Governor Kasich Appoints Ohio Arts Council Board Members
by Amy McKay
Governor John Kasich has reappointed Jeff Rich of Dublin, Ohio, as chair of the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board, and has appointed Monica Albrecht Kridler of Columbus to the board. Mr. Rich and Ms. Kridler will serve terms ending July 2016.
"These appointments represent a wealth of knowledge and support for the Ohio arts community," said Julie S. Henahan, executive director of the OAC. "Jeff Rich has long been a champion of the arts, and I know that Monica Kridler will bring her own passion to her work as a new board member."
Mr. Rich was appointed to the OAC board in July 2006 by Governor Bob Taft and named chair in May 2011. He is the senior partner/CEO of the Ohio law firm Rich & Gillis Law Group, LLC, and is counsel to the Scottsdale, Ariz. firm the Rose Law Group. Mr. Rich is a board member and former president of Ohio Citizens for the Arts and its Foundation, the statewide lobbying group for the arts; a board member of Arizona Citizens/Action for the Arts, which is Arizona's statewide lobbying group for the arts; former chairman and CEO of BalletMet; former vice chairman of Ballet Arizona; former president of the Columbus Metropolitan Club; treasurer of the Dublin Good Schools Committee; and co-chair of the Gammage 50th Year Capital Campaign at Arizona State University. Mr. Rich received a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University and his law degree from the Cleveland State University Law School.
Ms. Kridler is passionate about the importance of the arts to a community and its residents. She is the founder and director of Momentum, a dance education program in its ninth year that uses dance to teach excellence primarily to inner-city, elementary-aged boys and girls. She studied classical ballet with Nan Klinger in Cuyahoga Falls and Heinz Poll at the Ohio Ballet and received a scholarship for summer study at the School of American Ballet. She earned a fine arts degree in art history from Wheaton College, followed by work at the Blossom Music Center near her hometown of Akron. As a wife and mother of three children, Ms. Kridler has devoted much of her energy to the arts through numerous volunteer leadership positions.
Additionally, Speaker of the House William Batchelder has appointed Representative Peter Stautberg (R-34) to the OAC board. Rep. Stautberg, who resides in Anderson Township, will serve for a term ending December 2012.
Rep. Stautberg is currently serving his second term in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 34th House District. In addition to his work in the Ohio Legislature, Rep. Stautberg works as a lawyer with Fifth Third Bank. Rep. Stautberg earned his bachelors degree from Kenyon College, his Master's of Business Administration from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
About the Ohio Arts Council:
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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