Diane DeLawder, Executive Director
Having been named Executive Director in 1996, Diane’s time with A Call to College makes her one of the most experienced college access program leaders in Ohio. In addition to coordinating the organization’s
sizable volunteer corps, overseeing the Senior Program and conducting the
majority of financial aid advising sessions, she also sits on the Member
Advisory Council of the Ohio College Access Network. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from The
Ohio State University and has taught in the Licking Valley and
Lancaster City School Districts in central Ohio.
Tracy Ellington, Director of Operations
A 1973 graduate of Newark High
School, Tracy is passionate about children, education, and the community.
Returning to Newark after attending Ohio State University, she became involved
with the organization first as a volunteer advisor while her children attended
Newark City Schools. Having owned several local businesses, she sees the
importance of not only educating young people, but also the need for them to
return to the community. As Director of Operations, she works with the
graduates involved in the program and oversees many of the daily functions of
the office.
Sue Kent, Program Assistant
Sue, the most recent addition to the A Call to College staff, graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1983 with a degree in Community/Health Services and Administration. While raising her four children, Sue was an avid volunteer in both the Granville school system and the local community. In 2004, she found a way to combine her two passions, children and education, by substitute teaching in the Granville schools. Sue will assist with both PEAK and Junior programming this coming year.
Janet
Schultz, Director of Early Awareness
Prior to joining the organization in January 2008, Janet
worked in higher education for over two decades: six years as the
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Yale University and seventeen years in
the Denison University Admissions Office.
In addition to directing the PEAK Program, she also oversees grant
writing. Janet holds two degrees in German; a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Chicago, and a Master of Arts from The University of Texas at
Austin.
Lynn Straker, Director of Junior Program
Lynn has been on staff since
2007. Her past professional
experiences as a K-12 teacher and school administrator, as well as her service
on the Granville Exempted Village School District Board of Education, have
helped inform her work designing and building the Junior Program at Newark High
School. Lynn earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a Master
of Education in educational administration from the University of Illinois in
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.