Antonia “Toni” Carroll was a social worker and public administrator who transformed services for older adults in Franklin County. As the first director of the Franklin County Office on Aging, she spent more than three decades building a coordinated system that helped seniors remain safe, independent, and connected to their communities.

When state funding for an earlier outreach program ended, Carroll and other advocates developed Senior Options, a locally funded program providing in-home services through public, nonprofit, and private partnerships. Under her leadership, voters repeatedly renewed the senior services levy, while the program grew to serve thousands of residents. Adult Protective Services was added in 1999 to strengthen support for vulnerable adults.

Carroll’s advocacy helped make aging in place possible for older adults across Franklin County.

Dr. Benjamin B. Caplan was a Columbus physician, psychiatrist, and medical philanthropist who expanded access to health care for underserved people around the world. During more than 40 years of medical practice in Columbus, he volunteered his expertise to support the health and education of children and adults with limited resources.

Caplan served as a medical missionary for more than 50 years, traveling to 114 countries and completing three volunteer tours in Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1970, he personally immunized 22,500 children in Bolivia against polio, helping pay for the effort himself.

Recognized by governments and organizations around the world, Caplan used medicine as a form of humanitarian service, improving access to care and education across borders.

W. Wallace Cannon Jr. was an engineer, civic leader, and advocate for affordable housing for older adults. Born in segregated South Carolina, he pursued education beyond the eighth grade and, in 1952, became the first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

After moving to Columbus in the late 1950s, Cannon built a career as a systems design engineer while remaining deeply committed to community service. He served United Church Homes for many years as a director, vice president, and board chair, helping advance housing and care for older adults.

Cannon’s legacy of perseverance and service connected his own experience breaking educational barriers with a sustained commitment to creating security and opportunity for others.

The Rev. Jason Bull was a Methodist minister and abolitionist who helped freedom seekers travel through central Ohio on the Underground Railroad. He conducted services at Clinton Chapel, located at what is now 3100 North High Street in Columbus, while the site also served as a place of refuge.

Freedom seekers were hidden in an interior room at the chapel, where Bull’s daughter brought them food and water before they continued north. Through this work, Bull and his family made Clinton Chapel part of Columbus’s Underground Railroad network, placing their faith and safety at the service of people escaping slavery.

Edna L. Bryce was a Columbus business owner, political activist, and community leader whose work helped strengthen the Mount Vernon Avenue neighborhood. After moving to Columbus from Alabama in 1926, she started Bryce Florist in her living room in 1934 and built it into a successful business, earning the affectionate name “The Flower Lady.”

During the 1950s, Bryce became a driving force behind the Mount Vernon Avenue District Improvement Association. As its president, she helped lay the groundwork for the development of Mount Vernon Plaza and advocated for investment in the surrounding community.

Bryce also devoted much of her life to the Columbus Branch of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Her leadership joined entrepreneurship with neighborhood advocacy, creating opportunities and strengthening civic life in Columbus.

Rowland C. W. Brown was a Columbus business and civic leader who helped guide the peaceful desegregation of Columbus Public Schools during the 1970s. He organized and chaired the Metropolitan Columbus Schools Committee, bringing together business, religious, and community leaders during a period of deep division over court-ordered desegregation.

Under Brown’s leadership, the committee worked to ensure that Columbus implemented desegregation without the violence seen in several other northern cities. The effort became the largest peaceful public-school desegregation undertaken in the United States at that time and received recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Brown’s commitment to public education also included leadership in the Citizens Council for Ohio Schools and the Urban Education Coalition, helping build community support for equitable schools.

Caroline Brown was born into slavery in Virginia and came to Columbus with her children, Edward and Constantia, after she was emancipated through the will of enslaver John D. Brown. In the early 1850s, Edward built a home for his mother near what is now 1200 East Livingston Avenue.

The Caroline Brown House has been identified as a stop on the Underground Railroad, part of the network through which freedom seekers found shelter while traveling north. Although historical records do not establish how many people may have taken refuge there, the home remains connected to Columbus’s antislavery history.

Brown’s story reflects both the struggle to build a life after enslavement and the role Black families played within local networks of freedom and resistance.

Curtis A. Brooks was a visionary leader in the Community Action movement who spent 30 years as executive director of the Columbus Metropolitan Area Community Action Organization. His work focused on addressing the conditions that create poverty and helping individuals and families build greater stability and independence.

