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ACLU of Ohio
ACLU of Ohio Foundation
Board members selected to serve three-year terms commencing in 2007
Phill Adamescu
I am Currently a Manager of Technical Solutions at Nationwide Insurance
Company in Columbus, Ohio. I have been with Nationwide for the past 12
years after traveling to various cities in the U.S. for job
opportunities. I am a native of Mansfield, Ohio. I have lived in
Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, Colorado Springs, and
now back in Columbus.
Having lived in various locations I have learned many various things,
among them how to celebrate the diversity that we all share, and the
fact that every issue has many facets.
I was married at age 22, and have 2 boys, the oldest 20, his brother,
16. Fourteen years ago, after moving back to Columbus, I came to
the realization that I was gay. A tortuous divorce, that included many
issues concerning my ability to parent because I was gay, tested me in
ways I couldn’t have dreamed of. After two years in the courts I was
vindicated and have parental rights. To my surprise my children are very
comfortable with my lifestyle, and in fact are both living with me
today!
I have served as president of the Columbus chapter of Asians & Friends,
a support/social group for GLBT Asians. I have also served as treasurer
of Dignity, a GLBT national organization for acceptance within the
Catholic Church. I also serve on many committees at work for Employee
Satisfaction and Diversity.
I believe that everyone, in some way, is a minority, and that true
justice may not always be the “popular” view of most persons, but
organizations like the ACLU survive to help those who often feel
no one will hear their desperation. I would be proud to serve
another term with the ACLU, and make positive strides for justice.
Rob Salem
Rob Salem is a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Toledo
College of Law.
Salem teaches clinical courses that provide students with the skills
necessary to successfully practice law while advancing the law school’s
social justice mission.
Under his supervision, law students represent disadvantaged clients
throughout Ohio in a variety of legal matters, including family law,
probate, interpersonal violence, civil rights, political asylum,
consumer protection, housing and non-profit law.
Salem has also established several policy and law reform projects at the
law school that have a broad impact on the community. Among the projects
he currently directs are the Safe School Project, which addresses the
detrimental effects of bullying in schools, the Prison Project, which
advocates for adequate health care for inmates in Ohio’s jails and
prisons, and the Civil Rights Fellowship, which advances the rights of
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens in Ohio. The projects
give students the opportunity to critique the law and work for reform
through education, direct representation, and advocacy before
legislative bodies.
Salem is a graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law. He is a
frequent speaker on civil rights issues and is active in several
organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the
Ohio ACLU, the Board of Directors for the Ohio Drug Assistance Program,
the National Advisory Board of Equal Justice Works, the Board of
Directors for the Toledo Public Defenders Program, and the Flower
Memorial Hospital Ethics Committee.
Susan Becker
After graduating from law school in 1983, I clerked for Sixth Circuit
Judge Robert Krupansky for two years. I then spent five years as a
litigator at Jones, Day before becoming a professor at
Cleveland-Marshall in 1990. My teaching areas include Civil
Procedure, Professional Responsibility, and Sexual Orientation and the
Law. My publications focus on civil litigation practice, civil
justice reform, legal ethics, and sexual minorities.
I served on the Cleveland ACLU board from 1996-2004 and since 2004 on
the Ohio Affiliate Board. I served as pro bono counsel for the
Cuyahoga Plan of Ohio, a non-profit fair housing agency (1993-1999), and
Archwood United Church of Christ (1996-1999), providing advice to both
entities on a variety of legal matters. I currently maintain a
modest pro bono legal practice representing individuals and
organizations, primarily in matters relating to sexual orientation and
the law.
David Shevin
David Shevin has been active with the ACLU Miami Valley Working Group.
He has been an Ohio resident since moving to the state to begin graduate
studies in 1974. Both an academic and an activist, he is currently
Professor of English and Director of the Honors Program at Central State
University in Wilberforce, Ohio. His political interests have
drawn him to work on civil rights and civil liberties issues. For
fourteen years he chaired the Martin Luther King Day activities in
Tiffin, Ohio; he has also held office with local chapters of the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and Findlay’s
Black Heritage Library Association (BHLA). Shevin has been widely
recognized for his political work and creative writing.
Ahmad Al-Akhras
Please note: Ahmad Al-Akhras resigned from the board in
January 2008 due to job transfer overseas.
Ahmad Al-Akhras is the vice chair of the national CAIR Board and past
president of the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-Ohio), a national civil rights and advocacy organization
working to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect
civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding. He is the president of
the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, the oldest Muslim organization
in central Ohio.
Al-Akhras was inducted to the Leadership Columbus Hall of Fame in 2004.
Under his leadership, CAIR-Ohio received the 2003 ACLU’s Liberty’s Flame
Award for contributions to the advancement and protection of civil
liberties.
Al-Akhras volunteers with the City of Columbus Community Relations
Commission, Advisory Board of the McMaster School for Advancing
Humanities at Defiance College in Ohio, and the Community Refugee and
Immigration Services of Ohio (CRIS-Ohio). He is a former member of
the Sunrise Academy Board of Education, a private elementary school in
the city of Hilliard. Al-Akhras and his colleagues established the
International Academy of Columbus and Westside Academy, two charter
schools serving the disadvantaged and immigrant community. Al-Akhras
has spent years working with religious and ethnic groups to bridge the
gaps between different cultures. He serves on the executive
committee of the Ohio Conference of the NAACP and the state board of
Ohio Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Daniel Tokaji
Daniel Tokaji is an Associate Professor of Law at the Ohio State
University’s Moritz College of Law and the Associate Director of the
Election Law @ Moritz project. His research and scholarship focus
on voting rights, election administration, and political equality.
Tokaji’s Equal Vote blog provides analysis and commentary on
developments in the area of election reform and voting rights.
Tokaji graduated from Harvard College in 1989 and earned his J.D. from
Yale Law School in 1994. He then clerked for Judge Stephen
Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Before arriving at Ohio State, Tokaji was a staff attorney with the ACLU
Foundation of Southern California for eight years, where he litigated a
wide variety of civil rights and civil liberties cases.
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