Nominees for Primary Ballot

2025 CLASS TRUSTEE NOMINEES

Orson Abram
My experience as a double-degree Oberlin student in both the college and conservatory alike makes me an unusual but qualified candidate for being on the board of Trustees at Oberlin. Whether it may be bringing acclaimed guest artists to talk and perform at Oberlin (such as Sarah Davachi and Alex Da Corte), or being a Barefoot Dialogue facilitator for the Trans Identity and Experience group, I traversed many paths and groups during my experience at Oberlin.

As a trustee, I would continue to bridge the gap between the Conservatory and College, advocate for neurodiverse and disabled communities on campus as a fellow neurodiverse person, work to keep OSCA intact (as an OSCA ally), and keep the art of student protests intact on Oberlin’s campus. As an Ohioan, I also have an awareness for Oberlin’s surroundings and a contextualization for the sociopolitical environment that surrounds Oberlin. I also can appreciate and contextualize Oberlin's place within its surrounding communities. I will be furthering my studies during the next two years at BGSU, so I will be committed to northern Ohio for at least two more years. I hope you will consider my interest in serving with you on the board.

Thank you for your time and consideration!
Orson Abram
they/them
TIMARA and Cinema and Media majors, English minor
Oberlin Conservatory and College 2025

Jackie Brick
Hi everyone — I miss you all!

At Oberlin, I was a writing tutor, a memco in OSCA, a Ninde tutor, a Review writer, and a Student Advisory Board member, where I led the staff appreciation thank-you note campaign (cookies for thank-you notes in Mudd!). Providing feedback to the administration about Azzie’s renovations, dining hall closures, etc. has prompted me to run for the Board of Trustees.

I’m running for the Board because I believe students deserve more input and transparency on major Board decisions — things like off-campus housing cuts, OSCA rent increases, scholarship funding, faculty governance, and post-grad career support. As a student, we often didn’t know about decisions the board is making until after they happened. Ultimately, Oberlin is a college, not a business; students should have a voice in proposals about where to cut costs or invest in new projects.

Three student Board members can’t fully reflect Oberlin’s diversity — OSCA, athletes, international students, the Con, etc. As a board member, I would push for student and alumni surveys before major Board votes, accessible trustee newsletters, open Board forums or Q&A sessions, and to hold regular hours to hear from both students and alumni directly about their concerns.

Thanks for the consideration and an amazing 4 years!

Jonathan Clark
Oberlin profits off its culture of progressiveness and diversity while repressing its students’ demands to make meaningful, institutional change in line with this reputation. As a member of Oberlin’s OSCA (Harkness + Keep), conservatory (jazz guitar), and scientific (chemistry research) circles, I am positioned to bring relevant student values to trustee discussion and policy. Addressing disconnects like the phasing-out of off-campus housing and the funding of Palestinian genocide, I will be an active voice working with the board to introduce our embodied student values to Oberlin’s legal DNA. 

Natalie Dufour
My name is Natalie Dufour (she/her) and I would be honored to serve as your 2025 Class Trustee. I strongly believe that our Board of Trustees can improve by listening openly to the voices and opinions of students and recent graduates and implementing changes. At Oberlin, I served on Student Senate all four years, which taught me how to support students by working with the administration and advocating to the Board of Trustees. While I did what I could as a Senator and as the President of the Student Body last year, I believe that I can do more to uplift and address student concerns as a Class Trustee. I know that I am qualified for this position because of my existing knowledge of administrative systems and my dedication to what we all believe Oberlin can be. As a Class Trustee, I will push for increased transparency of information between the Board and students including face to face meet & greets/Q&A sessions during regularly scheduled board meetings.

In addition to serving on Student Senate, during my four years at Oberlin, I played on the Varsity Volleyball Team, worked as a PAL, organized with OC Votes and with Sunrise Oberlin, participated in VIBE Dance, served on the French and Politics Majors committees, and was a co-lead in an OSTA play. I have a well-rounded Oberlin background that I know will give me the knowledge of our campus needed to successfully advocate for progress on the Board of Trustees.

Bryn Kearney
Bryn Kearney is a recent Oberlin College graduate who double majored in Environmental Studies and Economics. She received high honors for her environmental studies thesis exploring the impacts of exposure to positive climate action via digital signage. She is currently serving as a NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellow working with the Rutgers University Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences on various education and engagement initiatives throughout New Jersey. She is extremely passionate about divestment and sustainability, and she plans to actively strive to realign the board with the values of the Oberlin College community and beyond.

Mark Kliesen
I remember people calling it Hogwarts. Past Obies spinning this magical picture of a magical place, hidden in a corner of Ohio’s rurality. They were right.

My name is Mark Kliesen. I’m a violist who studied at Oberlin with Professor Peter Slowik. And this actually wouldn’t be the first board I’ve served on. I, from 2023-2025, served on the youth advisory council for the American Viola Society. Our goal and our mission was to help young violists everywhere find our society. We guided the main council with our perspective. We tried some projects like a recital series. But mostly, we gave our take. What is it like being young, now? How can this institution serve you better? That seems just like this role.

