New Member Profiles: Tiyi Morris & Martha Sweterlitsch

Our Foundation has been growing! In 2021, we added SIX new members! It's been an exciting period of growth for us and we'd so thrilled about the perspectives, ideas, and fresh energy these new members are bringing to our group. Once we can be together again, we hope to take a new group picture...

Marty Sweterlitsch

Marty is a longtime resident of Westerville (since 1976) and is always looking for ways to give back to the community. She helped us out with some legal questions initially until her neighbor and our treasurer, Cam Piatt, asked her to join our board. "My daughter, a Westerville South grad, is a social studies teacher in Hailey, Idaho and I have always supported the schools and teachers, in particular." Joining our board was a great fit.

Marty's law practice as a tax and healthcare attorney has always helped create and serve tax exempt nonprofit organizations of all shapes and sizes, including a few that support public education. She lobbied for years on behalf of child care and early childhood education. She was past Chair of the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organization and of Ohio United Way. She currently serves on the Central Ohio YMCA Downtown Branch Board and on the Westerville Income Tax Review Board. She has joined up with the WEF Development Committee to start.

In her spare time, Marty has served as past Commodore of the Hoover Sailing Club and she races a Flying Scott sailboat, trailering the board to regattas in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. WELCOME, MARTY! We're thrilled to have you on board with WEF!

Tiyi Morris

Tiyi has been active in our community as a parent for many years. Her daughter graduated from Westerville South and she has two sons currently enrolled in Westerville City Schools. Locally, she serves as co-chair of the Westerville Black Parents Association and on the Board of WeRise of Greater Westerville.

As an Associate Professor of African American and African Studies at Ohio State Newark and a co-founder/co-director of the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project (OPEEP), Tiyi is an advocate of culturally relevant, culturally responsive, decolonized curricula and she believes that quality education is a right, not a privilege.

"I am excited to work with the Westerville Student Education Foundation and look forward to helping cultivate their leadership skills and supporting their social justice work."

We're happy to have Dr. Morris' guidance in working with the WSEF (and with WEF's initiatives!) in the coming year and know that will be an opportunity to help students to grow their skills and expand the reach of their advocacy in the community. Welcome to WEF, Tiyi! We look forward to working with you!

Next week, look for profiles of two MORE new board members: Dr. Coutanya Coombs and Rebecca Chesnick!

A great place to meet our new board members (and those you already know and love....) is STORYBALL! It's coming up quick. So order your tickets today and get it on your calendar: October 23 at 7pm at The Point. You won't want to miss it.

StoryBall Tix