Speakers

__

Sara Andrews

Exec. Dir., Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission
Supreme Court of Ohio

Sara Andrews is the Executive Director of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission (OCSC). Since 2014, Andrews has overseen the OCSC as it conduct reviews of Ohio’s sentencing statutes and sentencing patterns and makes recommendations regarding necessary statutory changes. Prior to leading the Commission, Sara served as deputy director of the Division of Parole and Community Services and chief of the Adult Parole Authority at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC). She also serves as Ohio’s commissioner for the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. She began working for DRC in 1991 as a parole officer. Andrews has an MS in Education from the University of Dayton and a BA in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Northern Colorado.

__

Douglas Berman

Exec. Dir., Drug Enforcement and Policy Center
Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

Professor Doug Berman’s principal teaching and research focus is in the area of criminal law and criminal sentencing and rapidly-evolving drug laws and regulations, with a special emphasis on the intersection of these issues. In addition to authoring numerous publications on topics ranging from capital punishment to the federal sentencing guidelines, Professor Berman has served as an editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter for more than a decade. Professor Berman is frequently consulted by national and state policymakers, sentencing commissioners, and public policy groups concerning sentencing law and policy reforms. Prior to joining the faculty of the Moritz College of Law, Professor Berman was a litigation associate at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison in New York City and served as a law clerk for Judge Jon O. Newman and then for Judge Guido Calabresi, both on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

__

Gary Daniels

Chief Lobbyist, ACLU of Ohio

Gary Daniels is the chief lobbyist of the ACLU of Ohio and works in the ACLU of Ohio regional office in Columbus. Gary has worked for the ACLU of Ohio for nearly 20 years. Before becoming chief lobbyist, he worked for the ACLU of Ohio in the positions of associate director, litigation coordinator, and legal assistant. Gary works with local and statewide elected and government officials to further the ACLU’s mission. He is a frequent commentator on civil liberties issues in local, statewide and national media. During the time he lived in New York City, Gary was the Cuba Travel Project coordinator for the Center for Constitutional Rights and later the media affairs coordinator for the National Coalition Against Censorship. He currently serves on the boards of the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education. Daniels has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kent State University.

__

Daniel Dew

Legal Fellow, Buckeye Institute Legal Center

Daniel J. Dew is the legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute’s Legal Center. In this capacity, Dew focuses on legal policies that promote freedom and the public good. Dew currently serves on the Ohio Justice Reinvestment Initiative Ad Hoc Committee, which brings together legislators, judges, prosecutors, prison officials, defense lawyers, and criminal justice experts to find ways Ohio can safely reduce its prison population. He also serves on the Ohio Supreme Court’s Task Force to Examine the Ohio Bail System, serves as president of the Columbus Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society and chairs the Ohio State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Committee. Prior to his position at the Buckeye Institute, Dew was a visiting legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and an associate attorney at Ford, Gold, Kovoor & Simon. Dew earned his law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law, and his undergraduate degree from Utah State University.

__

Shakyra Diaz

Managing Director of Partnerships/Ohio State Director, Alliance for Safety and Justice

Shakyra Diaz is a strategist with extensive public policy and organizing experience grounded in authentic coalition building. Diaz joined Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) in 2016 as the Regional Director for the Midwest region. Prior to joining ASJ, Diaz worked as an educator and led policy reform campaigns. In these different capacities, Diaz enhanced educational outcomes for students and led successful policy, legislative, and judicial rules campaigns to improve justice systems. Her efforts have led to the elimination of unfair drug law policies, enhanced protections for sexual assault victims during interviews, expanded access to counsel, supported voting rights access for currently and formerly incarcerated people, and ended routine juvenile shackling in courts. Drawing on her personal experience with sexual and community violence and her understanding of various systems, Diaz helped shape systemic recommendations for reform efforts, including the Cleveland Division of Police’s consent decree. Diaz is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University.

__

State Senator John Eklund

Ohio’s 18th District

Senator John Eklund is currently serving his second term as State Senator for the 18th District. For the 132nd General Assembly, Senator Eklund has been tapped to serve as Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, in addition to sitting on numerous other committees. When not tending to legislative duties in Columbus, Eklund is a Senior Counsel at Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP where he has worked for more than 35 years. Throughout his legal career, much of his work has been centered on areas pertaining to anti-trust litigation, trade regulation, price fixing, class actions, and mergers and acquisitions. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from Union College. He has been named an Ohio Super Lawyer in antitrust litigation, is listed in Best Lawyers in America for Antitrust Law and is recognized as one of America’s Leading Lawyers in Chambers USA.

__

Holly Harris

Executive Director, Justice Action Network

Holly Harris VonLuehrte is a veteran litigator, conservative communicator and campaign strategist. In her two years as Executive Director of Justice Action Network, Holly managed campaigns that passed significant criminal justice reform legislation in more than a dozen states and moved unprecedented bipartisan legislation at the federal level. She testified at state legislatures across the country, authored op-eds in national publications and in-depth pieces in well-respected journals and is also frequently quoted in national news publications and television outlets. Holly began her career as a television news reporter, and later graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law. She handled high-profile litigation at the Justice Cabinet and went on to serve as chief of staff and in other senior leadership roles for numerous Kentucky elected officials. She was appointed General Counsel to the Republican Party of Kentucky and held communications and fundraising roles.

