United Way of Central Ohio is pleased to welcome four new community leaders to our board of trustees, each bringing deep expertise and a strong commitment to building a more equitable community for every person in every neighborhood.
Lisa Gray is the founding president of Ohio Excels, a nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of business leaders committed to strengthening Ohio’s education and workforce pipeline from early childhood through postsecondary. In that role, she partners with employers, educators and policymakers to champion rigorous standards, accountability and student-centered reforms that help more Ohioans succeed in school and in careers. Gray previously led her own consulting practice with an emphasis on public policy and education, and has held key roles with Battelle for Kids, the Office of Governor Taft, where she helped shape major legislation to create Ohio’s standards-based education system, and for Columbus Mayor Greg Lashutka.
Angie Klett is president of Huntington Insurance and HBI Title Services, leading the nation’s second largest bank-owned insurance agency and a team of more than 350 colleagues who provide comprehensive risk management solutions for businesses and consumers. She brings nearly 30 years of insurance industry experience, including senior leadership roles at Nationwide in ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic partnerships. Klett’s diverse background includes roles in finance and leading insurance business segments. She has served as CFO for several business lines and as chief procurement officer, and has led teams in most aspects of the insurance value chain including, marketing, service centers, product, underwriting and distribution. Klett is both a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Consultant.
Dr. Desiree Polk-Bland is the senior vice president for student success at Columbus State Community College, where she leads efforts in enrollment management, retention strategies and student financial stability initiatives that remove barriers to completion for thousands of students each year. She has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, with a career focused on equity, retention and student-centered systems that improve outcomes for under-resourced and first-generation learners. Dr. Polk-Bland is also a recognized state and national leader, coaching community colleges across Ohio on advising redesign and holistic student support. She has served and currently serves on numerous national, state and local boards, including for Cristo Rey High School and ACE Women’s Network of Ohio.
Guru Vasudeva serves as senior vice president and chief information officer of infrastructure and operations at Nationwide, where he oversees cloud computing, hosting, networking, security and digital workplace solutions that support more than 2,000 applications across the enterprise. With nearly three decades of experience in information technology and operations, he has held several senior leadership roles at Nationwide, as well as at IBM, AT&T and Tata Consultancy Services. Vasudeva is deeply engaged in regional economic development, including helping to design the Columbus Collaboratory to advance big data, cyber security and tech talent development in central Ohio.
