly, he has had the honor to be an educator at the literacy center and serve as the Director of the Christ Episcopal Church’s Food Pantry.
His experience in talking and working with people in need has reinforced his beliefs that surging prices and stagnant wages are the issues of the day and will frame all the other important issues; real wage jobs, costs for health care, college tuition, providing the necessities of life for yourself and your family.
Lori McClung
Ms. McClung began her career as a newspaper reporter for several daily newspapers. For the last 15 years she has been involved in media, public policy and advocacy. Throughout her career, Ms. McClung has been responsible for advocating on various education, health and human services and economic development issues at the local, state and national level and leading statewide campaigns to significantly increase the government’s investment in many of those issues.
In 2004 she was a founder and principal for Advocacy & Communication Solutions (ACS). Ms. McClung directs strategic communication planning, government relations and advocacy efforts, policy analysis and strategy development for ACS clients. Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC is a consulting firm that assists non-profits, for profits and organizations of all kinds build government and community support for their missions and programs. ACS provides strategic communication, government relations, advocacy, policy analysis, media relations and strategy development services.
Ms. McClung was selected in 2005 to be a national training fellow for the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI). In that capacity she travels across the country teaching individuals and organizations about the importance of lobbying, how to lobby, and educating them about the legal do’s and don’ts of lobbying. In addition to her professional commitments, Ms. McClung serves on the national board of Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, Cleveland Public Library board and the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center board. She also serves on the Alzheimer’s Association Public Policy Committee. Previous board appointments include the Greater Cleveland Media Development Corporation, Coalition for Greater Cleveland’s Children and the national board of Parents for Public Schools.
Ms. McClung and her husband live in Cleveland.
