COLUMBUS__Small Nation Project Manager Ann Donnelly was recently announced as a 2024 Leadership Ohio Fellow at a March 20 press conference at the Ohio State House. Leadership Ohio connects diverse leaders from across Ohio to promote positive change. Thirty-five leaders were selected from public and private sectors and will convene to impact future policy.

Donnelly grew up in a village in Miami County and currently resides in Ada. Her desire to homeschool her two children and manage her real estate projects, along with her passion for small towns and storytelling abilities, led her to join Small Nation in 2021 as a consultant and project manager after serving for over 20 years in higher education. 

“We are so proud to have Ann selected as a Fellow in this year’s Leadership Ohio class,” Small Nation Founder Jason Duff said. “This is a well-deserved honor and a recognition that reflects her professional career accomplishments and the great work she is doing with us here at Small Nation.” Small Nation, based in Bellefontaine, develops “spaces, places, and dreams for small towns and small-town entrepreneurs across the country.”

Prior to Small Nation, Donnelly served Ohio Northern University (ONU) in a leadership role on the President’s Cabinet as Executive Assistant to the President from 2011-2019. She served as the Alumni Director and the Campaign Manager for one of the largest campaigns in ONU history. ONU honored Donnelly in 2013 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. She is also a published children’s author, publishing her book If I Were a Bumblebee in 2021, available at Target and Barnes and Noble, and was an Associate Producer of the feature-length documentary, Heart of an Ideal.

Over the next eight months, Donnelly and the Fellows will explore critical questions, engage in challenging social discourse, and identify opportunities that impact Ohioans and the communities in which they live and work.

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