The Notables

Movers & Makers asked Greater Cincinnati’s nonprofits providing services to enhance primary and secondary education to introduce their notables to our readers, part of a regular feature highlighting people making a difference in the region’s nonprofit community. 

Maurice Huey extending reach of Boys Hope Girls Hope

In more than 25 years in the nonprofit sector, Maurice Huey has served in leadership roles for several local, national and international organizations. He has worked for nonprofits that address education, public health and basic needs for underserved communities. Now, as executive director of Boys Hope Girls Hope Cincinnati, Huey is expanding its program offerings and increasing its footprint in the region. For over 40 years, Boys Hope Girls Hope Cincinnati has served families in the region by guiding and nurturing young people in need and helping them become well-educated, career-ready men and women for others. Huey also has served on several area nonprofit boards and committees. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with his family.

Beth Wiseman brings youth development to programs before and after school

Beth Wiseman is director of school-age services at Learning Grove, where she leads a dynamic team of before- and after-school professionals. With over 13 years of experience in out-of-school time and youth development, Wiseman is dedicated to championing these programs. She served as an after-school ambassador for the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance and is currently a national ambassador with the Afterschool Alliance. Her unwavering commitment to enriching children’s lives through out-of-school programs has made her a respected leader in the field. Wiseman loves being a mom to her two young children, and she has embraced the minivan life. She can make a very good, very strong cocktail and loves to laugh.

Jonathan Swiger brings supplies and snacks to students who need help

Jonathan Swiger is passionate about providing teachers and their underserved students with timely access to essential school supplies, hygiene products and healthy snacks. He is program manager for Hubbard’s Cupboard, a collaboration between Crayons to Computers and the Sam Hubbard Foundation. Whether a student faces a mid-year backpack mishap or needs a nutritious snack to bridge the gap between lunch and extracurricular activities, these organizations ensure seamless support. Swiger has been key to the program’s success and growth from five schools in 2022 to 21 schools this coming year, and a goal of 70 schools by 2030. Swiger and his wife, Stefanie, are enjoying being new parents to their 1-year-old son, Oliver.

​​Terri Kempthorne serves Adopt a Book with energy and knowledge

​​Terri Kempthorne has been involved with Adopt a Book since 2020 and has since worked in numerous ways to help with the organization’s outreach and mission. Currently a board member, she began her relationship with the organization by collecting books and sorting and organizing them at the Adopt A Book storage facility. She has also coordinated donations to local schools and other organizations, facilitating Adopt A Book’s largest donation to date. Kempthorne has extensive knowledge of youth literature, having worked with it most of her life as an elementary school librarian. Kempthorne loves to spend time with her husband of 30 years and their family. She enjoys reading (obviously), travel, crafting, biking and being outdoors.

Tom Haggard finds many paths to improving education in NKY 

From working with youth in Covington as a teen to his new position as vice president of EducateNKY, Tom Haggard has assumed increasing responsibility in collective impact, advocacy and community engagement. EducateNKY was launched by the OneNKY Alliance to address systemic change in education in Northern Kentucky, with an initial focus on communities with high socioeconomic needs. Recently, Haggard successfully led five community leader stakeholder groups to a consensus on key priorities in the education pipeline. Previously, Haggard served as director of the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness/advocacy organization focused on quality after-school and summer learning programs. He is a graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky and a recipient of the Next Generation Leader Award in Education/Workforce, in addition to being recognized as a Forty Under 40 honoree. In 2020, Haggard was elected to the Covington Board of Education where he serves as chair.

Melissa McDonald encourages thousands of students to think globally

As director of global education for World Affairs Council-Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Melissa McDonald coordinates and advances international programming for over 10,000 children, adults and community partners in the region. After a 20-year career in Scandinavia, McDonald returned to her hometown of Covington to build a global community, engage more Northern Kentucky students and instill love, empathy and curiosity for the world in the next generation. McDonald has fostered cross-cultural understanding throughout her career, advocating for equity and inclusion, and promoting global citizenship. Her personal interests include nature, sustainability, mindfulness and movement. She is a restorative yoga teacher for Cancer Support Community. Her hobbies include experimenting with food from different cultures, taking her senior dog on hikes and volunteering for local and international organizations.

