Our Team and Advisors

COBG Team and Advisors

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Nicole Harper ("Harper")

Headshot of Nicole Harper

Harper is a seasoned public sector professional with more than 15 years of experience advancing equity-focused initiatives across local and state government. With a strong background in public policy, human services, and legislative strategy, Harper has led transformative efforts that center community voice, operational efficiency, and sustainable impact.

Currently, Harper oversees the Commission on Black Girls, where she successfully transitioned the initiative from a research report into an operational program. She established a cross-sector community advisory board, expanded partnerships, and launched equity-centered programming that uplifts historically underserved communities.

Her nearly decade-long tenure with Columbus City Council included budget oversight, policy development, and stakeholder engagement on issues ranging from workforce development and zoning to nonprofit capacity-building. She also led state-level child welfare advocacy with the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, helping to pass critical legislation that improved outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

A natural coalition-builder, Harper is known for fostering partnerships, cultivating inclusive leadership practices, and applying an asset-based approach to collaboration. She is trained in Strategic Doing, a facilitation model designed to accelerate measurable action and adaptive strategy; and she remains deeply committed to advancing access, opportunity, and fairness in both internal systems and community outcomes.

Contact at: nnharper@columbus.gov

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COBG Community Advisory Board Members

The Commission on Black girls is currently working with a Community Advisory Board to prioritize and provide guidance in relation to the recommendations included in A Report on the Quality of Life of Black Girls in Columbus, Ohio.

Current COBG Community Advisory Board Members

Chief Elaine Bryant, Columbus Police Department

Ryan Edwards, Apex Leadership Co

Fran Frazier, Black Girls Rising

Shawna Gibbs, Community Leader

Elizabeth Gill, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas - Judge 

Liz Gordon-Canlas, Zora’s House

Stephanie Mitchell Hughes, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)  

Monique Jacquet, Columbus City Schools 

Wendy Smooth Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Chip Spinning & Eboni Partlow, Franklin County Children Services

Past Commission Members (July 2018 - December 2020)

The Commission on Black Girls was convened in July 2018 it consisted of the following community leaders from various disciplines who came together to assess factors that impact the quality of life for Black girls in Columbus and Central Ohio:

Frederic Bertley, Ph.D., Center of Science and Industry (COSI), Commission Co-Chair

Fran Frazier, Black Girls Rising, Commission Co-Chair

Reverend Timothy Ahrens, First Congregational Church

Sergeant Lindsey Alli, Columbus Division of Police

Linda Brown, The Columbus Chapter of The Links, Incorporated

Crystal Causey, National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc., Central Ohio Chapter

Clytemnestra Clarke, First Church of God

LaShanda Coleman, National Pan-Hellenic Council of Columbus

Michael Corey, J.D., Human Service Chamber of Franklin County

Lisa Courtice, Ph.D., United Way of Central Ohio

Mary Cusick, Community Leader

Kevin Dixon, Ph.D., Franklin County ADAMH Board

Honorable Elizabeth Gill, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Division, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas

Alesia Gillison, Columbus City Schools

Tom Grote, Grote & Turner

Mia Hairston, Nationwide

Kim Hooper, Walmart

LC Johnson, YWCA Columbus*

Caroline Woliver, YWCA Columbus

DeShauna Lee, J.D., Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Mysheika Roberts, M.D., Columbus Public Health

Toshia Safford, The Center for Healthy Families

Wendy Smooth, Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Charles Spinning, Franklin County Children Services

Ben Tyson, Easton, Steiner + Associates *

Jennifer Peterson, Easton, Steiner + Associates

Paiden Williams, Black Girls Rising, Black Girls Think Tank

*denotes that the Commissioner concluded their service prior to December 2020 and someone else was appointed to complete their term. 

 

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Contact COBG

Location:

1410 Cleveland Avenue

Columbus, OH 43211

Email:

cobg@columbus.gov

Phone Number:

614-645-1991

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