Under Brooks’s leadership, the organization supported initiatives connected to affordable housing, food cooperatives, Head Start, health access, and other services shaped by community needs. His influence extended beyond Columbus through his leadership within Ohio’s network of Community Action Agencies.

A memorial scholarship continues to honor Brooks’s commitment to community service by supporting students preparing for careers that improve the lives of people who need assistance.

John W. E. Bowen III was a Columbus attorney, educator, and public servant who broke barriers in Ohio politics. After serving in the United States Army, he earned his law degree from The Ohio State University in 1953 and began his career in the Columbus City Attorney’s Office before entering private practice.

Bowen served in the Ohio Senate from 1967 to 1970, becoming the first African American from Franklin County elected to the chamber. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Ohio State’s College of Law and held leadership roles in business, higher education, urban redevelopment, and the United Methodist Church.

His civic leadership extended to the YMCA and the United Negro College Fund, reflecting a lasting commitment to education, service, and opportunity.

Catherine “Carrie” Nelson Black was a public health pioneer who transformed access to care for underserved people in Columbus and across Ohio. In 1898, she founded the Instructive District Nursing Association, now LifeCare Alliance, creating Ohio’s first organized visiting-nurse system to bring care directly to families in need.

Black also helped establish the Columbus Tuberculosis Society, the Ohio Public Health Association, Nightingale Cottage, and an open-air school for children affected by tuberculosis. She later founded the Columbus Cancer Clinic in her home, providing free screenings and medical assistance to people who otherwise lacked access to care.

Through these institutions, Black created lasting models for community-based health care and made prevention, treatment, and compassionate service more accessible.

Kent and Mary Beittel were fierce advocates for people experiencing homelessness in Columbus and longtime leaders of The Open Shelter. The organization opened in 1983 as Ohio’s first 24-hour emergency walk-in shelter, offering immediate help without many of the barriers that could prevent people from receiving support.

Under their leadership, The Open Shelter grew beyond overnight refuge to provide material assistance, medical services, advocacy, outreach, and help connecting people with benefits and housing. Even after the shelter lost its longtime building in 2004, the Beittels continued serving people living on the streets and pressing the community to recognize their dignity.

Together, Kent and Mary shaped a model grounded in persistence and welcome. Their decades of leadership left a lasting mark on homelessness advocacy in central Ohio.

Otto Beatty Jr. was a Columbus attorney, civil rights advocate, and state legislator whose career focused on expanding opportunity for Black Ohioans and other underserved communities. A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Law, he built a prominent legal practice and successfully defended the first two discrimination cases filed in Ohio.

Voters elected Beatty to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1979, where he served for 18 years. He became a leading advocate for minority-owned businesses, health care, consumer protection, and families, helping shape policies intended to address longstanding inequities.

Beatty also chaired the Ohio Commission on Minority Health and held leadership roles in legal and political organizations. His public service joined legal advocacy with legislative action to strengthen representation and economic opportunity across Ohio.

Annie Norton Battelle was a Columbus suffragist, philanthropist, and civic leader who used her influence and resources to advance women’s participation in public life. A member of the National Woman’s Party, she joined activists at the 1920 Republican National Convention in pressing the party to support women’s suffrage and ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Battelle became the first woman to serve as a trustee of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. She also led the Women’s Republican Club of Ohio, served on the executive board of Children’s Hospital, and was an Ohio delegate-at-large to the 1924 Republican National Convention.

Her philanthropy also helped secure the future of Battelle Memorial Institute. By directing the balance of her estate to the organization, Battelle strengthened an institution created through her son Gordon’s vision.

The Rev. William “Bill” Barndt was a United Church of Christ minister and lifelong advocate for peace, justice, and human dignity. After serving congregations in Maine and Ohio and working as an association minister for the Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ, he continued his activism for three decades beyond retirement.

Barndt supported humanitarian missions in Haiti, Central America, Macedonia, Cuba, Japan, and the Philippines. He also worked with Pastors for Peace, Central Ohioans for Peace, the Central Ohio Save Darfur Coalition, the Task Force on Disabilities, and Worldwide Humanitarian Aid.

Through local organizing and international service, Barndt connected his faith to action, building a legacy rooted in solidarity across religious, cultural, and national boundaries.

Maud C. Baker was a pioneering Black educator whose career helped expand opportunities for African American teachers and students in Columbus. After graduating from the city’s Normal School, she began teaching in Columbus Public Schools in 1892, first as a substitute and then in a full-time position at Stevenson School.