__

Dr. Mark Hurst

Medical Director, Ohio Department of Health

In his current role, Dr. Mark Hurst advises the Director of Health on clinical and medical issues as the agency fulfills its mission to protect and improve the health of all Ohioans. Dr. Hurst is board-certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. Dr. Hurst joined ODH in 2019 and has more than 25 years of work experience with the State of Ohio. Previously, Dr. Hurst worked at the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OMHAS) for more than 26 years, most recently holding the positions of director and medical director of the agency. While at OMHAS, he served as the clinical lead for the department, including the supervision and leadership of Ohio’s six regional psychiatric hospitals and all drug and alcohol recovery services in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Dr. Hurst is a graduate of both Muskingum College and the Medical College of Ohio. He completed his medical residency training at the University of Michigan and at The Ohio State University.

__

State Senator Larry Obhof

Ohio’s 22nd District

Larry Obhof serves as President of the Ohio Senate for the 133rd General Assembly. President Obhof proudly represents the people of the 22nd Senate District. As a member of the Senate, President Obhof has sponsored legislation covering a wide range of issues including education, civil and criminal law, election administration, and taxation. President Obhof chairs the Ohio Senate’s Rules and Reference Committee, is Vice Chair of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, Chair of the Legislative Service Commission and serves on the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade (IGPAC). President Obhof has received numerous honors in recognition of his work, including several “Legislator of the Year” awards the Ohio State Bar Association’s Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award in 2018. In addition to his legislative duties, President Obhof is an attorney, and he has taught courses on civil procedure and legislation as an adjunct law professor. He graduated with degrees in Economics, History, and Political Science from The Ohio State University and earned his law degree from Yale Law School.

__

Chief Justice of Ohio Maureen O’Connor

Supreme Court of Ohio

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the 10th chief justice and the first woman in Ohio history to lead the Ohio judicial branch. She is president of the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and chair of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Board of Directors. Since she took office in 2011, Chief Justice O’Connor has led significant reforms and improvements in the Ohio judicial system, including improving access to justice by addressing the impact that court fines, fees, and bail practices have on economically disadvantaged communities, an issue she focuses on as co-chair of the National Task Force on Fees, Fines and Bail Practices. In addition, in 2016, she started an effort to address the opiate/heroin epidemic by gathering legal experts and state court officials from nine surrounding states to determine ways to address the issue on a regional basis. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Seton Hill College in 1973 before going on to earn her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1980.

__

State Representative Phil Plummer

Ohio’s 40th District

Phil Plummer is currently serving his first term as state representative. He represents the 40th House District. Representative Plummer has had an extensive career of service to the people of Montgomery County, most recently serving as Sheriff of Montgomery County before his time as state representative. He joined the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer in 1988, moving up the ranks before being appointed Sheriff of Montgomery County in 2008. Plummer brings unique experience to his office with executive training from The FBI National Academy, The FBI National Executive Institute, and the Secret Service Executive Leadership Academy. Plummer received an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

__

Vikrant Reddy

Senior Fellow, Charles Koch Institute

Vikrant P. Reddy is a Senior Research Fellow at the Charles Koch Institute. Reddy previously served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he managed the launch of TPPF’s national Right on Crime initiative in 2010. He has also worked as a research assistant at the Cato Institute, as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Gina M. Benavides in Texas and as an attorney in private practice. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, serves on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society and is an appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Texas State Advisory Committee. Reddy is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas.

__

Jocelyn Rosnick

Advocacy Director, ACLU of Ohio

Jocelyn Rosnick is the Policy Director for the ACLU of Ohio. She joined the ACLU of Ohio staff in 2012, where she has used her legal, communications, and organizing skills to move between departments and work on a variety of high-level projects. Jocelyn currently oversees the ACLU of Ohio’s administrative, legislative, and public education advocacy efforts. During her time, she has collaborated on a number of criminal justice programs, including those related to debtors’ prison, solitary confinement, prison privatization, and collateral sanctions. Before joining staff, Jocelyn was a law clerk for Towards Employment Ohio and a Summer Associate at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Jocelyn received her B.A. in sociology with an emphasis on social inequality from West Virginia University and her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

__

State Representative Bill Seitz

Ohio’s 30th District

State Representative Bill Seitz serves House District 30. Seitz began his public service career in local government. Beginning in 2000, Seitz served in the Ohio House of Representatives for almost seven years. There, he rose through the ranks, serving as Majority Whip and Assistant Majority Whip and chair of the Civil and Commercial Law Committee. Seitz then went on to serve in the Ohio Senate from 2007 to 2016 before returning to the Ohio House where he is now serving his second consecutive term. Throughout his legislative career, Representative Seitz has been at the forefront of criminal and civil justice issues. In these endeavors, he has been aided by his legal background. A lawyer since 1978, he is currently of Counsel with Dinsmore and Shohl. Representative Seitz is an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati College Of Law.

__

Louis Tobin

Exec. Dir., Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association

Louis Tobin is the Executive Director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Prior to his current position he was Deputy Director of the Ohio Judicial Conference and where he worked for 7 years in various legislative and judicial services positions. Prior to his time at the Conference Mr. Tobin worked as a Legislative Aide for State Representative Linda Bolon in the Ohio House of Representatives. Mr. Tobin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, cum laude, from The Ohio State University and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh – School of Law.

__

Andrew Wilson

Senior Advisor, Criminal Justice Policy
Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

Andrew Wilson is the Senior Advisor for Criminal Justice Policy for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. Wilson has served as the Prosecuting Attorney for Clark County, Ohio since 2011. Prior to his election as Clark County Prosecutor, Wilson worked in the civil section representing the townships and agencies within Clark County. He was later assigned to the criminal division where he specialized in prosecuting cases involving violence against women. He also served in the Ohio National Guard and achieved the rank of Lieutenant.