This website provides principals with online information, collaboration, and continuing education. Under a partnership with Ohio State’s P-12 Project, the Interprofessional Commission of Ohio, and four central Ohio school districts, the site offers principals the opportunity to reflect on and assess their own leadership and management practices. Its interactive features encourage dialogue among principals on pertinent problems and best practices.
The school districts of Columbus, Dublin, Mansfield, South-Western, and Westerville are currently represented on the editorial board of the Principal’s Office. The board assists the editor with the review and development of material for the site. The board also welcomes writers in other districts to contribute stories.
Cynthia Overly: Assistant Director of the P-12 Project, Cynthia has more than 20 years experience as a teacher and an administrator in the field of education. As an administrator, she was accommodations coordinator at Hackett Catholic Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and director of the Academic Skills Center at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. In addition, she taught high school special needs English, as well as college success classes, college reading, freshman writing, GED preparation, and freshman year experience courses at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Columbus State Community College. She has a BA in English from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree in the teaching of reading from Western Michigan University. Contact
Michael Casto: As an Associate Professor in the College of Education at OSU, Mike has worked with communities, schools, agencies, institutions, and organizations seeking to develop collaborative, interagency, and interprofessional programs and partnerships. He provides leadership for, and teaches in, the areas of interprofessional education, staff development, collaborative delivery of services, and service learning as a community improvement strategy. He writes and lectures extensively on issues related to interprofessional education and practice, focusing on children, youth, and families, urban education, child abuse and neglect, continuing professional education in collaboration, and defining and developing skills for interprofessional practice. Contact
Lisa Hinkelman, Ph.D.: Lisa is the executive director of The Interprofessional Commission of Ohio, a nonprofit corporation that is a collaborative program of nine human service professions: allied medical professions, education, human ecology, law, medicine and public health, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and theology. The Interprofessional Commission seeks to provide opportunities for the professions to collaboratively address complex social, ethical, clinical and public policy issues. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Hinkelman was an assistant professor in the Counselor Education program at The Ohio State University. As a faculty member at OSU, she has taught school and clinical counseling courses including counseling children; family counseling; counseling practicum; school counseling internship; and ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling. She is licensed as a school counselor in the state of Ohio and is also licensed as a Professional Counselor. Dr. Hinkelman has worked as a counselor in a school for adjudicated adolescent girls, as an outpatient community agency counselor, as a program assistant in a rape education and prevention program, and as a sexual harassment educator in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. She has published and presented on topics such as the development of leadership in school counseling students, girls’ career development, body image and eating disorders, sexual assault prevention, and mental health issues in schools. Contact
Joann T. Hipsher: A 29-year veteran of the Mansfield City Schools, Joann Hipsher recently completed her final year as principal of Malabar Middle School. She has also taught in the classroom and served as an elementary principal. Aside from her training in educational administration, she has an undergraduate degree in music and a graduate degree in special education. Joann served on the steering committee for the OSU/Urban Schools Initiative that conducted professional development in four Central Ohio districts. Joann has been involved with the Principal’s Office since its inception in 2000 and is a frequent contributor to the monthly updates of the website. Contact
Oliver Jones: Oliver has worked as a grant writer, a project director for nonprofit organizations, and an English teacher at SUNY Buffalo, Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and OSU. Recently he served as director for the OSU/Urban Schools Initiative, in partnership with the urban school districts of Columbus, Mansfield, South-Western, and Springfield. His current position is with the Interprofessional Commission of Ohio as a member of the support staff to develop and maintain the Principal's Office website. Prior to that, Oliver also worked as an Upward Bound instructor, a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, and director of the Ohio Humanities Council. Contact
Theresa Kucsma: Theresa taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grades for 11 years and served as an elementary principal for 23 years in various settings. She currently is the principal at J. C. Sommer Elementary, a school of 600 students in South-Western City Schools. She has an interest in working on the editorial board of the Principal’s Office and lending her support as needed to the development of the website as a resource for other principals. Contact
Helen Marks: As part of the administrative licensure program faculty at The Ohio State University College of Education, Helen teaches courses in Instructional Leadership and Supervision and also School and Community Relations. Much of her research focuses on educational policy and school organization as they affect school leadership, teaching, and student outcomes. Working with preservice and inservice administrators has motivated her span interest in connecting research to the everyday work of practitioners. Contact
Dustin Miller: Dustin Miller is currently an assistant principal at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. Prior to this appointment, he served as an English teacher at Dublin Scioto High School. Dustin serves on the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators Board of Governors and is a member of the Columbus-based Charity Newsies. He is past president of the Athletic Trainers Alumni Society of The Ohio State University. He is currently in his second year in the doctoral program in Educational Administration at The Ohio State University; his research interests surround power and politics within the school community, school community relations, and policy development. Contact
Andrea Moyer: 21 years in the field of education, currently serving as principal of John Sherman Elementary in the Mansfield City Schools (MCS). Holding a Master’s degree from Ashland University, she possesses a span background in primary literacy. Andrea also has been highly involved in the area of professional development for her district. She was instrumental in the implementation of H.O.S.T.S. (Helping One Student to Succeed), a volunteer tutoring program, which continues to thrive at Hedges Elementary, also in the MCS. Contact
Nancy Nestor-Baker: Nancy came to The Ohio State University from the University of Cincinnati, where she served as Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration Program, the area in which she earned her Ph.D. With extensive involvement in the Ohio education community, including 12 years on the Westerville Board of Education and a stint as Community Development Director for Ohio’s BEST, Nancy brings a wealth of understanding and experience in building partnerships. Her research focuses on trust development, school/community partnerships, high school redesign, school district governance, and tacit knowledge. Contact
Joy Rose: Joy retired in August 2004, after 36 years in the Westerville City School District as teacher and administrator. From 1995 until 2004, she served as principal at Westerville South High School. A three-time graduate of The Ohio State University, she is currently an educational consultant. Her focus is on continuous improvement through the use of data and quality tools to improve teaching and learning for all students. Joy serves as an examiner for the Ohio Partnership for Excellence and for the Baldrige National Quality Program and as an editor for the Education for the Future Initiative. She is vitally aware of the importance of leadership and professional learning at the building and classroom levels and is eager to see the Principal’s Office website contribute to the ongoing learning of all educators. Contact
Sandra Kerka: Sandra is the Communications Manager for the P-12 Project, University Outreach & Engagement, and the Service-Learning Initiative at Ohio State. Contact
© Interprofessional Commission of Ohio. The Principal’s Office Website is designed and maintained by the P-12 Project staff.