In 1910, Baker became the first principal of Champion Avenue School, Columbus’s first de facto segregated all-Black school. She led Champion for a decade, guiding a school that became an important institution within the city’s Black community despite the discrimination that shaped its creation.

Baker retired in 1920 after 34 years of service. Her leadership at Champion reflects the central role Black women educators played in supporting students and strengthening their communities.

Dora Sandoe Bachman was a pioneering attorney, suffragist, and education leader in Columbus, Ohio. In 1893, she became the first woman to graduate from The Ohio State University College of Law and went on to build a career focused on family law, education, and women’s rights.

Bachman was the first woman elected to the Columbus Board of Education, serving from 1910 to 1917 and becoming its president in 1913. She also served as vice president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association, helped draft Ohio’s 1912 suffrage referendum, and advised national suffrage organizers.

After women secured the right to vote, Bachman continued her advocacy through the Ohio League of Women Voters, where she led work related to social hygiene, sex education, and public health.

Harvey H. Alston Sr. was a trailblazing public servant and civil rights leader in Columbus, Ohio, known for breaking racial barriers in law enforcement and civic leadership. He joined the Columbus Police Department in 1937 and steadily rose through the ranks during a time of significant racial inequality.

In 1952, Alston became the first African American in the United States to achieve the rank of Police Captain. Just two years later, in 1954, he was promoted to Inspector (Deputy Chief) of Police—another historic milestone that drew national attention. His leadership helped pave the way for greater representation and advancement of Black officers in law enforcement.

Beyond his work in policing, Alston served as president of the Frontiers Club and later as a member of Columbus City Council, continuing his commitment to public service and community leadership.

Nimrod B. Allen was a pioneering civil rights leader in Columbus, Ohio, whose work helped support African Americans transitioning from the South to new lives in the city during the early 20th century. After arriving in Columbus in 1915, he became a central figure in community leadership and institution-building.

Allen was a founder of the Columbus Urban League in 1917 and served as its first executive director and executive secretary from 1921 to 1954. Through this role, he worked to expand economic opportunity, housing access, and social services for Black residents.

He also founded the Frontiers Club of Columbus in 1936, which grew into Frontiers International—becoming the first African American service organization in the United States. In addition, Allen hosted the Lighthouse radio program, further extending his influence through public communication and community engagement.

Allen’s legacy is defined by his leadership in building institutions that supported equity, opportunity, and advancement for African Americans in Columbus and beyond.

Florence Ellinwood Allen was a trailblazing jurist and a leading advocate for women’s rights, whose career was defined by a series of historic firsts. She was the first woman assistant county prosecutor in the United States and the first woman elected to judicial office in Ohio.

In 1922, Allen became the first woman in the nation elected to a state supreme court when she joined the Supreme Court of Ohio. She later broke another barrier as the first woman appointed to a United States Court of Appeals, helping pave the way for women in the judiciary at both the state and federal levels.

Allen’s work expanded opportunities for women in law and public service, leaving a lasting legacy in the fight for gender equity and representation in the legal system.

Amy Allen was a dedicated advocate for education reform in Ohio, with a lasting impact on the development of special education across the state. Throughout her life, she worked to improve access to education for children with diverse learning needs, helping shape more inclusive and supportive public school systems.

Her efforts contributed to broader recognition of the importance of special education and the rights of all students to receive meaningful, equitable educational opportunities. Allen’s legacy lives on in the continued advancement of inclusive education in Ohio.

Margaret Agler was a central figure in the Underground Railroad in central Ohio, using her home as a safe haven for freedom seekers escaping slavery. Built in 1841 and located at 2828 Sunbury Road, the Margaret Agler House became a well-known stop along the route guiding individuals north toward safety in Delaware County and beyond.

Agler and her family provided shelter, resources, and protection to those traveling through the region, contributing to a broader network of abolitionist efforts in Ohio. Her home remains an important historical site, representing the courage and quiet resistance of those who supported the fight against slavery.

Mohamed Hassan Adam was a respected Somali community leader in Columbus, Ohio, known for his deep commitment to service, faith, and community care. As a co-founder and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Ohio and co-founder of Ask a Muslim, he worked to build understanding across cultures and advocate for Muslim communities. 

For more than two decades, Adam supported individuals and families facing hardship—helping establish a food pantry for people experiencing homelessness, assisting families during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mentoring youth throughout the community. His leadership was grounded in compassion, faith, and a belief in the power of connection.