Janet Hartman helps children get clothing they need for school

Janet Hartman is a member of Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati. She is distribution manager for the Operation School Bell, which partners with 47 schools in Greater Cincinnati to provide school clothing to needy families. In the 2023-24 school year, OSB provided 9,712 students with clothing items. The schools report that attendance is better, and students are much happier and eager to learn when their clothing needs are met. Hartman also was instrumental in connecting Assistance League with Magnified Giving, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate, inspire and engage students in philanthropy. Hartman spent time with students from Roger Bacon High School sharing the mission of Assistance League and the value of volunteerism. Hartman also enjoys cooking, reading, yoga, golf and spending time with her family, especially her two grandsons.

Azia Carnes brings creativity to teaching children experiencing homelessness

Azia Carnes is an inspiring young professional who has been a program manager at UpSpring for close to two years, after eight years of experience as an educator at KinderCare and after-school teacher at Mt. Auburn International Academy. Her creativity in lesson planning and passion for youth work have been described as “infectious.” Carnes said she’s inspired by the children working to do their best despite experiencing homelessness, but they’re also inspired by her. Since joining UpSpring, she’s highlighted the importance of celebrating culture. Carnes is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish and Cantonese. She brought the first Juneteenth celebration to UpSpring’s Summer 360 camp, proposed a 1619 Project lesson for the organization’s after-school program and strives to connect children to their cultures as sources of pride and empowerment. Carnes enjoys spending time with her dog, Max, playing video games and watching anime.

At Friars Club, Annie Timmons teaches basics of sports and life 

Annie Timmons is the president of Friars Club, a 164-year-old nonprofit that helps young people develop valuable life skills through sports, education and leadership programs to enrich their lives and our community. She has been at Friars Club for 46 years coaching and mentoring kids. Timmons ran the Friars Club for eight years without a building and led a $3.5 million fundraising effort to support relocation to the organization’s current facility. Recognitions she’s received over the years include induction into Corryville Catholic hall of fame, her name on a basketball court, the St. Francis medal of honor, the Zeta Phi Beta Woman of the Year, the MLK Keep the Dream Alive Award, Paloozanoire Black & Brown Faces, and Coaching Dreams into Success Woman of the Year. Timmons and husband, Lannis, love to dance. Her signature is her matching outfits from head to toe.

Asia Bradford works to bring more city teens out into nature

Asia Bradford brings a history of working with young people to her new role as Adventure Crew’s program manager. Most notably, she served as district assistant athletics director for Cincinnati Public Schools for five years. Joining Adventure Crew has given her the opportunity to blend that background with her outdoor skills. It also fits with her personal mission: to diversify the outdoors and bring “brown faces into green spaces,” which she’d already been working toward by founding two outdoor organizations: Black Girls Camp and Black Outside. Although she just joined Adventure Crew in May, Bradford’s already taken great strides in advancing the organization’s programs, which connect city teens with nature and each other through outdoor adventures. Beyond working and spending time outside – her favorite activities are camping and hiking – Bradford has an 18-year-old son who attends Saginaw Valley State University. She’s also associate pastor of The Chosen Church.

Jessica Schierling of Brighton Center champions kindergarten readiness

Jessica Schierling serves as Brighton Center’s parenting services director and has been a champion for children on their path to lifelong education for over 20 years. In 1998, she began her journey with Brighton Center as an intern and has since worked to ensure that children are kindergarten-ready. She has expanded her expertise as family support worker, supervisor and coordinator before taking on her current position as director. She leads Brighton Center’s Parenting Services department, overseeing two home visitation programs, Every Child Succeeds and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters. Schierling is a licensed social worker in Ohio and Kentucky and serves on the Every Child Succeeds board. Schierling is a Cincinnati native who loves spending time with her family, visiting Disney World, swimming and watching her daughter play sports. She is also an avid reader and a superfan of the band New Kids on the Block.

