Email Jon Simons

Board President 
Term Ends: December 31, 2027

Jon Myron Simons was elected to the Princeton Board of Education in November 2019. He attended Princeton schools K-12, received his diploma, then attended and graduated from the United States Naval Academy and received his commission in the United States Navy. After receiving his honorable discharge, Jon pursued a civilian career with General Electric as an Engineer. Subsequent roles included a managerial role with Dell Computers and Director roles with Ernst &Young and Nationwide Insurance. For the past decade, Mr. Simons has retained ownership of several businesses, including a logistics franchise, real estate, a staffing company, and a Fed Ex franchise.

As a Princeton High School student, Jon served on the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, which ignited his drive to serve Princeton. As the Drum Major in the high school band, Jon learned to have an appreciation of parent volunteers in the music realm. Thus, he continues his financial support and membership within the current iteration of Music Boosters.

As a graduate of the Naval Academy and Princeton alumnus, Jon also participated in the inception of the Princeton Naval Junior ROTC program. This unique high school program continues to be a positive influence for Princeton students.

With a desire to bring corporate and business knowledge and his love for Princeton together, Jon has served as a Glendale PTA member and Vice President, along with being a Princeton Education Foundation Trustee and President. He has raised substantial money for the Princeton Closet and Education Foundation, which has benefited countless Princeton students.

He continues to hold the position of President of the LS Boehm Foundation, which provides scholarships to Princeton students. He serves the greater Princeton community by being a member of the Princeton-Sharonville Kiwanis. Jon continues to serve as a youth coach in basketball and continues to support the students as they matriculate from his program.

Mr. Simons is the father to four daughters, three who have attended Princeton, and one who is currently enrolled. Jon is married to Stacey DeGraffenreid, who is also a K-12 Princeton graduate, a University of Cincinnati Law graduate, and currently a Hamilton County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.

Email Jodi Kessler

Board Vice President
Term Ends: December 31, 2025

Jodi Kessler of Evendale was elected to the Princeton Board of Education in November of 2021, and was sworn in as a member of the Princeton Board of Education at the January 4, 2022, Organizational Meeting.

Jodi is an educator of 32 years, having taught visual arts at the high school level for the majority of her career.  Jodi earned her bachelor's and master's Degrees in Art Education from Miami University. Jodi has also worked as an adjunct professor at Xavier University and as an Upward Bound instructor at Miami University.

As a parent of four Princeton Vikings, Jodi volunteered as President of the Princeton Music boosters for four years.  She also was very active with the Evendale PTA when her children attended elementary school.  Currently, she serves as an ex officio trustee for the Princeton Education Foundation.  Jodi also serves as the President of the Evendale Cultural Arts Center Commission. 

Email Mary Cleveland

Board Member
Term Ends: December 31, 2025

Mary McAlister Cleveland was elected to the Princeton City Schools, Board of Education in November 2013 and re-elected November 2017.  Mary is a longtime advocate and volunteer within Princeton City Schools where she also serves as a Princeton Education Foundation Trustee, seeking creative ways to raise funds for programs to enrich our schools.   Ms. Cleveland is passionate about working together with students, parents, faculty, staff, and the community to make Princeton the best school district in the region. Mary was also appointed in January 2014 to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Great Oaks Career Campuses and re-appointed in 2017 for another three-year term. In January 2018, she was appointed to the Ohio School Board Association, Southwest Region Board of Education.

Bringing a diverse career background within the corporate, education and non-profit sectors, she has extensive experience in finding solutions to difficult challenges. Currently serving as Mission Advancement, Major Gifts Advisor with the American Heart Association, Mary is responsible for working with a wide variety of volunteers and individual donors who support the work of the AHA at the highest levels, assuring advancement of the organizations mission to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke. In 2017, she earned the coveted American Heart Association, Rome Betts for Excellence Award for her outstanding work.

Previously she served as CEO of the National Vitiligo Foundation, where she was responsible for creating, planning, developing, managing and coordinating programming with researchers, doctors, hospitals, patients, community and corporate stakeholders nationwide. A certified mediator, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experiences in human resources, operations, facility management, business and law.

