Board of Trustees

Sharon Moss graduated from The Ohio State University in 2005 with a BA in Comparative Religion. With over 10 years of experience in the freethought movement, Sharon is a former president of Students for Freethought at The Ohio State University and former Secular Student Alliance Board member. She has a soft spot for organizational development, community building, leadership training, and volunteer management. Sharon Moss is certified as a Humanist Celebrant by the Humanist Society, and is authorized by the state of Ohio to solemnize marriages. She considers this the closest thing to a super power that she’ll ever have.

When not hanging out with her fellow freethinkers, Sharon can be found cycling the Olentangy Trail, canning her own fruits and veggies, or indulging in some occasional reality TV.

Sharon has been a member of HCCO since 2000 and has served as president since 2009.

Amanda has been involved with HCCO since 2003, and joined the board of directors in 2010. As Vice President, Amanda chairs board meetings and organizes events such as HCCO's monthly family game night. Amanda is the executive director of Camp Quest, Inc., a network of summer camps aimed at children from freethinking families. She is a co-author of Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief with Dale McGowan, Molleen Matsumura and Jan Devor.

Amanda hopes to use her work with freethinking families to help HCCO build a multigenerational community that is welcoming and supportive for families with children. Amanda holds an M.A. in political science from The Ohio State University, and a B.A. in international relations and psychology from Brown University.

When she's not busy promoting humanism, Amanda is probably knitting.

August is the executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. He has served in that position since 2001, and started getting paid for it in 2004. He also worked as a programmer for the Institute for Humanist Studies from 2001 to 2004.

In 1997 he co-founded Students for Freethought at the Ohio State University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2001 majoring in psychology and minoring in mathematics and cognitive science. Brunsman has served as the Secretary of the Board of the Secular Coalition for America since 2006.

He is also the camp director of Camp Quest Ohio where he has volunteered since 1999.

Lyz Liddell has been involved in HCCO for the entirety of her Columbus residence. Her desire for real ultimate power has led her to take on the daunting task of managing HCCO's treasury armed with only a copy of Quickbooks, a spreadsheet and a plastic filing folder.

Lyz is also the Director of Campus Organizing at the Secular Student Alliance, where she herds approximately 225 secular student groups.  She holds an

undergraduate degree in English and Music and a Master's degree in performance, making practical commercial employment completely implausible.

In her spare time, Lyz performs with a Columbus-based early music ensemble, renovates her house, ignores her lawn, makes delicious food and goes cycling. She is married to a reclusive computer programmer and has two cats that are undeniably better than anyone else's cats.

Like most Humanists, Jeff was one long before he knew what the word meant. Today, he understands it as incorporating human-based ethics, reason-based epistemology, politics, environmental concern, interest in the arts, and valuing community. Here's the concise "elevator speech" with which he's become pretty content: "Humanism = compassion + reason."

Jeff has a degree in Psychology from Earlham College, and a Master of Social Work from OSU. He works full time as a clinical social worker, mainly with clients who have severe mental illnesses. He likes to read books and news, critically discuss politics and philosophy, go to the gym, and spend time outdoors.

He has served on the HCCO board for numerous years, in addition to involvement in Students For Freethought and the Secular Student Alliance, and attends local Humanist and freethought events whenever his schedule allows.

Jesse moved to Columbus in February 2010 to become the communications director for the Secular Student Alliance. He has worked for secular organizations since graduating from college, holding positions with both the Secular Coalition for American and the American Humanist Association. 

Jesse graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in political science. He was president of the nonreligious student group on campus as well as an active member of various religious organizations. 

He hopes to help HCCO develop a strong local, grassroots community for Humanists and other nontheists. Seeing the importance of social interaction on campus, he wants to help sustain and strengthen this kind of community in his new home state of Ohio. 

Jesse's passion for philosophy rarely goes unnoticed. Even when indulging in his other hobbies, a philosophy book is almost never out of reach. 

Derrick's background in teaching and law has given him experience both in critical thinking and in the thoughtful caring needed for effective community building. His interest in being “good without God” and ensuring human rights for LGBT people fit well with HCCO’s goals.

In his earlier work as a board member and president, Derrick helped expand our outreach, diversify our membership, organize operational systems, build our capital and welcome the contributions of other volunteers who have taken HCCO to a new level. Derrick is excited to be back on the board again to help HCCO take advantage of many the opportunities to expand our community  and  to plan ways to meet the our future needs. 

Ed Sweeney

Ed's professional and business experience spans 45 years and includes top management financial positions at large corporations and positions with small not-for-profits. His other civic activities include being a volunteer guardian and hospice volunteer. He has served as president of the Freehold Rotary Club and Tustin Meadows Community Association.

Ed recently received a CFO of the Year Honorable mention award from Columbus Business First for my service as CFO of the House of Hope.

Ed is also a facilitator of conflict resolution and anger management workshops and a mediator. He has have conducted over 50 workshops with AmeriCorps members, YouthBuild members, foster parents, adults on probation, residents of alcohol treatment centers, adolescents at group homes, men and women at halfway houses and prisoners. Ed was selected as a finalist for a Columbus Dispatch Community Service Award after nomination by the inmates at Madison Correctional Facility.

Most recently, Ed was chosen as our 2010 Humanist of the Year for his work organizing and promoting many of HCCO's service projects.