Thom Banning is driven to see children thrive and succeed

Dr. Thom Branning is a longtime volunteer and board president for the Wesley Chapel Mission Center, a free after-school and summer camp program serving over 400 at-risk children in Over-the-Rhine. For 20 years, the center has provided a safe and positive place for pre-K through 12th-grade students to learn, get homework help, develop a sense of purpose, thrive and succeed. In addition to its regular programming, WCMC has grown to include a job-training program, Technology Club, Saturday tutoring, special events, a community engagement reading program and monthly discovery trips outside the inner city. Beyond WCMC, Banning spends time with family and friends, as a resolute exercise enthusiast at the local YMCA, in service as a YMCA board member and at work as an executive at DXC Technologies.

At Peaslee Center, Rachel Hollins leads creative programs for the whole child

Participatory education and social change are central to the mission of Peaslee Neighborhood Center, a nonprofit community center in Over-the-Rhine. Rachel Hollins, youth program facilitator, with her expertise in social-emotional learning, is a major asset in the work of whole-person education and growth. Hollins leads creative expression programs including Girls Writing Circles and Agents of Change. Having grown up in Cincinnati, Hollins relates to students and fosters an environment where kids feel safe to be themselves and where they can learn without feeling like they’re in school. Hollins recently taught topics ranging from love languages and the effectiveness of PSAs to how Cincinnati neighborhoods have been redeveloped in ways harmful to Black communities. Beyond Peaslee, Hollins enjoys R&B music, helping take care of her nephews, and spending time with her partner Joseph and cat Lovely.

Stacey Hill-Simmons heads Best Point after years of leadership roles in CPS

Stacey Hill-Simmons is the superintendent at Best Point Education & Behavioral Health. Her impressive career includes over 20 years as principal with Cincinnati Public Schools and two years as director of school leadership. As principal of Evanston Academy, she led that neighborhood school to the prestigious National Blue Ribbon award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2020 and to an overall “A” grade on the Ohio state report card. Hill-Simmons’ dedication to educational administration and her contributions to the educational community earned her recognition as the James N. Jacobs Administrator of the Year Award and the Dr. Lawrence C. Hawkins Educator of the Year Award. When she is not working, Hill-Simmons loves to serve her community and she enjoys reading. She also dabbles in interior design and loves to decorate her home.

Michelle Otten Guenther improves children’s access to new books

Michelle Otten Guenther, CEO of Queen City Book Bank, led the Literacy Network for over eight years and led its transition into QCBB. The organization hosts a Little Free Library and tutoring programs as well as a curated book distribution program for thousands of local school children. QCBB works with teachers of participating children to ensure they receive access to 10 new books every year that reflect their personal experiences and reading level. Since 2021, the program has helped build the home libraries of 3,200 elementary students. QCBB also focuses on outreach to families, teachers, partners and community members. Under Guenther’s leadership, QCBB has continued to grow and inspire, leading to more than 2,500 volunteers working every year to foster a love of reading across Greater Cincinnati. In her free time, Guenther enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling and, of course, reading a good book.

Angela Kinney leads center’s mission to improve literacy in OTR children

Angela Kinney just completed her second year as executive director of the Over-the-Rhine Learning Center. During this short time, the organization has already provided daily, structured, reading tutoring to more than 50 students at St. Joseph School and the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. The organization views reading as a civil right and aims for all children to read on grade level by the end of third grade. Kinney began her career as a public school teacher, followed by a position as a faculty member in a university teacher education program. Her research has been shared at a number of regional and national conferences and in international journals. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of Cincinnati. In her free time, Kinney enjoys attending Reds games and the Cincinnati Ballet.

Heather Campbell-Lieberman helps students grow into philanthropists

Heather Campbell-Lieberman is program committee chair for Magnified Giving, where she ensures more than 130 youth philanthropy programs have the resources needed to educate 5,000-plus young people in the field every year. She joined Magnified Giving in 2010, when she facilitated a program in her English class at Arlington Heights Academy. There, she was on the front lines of Magnified Giving’s efforts to enhance K-12 education through philanthropy education. In 2013, she joined Butler Tech at Lakota East High School. Since 2017 she has served Butler Tech School District as an innovative teaching and learning coach. In this role, she advocates for Magnified Giving and connects educators to training, resources and grants focused on helping their students become lifelong community leaders and nonprofit supporters. She enjoys attending the theater, antiquing and traveling the world with her husband, Jon, including a recent trip to Thailand. Her first career was as a professional horse trainer.