Mary Cleveland. Photo courtesy the Ohio School Boards Association.
Mary Cleveland, a southwest Ohio school board member, was selected as the Ohio School Boards Association’s (OSBA) president-elect nominee. If elected during OSBA’s statewide conference in November, she will become OSBA president in 2026 following her term as president-elect in 2025.
Cleveland is in her 11th year on the Princeton City Schools Board of Education and Great Oaks Career Campuses Governing Board, where she serves as board chair. She was first elected in November 2013. As an active member of OSBA, she serves on the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee and is the immediate past president of the association’s Southwest Region Executive Committee. She served as region president in 2023.
Her commitment to education and community service, along with extensive experience in the corporate, education, legal and nonprofit sectors, underscore her passion for public education. She was recently recognized as a 2024 Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education Career Tech Outstanding Board Member.
Known as a community leader in “Who’s Who in Black Cincinnati,” Cleveland has volunteered with numerous organizations, including the Great Rivers Council of the Girl Scouts of America and Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. She also serves as an advisor to various nonprofits, including the Preston Brown and Nuway foundations and Neuro Visual Institute. Cleveland earned her bachelor’s in business administration from Thomas More University and holds a juris doctorate from Salmon P. Chase College of Law.
Founded in 1955, OSBA leads the way as the respected voice of Ohio public education.