Board of Directors

Jeff Cassella (Board President)

Athletic Administrator, Mentor High School

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2018 – July 31, 2020

(Class AAA Representative, Northeast District)

Jeff has been the athletic administrator at Mentor High School for 11 years. Prior to that he taught physical education and health in Mentor and was the certified athletic trainer at Mentor High. A graduate of Perry High School in Lake Country, Jeff graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor’s degree in education and from Cleveland State University with a Master of Science degree in exercise science as well as an administration certificate. He has his National Board Certification as a teacher in physical education. He also received the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 2006, the Northeast Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NEOIAAA) Tim Flannery Horizon Award in 2009 and the NEOIAAA Meritorious Service award in 2017. He was named NEOIAAA High School Athletic Director of the Year in 2018.

Currently the AAA representative to the Northeast District Athletic Board, Jeff has served as chair of that board’s tournament committee. He is an executive committee member of the NEOIAAA. At Mentor, he has hosted several tournaments for the Northeast District Athletic Board including district wrestling, track, softball and soccer. He has also hosted regional football games and home site sectional games in basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse and softball. This is his first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Jeff is married to Lynelle, a speech and language therapist for the Riverside Local Schools in Painesville. They have two daughters, Leah, a physical therapy student at Cleveland State University, and Amanda, a student at Ursuline College studying graphic design.

Scott Kaufman (Board Vice President)

Assistant Principal/Athletic Administrator, West Chester Lakota West HighSchool

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2019 – July 31, 2021

(Class AAA Representative, Southwest District)

Scott is a graduate of Seven Hills High School in Cincinnati where he played soccer, basketball and baseball. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education from Bradley University in 1990 and later a master’s degree in school administrationfrom Xavier University.

Kaufman is currently the assistant principal/athletic administrator at Lakota West High School, the school district in which he lives and from where his children graduated. Prior to that, he began his professional career at Princeton City Schools (1992-2011) as a teacher (1992-1996), junior high athletic administrator (1996-1998) and district athletic administrator (1998-2011). During this time, he coached football and basketball at Princeton and fast-pitch softball at Seven Hills. From 2011-2013, Kaufman served as the Athletic Administrator at Wyoming High School.

.As a longtime member of the National (NIAAA) and Ohio (OIAAA) athletic administrators associations and the Southwest Ohio Athletic Directors Association (SWOADA), Scott was awarded the OIAAA Meritorious Service Award in 2008, the SWOADA Citation Award in 2011, the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 2012 and OIAAA/SWOADA Athletic Administrator of the Year Award in 2016.

Kaufman has also been very active within the OHSAA throughout his career. He has served as a sectional and regional tournament manager in six team sports and he has been a member of the OHSAA Blue Ribbon Committeefor bylaw review, the OHSAA Technology Committee, the Competitive Balance Committee and the Emerging Opportunities Committee. He was elected as the AAA representative to the OHSAA’s Southwest District Athletic Board in 2008 and was reelected in 2016. This is his first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Scott has been married for 27 years to his wife Shelley, a cardiology nurse at Mercy Hospital in Fairfield. They have two children, Chelsey (23), a graduate of Kent State University, and Megan (20), who is studying nursing and playing volleyball at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. They have been residents of Liberty Township for 27 years.

Dan Leffingwell

Superintendent, Noble Local Schools, Sarahsville

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2018 – July 31, 2020

(Class A Representative, East District)

Dan graduated from Marietta College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and special education, and he earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from Ohio University in 2000. He is currently completing his fifth year as the superintendent of the Noble Local Schools in Sarahsville, which includes Shenandoah high school (grades 9 through 12) and elementary school (preschool through grade 8) and is located halfway between Cambridge and Marietta. Prior to that, Dan served 15 years as high school principal at Warren Local High school in Vincent, Ohio.

Leffingwell began his career in education in 1988 and experienced a variety of teaching and coaching positions. Among his coaching duties included two years as assistant men’s basketball coach and head men’s golf coach at Marietta College before being named head boys basketball coach at Warren Local High School in 1994. During his five years coaching basketball, his teams won multiple sectional titles and were district runners-up twice. He was twice named Southeast Ohio Athletic League Coach-of-the-Year and was District Coach-of-the-Year in 1998. Following the 1998 season, Dan then became the principal at Warren High, where he stayed until 2013. Early teaching stops included Warren and Fayetteville high schools, Caldwell Elementary School and Marietta Middle School.

