2015 Annual Convention
Representing Veterans in Crisis
Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
1.5 General CLE Hours
April 29 – May 1, 2015 ♦ Sandusky
Speaker Biographies
Honorable Taryn L. Heath
Presiding Judge
Stark County Court of Common Pleas
Canton, Ohio
Judge Heath has been Stark County Court of Common Pleas Judge since 2007 and Presiding Judge of Stark
County Honor Court (Veterans Treatment Court) since 2011. She is co-chair of the Ohio Attorney General’s
Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness Subcommittee on Veteran Treatment Courts and Military
Affairs and Chair of the Stark County HOPE Program, which is a collaborative effort of community partners
designed to assist offenders with mental illness. Judge Heath received her BA from Miami University and her
JD from The University of Akron School of Law. She also has served as a prosecutor for the City of Alliance, an
Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio, and as magistrate for the Canton Municipal Court for
13 years. Judge Heath is the current president of the Stark County Bar Association, is past president of the
Stark County Association for Justice, and is immediate past chairperson of the Stark County Corrections
Planning Board. She has served on boards of the Stark County District Library, the Association for Better
Community Development, Inc., and The University of Akron Law School Alumni Association. Judge Heath also
chairs the Mandate Task Force for the Stark County Commissioners and is leading efforts to implement e-filing
for the various divisions of the common pleas court and the Stark County Clerk of Courts. She was
instrumental in the establishment of the Foreclosure Mediation Program for the Court.
Frederick Stratmann
Ohio Department of Veterans Services
Columbus, Ohio
Mr. Stratmann serves as Chief Legal Counsel for the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. In this capacity, he
oversees a wide variety of veteran-justice related initiatives. Mr. Stratmann has been a proponent of
expanding Veterans Treatment Courts in more counties in Ohio and has worked with existing courts on
important issues like developing performance metrics and finding sustainable funding sources. He also has
worked with Ohio Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition and Project VETS to address issues like recidivism and
ensuring proper treatment for veterans with lingering health and mental health concerns. Mr. Stratmann was
named Interim Superintendent of the Ohio Veterans Homes in January 2014 in addition to his regular duties as
Chief Legal Counsel. He now oversees an 800-bed long-term care network that provides serviced to Ohio’s
wartime veterans. Mr. Stratmann is responsible for two facilities with over 800 employees and an annual
budget exceeding $100 million. He also has worked as a litigation attorney in several firms in Columbus. Mr.
Stratmann has handled large-scale collection cases, domestic relations matters, appellate work, and
commercial litigation. In addition, he has developed a specialty practice representing professional athletes in
child support and divorce matters. Prior to private practice, Mr. Stratmann had a 20-year career in state
government. He worked as a communications professional and speechwriter in executive and legislative
branch offices in Ohio and his home state of New York. He is a graduate of Siena College and Capital University
Law School. Mr. Stratmann served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1984 to 1990 and earned an honorable
discharge. He serves as board member for the Ohio Military/Veterans Legal Assistance Project, which provides
free legal services to active duty military members and veterans. Mr. Stratmann serves as Co-Chair of the Ohio
State Bar Association’s Military and Veterans Law Committee, was a member of the 2014 Ohio State Bar
Association Leadership Academy, and has been selected a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
Former Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP
Columbus, Ohio
Justice Stratton received her JD from The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law. She retired
from the Supreme Court of Ohio after 23 years in the judiciary to pursue criminal justice reforms, particularly
as they relate to mental health, juveniles, and veterans. Ms. Stratton began her legal career as a trial lawyer in
the courtrooms of Central Ohio. In 1989, she was the first woman to be elected judge of the Franklin County
Common Pleas Court, where she became known as “The Velvet Hammer” for her approach to sentencing in
serious felony cases. Justice Stratton’s success on the trial bench led to an appointment in 1996 to the
Supreme Court of Ohio, where she was elected to a third term in 2008. She formed the Supreme Court of Ohio
Advisory Committee on Mental Illness and the Courts, which was composed of mental health, law
enforcement, and criminal justice professionals who were dedicated to mental health initiatives in the court
system. That committee has now merged into the Attorney General Task Force on Mental Illness and Criminal
Justice, and Justice Stratton still serves as co-chair along with Attorney General Mike DeWine. Nationally, she
is a co-founder and former co-chair of the Judges’ Leadership Initiative, a professional association that
supports cooperative mental health programs in the criminal justice system. Justice Stratton’s latest focus in
Ohio and nationally is on establishing veterans courts to help those returning veterans with post-traumatic
stress, traumatic brain injury and other issues, whose problems may lead to involvement in the criminal justice
system. Since retiring from the bench, she works through EStratton Consulting, LLC on criminal justice reforms,
particularly focusing on engaging the judges in different states in these reform efforts. Justice Stratton is also
of counsel to Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP. Among her many honors are the Congressional Coalition
on Adoption Angels Award, as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Adoption Excellence
Award. Additionally, in May 2008, Justice Stratton received an Ellis Island Medal of Honor at a ceremony in
New York City. Ranking among the nation’s most prestigious awards, recipients are listed in the Congressional
Record. For additional information, please visit www.vorys.com.
Dwayne Williams, LISW
Specialist, Veterans Justice Outreach Program
Veterans Affairs
Cleveland, Ohio
Lisa M. Williams
Program Coordinator
Stark County Honor Court
Canton, Ohio
Ms. Williams is the Program Coordinator for Stark County Honor Court and has served in that position for four
years. She provides case management for all pending and active Honor Court Veterans and is responsible for
advisory and team meetings, special events, and overseeing the Honor Court Mentor Program. Ms. Williams
serves on the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness Subcommittee on
Veteran Treatment Courts and Military Affairs, as well as the Stark County Veterans Task Force. She received
her BA from Kent State University and an associate’s degree in Applied Business in Legal Assisting Technology
from Stark State College.
Scott Zehnder
Intensive Supervision Probation Officer
Stark County Honor Court
Canton, Ohio
Mr. Zehnder is a Probation Officer with Intensive Supervision Probation and has served in that position for the
past two years. He has been assigned as a probation officer to the Stark County Honor Court for over one year.
Mr. Zehnder is responsible for monitoring all Honor Court Veterans and ensuring that all participants are
following Honor Court Rules, as well as Intensive Supervision Probation Rules. He served from 2009-2013 in
the U.S. Air Force Reserve Security Forces and received his Bachelor of Criminal Justice from West Liberty
University.
Representing Veterans in Crisis
Former Justice Evelyn Lundberg
Stratton
Former Justice of the Supreme Court of
Ohio
Of Counsel
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP
Columbus, Ohio
Frederick Stratmann
Ohio Department of Veterans Services
Columbus, Ohio
Honorable Taryn L. Heath
Presiding Judge
Stark County Court of Common Pleas
Canton, Ohio
Lisa M. Williams
Program Coordinator
Stark County Honor Court
Canton, Ohio
Scott Zehnder
Intensive Supervision Probation Officer
Stark County Honor Court
Canton, Ohio
Dwayne Williams, LISW
Specialist, Veterans Justice Outreach
Program
Veterans Affairs
Cleveland, Ohio
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