African American Alumni Hall of Fame

2012 Inductees

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• Mary F. Hall `64, M.A., Ph.D.

  Dr. Mary Hall has served as a professor at Smith College School for Social Work and has been in numerous administrative positions including the Director of Continuing Education, Clinical Coordinator in the Doctoral program, Area Coordinator in the Field Work Department and Chair of the Clinical Research Institute. Her areas of clinical interest included direct practice with individuals and families, at-risk populations and clinical supervision. Dr. Hall’s areas of research and scholarship include substance abuse in women (policy and treatment), the implications of race and racism in clinical practice and the interface between race and gender.

  In 2012, Dr. Hall received the “Greatest Contribution to Social Work Education Award” from the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

  Dr. Hall has served four terms as a member of the Otterbein Board of Trustees. She is current Chair of the Academic Committee and is an active member of the Student Life Committee. 

• Wayne Cummerlander '80

  Mr. Cummerlander has worked in education since the day he graduated from Otterbein. He has taught and coached football and track for 18 years. Upon seeing students who faced obstacles to success, he earned his master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Dayton.

  In 2004 and 2007 Mr. Cummerlander was recognized as a Teacher of the Year Award in the South-Western City Schools. His leadership in the school and community comes from his passion to help at-risk students maximize their potential. In 2007 Otterbein awarded Mr. Cummerlander the Special Achievement Award for significantly enhancing his profession through his career contributions and professional achievements.

  Mr. Cummerlander on average has 30 – 40 students Southwestern City School District students attend the Otterbein Admission’s Celebration of Diversity Program directly a commitment to his continuous support of the quality education his alma mater provides. He has served on his college reunion committee and as an Otterbein football mentor.

2011 Inductees

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• Sarabella Barrett '02

  At a young age, her professors at Otterbein University recognized Sarabella Baker as an energetic and creative leader with a caring heart for her community. During her time at Otterbein, she was a leader among African American students while majoring in mathematics and business administration.

  Today, Sarabella is a Contract Strategy Analysis at Discover Financial Services in Columbus and the CEO and founder of a luxury transportation and concierge service, Sara Express, located in downtown Columbus.  Last year she received a MBA at Ashland University, where she focused on entrepreneurship and investment property management. In the past couple of years, Sara Express has grown to a fleet of three luxury vehicles, hired employees, and opened a branch in the car rental business. This up-and-coming entrepreneur has expanded her professional network of clients and colleagues with similar aspirations of success.

  Her years at Otterbein taught her that community service is more important than making a profit. She separates herself from competitors by offering rentals and relocation services.

  The idea to start her own company rose from fear of losing her job in 2009.  Instead of shrinking in defeat, Sarabella rose to the challenge by starting up a new business. To Sarabella, reinventing herself and developing her character was the most rewarding aspect of her professional journey.  “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to run a business and reinvent yourself,” says Sarabella. “Sometimes you may second guess yourself, but at the end of the day you are the one who has to strike the right balance.”

  A true inspiration, Sarabella demonstrates that showing initiative can yield success. In recognition of her professional accomplishments and service contributions, we honor Sarabella with the 2011 Otterbein African American Hall of Fame Award.

• Jason T. Jenkins '04

  Jason T. Jenkins is always giving back. He is recognized from his peers as a strong leader, a devoted family man and inspiring mentor for troubled youth in downtown Columbus. Jason is the assistant vice president of community engagement and volunteer recruitment at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, a mentoring program aimed at helping children realize their potential and build exciting futures.

   At a young age, his teachers at Indianola Middle School noticed Jason’s dynamic leadership abilities and placed him as a peer leader. Peer mentoring encouraged Jason to seek higher education despite his difficult surroundings. Upon graduation from high school, Jason received the Linmoor-Otterbein Scholarship enabling him to attend Otterbein University.

  At Otterbein Jason majored in sociology and computer science. He was the first African American homecoming king and a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for his dedication to service at Otterbein.

  In the first two years, Jason matched nearly 300 mentors with mentees exceeding Project Mentor’s expectations. He was then promoted from School-Based Coordinator to the position of Recruitment and Community Engagement Manager.  Within a few short months, Jason established ten new agency commitments with various community organizations and works to coordinate male mentors for youth.