She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Thomas More College and a Juris Doctorate from Salmon P. Chase, College of Law. She is a graduate of the Executive Service Corps of Cincinnati’s (ESCC) Executive Curriculum for Emerging Leaders (EXCEL) program.  As an adjunct faculty member at Brown Mackie College, she has taught computer, business and legal courses. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and has volunteered with many community organizations including the Great Rivers Council of the Girl Scouts of America, the Summer Work Experience in Law (SWEL) program and within several area public and private school districts.

Ms. Cleveland has been recognized in Who’s Who in Black Cincinnati as a community leader. Mary and her husband of 33 years Errol, a retired City of Cincinnati Firefighter Safety Officer, reside in Sharonville and have four children who have attended/graduated from Princeton City Schools, Erin (attended PCS, Ursuline ‘05), Mallory (PCS ’07), Elayna (PCS ’14) and Maxwell (PCS ‘17), where the learning capabilities spanned from gifted to special needs.

Email Gina Ruffin Moore

Board Member
Term Ends: December 31, 2027

Gina Ruffin Moore was elected to the PCSD Board of Education in November 2015.  She is a passionate supporter of educational social justice to ensure all students are prepared for college, a career, and life success. Her strong commitment to strengthen schools stems from a desire to continue to attract and retain top students and build on academic, fine arts and athletic programs. Her political career includes a four-year stint as an elected member of the Woodlawn Village Council.

Gina attended PCSD schools and is a graduate of Princeton High School. She attended Ohio University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, with a concentration on broadcast news, public relations and political science. She also has a Master’s in Education with a concentration on Human Resources, Development & Training from Xavier University. She is a certified Expert On-the-Job (OJT) Trainer.

Gina has worked most of her career in training and public relations for local municipal government and at the University of Cincinnati. She was an on-air news reporter for WLW-AM, WAKW-FM, WMOH-AM, WUBE-FM, WGRR-FM and WCIN-AM. Her other leadership roles include Board memberships at Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the Woodview Homeowners’ Association. She is a Sunday school teacher at Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Woodlawn, active in Toastmasters International and the Greater Cincinnati Association of Training and Development.  

She also served on the Princeton Scholarship Committee and as a volunteer for the Princeton Marching Band Boosters. Gina is co-founder of the Woodlawn Historical and Preservation Society. She is the author of a book on Cincinnati titled "Cincinnati: Black America Series." 

Gina and her husband have two college-educated children who are also Princeton High School graduates. 

Email Susan Wyder

Board Member
Term Ends: December 31, 2027

Susan Wyder of Springdale was elected to the Princeton Board of Education in November 2011. She has a degree from Ohio Dominican in English and Speech/Drama, and also received an MA in English from Xavier University. Susan and her husband, Walter, a former Princeton Board member, have lived in the district for 41 years. Their four children, Gretchen (orchestra teacher), Rachael (sales executive), Jennifer (mother), and Charlie (architect/structural engineer) went entirely through Princeton, and she feels they are where they are in life, in great part, because of the incredible education they received at Springdale Elementary, Princeton Junior High School, and Princeton High School.

As a parent, she has served as PTA President as well as President of Princeton Music Boosters twice and editor of their newsletter for several years. She was an employee of Princeton, beginning in 1980, until her retirement at the end of 2011. As a teacher, she considers herself most fortunate to have had a rich career, in which she had the opportunity to work with so many dedicated, talented staff members and so many wonderful children, each one a unique gift.

As a professional, Susan has been Sharonville Intermediate Leader, a team leader at Princeton Community Middle School, director/producer of the Sharonville Renaissance, coordinator of the Sharonville Giving Tree, and organizer of the Princeton Closet. She was also lucky enough to take violin lessons for several years with her fifth graders, courtesy of the amazing Princeton Music Department, and she performed on the Princeton stage in THE SOUND OF MUSIC (a fundraiser for the Princeton Scholarship Fund) with Mrs. Sandy Leach, a former Princeton Board of Education member. 

As Susan’s teaching days were winding down, she knew that she wanted to give back to Princeton, and the opportunity to serve on the Board of Education would be one way in which that might be accomplished. She thinks that her firsthand classroom experience, working with staff and students, can be an asset in policy and decision making, and she plans to devote her efforts to ensure that all Princeton students continue to receive the depth and breadth of education that are the "Princeton Advantage."