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Board of Directors
Interested in lending your talents and passion to our cause? Consider applying to join the
Board of Directors!
Applications can be emailed to fiscal@harcumhouse.org
Click the button to download an application.
Chrissy Kittle
President
Chrissy is a Commercial Cash Management Sales Officer with Park National Bank. She has been with Park National for 10 years. Her passion is helping Non-Profit’s with all of their banking and financial needs. She joined the Harcum House board in January of 2023. Chrissy and her husband reside in Lancaster with their son. She has served on other nonprofit boards including Robert K Fox Family YMCA and Grace Haven Ministries. When not at work or spending time with her family, Chrissy can be found in the gym coaching CrossFit.
Patrick Epler
Vice President
Patrick is the Deputy Director of Diversion Service & Quality Assurance with Fairfield County Juvenile & Probate Court. He has been with the Court for 9 years. His deepest passion is to work with the youth in our community and invest in the next generation of leaders, innovators, and trail blazers while helping them discover their own passions! Patrick lives in Lancaster with his wife Molly. You can usually catch him running on Lancaster Heritage Bike Path or doing some kind of crazy race, doing some sort of downtown activity, or sitting next to a bonfire. Fun fact about Patrick, you can also occasionally catch him serving up beverages at Double Edge Brewing Co!
Lea Ann Blair, LISW-S
Secretary/Treasurer
Lea Ann Blair, LISW-S has been an accomplished social work administrator and clinical social worker for the past 43 years. Lea Ann has diverse experience within the focus areas of healthcare, bereavement, behavioral health, trauma services, state-wide service development and government/policy domains. At this point in her career, Lea Ann intends to use her decades of experience to directly impact the lives she will serve through leadership and clinical care within Pediatrics, Trauma, Palliative Care and Bereavement. Lea Ann is a social worker with Fairhope Hospice and Palliative Care. Lea Ann is thankful to have the opportunity to positively impact the advocacy and direct services provided by Harcum House. Lea Ann raised two daughters in Pickerington and is now a proud grandma to 6.
Rich Bowlen
Board Member
Rich currently serves as Vice President for Northwoods Consulting Partners where he leads the technical and professional service offerings for health and human services throughout the United States. As a longtime member of our Fairfield County community, Rich brings more than 28 years of experience in public child welfare to our team. Having served in every facet of the industry, including as Director for Fairfield County Child and Adult Protective Services where he successfully achieved accreditation, acquired a local levy, spearheaded organizational restructuring process and earned several innovative grants to support services to children and families. He began working as a social worker in 1991 at Franklin County Children Services and has dedicated his entire career to improving the lives of children in Ohio.
In every role, Rich has excelled in managing multi-layered systems by applying sound judgment in regard to policies, budget and best practice implementation. Rich also serves on several local boards, youth coach and community volunteer. He strongly believes in one driving mission and that is to do the most good for the most children.
Ricki Chenault
Immediate Past President
Ricki joined the Harcum House board in 2020. Recently retired, she spent her professional career in non-profit management and fundraising. Her experience with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Teen Pregnancy and Prevention and United Way of Central Ohio provided Ricki with insight into the importance of the mission of Harcum House. Ricki and husband Kim chose to make Lancaster their home almost 40 years ago where they raised their two sons, Ryan and Patrick. Both boys are married now, and Ricki has two beautiful grandchildren, Andrew and Madeline.
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Joe Bizjak
Board Member
Joe Bizjak joined the Harcum House Board in 2025, committed to advocating for Fairfield County’s children and expanding access to mental health services. He is deeply invested in Harcum House’s mission to protect the community’s most vulnerable.
A dedicated public servant, Joe serves on Lancaster City Council and the Fairfield ADAMH Board, addressing mental health, housing, the economy, and public safety. He also works as a board liaison at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Previously, he served as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives, focusing on senior healthcare, water quality, education, and economic development. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kent State University and an MBA from Franklin University.
Elizabeth Powers-Brown
Board Member
Elizabeth Powers Brown grew up in Lancaster, Ohio, attended Lancaster schools and Ohio University. Then, in search of adventure, she became a United Airlines stewardess, rising into management as a supervisor and inflight services representative at Kennedy International Airport in New York. Her United Airlines employment took her around the U.S. and Asia (primarily Hong Kong and Tokyo) and from which she had the profound experience of accompanying returning Vietnam vets on homebound flights.
After reading about the famine in Biafra and realizing the impact of hunger in Africa, she connected with the international staff of the Hunger Project in San Francisco where she managed international program development, major fundraising efforts, produced and managed large international conferences and worked with Project volunteers from around the world. Her work with the Women Food Farmers Initiative in West Africa became a particular passion as she visited sites and saw the impact of her work up close and personally. Her appreciation for the work of the Hunger Project inspired her to continue with them as a volunteer and fundraiser for years going forward.
After a move to Seattle, she taught in a Montessori school, having been motivated and herself taught by a colleague of Maria Montessori.
More recently she has returned to her roots in Lancaster where she has brought her wealth of experience, significantly in non-profit management and governance, to several organizations. She has served on the board of DACO and stepped in for several years as Executive Director, establishing a structure for future fundraising efforts and ensuring a schedule of exhibitions for several years in the future before stepping down.
She has also brought her experience to help launch the Capital Campaign for Harcum House, where she participated in raising more than the target amount to establish its new facility, which now has the capacity to serve the Lancaster community and beyond. She deeply believes children deserve to be safe, to be heard, and to be respected.
Elizabeth is the mother of two boys, now grown, and grandmother to three. She is committed to and inspired by this community in which she started her life and to which she has now returned.
Reilly Tate
Board Member
Reilly Tate is an attorney with Dagger Law in Lancaster, where her practice focuses on real estate, estate planning, business law, and related civil matters serving individuals, families, and small businesses across Fairfield County and central Ohio. She is passionate about using her legal training to strengthen local organizations and to help families address important legal matters with clarity and care.
Reilly joined the Harcum House Board of Directors in 2026 to support its mission of improving the community’s response to child abuse through coordinated intervention, advocacy, and prevention. As a Fairfield County resident who works with local families and businesses, she values the role Harcum House plays in providing a safe, child-centered environment and is committed to advancing its outreach and educational efforts in the community. Beyond her role on the board, Reilly is actively involved in her community, serving as the committee chair for Southeast Columbus YoungLife. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her friends and family.
Beth Harcum Dubberley
Emeritus Board Member
Beth joined her parents on the board of Harcum House in 2016. She spent 40 years in marketing and communications until retiring from Nationwide. Previous volunteer service includes member of the board of trustees of the Ohio Wildlife Center (two years as president) and involvement in several Columbus-area chambers of commerce.
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Matt Nihiser
Board Member
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Barbara Singer
Board Member
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