2023 UNCF Mayor’s Luncheon – Columbus

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther is serving his second term as the 53rd mayor of the City of Columbus. Mayor Ginther previously served on Columbus City Council from 2007 to 2015, and served as president of Council from 2011 until assuming the Office of Mayor January 1, 2016.

Under his leadership, the City of Columbus was named America’s Opportunity City, and as mayor, Mayor Ginther continues to work with community, business, faith and labor leaders to promote opportunities for every person in every neighborhood.

Equity is the cornerstone of Mayor Ginther’s administration. His strategic priorities drive city resources to ensure the safety and prosperity of Columbus residents, strengthen neighborhoods, and make sure every resident in every neighborhood has the opportunity to succeed. Equity within the city departments and city policy has also been a top priority.

Diversity and inclusion highlights:

• Highest number of women in his cabinet
• Creation of the Women’s Commission
• Creation of Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Disparity Study

At the core of every great city are strong and vibrant neighborhoods. Columbus comprises distinctive neighborhoods that make up the fabric of who we are and what makes our city so special. Mayor Ginther is investing in neighborhoods throughout Columbus, especially those that have been left behind. He created a Department of Neighborhoods that leads the way in community-driven plans for revitalization.

Safety and public health are crucial to the entire community, and Mayor Ginther continues to push for new approaches in policing. Under his administration, the city has employed the use of body-worn cameras and continues to implement the Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Strategy to engage law enforcement, public health, recreation and parks, businesses and community and faith leaders in an innovative, broad-based approach to building stronger and safer neighborhoods.

In his first year in office, the City was awarded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge Grant, making Columbus America’s “smart city.” Mayor Ginther believes that transportation is the great equalizer and by providing reliable, consistent transportation options, all residents have access to ladders of opportunities for jobs, education and healthcare.

Mayor Ginther is leading the initiative to reduce infant mortality in Columbus because he understands that infant mortality is an indicator of the health of our neighborhoods. Through the collaborative efforts of CelebrateOne, Mayor Ginther has set the goal to reduce the infant mortality rate by 40 percent and cut the racial disparity gap in half by 2020.

Mayor Ginther is also charting the future of early childhood education in Columbus. He is working with Columbus City Schools, community-based providers and private sector leaders to increase access to high-quality prekindergarten, and ultimately to provide universal pre-k for all Columbus children. In the first year of his administration, the Linden Park Early Childhood Center, a first-of-its-kind center that combines early childhood education with a parent engagement center and professional development, opened in one of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Safety remains a top priority for Mayor Ginther. Under his leadership, police officers have begun wearing body-worn cameras, a tool known to improve interactions between police and the community. The Mayor is also committed to community involvement in safety efforts with the largest bike patrol in the country, neighborhood liaisons and a citizen police academy.

Mayor Ginther is a Columbus native and proud Columbus City Schools graduate, and he has a long history of community service. Prior to joining Columbus City Council, he was elected to the Columbus Board of Education in 2001 and re-elected in 2005.

Mayor Ginther earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science from Earlham College, studied abroad at the University of Ulster and Queen’s College in Northern Ireland, and taught at public schools in Belfast and Derry. He also served in consecutive internships at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where he taught non-violence and dispute resolution.

Mayor Ginther, wife Shannon and their young daughter live in Columbus.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is a native Ohioan with a strong history of connecting people, policy and politics to make a difference. Since 2013, Beatty has proudly represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District. In the 117th Congress, Beatty serves as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Beatty serves on the exclusive House Committee on Financial Services as Chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion and is also a member of the Housing, Community Development, and Insurance Subcommittees. The Financial Services Committee oversees the entire financial services industry, including the nation’s banking, securities, insurance, and housing industries, as well as the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. She also serves on the Joint Economic Committee, which examines economic conditions and policy.

Prior to her service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Beatty was Senior Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at The Ohio State University and a member in the Ohio House of Representatives for five terms. During her tenure in the Ohio House, she rose to become the first female Democratic House Leader in Ohio’s history and was instrumental in spearheading and enacting legislation to require financial literacy in Ohio’s public school curriculum, to expand STEM education, and to secure funds to help under- and uninsured women access breast and cervical cancer treatment.

Congresswoman Beatty is a vocal leader and advocate for the issues impacting Black Americans, including voting rights reform, police brutality, financial inequality, diversity and inclusion, healthcare access, and gun violence prevention. In July 2021, she was arrested while protesting for voting rights in the U.S. Senate. That same year, she was pepper sprayed in Columbus, OH, while protesting the murder of George Floyd.

As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Beatty has been instrumental to the crafting and passage of key bills and Executive Orders. In 2021, she was credited with uniting Democratic Congressmembers in support of the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan, which will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. That same year, she helped achieve a decades-long goal of enshrining Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday when President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. She also served as a key advisor to President Biden as he drafted his 2022 Executive Order addressing police brutality.

