Meet Our Board of Directors
Board of Directors 2011-2012 School Year
Tracy Kelly – Chairperson
Tracy is a graduate student in Public Administration from Lancaster, Ohio. She holds a BA in History and English, with a Women’s Studies Certificate from Ohio University. She is currently completing a Masters Thesis in Political Science on the topic of LGBT-inclusive Hate Crimes Legislation. She is serving her 3rd term as the President of the Graduate
Student Senate and is a former Student Trustee on the OU Board of Trustees. She is also a member of the Committee to Move Athens Forward, which works with City Council to propose LGBT-inclusive city legislation. Tracy has served on the Board for five years. In addition to Chair, she has also served as the Secretary.
Emily Hawley – Vice Chairperson
Emily is a senior history and economics major (with a philosophy minor) from Ashland, Ohio. She has been on the Board for three years, serving as Vice Chair last year. She is the Vice President of Phi Alpha Theta honors society, and a three-year member of Students Defending Students. She also plays club tennis and intramural soccer. She is the recipient of a 2011-2012 Distinguished Professor’s Scholarship, among other academic awards, and is a current candidate for both the Rhodes Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship for graduate study in the United Kingdom.
Laura Custer – Treasurer
Laura is a Senior Finance and Accounting major from Westlake, OH. Outside of the classroom Laura sits on the Executive Board of Christian Business Leaders and The Select Leadership Development Program and also is involved in Delta Sigma Pi, The Student Equity Management Group, and Campus Crusade for Christ. This summer Laura will be moving to Pittsburgh to work full time with PNC Bank in their Credit Risk Analysis group. Outside of OU , Laura is interested in international travel and nonprofit work. This will be her second year on the CSLS Board.
Kathryn Mitchell – Secretary
Katie is a third year student at Ohio University studying Political Science, Spanish, and Sociology. She is pursuing both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in four years with the Honors Tutorial College. She is the Student Director of Office Operations with Ohio University Intramural Sports and plays club lacrosse. Katie has been on the CSLS Executive Board for two years. She enjoys traveling and aspires to work for the Foreign Service upon graduation in 2013.
Allison Arnold – Student Trustee
Allison is a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio studying Journalism (Public Relations) and Political Science (Pre-law). This is her first year on the board and she serves as the director of CSLS marketing interns. On campus, she is Communications Chair for The Ohio University College Republicans and a Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees. She also works as a Writing Tutor in the Student Writing Center.
Jen Atkins – Director of Students Defending Students
Jen is a junior Sociology-Criminology major from Marietta, Ohio. She is a coxswain on the Ohio University Men’s Crew and is currently serving as the Director of Students Defending Students. She is very excited to start her first year on the Center for Student Legal Services board.
Thomas Raabe – Off-Campus Life Commissioner
Thomas is a first year graduate student at Ohio University. He received his BAs from OU in Political Science and Spanish and is currently studying Political Affairs with a focus in local level government and policy. He is the 2011-2012 Off-Campus Life Commissioner on Student Senate, Walk a Mile In Her Shoes Coordinator, and Graduate Assistant for the Mayor’s Partnership through the George Voinovich School of Leadership. This is Thomas’s first year serving on the CSLS Board.
Danielle Parker – Board Member
Danielle is a junior Public Relations major in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. An Akron, OH native, Danielle is recipient of both the Kings Chavez Parks Scholarship Award and the Blackburn Spencer Scholarship Award. In addition, she also serves as one of two students on the Ohio University Board of Trustees and will begin her first year on the Ohio University Budget Planning Council this year. In her spare time, Danielle enjoys mentoring middle-school girls through Future Women of Appalachia, a community service organization. This will be Danielle’s second year on the CSLS Board of Directors.
John Calhoun – Board Member
John is a second year masters student of Sociology. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science-Prelaw and Sociology in 2010 from Ohio University. John is a second year member of the CSLS Board of Directors. John was awarded the designation of Senator Emeritus from the Ohio University Student Senate.
Kyle Triplett – Board Member
Kyle is from New Philadelphia, OH. He is a senior at Ohio University majoring in Political Science with a minor in Economics. Kyle is currently the Ohio University Student Senate President, a member of Christ the King University Parish and United Campus Ministries. In his spare time he enjoys he outdoors, golf, basketball, music and Bobcat Athletics.
Barbara Harrison- Board Adviser
Barb has worked in Residential Housing at Ohio University since 1991. She has held the positions of Resident Director and Associate Director of Residence Life and currently holds the position of Assistant Director of Residential Housing for off campus living, guest, and interim housing university apartments. Barb is responsible for the off campus living, university apartment’s guest/ interim housing programs and administration. A large part of Barb’s role is to build and maintain partnerships within the surrounding community to assist students who are living off campus. Barb also has oversight for ensuring the smooth administration of guest and interim housing and supervision of staff in these areas. She holds a BS in Telecommunications from Ohio University, an MA in Higher Education and College Student Personnel from New York University. This is Barb’s first year serving as Board Adviser.