Elected to the East District Athletic Board in 2013, Dan currently serves as board president. Prior to that appointment, he served on the Southeast District Athletic Board from 2006 through 2013. This is his first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Dan and his wife Debbie have been married for 29 years and have two children, Darci (27) and Dylan (23). They reside in Vincent, Ohio.

Jan Wilking (Board Vice President)

Athletic Administrator, Cincinnati Wyoming High School

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2018 – July 31, 2020

(Female Representative, Southwest District)

Jan is a 1989 graduate of Cincinnati Oak Hills High School, where she is a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame. She graduated from the University of Charleston in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

After a career in public accounting, Jan began her path in education as a high school basketball coach at Oak Hills in 1997. She served as the Highlanders’ head girls basketball coach and served as the Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy junior varsity softball coach. During her coaching tenure, Jan earned Greater Miami Conference and District 16 coach-of-year honors. She was hired as the athletic administrator at Oak Hills in 2004, a position she held for nine years. In 2013, she was named the athletic administrator at Cincinnati Wyoming City Schools. She currently serves on the executive board of the Southwest Ohio Athletic Director.

Jan was first elected to the Southwest District Athletic Board (SWDAB) in 2012 as the Female Representative and served until 2014. In 2017, she was appointed as an interim Female Representative on the SWDAB, and she was elected to retain that position in 2018. This is her first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Jan and her husband, Tim, have been married 20 years and have two children, Max (14) and Emma (13). They live in the Wyoming school district, where both children are active in academics, music and athletics.

Ryan Fitzgerald

Director of Athletics, Columbus Hamilton Township High School

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2019 - July 31, 2021

(Class AA Representative, Central District)

Ryan is a 2001 graduate of Sandusky Perkins High School, He graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from The Ohio State University in 2006 and later earned a Master of Science degree in educational leadership from the University of Dayton, where he obtained his K-12 principal licensure and superintenent licensure.

His career in eduation began in 2006 as a gifted interention specialist at Hamilnton Intermediate School in the Hamilton Local School District in Columbus, While teaching, Fitzgerald coached football and track, In 2010, he became the dean of students at Hamilton Township High School and he becane assistant principal in 2011. He has been the school's director of athletics since 2012.

Fitzgerald was elected to the entral District Athletic Board in 2015 as a Class AA representative. This is his first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Ryan and his wife, Julie, have been married six years and have two children, Rylie (4) and Reegan (1). They reside in Hilliard.

Steve Watkins

Principal, Dalton Middle School

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2019 – July 31, 2020

(7th-8th Grade Representative, Northeast District)

Steve is a 2002 graduate of Norwayne High School. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in middle level education from the University of Akron in 2007 and later earned his master's degree in educational leadership in 2012.

Steve has been the middle school principal and lead curriculum for Dalton Local Schools for the past two years. Prior to this he was the middle school principal at Chippewa Middle School in Doylestown, Ohio for five years. He taught eigth grade mathematics and science at Norton City Schools for six years.

Steve is married to Melissa, a school guidance counselor for Perry Local Schools in Massillon, Ohio. They have a daughter, Ella, who attends Dalton Elementary School and is in the first grade.

Bill Warfield
Principal, Whitehall-Yearling High School
State Board of Directors, August 1, 2019 – July 31, 2021
(Ethnic Minority Representative, Central District)

Bill is a 2000 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in English and earned his master’s degree from Concordia University in 2012.

Warfield began his career in education and athletics as a varsity assistant football coach at Galloway Westland High School from 2002 to 2005. In 2007, he was hired as a high school English teacher at Warren G. Harding High School. During his three years at Harding, he also served as a varsity assistant coach for football and track & field.

In 2010, Bill was hired as a middle school English teacher at Olentangy Orange Middle School in Lewis Center. During his three years in that role, he also served as a varsity assistant coach for football and track & field for Olentangy Orange High School. Warfield then was hired as the assistant principal at Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell in 2013 before being elevated to building principal at Liberty High in 2015, a position he held for three years.

