Leadership Ohio announces 2026 Alumni Impact Award recipients
Leadership Ohio has announced the four recipients of its 2026 Alumni Impact Awards, recognizing graduates whose leadership, service and professional accomplishments exemplify the organization’s commitment to leaving everything and everyone better than they found them.
The honorees were selected from a record 24 peer nominations representing 21 alumni across four award categories. The awards were presented Friday, August 14, during Leadership Ohio’s Alumni Homecoming and Capstone Dinner at Capital University’s Schumacher Gallery at the Blackmore Library in Bexley.
“Each of these recipients demonstrates a different dimension of exemplary leadership,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of Leadership Ohio. “They are strengthening communities, building institutions, advancing their professions and creating opportunities for others. Just as importantly, their nominations came from fellow alumni who have seen their leadership and impact firsthand.”
The 2026 recipients are:
Community Impact Award: Donald Bush ’20
The Community Impact Award recognizes an alumnus whose service, engagement and commitment have created a meaningful and lasting impact within their community. Donald Bush is an Employee Relations Advisor at Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley and the immediate past president of the FBI Cincinnati Citizens Academy Alumni Association. During his tenure as chapter president, Bush helped strengthen organizational compliance, expand programming and increase alumni engagement. He continues to serve on the organization’s board and membership committee.
Bush was previously selected by his Leadership Ohio classmates as the program’s 2020 Leader Among Leaders. In 2026, he received the National Leadership Achievement Award from the FBI National Citizens Academy Alumni Association.
His nominations emphasized his commitment to public service, inclusive leadership and continued volunteerism. As one nominator wrote, “His continued dedication beyond his official role is a testament to his character, passion, and unwavering commitment to public service.”
Distinguished Alumnus Award: Eric Wobser ’22
The Distinguished Alumnus Award is Leadership Ohio’s most comprehensive alumni honor. It recognizes sustained leadership, professional accomplishment, service and an enduring commitment to creating a stronger Ohio.
Eric Wobser serves as CEO of the Greater Sandusky Partnership, where he leads regional economic and community-development efforts across the Greater Sandusky Bay region. He has more than 20 years of experience in civic leadership, economic development and community revitalization.
Wobser previously served as Sandusky’s city manager and has played a central role in bringing economic-development, business and community organizations together around a shared regional vision. His collaborative leadership has helped position the North Coast as an increasingly coordinated and competitive region.
“Eric does incredible work wherever he goes,” his nominator wrote. “He is the reason the Sandusky/‘North Coast’ region is punching above its weight.” The nomination also praised Wobser’s accessibility, community involvement and consistent pursuit of solutions that create value for multiple stakeholders.
Professional Excellence Award: Sabra Tomb ’22
The Professional Excellence Award recognizes an alumnus whose accomplishments, integrity and leadership distinguish them within their profession while reflecting positively upon the Leadership Ohio community.
Sabra Tomb, Esq., is Director of Training Programs and Strategic Business Development and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Dayton School of Law. She leads educational and workforce-development initiatives, including programs focused on government contracting and procurement.
Tomb is an attorney, educator, program builder and national speaker whose work spans legal education, professional development, public service and innovation. Before joining the
University of Dayton, she served as an Attorney-Advisor for the Air Force Research Laboratory, providing counsel to its multibillion-dollar research and development enterprise. She also maintains an active connection to legal practice and public service, including work as a Guardian ad Litem and teaching business law through the Wilmington College Prison Education Program. Her contributions to professional education were recently recognized through the National Contract Management Association’s Contract Management Education Award.
Her nomination described the philosophy underlying her work: “Legal education should not simply transmit existing knowledge. It should prepare people to navigate change responsibly, expand opportunity, and use law and technology in service of others.”
Visionary Leadership Award: Mayor Laurie Jadwin ’25
The Visionary Leadership Award recognizes an alumnus who sees possibilities beyond the present and inspires others toward a stronger future through bold ideas, thoughtful leadership and meaningful action.
Laurie Jadwin has served as mayor of the City of Gahanna since January 2020. An attorney and longtime Gahanna resident, she has led the community through a period of significant growth, investment and transformation.
Her leadership has emphasized thoughtful economic development, regional collaboration, sustainability and the creation of a strong, distinctive sense of place. Among the initiatives highlighted in her nominations were the revitalization of Creekside, development of Gahanna’s new Civic Center, the “Our Gahanna” strategic vision and the City’s Energy Plus community-choice aggregation program.
Jadwin’s nominators particularly emphasized her ability to connect long-term vision with collaborative and inclusive leadership. “Laurie’s vision for the city—and her cooperative, collegial approach to leadership—is producing outcomes that will outlive her tenure as mayor,” one nominator wrote. “Laurie is a strong, yet open, leader who listens, assesses, and casts a vision that people of all persuasions and perspectives can grasp and support.”
The Alumni Impact Awards are part of Leadership Ohio’s growing commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for its statewide alumni network to reconnect, contribute and celebrate exemplary leadership. Alumni efforts will continue to expand through additional programming, the creation of an Alumni Leadership Circle and an expanded Homecoming celebration marking Leadership Ohio’s 35th anniversary in 2027.
About Leadership Ohio: Leadership Ohio is the state’s premier leadership-development program connecting accomplished leaders from across Ohio’s regions and sectors. Through immersive experiences, constructive dialogue and a growing emphasis on leadership and civic health, Leadership Ohio develops statewide leaders prepared to leave everything and everyone better than they found them—with particular emphasis on strengthening their local communities.