Governor DeWine Appoints Four to Ohio Arts Council Board

Governor Mike DeWine appointed four members to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board on January 6, 2023.

Robert (Robb) Hankins of Canton and Jon D. Holt of Dayton have been reappointed, returning to the OAC board, with terms ending July 1, 2027.

Kristie Dukes Davis of Cincinnati and Peter Lawson Jones of Shaker Heights have been newly appointed to join the OAC board, with terms ending July 1, 2026.

“On behalf of the Ohio Arts Council, I am thrilled that Robb and Jon will continue their service to fund, support, and strengthen the arts broadly throughout Ohio, and we welcome Kristie and Peter and their valuable experiences as public officials and community leaders,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins.

Biographical information follows and headshots are available for download.

ROBERT (ROBB) HANKINS
Mr. Hankins is currently a consultant who specializes in using the arts to revitalize communities. Before that he was the CEO of nine different community and state arts councils across America. Most recently, for 15 years, he served as the CEO of ArtsinStark, the county arts council for Stark County. While there he created the Canton Arts District, installed more than 100 pieces of public art, and ran the only united arts fund drive in America to make its goal for 15 years in a row. In 2012, ArtsinStark received a Governor’s Award for the Arts. Mr. Hankins has sat on the boards of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. He was first appointed to the board of the Ohio Arts Council in June 2013, was subsequently reappointed in July 2017, and was elected board secretary in July 2018.

JON D. HOLT
Mr. Holt is senior corporate counsel in the global legal department of Elsevier, Inc. He supports Elsevier’s research solutions for North American and Latin America with a corporate transactional and intellectual property practice focus. Before joining Elsevier, Mr. Holt was director and senior corporate counsel at LexisNexis, a division of RELX, Inc. Prior to that, he worked at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Holt also sits on the board of Ohio Legal Help. He was first appointed to the OAC board in January 2014 and subsequently reappointed in July 2017.

KRISTIE DUKES DAVIS
Ms. Dukes Davis was elected trustee of Springfield Township in Hamilton County in November of 2019 for a term beginning in 2020. She is a Cincinnati native, currently residing in the Finneytown school district of Springfield Township. She is a graduate of Princeton High
School and earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Northern Kentucky University. Ms. Dukes Davis has served in leadership positions and has worked collaboratively with people of very diverse backgrounds throughout her 31-year career in Hamilton County government. Ms. Dukes Davis currently serves as chief of mediation services at Hamilton County Juvenile Court and serves as an executive board member on the board of trustees for Linden Grove School.

PETER LAWSON JONES
Mr. Jones is an attorney, business consultant, professional actor, dramatist, and former elected official. He is a graduate of Harvard College (magna cum laude in government) and Harvard Law School. From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Jones was a member of the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, serving as its president for three years. From 1997 to 2002, he served in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he was the ranking member of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee and second vice president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus. He was also formerly the vice mayor and a councilman in the City of Shaker Heights. A member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity, he can be seen in the Tom Hanks film, A Man Called Otto. He has appeared in more than 20 films, on network television (e.g., NBC’s Chicago Fire and ABC’s Detroit 1-8-7), and on stages throughout Northeast Ohio. As a successful dramatist of three plays, his latest, The Phoenix Society, enjoyed its world premiere in 2022 at Playwrights Local in Cleveland. Mr. Jones is the executive producer of Fatherhood 101, a documentary on the critical importance of responsible fatherhood. Mr. Jones and his spouse Lisa are the proud parents of three children.

All appointments remain subject to the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate.

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov.