Lisa Japs

Dayton Live

Lisa Japs is a driven and accomplished woman with a diverse range of experiences. With a career spanning two decades at Dayton Live, Lisa’s impact has been profound. Her journey began in the Ticket Office, allowing her to gain deep insights into customer service and theatre operations. Lisa currently serves as COO, where she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization’s operations. Holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Dayton has provided her with a strong foundation in human behavior and has been invaluable in her professional and personal pursuits. Outside of work, Lisa loves to garden and is an active volunteer with Levitt Pavilion Dayton. She currently serves as the Chair of the Friends of the Library Board. Through her volunteer work, she has been able to give back to her community and make a positive impact in the lives of others.

Margaret (Meg) Maloney

City of Dayton

Meg Maloney is currently the sustainability manager at the City of Dayton. In this role, she advocates for a more sustainable future for Dayton residents and businesses through energy and environmental justice programs. Through this role, Meg has helped save over $14 million dollars for residents and small businesses in 2022-2023 through energy programs. In addition, Meg has helped identify over $3.5 million dollars in savings through utility billing auditing and curtailment for City of Dayton facilities in 2022. Meg is passionate about advocating for the redevelopment of disinvested communities and works to turn blighted sites into community assets. Over the past two years, Meg has been recognized for her sustainability work and was honored as a Dayton Business Journal Innovator under 25, Best Sustainability Staff Member in the State by the Ohio Mayor’s Alliance and the top Sustainability Leader for the Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio region.

Debbie Matheson

Violence Free Futures

Debbie Matheson is the executive director of Violence Free Futures. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in social work from Cedarville University and then her Master’s Degree in social work from Edinboro University. She’s a licensed social worker. Debbie has served in different roles at Violence Free Futures for 30 years. She started by volunteering to work with the children who suffered from the effects of domestic violence and found a strong passion for working with families affected by the devastation of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her energy now is spent educating the community, producing creative responses to domestic violence and sexual assault while supporting the talented staff at VFF.

Priscila McCarty

FastLane

Priscila McCarty’s hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, moved to the US and attended the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a chemical engineering degree. Her journey didn’t stop there. Priscila’s career has been varied. She has rubbed elbows with Fortune 500 titans like Procter & Gamble, Dannon and Owens Corning, navigated the corridors of power at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and contributed to the consulting world at the University of Dayton. Now, Priscila applies her knowledge at Brixey & Meyer as a business development and advisory consultant. She works with superhero teams, streamlining processes and boosting efficiency faster than they can say “spreadsheet.” At home, Priscila is kept on her toes by her husband, Brian, and their two energetic kids, who ensure she’s always ready for the next adventure – whether it’s a boardroom challenge or a living room dance-off.

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Veronica Nunamaker

Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce

Veronica Nunamaker is the director of marketing and member engagement for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Wright State University and a master’s degree in grant writing, evaluation and management from Concordia University Chicago. Prior to her role with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, she spent eight years at CareSource working in customer care, service delivery and external communications. Veronica has over a decade of experience working with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has served as a board member for the Junior League of Dayton, the Dayton Area Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Hannah’s Treasure Chest and Gem City Kitties. She also has volunteered with the Southwest Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children.

Michelle Riley

The Foodbank, Inc.

Michelle Riley is the CEO of The Foodbank, Inc. located in Dayton, OH. She’s a graduate of Wright State University and Leadership Dayton. Michelle devotes much of her time working to strengthen the hunger relief safety net, including having served on the Board of Ohio Association of Foodbanks. Over the past twelve years under Michelle’s leadership, The Foodbank has tripled its food distribution to a network of 110 soup kitchens, emergency shelters and food pantries in Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties of Ohio. Michelle’s visionary leadership contributed to the continued growth and success of the organization, including the roll-out of a new strategic plan focused on three root cause centered initiatives: Advocacy; Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and Re-entry. In addition to The Foodbank, Michelle is passionate about education, sharing her knowledge with leaders and future leaders in the community.

Evelyn Ritzi

Ohlmann Group

Evelyn Ritzi is a dynamic communications professional with a passion for creativity, collaboration and community engagement. As content marketing manager for Ohlmann Group, she writes compelling marketing messages for the agency’s wide range of clients. As a longtime member of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Generation Dayton Steering Committee, she is dedicated to fostering belonging among Dayton’s young professionals through meaningful networking and learning experiences. For these efforts, she was named the chamber’s Volunteer of the Year in 2022. In addition to her role as chair-elect for GenD, Evelyn serves as member retention chair for the Junior League of Dayton and is on the Outreach and Engagement Committee for Levitt Pavilion Dayton. Evelyn is a graduate of Wittenberg University, where she obtained a BA in Communication. She resides in Dayton with her husband, Cody.