He moved to his current position as K-12 Curriculum Development Supervisor for the Olentangy Local Schools prior to the 2018-19 school year.

Elected to the OHSAA’s Central District Athletic Board in 2018 as the ethnic minority representative, this is his first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Bill and his wife, Kari, have been married for five years and reside in Grandview Heights.

Gary Kreinbrink
Athletc Director and Girls Varsity Basketball Coach, Leipsic High School
State Board of Directors, August 1, 2019 – July 31, 2021
(Class A Representative, Northwest District)
Gary is a 1979 graduate of Leipsic High School and a 1983 graduate of Bluffton University, where he received his education degree in English and communication. He also received his master’s degree in education/athletic administration from North Central University.

Kreinbrink began his career in education at Howard East Knox High School as a high school English teacher for two years before returning to his alma mater, Leipsic, to teach English/speech in 1985. He has been the athletic director at Leipsic for the past 16 years and has been the girls varsity basketball coach for the past 32 years, compiling 440 wins and 12 league championships. Gary has coached in the prestigious Ohio North-South All-Star Game and twice coached in the Ohio vs. Indiana All-Star Game. He has also coached cross country, softball and the girls varsity track team for 15 years, where his teams have won four league championships.

Gary is also beginning his sixth year as the commissioner of the 12-school Blanchard Valley Conference, where he assigns over 1,000 officials each year.

Elected as the Class A representative to the OHSAA’s Northwest District Athletic Board in 2011 and reelected in 2017, Kreinbrink serves as the volleyball and gymnastics coordinator and is the scholarship/awards chairman for the NWDAB. This is his second term on the OHSAA State Board of Directors after also serving during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.

Gary and his wife, Vicki, have been married for 35 years and have three children. Corey is an intervention specialist and the varsity girls basketball coach at Napoleon High School; Amanda is a registered nurse at University Hospitals in Cleveland, and Hailey is currently in her second year as a master’s degree student in guidance at Kent State University.

Leonard Steyer

Principal, Chillicothe Southeastern High School

State Board of Directors, August 1, 2018 – July 31, 2020

(Class AA Representative, Southeast District)

Leonard is a graduate of Kansas Lakota High School in Sandusky County. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education, with a concentration in comprehensive business education, from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in 1974 and a master’s degree in educational administration from BGSU in 1976.

Leonard began his career in education as a high school vocational business teacher at Pioneer Joint Vocational School in Shelby, Ohio, in 1974. After six years of teaching, he then attended Capital University Law School (1980-81) for one year before teaching business education classes at Greenfield McClain High School the following year. Beginning with the 1982-83 school year, his next move was to Southeastern High School (Ross County) in Chillicothe, where he has spent the past 36 years as a classroom teacher, assistant basketball coach, assistant athletic director, athletic director and high school principal. He has held the latter position for the past 18 years.

Elected to the Southeast District Athletic Board in 2010 as a Class AA representative and re-elected in 2016, this is Leonard’s first term on the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Leonard resides in Chillicothe with his wife of 25 years, Trish. He has a stepson, Michael, who resides in Oklahoma City.

John Richard, Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent, Ohio Department of Education
State Board of Directors Since June 1, 2020
(Ex-Officio, Ohio Department of Education Representative)
As deputy superintendent of Ohio schools, John Richard, Ed.D., works closely with the four primary program centers of the Ohio Department of Education. The centers oversee all initiatives related to student supports, continuous improvement, performance and impact, and teaching, leading and learning. Richard continues to focus on leadership development by overseeing ongoing professional development sessions for the Department’s senior leaders. Richard speaks frequently to Ohio education groups about the critical impact of excellent educational leadership both on students’ lives and Ohio’s future.

Richard has 30 years of field experience ranging from classroom teacher to district superintendent and has more than 10 years of experience as a part-time instructor in the University of Akron’s school principalship program.

From 2013-2015, Richard was a senior executive director and associate superintendent for the Ohio Department of Education, where he led the review and revision of Ohio’s Operating Standards for Schools and was the Department’s liaison for district Academic Distress Commissions. Before returning to the Department in 2017, he served as the associate executive director of the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators, where he oversaw professional development for high school principals.

Richard holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Union College and a master’s degree from Cleveland State University. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Akron.