State Board of Directors
Executive Board
OCSEA Statewide Officers include President Chris Mabe, Vice President Gerard "Rocky" Jolly, and Secretary-Treasurer Kathy Gersper. These three officers form OCSEA's Executive Committee and lead the day-to-day functions of the organization.
President
Long-time union activist Christopher Mabe (cmabe@ocsea.org) is a Corrections Sergeant at the Lorain Correctional Institution. He has served as OCSEA President since 2011. With over 30 years working in Ohio's prison system, Mabe has been a long-time critic of private prisons.
He has also been an outspoken opponent of attacks on collective bargaining and led OCSEA in the successful fight to repeal Senate Bill 5.
He was re-elected to the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) Board in 2019, keeping labor’s seat at the pension table. He is an International Vice President of AFSCME International, an Ohio AFL-CIO Executive Board Member as well as the Chair of We Are Ohio. He also occupies the prestigious labor seat on the Ohio Department of Veterans' Services Committee. He served as OCSEA's Vice President from 2007-2011 and is a graduate of the Harvard University Trade Union Program.
Vice President
Gerard "Rocky" Jolly (gjolly@ocsea.org) was elected OCSEA Vice President in August 2019. Over the past 20 years, Jolly has held many positions within the union including as District 6 President, OCSEA State Board of Directors member for District 6 and a Union Education Trust Board Trustee.
As chair of the Board Government Affairs Committee, he led the union's political action committee PEOPLE program and more. He also served on the OCSEA Board Finance Committee and sat on the AFSCME Judicial Panel. He has represented the membership on the state negotiations team to bargain the contract. He is currently co-chair of the state and OCSEA collaborative Combined Charitable Campaign, which raises charitable contributions across the state through payroll deduction.
Jolly says that OCSEA members as individuals and as a whole are his top priority. He works tirelessly to listen, understand and learn the concerns of our members. The strength of the union today was built on communication and trust, he says, and it is important to continue building a path where voices are heard––and not silenced. He says union solidarity is a team effort, and only when we are united are our voices strong.
Secretary-Treasurer
Kathy Gersper (kgersper@ocsea.org) has served in the position of OCSEA Secretary-Treasurer for over a decade and was elected in 2019 to her fifth four-year term as Secretary-Treasurer of OCSEA.
Kathy has served on past bargaining teams, sits on the Ohio AFL-CIO Executive Board and is Vice President (and former Secretary-Treasurer) of the Central Ohio Union Label. She also sat on the AFSCME Women’s Action Committee until the committee was disbanded. Kathy serves as Chair of the statewide Finance Committee and is a graduate of the Harvard University Trade Union Program.
In Gersper's position as an Accountant/Examiner 3 with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (formerly State Architects Office), she has been responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of construction funds for the State of Ohio. She has devoted herself to charitable work, annually collecting hundreds of teddy bears for children at Central Ohio domestic violence shelters statewide.
Board of Directors
The overall guidance for OCSEA comes from its 28-member Board of Directors and three state officers. Board members are elected for three-year terms and any member in good standing can run.
Board members deliberate and vote on union policies, set its budget and oversee nearly every aspect of OCSEA's operations. Board members are also responsible for attending chapter meetings and keeping members informed of the union's statewide plans.
The Board meets every two months and is led by state officers who are elected to four-year terms at the union's convention. All board meetings, except the August meeting, are held at OCSEA Headquarters in Westerville, Ohio.