Board of Trustees

Darryl D. Mehaffie has been active on the Edison State Board of Trustees for over 15 years, and recently ended a two-year term as Board Chair. Teaching at Northmont City Schools in Englewood for over 30 years has afforded Mehaffie with considerable expertise in education. Retiring in 1996, Mehaffie continues to serve on numerous boards and committees advocating for education, agriculture, arts and the region. Mehaffie has been actively involved with the Ohio Association of Community Colleges since 2002, serving as chairman of the state organization, executive committee, legislative committee and trustee engagement and leadership committee. He is also a member of the finance and audit committee and the Ohio coordinator of the central region for the Association of Community College Trustees. In 2012, Mehaffie received honors from the Ohio Association of Community College (OACC) as the winner of the Maureen C. Grady Award for Special Achievement, which recognizes extraordinary leadership and contributions of trustees.

Tyeis Baker-Baumann was appointed to serve on the Edison State Board of Trustees on April 9, 2021, to complete the six-year term started by the late Marvella Fletcher, and currently serves as Vice Chair. A resident of Greenville, Baker-Baumann is the President of Rebsco, Inc., a design and build contractor and custom fabrication company located in Greenville, Ohio, where she is involved in daily operations, safety, marketing and sales. Baker-Baumann also serves as a member of the former Second National Bank Board of Directors, which has since merged to become Park National Bank, now a member of the Western Division Advisory Board. She has served as the immediate Past Chair of the NFIB Ohio Leadership Council and a member of the Leadership Council for several years. Additionally, Baker-Baumann serves on Lt. Governor Jon Husted’s Small Business Advisory Board and as a Board Member of the Darke County Center for the Arts. 

Elizabeth S. Gutmann was sworn in to the Edison State Board of Trustees in June 2018. Gutmann earned her Juris Doctorate at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Wright State University. She spent 18 years serving the Miami County Municipal Court and was previously employed as a Prosecutor for the City of Piqua and as an Assistant Public Defender for Shelby County. Gutmann began her legal career in 1984 as an Associate with McCulloch, Felger, Fite & Gutmann Co., L.P.A., where she now serves in an Of Counsel position. An active member of the community, Gutmann is currently serving as President of the Miami County YMCA, Board Member of the Miami County Park District and Regional Representative to Bike Miami Valley for Bike Piqua. She has volunteered on behalf of many organizations including Piqua Catholic Schools, Lehman High School, Miami County CISV, Bruckner Nature Center, Miami County Family Abuse Shelter and the Girl Scouts. Gutmann and husband, Attorney Michael Gutmann are the proud parents of two children and a granddaughter. 

James C. Oda was elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees in January 2023. Oda has been a member of the Board since 2017. Oda graduated from Edison State Community College and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Wright State University. He currently serves as director of the Piqua Public Library and Municipal Historian for the City of Piqua. Oda's current community activities include serving as chairman of the Piqua Downtown Design Review Board, Piqua Planning Commission, Miami County Planning Commission, Piqua Tourism Council and serves on the boards of the Piqua Municipal Records Commission, Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce, Miami County Foundation and the Piqua Foundation. He is also the director of the St. John's Lutheran Church choir. Past activities include serving as president of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums, Miami County Visitors and Convention Bureau, Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce, Mainstreet Piqua Association, Access Piqua Television Association/Western Ohio Television Consortium (Channel Ten/Five), Piqua Arts Council, Johnston Farm Friends Board and Piqua Historical Society. He has served as an adjunct faculty member teaching history at Edison State Community College. Oda has worked for over ten years in archaeological field studies and excavations in New Mexico. He is also the author of dozens of books and articles on local and state history, including the award winning Encyclopedia of Piqua, Ohio.

Gary V. Heitmeyer began his six-year term in March 2015. Heitmeyer is president and principal of FDL Automation & Supply Company, a Sidney-based, full-service electrical distributor serving west central Ohio. After high school, Gary received four years of training in an apprenticeship program to become a journeyman electrician and studied electronics at Edison State Community College for two years. Heitmeyer is a strong supporter of the local community and has served on several boards and advisory committees including S&H Products, Shelby County United Way, Upper Valley Career Center, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, Sidney Noon Kiwanis, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Heitmeyer is currently board vice president of the Sidney­-Shelby County YMCA and was named YMCA building committee volunteer of the year in 2012, and served as chairman of the major gifts campaign in 2014. Gary and his wife, Angie, are the parents of two children and live near Sidney. Gary enjoys spending time with his family, flying, boating, anything to do with cars, home theatre consulting and traveling.

Dr. Thomas P. Milligan has been a member of the Edison State Community College Board of Trustees since 1999 and served as Chair from 2017 to 2019. Milligan's stewardship on the Board of Trustees includes testifying before the Ohio senate education committee on the importance of public and private alliances and their role in enhancing the quality of community college education throughout Ohio. Milligan played a significant role in the creation of partnerships during The Campaign for Edison Community College, which funded most of the cost to build the 35,000 square foot Emerson Center at the Piqua campus. The president, founder and owner of Western Ohio Cut Stone in Sidney since 1995, Milligan is an equity partner in two other local businesses serving the construction and land development sectors. In 2009, Milligan was chosen to receive the Excellence in Trusteeship Award sponsored by the OACC. In 2021, he received the ACCT Trustee Leadership Award for the Central Region.