Strategic Partnerships
We build meaningful partnerships with businesses, educational institutions, state and local government, and community organizations throughout Ohio, ensuring that our initiatives create tangible, lasting change.
We focus on impactful interventions throughout Ohio, including Akron,Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Lima, Painesville, Toledo, and Youngstown. By concentrating efforts in these key regions, we aim to accelerate economic growth and opportuity, educational advancement, and healthcare access, ensuring that each community can overcome barriers and reach its full potential. Our strategies are tailored to address the unique challenges faced by each region while promoting sustainable growth and merit based opportunity for all Ohioans.
The State of Ohio Collective work is comprehensive and addresses our work in Education, Economic Development, Health, Housing, The Arts and Technology. We create solutions to address root causes of issues in programs, organizations, and businesses. The global COVID-19 pandemic has magnified embedded racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities and injustices across every sector.
Our 50 Year Strategic Plan provides a framework, rationale, and vision for resource attainment, allocation, and coordination of strategies for black people. The 50 Year Strategic Plan is a living, breathing document that receives updates and statewide implementation, research, analysis, and review by leaders statewide.
The group was convened to envelop the problem of dealing with rage, hate, and racism towards African Americans with love and carefully thought-out action. We are coming together so that we are not duplicating efforts of what already exists; but. opening up a lane to provide resources for the top three areas where racial disparities already exist and not “reinventing the wheel”. We Advance black in Ohio Through Our Solution Based Plans for Organizations, Businesses, and Nonprofits through systemic investments into African American ecosystems. Nonprofits and Businesses are funded to solve systemic, structural, and institutional based racism through the comprehensive, statewide plan to address ongoing disparities and inequities.
The Collective is a group of leaders from across the state of Ohio, many of whom are products and current leaders of the communities in which they reside. These leaders clearly understand how to serve these communities through their innovative and exceptional skill sets and abilities. Professions among the group includes physicians, therapists, university professors and academics, corporate managers and executives, strategists and fundraisers, community development and faith based leaders, on air personalities and journalists, government, and nonprofit managers. Members frequently work, live and play in these spaces ensuring collective transformative impact in all cities.
Jalen Alford
Cincinnati
LaLisa Anthony, PhD
Canton
Deonna Barnett
Columbus
Valerie Boyer
Columbus
Christopher Brown, MD
Columbus
James Brown, MA
Youngstown
Rhonda Crowder
Cleveland
Tiffany Edwards, CFRE
Akron
Marc Fears
Cleveland
Derrick Foward, PhD
Dayton
Kevin “MC Chill” Heard
Cleveland
T.H. Hopkins
Canton
JD Hunter
Canton
Sherri Hamilton
Columbus
Tia Ramey
Columbus
Marketa Robinson, PhD
Dayton & Toledo Ohio
Aaron Sanders
Cleveland
Gayle Saunders
Columbus
Thomas Tatum, MA
Akron
Rev. John Tyus, PhD
Columbus
Nicolette Warren Powe, PhD
Youngstown
Richard Andrews, Esq.
Cleveland
Ophelia Averitt **
Barberton
Richard Andrews
Cleveland
Mark Bigsbee
Canton
Cassius Bond, Sr.
Canton
CL Bond
Texas
Edna Borders
Akron
Bishop Dr. Dora Bronston
Middletown/Dayton
Stacy Burke Spears
National
**Brandon Buckner (deceased)
Akron
Pastor Reginald Chandler
Missouri
Job Clarkson
Columbus
LeShun “Ship” Collins ABD
Cleveland
Sgt. Joseph Danzy
Akron
Justin Duncan, MS
National
Elder Dwight Driskill **
Cincinnati
Terry Echols, PhD
Cleveland
William Ellis
Akron
George Freeman **
Youngstown
D’Angelo Graham
Florida
Vedette Gavin, MPH
National
Glenn Gillespie
Akron
Nicole Gilbert, MSN
Youngstown
Roy Hall
Columbus
Bishop Emmett Lee, PhD, DMin
Akron
Norris Lee
Akron
Andre Lessers, MA
Alabama
Sgt Troy Looney, PhD
Akron
Christopher Jones
Columbus
Anita Madison
Toledo
Dr. Marcia McCoy
Cleveland
Hector McDaniel
Canton
Jennifer McKenzie
Columbus
M. Mike McNair
Youngstown
Carlotta Pace
Columbus
Rev. Dr. Willie Perryman **
Toledo
Vincent Peterson
Warren
Vincent Peterson II
Warren
Terrell Powe
National
Former State Senator, Tom Roberts **
Dayton
Carter Robinson *
Columbus
Teresa Rogers
Akron
Damon Ross
Texas
Aleah Sephes *
National
Antonio Smith
Columbus
Betty Smith
Canton
Crystal Smith
Canton
Christopher Smith
Youngstown
Kevin Smith
Akron
Jumar Threatt
Columbus
E. Vann
Michigan
Andre Washington
Toledo
James A. White **
Columbus
Tony White *
National
Lauretta Williams **
Dayton