Sally Cooper is the Assistant Director of the Institute for Human Services, and is a contributing staff member to the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare. She was formerly the co-founder and Executive Director of the National Assault Prevention Center (NAPC), a non-profit organization created to develop curricula, provide training, and conduct technical assistance for human services agencies and communities, to prevent child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. Ms. Cooper has also worked for the Ohio Attorney General, where she was Chief of the Crime Victims Services Section, and Acting Chief of the Children's Protection Section.

Ms. Cooper is a specialist in child sexual abuse, community based strategic planning, and welfare reform.

Ms. Cooper was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1984, and is also a recipient of the YWCA Women of Achievement Award. She is a board member of the Ohio Chapter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), and is a member of the national APSAC organization. She has served on numerous Governors' task forces on child abuse and family violence.

Melanie is the Director of Community Services for Bellefaire JCB, a large child and family services agency in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Her primary responsibilities include managing six community counseling programs and advocacy for children and family policy in the social service community.

Melanie has done advocacy work in the glbt community for over 20 years. She has presented workshops and lectured on diversity issues related to gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgendered individuals and their families in various venues such as: Northeast Ohio College of Medicine, University of Akron, NASW State and National Conference and social service agencies throughout Ohio. She has served on HRC’s dinner committee for three years and has done volunteer work with Cleveland’s GLBT Community Center.

Thomas J. Grote began working at the original Donatos Pizza in Columbus, Ohio in 1973. After earning his Finance degree (cum laude) at Miami University, Tom joined Donatos full time in 1986. At Donatos, he held various positions including Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer while helping to grow the company from 7 restaurants in 1986 to over 150 restaurants by 1999. Tom co-founded and owned Out on Main restaurant, a fine-dining restaurant in downtown Columbus that celebrated the lives of gays and lesbians (1996-2002).

Tom holds an executive MBA with honors from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Tom has served as Chairman of the Liberty Education Fund. He has also served on boards for the Columbus Log Cabin Republicans, the Columbus Short North Business Association and the Godman Guild, an organization which provides services to inner-city youth. Tom currently serves on the advisory board for the Legacy fund and is on the board of the Columbus Aids Task Force. He has also served on the board of Mantana De Luz, a Columbus based charity which funds an orphanage for children living with HIV/aids in Honduras.

He has received the Equality Award from Human Rights Campaign Columbus (1998) and the President's Award from Columbus Stonewall Union (1996).

Steve is a 1992 graduate of Leadership Akron. He was also the recipient of Leadership Akron’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995. Steve has served Akron community organizations as Trustee and President of the Board of Trustees of the Akron Area YMCA and as Trustee and President of the Board of Trustees of Weathervane Community Playhouse. He also served as Parent President at Spring Garden Waldorf School in Akron and on the vestry of Church of Our Saviour.

Steve is a founding member of the Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation and is currently President of the Advisory Board. He resides in West Akron. His oldest daughter, Allyson, is a 2005 Ohio University graduate who is currently employed in Chicago. His younger daughter, Taryn, is a sophomore at Clemson University in South Carolina. Steve and his partner, Rick Krochka, recently celebrated their 8th anniversary.