Meet our Board of Directors
They look like a fun group.
Joni Cline Sherman
Executive Director
Joni started as Executive Director of Play Library in March 2019. A native of Cincinnati, Joni is an arts educator who loves making art with kids and adults. She started Sprouts Floral Design Studio over 20 years ago. The business is still open to service special events.
She is the mom of three daughters and longtime resident of downtown. She is a major supporter of the city and its causes, and she is excited to bring her energy and breadth of connections to Play Library.
Brooke Harris
Board Chair
Brooke has been a part of Play Library since the early days, starting as a volunteer and becoming the first Executive Director. She attended Miami University and loves the OTR community that Play Library has become a part of. Brooke currently splits her time between Cincinnati and Asheville, NC.
Julia Fischer
Founder, Advisor
Julia has been in the industry of play for...a bunch of years. She helped create and launch multiple award-winning toy lines and was key in winning a $35M grant to create a new media-based intellectual property, with funding from the US Department of Education for Wildbrain Ent. (now DHX Media). She is currently working at Bad Robot Studios in Los Angeles and is a die-hard fan of ice cream, robots, and kids who end their sentences with “and then”. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, William, without whom she couldn't have done all of this (seriously, you guys), and their weird little scrappy dog, Monkie.
Ben Siefring
Finance
Ben is a Certified Financial Planner with more than ten years of experience creating financial blueprints for individuals, families and small-business owners. Ben has been involved with various non-profits in Cincinnati over the years and is excited about what the Play Library offers the community. He and his wife live in East Walnut Hills with their son Luke, and two dogs.
Kathy Nardiello
Grant Writing
Originally from Syracuse, New York. A Cincinnati resident since 1984, Kathy lives in Anderson Township with her twin sons, Sam & Leo. She is fluent in French and Italian, and someday will learn Spanish. Kathy’s spare time is usually spent with her children and their activities which are very much a priority for her, and working on various volunteer projects as she has time. She enjoys cooking, gardening, doing projects around the house, and spending time with friends. She also enjoys keeping fit by cycling; doing yoga; traveling to new destinations; the culinary arts; contemporary art; and a relaxing round of golf.
She really wishes she didn’t have to work so she could spend more time on community service work benefiting areas of need in our community.
Kendall Kadish
Legal
Kendall Kadish is an associate attorney at the law firm of Keating Muething & Klekamp. His legal practice focuses primarily on general business law and commercial real estate development matters. He grew up in Wyoming, Ohio before attending The Ohio State University for undergraduate and law school. Within the community, Kendall has been involved with the Talbert House and Play Library for several years. He is also the Chair of the Corporate Law Committee for the Cincinnati Bar Association.
Amanda Kranias
Advisor
Amanda Kranias is a graduate of Miami University and Golden Gate University. She specializes in Operations and Marketing, helping new businesses find their stride. Amanda currently owns and operates Blue Manatee Literacy Project, a nonprofit that operates out of a bookstore where every book purchased donates a book to a child in need. She is a mother of two beautiful children and a couple of fur babies.
Chris Reiff
Museum Curator, Advisor
Let's cut to the chase here and just get this out in the open: Yes, Chris has a real-life remote-controlled R2-unit. And yes, to answer your next question, Chris IS the coolest person we know.
Chris is the founder and curator of The Cincinnati Toy Museum, right in the middle of Play Library.
Levi Bethune
Problem-solver, Trouble-maker, Advisor
Levi is a creative director and entrepreneur with proficiency in identity discovery and storytelling for brands. He has told stories for Google, Facebook, Intel, Disney, Adobe, eBay, and hundreds of startups and non-profits.