Utsey Shelton

Economic Development Center

Utsey T. Shelton is a Tour-de-Force within the small business community. She’s a business advisor for the Miami Valley Urban League and provides technical assistance and opportunities of capital infusion to assist minority businesses in the city of Dayton and surrounding counties. She lends her enthusiasm and support to local organizations for annual fundraising, including the Dayton Heart Association and National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). She served on the advisory board and facilitated coffee talks for WiBN. In 2022, she graduated from the Miami Valley Regional Environmental Justice Academy. Utsey holds a bachelor’s in communications from Central State University and was an on—air producer for WCSU-FM radio. She is a published author of the devotional Secret Moments, and co-authored Success Powered by Relationships and The Audacity to Phenomenally Become Her!

Lora Sigritz

Color World of Dayton

Lora Sigritz is a certified professional life coach, author and co-owner of Color World of Dayton. She passionately championed the cause of 9-to-5 working women and achieved national recognition as one of the 75 women honored during the 75th Anniversary of the Women’s Bureau at The White House. She’s also sung backup for Reba McEntire and lived in Saudi Arabia, where she helped women by teaching them to drive. Lora is a dedicated advocate for women’s workplace rights and survivors of domestic abuse. Her most significant achievement lies in the empowerment of women through her organization, FLY (Finally Loving Yourself). As the franchise owner of Color World of Dayton, Lora is committed to excellence in residential and commercial painting and holiday lighting services throughout the Miami Valley. She actively supports local charities, including Habitat for Humanity, and is a member of The 100+ Women, Women in Business Networking and The Heart of Centerville.

Gayle Simmons

Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton

Chaplain Gayle Simmons is the manager of chaplains at Ohio’s Hospice Southwest Care Region, managing the Spiritual Care team of twenty-five chaplains. Gayle’s an ordained Itinerant Elder and endorsed Chaplain of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She received her bachelor’s in management from Wilberforce University and a Master of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary, both located in Wilberforce, OH. She completed her chaplaincy residence at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Dayton, OH, and additional supervisory clinical pastoral education at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. Gayle has completed further studies at the Sacred Art of Living Institute in Bend, Oregon and is certified in Spiritual Direction, focusing on Spiritual Pain at the End of Life. Moreover, she completed the Chaplaincy Management Program with the Spiritual Care Association and the Supervisory Leadership Program at the University of Dayton. Chaplain Simmons is married to Reverend Dr. Michael Simmons, and they have five children and eleven grandchildren.

Katina Stone-Jones

Dayton VA Medical Center

Katina Stone-Jones received many accolades over the years for her commitment to integrity, leadership and clinical achievements. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wright State University, and received a Master degree in Social Work from the University of Cincinnati in 1999. She’s been employed with the Dayton VA Medical Center since 1999 working in various capacities to include Mental Health Service Director of Programs, Chief of Social Work Service, Transformational Leader for the Community Living Center and the Chief of Quality & Patient Safety Service. Katina’s a graduate of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Leadership VA and Health Care Leadership Development Program. She’s a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and an independently licensed clinical social worker for the state of Ohio. Katina is a married mother of two daughters. She enjoys being with family and mentoring.

Mary Tyler

Mary E. Tyler Consulting

Mary E. Tyler is the proud principal of Mary E. Tyler Consulting, LLC., excels as a strategist for organizational performance and is a Certified Diversity Professional.  Mary is a thought leader who frequently presents content locally and nationwide.  She’s still engaged in the community as a retired nonprofit leader, community connector, protectress of human rights and ignitor of action.  She was instrumental in declaring Dayton as a Human Rights City. Mary passionately uses her skills and talents to strengthen organizations that impact individuals and families throughout the region.  She serves on a few local and national boards and committees.  As modeled by her mother, when Mary sees a need or injustice, she believes it is her responsibility to advocate for justice or help find solutions. Mary is the proud mother of two caring adult children she raised to understand that we are blessed to be a blessing to others.

Tracy Yates

Clark State College

Tracy serves the Clark County community in numerous roles, including serving on the Board for Leadership Clark County, The Civil Service Board, The Transportation of Clark County committee and the Salvation Army Advisory Board. Tracy also serves as a Champion City Scholar Mentor for Clark State College. Tracy was named as one of The Extraordinary Woman of Clark County for 2023. Tracy graduated from Leadership Clark County in 2018 and Clark State’s SOAR program in 2019. She completed Professional Supervisor Training in 2017. Tracy is the wife of the late Clark County Sherriff’s Deputy Matthew Yates. She lives in Springfield with her three children.