  “At a time when African American drop out rates are the highest they have ever been, he is now leading a program designed to address this issue and is making a valuable impact in the city of Columbus,” said Jason’s mentor at the Otterbein Indianola Mentoring Program, Melissa Dawn Johnson.

  He is a highly engaged and active leader, involved with several organizations such as African Advisory Council for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, The Expanding Visions Foundation, and The Youth Prevention Advisory Board.

   “I am doing what I love so it’s not work for me,” says Jason. Aside from his family and career, Jason volunteers his personal time to provide guidance to an 11 year-old boy each month.

  “The true testimony of his story is that Jason graduated from a public school and received a scholarship to Otterbein University. He now runs the Indianola Middle School program he once participated in,” says Johnson.

  In recognition of Jason’s commitment in building up young leaders within his community, we honor Jason T. Jenkins with the 2011 Otterbein African American Hall of Fame Award.

2010 Inductees

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• Dr. Andrea M. Brown ’99

  Dr. Andrea M. Brown ‘99 served as the AASU president in 1997‐98 and was recently honored with a Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship in 2009. This individual’s vita is 7 pages long full of her teaching experiences, supervised clinical experiences, additional work experiences along with presentations, publications, professional development, university and community service, honors and professional affiliations. This is a brief summary of Dr. Brown’s notable achievements. 

  After graduating from Otterbein in 1998 with a psychology degree, Andrea set her goal on following in the footsteps of an influential faculty advisor and mentor. She went to Arizona State University to obtain her counselor education degree in 2003 and then continued there for her PhD in Counseling Psychology, 2006. Throughout this time, she identifies there were many individuals who lifted her up when she doubted herself and her life purpose. One particular publication on “women and spirituality” which she authored challenged her own faith and spirituality. She was able to redefine her purpose as a professor, mentor to her students and as a faith‐filled individual. 

  Her current teaching focus as an Associate Faculty member at Johns Hopkins University is to graduate students in 2 areas:“Cross Cultural Counseling: Issues and Interventions” and “Human Development and Counseling” and a Freelance Consultant for Cengage Higher Education developing instructor resources for various psychology text books and interactive teaching. Prior to this she was an Assistant Professor at Montgomery College, served at Loyola College Counseling Center as a Staff Psychologist and Outreach Coordinator, and a proud student mentor at the Otterbein College Indianola Middle School Project. 

  Though living away from Otterbein has limited Andrea’s connections, she was the 2009 homecoming speaker for our annual dinner. She has stayed very active as a volunteer at her various institutions working in a Women’s Resource Center. What impressed me was that at the top of her Community Service list was serving as a Faulty mentor to a Student Excellence Expo. It seems that the impact she received as a student while at Otterbein is impacting the lives of those she touches today.

• William Livisay, Jr. ’78

  Mr. Livisay has almost thirty years of human service experience primarily with children and families, the criminal justice system and the alcohol, tobacco and other drug use prevention field. He co‐authored a publication in neighborhood organization that was recognized by the Center of Substance Abuse Prevention as a best practice. His work has taken him nationally and internationally as a participant in exchanges with criminal justice, education and chemical dependency professionals. 

   Mr. Livisay is currently employed with the Columbus Public Health as the Program manager for Prevention Services. As an experience administrator his expertise includes the following area:

  • Increasing and diversifying revenue streams
  • Identifying and solving complex organizational problems
  • Organizing stake‐holders, business leaders, and elected officials
  • Budget development
  • Facilitating retreats, training sessions and conference.

  He is an active community leader serving on the boards of the Greater Linden Development Corporation as the Chair, treasurer of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Association of Ohio and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Franklin County Safe and Drug Free Schools Consortium. He is a proud alumnus of Otterbein; he is a graduate member of The Ohio State University, John Glenn School of Public Affairs, L2000+ leadership Program. 

  In addition to all that he has done professional and in regard to community service, Mr. Livisay is an active supporter of the Office of Diversity at Otterbein. His nominator wrote “He has never hesitated to serve on a panel, talk with students. Most recently, he served as the 2009 keynote speaker for “An Introduction to Kwanzaa.” 

   His commitment to Otterbein is well spoken through his two daughters, Maggie, a graduate of the Class of 2008 and Kathryn, a current junior.