I passionately believe in Oberlin’s magic. I want to see it thrive. Our community in the con is always a bit unique in the Oberlin landscape - I’d love to bring that perspective, and also talk about how we could integrate better. How Oberlin should change, and, more importantly, how we can magic from dimming.

Fay Levin
My name is Fay Levin, I am a recent graduate of the Oberlin College Biology Department. I grew up in New York City, but over the years have been lucky to call many places home. Community is what defines "home" for me, and my passion is always to serve my community. At Oberlin, I have done so in the past by leading the Oberlin Pre-Health Society, introducing the role of health and safety liaison to the student senate, and being part of various committees. Though graduation has made it so that I have physically left Oberlin my goal is to continue to be an active member of the Oberlin community—to make sure Oberlin always remains not only the place where I received a wonderful education, but also my home.

Sean Norton
Hi! I’m running for the Board because I’d like to represent You! I’m interested in being a voice for the newest generation of alums and current students, and lending our perspectives to a board whose members have expressed feeling disconnected from the thoughts and feelings of the younger generations of Obies. I’d like to work closely with the other two Class Trustees to build positive relationships with the rest of the board, and try to push Oberlin to live up to its principles. I called OSCA home for three years, and before Oberlin I attended and helped run a democratic free school. Through those many years of high-friction self-governance meetings I came to enjoy the process of talking through problems with people I don’t agree with and coming up with creative solutions, and I’d like to continue that kind of work on the Board.

These are uncertain times for colleges, and as scary as that may be, I think that break from the norm is an opportunity for Oberlin to make radical changes to fight the ongoing effects of financialization, corporatization, and profit maximization that we’ve all felt during our time at Oberlin. Not to mention the external threats from Washington currently plaguing higher education. I’ll use my voice on the Board to try to push Oberlin to stop hunkering down, trying to stay under the radar and covering its ass, and start making deep changes for a more interesting future.

Beyond that, I’ll work with as many allies as I can on the Board and in the administration to push Oberlin to wield the weight of our endowment, primarily symbolic as it may be, to divest from companies supporting Israel and their Genocide in Gaza.

On the Homefront I’ll continue to be a staunch advocate for OSCA and the cooperative values underlying it while on the Board. I look forward to working with you!

Love,
Sean <3

Ania Ocasio
My name is Ania Ocasio, and I would be honored to serve as your Class Trustee. While the true essence of our respective Oberlin experiences cannot fully be captured in a blanket statement about campus life, a unifying value of our class has always been the understanding that money holds power, and that using it intentionally can be a catalyst for great good. As Class Trustee, I will uphold the virtues our class has long defended, including the expansion of support systems for first-generation and low-income students, the protection of worker unions and cooperatives, and ensuring our finances do not further the oppression and abuse of the Palestinian people. Throughout my time at Oberlin, I worked with a wide range of student organizations, serving as President of the Bike Co-op, Chair of the Board of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA), and a volunteer with the El Centro Volunteer Initiative. I was also one of the founding officers of the Oberlin College Moot Court Team, served as a student advocate on the Oberlin Community Board, represented students in the History Design Lab and Environmental Studies department, and collected data for the Office of Energy and Sustainability that contributed to Oberlin’s 2025 carbon neutrality certification. I lead with the recognition that our student body is not static, and as Class Trustee, I will ensure our values are equally represented with accountability, care, and strength.

Trevor Sebrane
Math/Econ Major, History minor, 2025 graduate.
I have 2 reasons I want to do it.

Firstly, I have quite a few opinions about how Oberlin college spends their money vs how I think it should be spent, especially surrounding food options and housing, and would like to be a voice to fix the issues.

Second, I just kinda want an excuse to occasionally go back and check up on how it’s going, especially with some professors I enjoyed having.

Arrieanna Solomon
Hello everyone, I’m Arrie Solomon. I am seeking the class-elected position on Oberlin College’s Board of Trustees because I am passionate about ensuring that student voices are meaningfully represented in the decisions that shape our institution. Oberlin has a long history of progressiveness, activism, creativity, and academic rigor, and our input as students (and alumni) is meant to keep the institution accountable to its legacy. As a former co-chair of the Student Finance Committee, I have a strong understanding of certain aspects of Oberlin’s financial system and how funding can directly impact student life. In this regard, I will be able to serve as an advocate for the students’ needs and critically engage with the complexities of the institution’s finances. I want to be a trustee who helps bridge the gap between students and leadership, bringing forward concerns and ideas from my peers while supporting policies that make Oberlin stronger for current and future generations. Serving on the Board would be both an honor and a responsibility I take seriously. Thank you for your consideration.    

Olivia Wohlgemuth
Hi! My name is Olivia and I would be honored to serve as your Class Trustee. During my time at Oberlin, I had a lot of interaction with the Board through my advocacy for Oberlin’s divestment from the Israeli occupation. I have had many meetings with the Chair of the Board and other Trustees, and understand a lot about the inner workings of the Board, its policies, and its investments. As a student, I was also in OSCA for all four years, and served as the Chair of the ExCo committee. As Class Trustee, I would vow to be a passionate advocate for the issues that are most important to our class and to the current Oberlin student body.