Friendship Live HUB

Amaha Sellassie is a peace builder, social healer, freedom fighter, network weaver and lover of humanity. He’s an Associate Professor of Sociology and director of Center for Applied Social Issues at Sinclair Community College in Dayton Ohio. Amaha is a practitioner scholar dedicated towards building bridges of trust, healing historical wounds, and harnessing the unique gifts and talents of every human being as we press towards a just and equitable society. As the former chair of the Dayton Human Relations Council Board, his areas of interest include health and education equity, praxis, dismantling structural violence and getting the voice of marginalized communities into the center of public policy in order to emerge structures of belonging that acknowledge the dignity and worth of every human being. He is co-founder and board chair of the Gem City Market, a community driven effort to address food apartheid through a food coop dedicated to increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables within west Dayton. He is also co-founder of West Dayton Strong an afterschool/summer program in Desoto Bass public housing that is focused on math and reading development utilizing a S.T.E.A.M. curriculum. Currently he is working towards his Ph. D. in Sociology at the University of Cincinnati with an emphasis on utilizing community based participatory research (CBPR) towards emerging health equity and community transformation.

In 1984, a group of friends living on "Rubi" con Street decided to 'put on a show' that continues to this day! The 'Girls' have raised over $2,000,000 for all kinds of charities, mostly related to LGBTQ+ issues. The beloved organization, now a non-profit, continues to work to end HIV/AIDS, intolerance, injustice and discrimination. We honor our founding mothers here and look to the future. Long live Rubi!

In 1984, a group of friends living on "Rubi" con Street decided to 'put on a show' that continues to this day! The 'Girls' have raised over $2,000,000 for all kinds of charities, mostly related to LGBTQ+ issues. The beloved organization, now a non-profit, continues to work to end HIV/AIDS, intolerance, injustice and discrimination. We honor our founding mothers here and look to the future. Long live Rubi!

Helen Jones-Kelley is the executive director of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board for Montgomery County, Ohio. Before moving to that position, she was Special Assistant to the President of Central State University and concurrently served as interim General Counsel and Secretary to the University Board of Trustees as well as an adjunct professor. Her career has spanned numerous roles, which include executive director of Montgomery County Children Services, both the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Montgomery County Job and Family Services, the City of Dayton’s Night Prosecutor Program and as a Unit Manager and trainer at Lexis-Nexis. Jones-Kelley implemented the CASA Program at Montgomery County Juvenile Court, where she also served as Assistant Legal Director and a Magistrate. Additionally, she has been a faculty consultant for Georgetown University’s Center on Juvenile Justice Reform in the McCourt School of Public Policy. Jones-Kelley earned her B.S.Ed. from Miami University in Oxford, OH where she also did graduate study in Gerontology/Human Services Administration. She earned her J.D. from the University of Dayton. Her commitment to the community includes past or present service on numerous national, state and local boards including National CASA, Central Area Links, the Dayton Foundation, Miami Valley Hospital, Premier Health, Ohio CASA, Sinclair Community College, Dayton Children’s Hospital Foundation, the OnMain Board, FCFC, Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, Miami University’s Public Health Advisory Board, Artemis Center, Buckeye Trails Girl Scouts and the KeyBank Advisory Board, among others. She currently co-chairs the Health Path Foundation Board and the Miami Valley Urban League Advisory Board and was a co- founder of the African American Women’s Giving Circle. She has received numerous honors including the Ten Top Women of the Year award, the Evangeline Lindsay Award, Friend of Children, African American Living Legacy and Woman of Integrity, and both the YWCA’s Woman of Influence and Lifetime Achievement awards. Most recently, she was recognized as one of the Business Journal’s Power 50 Women.

Michelle Riley is the Chief Executive Officer of The Foodbank, Inc. located in Dayton Ohio. She is a graduate of Wright State University and Leadership Dayton, which recognized her as Leader of the Year in 2013 and The Foodbank Team in 2018. Michelle devotes much of her time working to strengthen the hunger relief safety net, having served on the Feeding America Contract Task Force Team and the Board of Ohio Association of Foodbanks. Michelle was recognized for her lifelong dedication to bettering the Dayton community as a winner of the Dayton Daily News Top 10 Women of the Year award.

Over the past eight years, under Michelle’s leadership, The Foodbank has tripled its food distribution to a network of 116 soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and food pantries in Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties of Ohio. Michelle’s visionary leadership contributed to the continued growth and success of the organization, allowing The Foodbank many great achievements including scoring a 990/1000 on the organization’s AIB audit, the highest score in food banking. Winner of the Miami Valley Better Business Bureau Eclipse Integrity Award Nonprofit of the Year and winner of the Baldridge Spirit Award of Excellence. In 2018, Wallstreet 24/7 recognized the Foodbank as the second highest performing foodbank in the nation. The Foodbank was recognized last year, for their program at the Dayton VA Medical Center, the Better Business Bureau, Community Honor award for response to disaster relief, and Leadership Dayton for Nonprofit Leader of the year.