2009 Inductees

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• Melissa Johnson ’99

  Before attending Otterbein as a community service scholar, Melissa founded two non-profit organizations for youth outreach encouraging high school volunteerism. She served as the coordinator of the Indianola Middle School Mentoring Program which teamed with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. While at Otterbein, she received a bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in business administration in 1999. She continued her education at Northwestern University, where she received her master's degree in integrated marketing communications. 

  Other accomplishments include:

  • Managed media outreach for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
  • Created and launched national marketing and publicity campaign for the $500 million Nationwide Arena District and Columbus Blue Jackets
  • Led Crest Healthy Smiles Campaign with world renown Artist Mary J. Blige
  • Negotiated multi-million dollar entertainment partnerships with Shania Twain, Jessica Simpson, Robbie Knievel and Jennifer Lopez - just to name a few
  • Stood with Swiffer in hand next to Rosie O'Donnell

  Melissa has had proven leadership in Fortune 100 companies through non-traditional marketing strategies, alliances and partnerships, creative concept development and great performance management of teams and systems for profound results that build the individual, their brands and the business.

• Rayshawn Wilson ’02

  After graduating from Otterbein in 2002 with a sociology degree, Rayshawn went on to earn two additional master's degrees and two counseling licenses. He has worked with the Franklin Country Work Release Program, Upward Bound Program, Juvenile Probation Officer for Franklin Country Court of Common Pleas, Clinical Trainee for Columbus Area Community mental Health, Program Manager for Alvis House, and currently is a social worker for the Ohio Department of Youth Services. 

  He is an experienced administrator, educator, workshop facilitator, State of Ohio professional counselor and chemical dependency counselor assistant. The common thread woven throughout each position is his desire to work with adults and youths in public service, academics, corrections, group and individual counseling settings. 

  Rayshawn interacts with Otterbein's African American Student Union, the Offices of Student Affairs and Greek Life, and is a key role player in developing the Alumni Network. 

  Rayshawn's nominator wrote, "Life for this man has been no crystal staircase but you will never hear him complain. He just keeps going like strong men do. He places a great deal of importance in family and making sure that he provides a future for his family that they can be proud of and comfortable in."

2008 Inductees

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• Tamara Stanley ’96


  A native of Lorain, Ohio, Tamara received her bachelor's degree in business administration in 1996 and her master's degree in business administration in 2002, both from Otterbein University. She has served in numerous leadership positions on campus and in the workforce. Among her many accomplishments, she has been elected by her peers as the vice president of the Minority Management Advisory Council (MMAC) at The Kroger Co. During her time with the organization, she helped to establish the Kroger book fund at Otterbein through the Office of Ethnic Diversity. 

  Currently Tamara is employed with TAP, where she has served in various leadership positions. She has won the company's Excalibur award winner for both 2006 and 2007. While at TAP, Tamara's efforts helped to increase company contributions to the United Way and other non-profit organizations. She is currently serving in the elected position of recording secretary in the Columbus Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and secondary advisor to Nu Phi City Wide Chapter. 

  As a member of the Otterbein University Alumni Advisory Council, she has been very influential in the development of the Otterbein University African American Alumni Network. She has been a part of many programs through the Office of Ethnic Diversity, Center for Community Engagement, Center for Career Planning and the Office of Alumni Relations.

• Eddie Harrell, Jr. ’94

  Eddie has been preparing for a life of service to his community since he graduated near the top of his class at Marion-Franklin High School in Columbus as an I KNOW I CAN student. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Otterbein University in 1994, and his master's degree in business administration from Ashland University. 

  After college, Eddie continued to be involved with I KNOW I CAN as a member of its board of directors, and ultimately the executive director. Under his leadership, I KNOW I CAN grew from awarding $1 million to $1.7 million in Last Dollar Grants; Project GRAD expanded to include the Marion Franklin area; and the number of students served doubled. 

  Eddie has served on numerous boards, including those of Otterbein University, Youth For a Positive Image, Columbus Public Schools Equity Task Force, Columbus Workforce Alliance, The Greater Linden Development Corporation, the Capital Square Rotary Club, and the Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. In 2000, he was recognized as one of the outstanding "Forty Under Forty" community leaders in Central Ohio by Business First. He has served on the Otterbein Alumni Council and was selected in 2007 to serve as a member of the Otterbein Board of Trustees. In April 2006, he was selected to serve as the president and CEO of the Columbus Urban League.