As a vocal advocate for women, Congresswoman Beatty served as a key supporter of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her vetting and nomination periods, and even testified on her behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A sought after public speaker and the recipient of numerous awards, she was previously named one of Ebony Magazine’s 150 most powerful African-Americans in the United States.

Congresswoman Beatty serves as a Member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and is active in The Links, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Columbus Urban League, The American Heart Association—where she previously served on the board—and numerous other organizations.

Beatty received her Bachelor of Arts from Central State University, her Master of Science from Wright State University, and completed all requirements but her dissertation for a doctorate at the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Ohio Dominican University and Central State University.

Congresswoman Beatty was a loving, devoted wife and partner to attorney Otto Beatty, Jr. until his death in 2021 and is a proud grandmother to Leah and Spencer, who lovingly call her “Grammy.”

Born and raised on the south side of Columbus, Council President Shannon Hardin is committed to building an equitable future that works for every resident in our city. As Columbus grows, Council President Hardin is focused on fostering an inclusive economy by partnering to build mass transit and affordable housing, empowering small and minority businesses, and providing youth with pathways to the middle class. Regardless of the issue, Council President Hardin views public policy through the saying, “If it’s not for all, then it’s not for us.”

Based on his own experience going to Columbus City Schools and graduating college with six-figures of student debt, Council President Hardin developed the Columbus Promise – an initiative to allow Columbus City School graduates to attend Columbus State Community College for free with special coaching and support. For Columbus to be the best place in America to learn, earn, and find your career, we need to make bold investments in education. That’s why Council President Hardin worked with Columbus State, Columbus City Schools, and I Know I Can to create a free, guaranteed pathway for students to get a credential or degree. Talent is distributed evenly, but opportunity isn’t. Council President Hardin started the Columbus Promise because Columbus can’t wait.

Council President Hardin believes that investing in transportation and infrastructure connects residents to jobs, education, and healthcare. As Co-Chair of the Insight2050 Corridor Concepts Initiative, Council President Hardin led a collaborative effort to analyze what focusing new housing and business growth along high-capacity transit corridors could mean for our region’s economy, health, and environment. This study has gained traction as the vision for Columbus’ future, and has evolved into LinkUS Columbus, a collaborative initiative to develop advanced rapid transit and transportation options near housing and jobs. With a million people expected to move to Columbus before 2050, Council President Hardin will continue to push for a transportation system that works for all of us

Understanding the racial inequities that impact communities of color every day, Council President Hardin worked with former Mayor Coleman to create Columbus’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. My Brother’s Keeper aims to reduce opportunity gaps for young men of color through city-wide goals, service provider coordination, and collective action. Council President Hardin examined how past marijuana laws primarily burden black men, particularly young black men. Through the leadership of Council President Hardin and Councilmember Shayla Favor, Council passed a two-part marijuana justice package: decreasing penalties for low-level marijuana possession and supporting record sealing services to get formerly incarcerated residents back into safe housing and good-paying jobs. As a result of state and city action, City Attorney Zach Klein will no longer prosecute low-level marijuana offenses.

Over the years, Council President Hardin has stepped up to lead big projects for the Columbus community. President Hardin led the charge to restructure Council. Council placed a bundle of reforms recommended by a citizen-led commission to improve accountability and neighborhood representation on the ballot. These changes overwhelmingly passed in May of 2018. Similarly, Council President Hardin drove the effort to nearly double public support for arts. The more than $6 million increase will improve family access to Columbus’ cultural gems while stabilizing civic treasures such as the Lincoln Theater, the King Arts Complex, and other historic arts establishments.

Council President Hardin serves on the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the National League of Cities Board of Directors. He was appointed to Council in 2014, subsequently won election in 2015, 2017, and 2021. Council President Hardin earned his bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and is a proud member of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church. Council President Hardin is married to Ben Zachrich and, together, they are raising their son Noah Hardin-Zachrich on the Near East Side.

KaJeza Hawkins a native of the Gem City, born and raised in Dayton Ohio. She graduated from the Dayton Early College Academy with honors in 2016. Miss Hawkins continued her education and received her degree from Wilberforce University in Mass Media Communication in 2021. During her time at Wilberforce, the nation’s first private historically black college, she was crowned the 93rd Miss Wilberforce University, and joined many organizations including the historic Zeta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest undergraduate chapter in the the great lakes region! She began her journalism career with several internships, one right here in Dayton and another in Raleigh, NC. She then went to WHIZ-TV in Zanesville, Ohio where she started as a reporter and later became the Evening Anchor before she came back home to Dayton, where she now is a reporter for Channel 2 where she happily tells the story of the community that made her the woman she is today. She has been a recipient of UNCF scholarships and is proud to be surrounded by community driven organizations like it.