Michael M. Parks has served as president of The Dayton Foundation since 2002. As president, he works to help people and organizations help others in the Dayton Region and beyond. He has elevated the Foundation’s role in fostering community collaborations and leadership initiatives, developed new, first-in-the-nation services for donors and not-for-profit organizations, and become a resource on philanthropy and the nonprofit community regionally and nationally. Founded in 1921, The Dayton Foundation is one of the first community foundations in the nation and today is among the top 5% of over 800 such foundations. Under Mike Parks’ leadership, the Foundation now has nearly 3,900 charitable funds, has tripled its assets - from $214 million in 2002 to $684 million today - and has awarded from Foundation funds more than 362,000 grants totaling over $970 million.

Mike currently serves on numerous area projects and initiatives, including the Learn to Earn Dayton Board of Directors, Greater Dayton Commission on Minority Inclusion, On Main Committee, University of Dayton Davis Center for Portfolio Management Advisory Board and as the chair for The Dayton Region New Market Fund Board. In 2015, he was recognized as the Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Dayton Region Chapter. He also was named to the 2018 Dayton Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty Hall of Fame. A frequent speaker and writer on issues and trends impacting nonprofits, he also has been interviewed on the national PBS program, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Parks served the YMCA for 22 years, most recently as the President/CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dayton. He and his wife, Amy, have been married for 37 years and have four children, ages 24 to 34, and four granddaughters.

Nan Whaley is proud to choose Dayton as her home. Originally from Indiana, Nan attended the University of Dayton where she graduated in 1998 and soon settled in the Five Oaks neighborhood where she and her husband Sam reside today. 

Her career is distinguished by her commitment to public service, civic involvement and interest in local government. First elected to the Dayton City Commission in 2005, Nan was the youngest women ever chosen for a commission seat. She was proud to be elected as Dayton’s mayor in 2013 by a double-digit majority. As mayor, she has focused on the areas of community development, manufacturing, and women and children. 

Nan is a national leader among her peers serving as the Second Vice President for the US Conference of Mayors as well as the Chair of the International Committee for the conference. Nan is also a founding board member for the Ohio’s Mayor Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of Ohio’s 30 largest cities. 

Nan has been committed to the political process in local, state and national elections. While in college, she served as Ohio Chair of the College Democrats. She currently serves as Second Vice President of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. Additionally, she is a four time delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Background

Mr. Maultsby is a native of Washington DC and is the President and CEO of United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, which serves Montgomery, Greene and Preble Counties in Ohio.

Education

Mr. J. Thomas Maultsby was bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letter on May 7, 2016 by his Alma Mater Wilberforce University. He completed a two-year graduate program at the University of Cincinnati as an American Society of Planning Officials-Ford Foundation Fellow, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Community Planning with a collateral field of study in Organizational Development. He is a graduate of Wilberforce University, where he earned a BS Degree in Business Management.

Since completing his master’s degree he has published two books, written over 125 articles on business and leadership concerns, co-authored curricula on diversity and emotional intelligence, lecturer and key note speaker at various colleges and organizations. He served as host for the American Business Journal television program and the Small Business Doctor live radio show.

As owner of Group One Development, LLC consulting practice for 30 years he has coached over 250 executives and leaders, consulted with over 300 businesses and organizations and trained over 300 thousand participants in positive leadership, diversity, management, emotional intelligence, supervision, applied strategic planning and many other disciplines. Mr. Maultsby has taught courses at the college level in the areas of; Governance, Strategic Management, Human Resource Management, Principles of Management and Supervision, and Total Quality Initiatives.

Community

He serves as chairperson and a founding board member of the CareSource Foundation Board where a scholarship fund was established in his name. He also serves on the County Corp Board, The Mentoring Collaborative Board, (Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati Branch Dayton Business Advisory Board), Dayton Development Coalition Board, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Board, Family and Children First Council among others.

Professional

Mr. Maultsby has held serval professional leadership positions in addition to his distinguished consulting career of thirty plus years. A few of those former positions include Regional Director of Cooperative Education, Wilberforce University, President of Unity State Bank, Manager for Price Waterhouse Coopers Southwest Ohio Practice Area, Ohio Regional Director for the American Management Association, Performance Consultant and Account Executive for Development Dimensions International among others. He is also a Life Member of Wilberforce University Alumni Association, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association.

Personal

Mr. Maultsby has been a resident of Dayton, Ohio since 1976. He is married to Frances Maultsby for 44 years. Daughter Kendra Maultsby-Mudd, son in law Jason Michael Mudd, a 12 year old grandson Jakub Michael Mudd. Son, Tommy Maultsby III, daughter in law Ondriel Wess Maultsby, a 3 year old grandson Kameron Carter Maultsby. Mr. Maultsby served as a Steward, nineteen years as a Sunday School Teacher, and nine years on the Board of Trustee and Chair of the Building Committee at Greater Allen AME Church in Dayton, Ohio.