About Ray
Running for this third term on Oberlin City Council, Ray works effectively for positive change in Oberlin. He listens to the many voices in our community and works to bring the community together. He chairs the city’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee and has been especially active on issues of housing and workforce development. As experienced administrator, he was Director of Libraries at Oberlin College for twenty-five years, receiving two national awards in recognition of his service.
Boards: Local: Oberlin Schools, Finance Committee: League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area, Chair Nominating Committee; Executive Committee, Metro Central Unit of NAACP; City of Oberlin Human Relations Commission (chair and co-chair); Citizens Climate Lobby, Ohio U.S. Senate Liaison; Oberlin Public Library Board of Trustees. National: Board of Directors, Association of College and Research Libraries; Chair, Steering Committee, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC); numerous other professional boards and committees. Oberlin College: Chair of numerous college committees.
Local organizations: City of Oberlin Social Equity Working Group; Oberlin Connects (a group working to build trust between Oberlin College and the Oberlin community); Oberlin Business Partnership, Oberlin People Together (a biracial group that worked on issues of race and class in Oberlin), Citizens' Climate Lobby, NAACP, League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area, Oberlin Underground Railroad Society, Lorain County Urban League.
General experience: Organization management, grant administration, project management, editing, teaching, public relations, legislative advocacy.
Training in: Conflict resolution, mediation, facilitating dialogue across lines of difference, working with diverse populations.
Career: Azariah Smith Root Director of Libraries, Oberlin College, 1990-2015. Directed a complex organization consisting of four libraries, a staff of approximately 50, and a budget of approximately $7 million.
Recipient of two national awards: Academic Research Librarian of the Year, Association of College and Research Libraries, 2006; Hugh Atkinson Memorial Award, American Library Association, 2009.
Education: BA Davidson College; MA, MSLS, PhD University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ray works actively for positive change.
Ray is a climate change activist and an advocate for social justice and improved community relations.
He works to make Oberlin city government more responsive and effective.
He has training in conflict resolution, mediation, community dialogue, and diversity and inclusion, skills that can help avoid or resolve the conflicts that are all too common in our town.
He’s available to residents and responsive to their concerns. He also reaches out with a commitment to fairness, listening to the many voices in our community, especially those who have not been heard.
He loves Oberlin. He thinks Oberlin is amazing and also thinks Oberlin can rise to a whole new level.
