"Doing does it."

Educator. Leader. Problem Solver.

I am honored have served for two terms as the State Representative for Ohio House District 19 from 2019 - 2022 and to have been re-elected in 2022 for a third term for the newly configured District 4. Since taking office, I have been working hard for you. (The photo at the top of the page includes three of my four brothers taken during the campaign.)

I have a varied background, including an undergraduate major from Harvard in Asian Studies (specializing in China and Chinese) and a PhD from Ohio State in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education. I also have international experience in Thailand (1969-70), China (June 1990), and Indonesia (July 2008); 28 years in public education (including eight years with the Columbus City Schools and fourteen at Ohio State); and a lifetime of living on small farms with horses.

My late husband grew up in Ohio (Tiffin), went to Harvard, and had a doctorate from MIT in environmental engineering. We moved from Massachusetts to our current location in Plain Township in 1988 so our children could grow up knowing their grandparents, all 4 of whom were still living in our childhood homes at the time.

Our children, now grown and living out of state, all graduated from Westerville North High School as National Merit Finalists; all three majored in a science in college. My two granddaughters are delightful and treasured.

Leadership in Ohio

I have leadership experience with the state and national science teachers’ professional associations, the Westerville Public Library as a member of the board of Trustees, and the First Congregational Church in Columbus as a deacon. Every year I taught in public schools I was a member of the teachers’ union, and I was an active volunteer in the schools my children attended. For example, I was very active with the Westerville North Academic Boosters for many years.

In college I was elected as the president of the student government and as captain of my field hockey teams in high school and college.

More Background

I started out as a country girl – grew up in Pepper Pike, east of Cleveland when there were fewer houses and far more open land than are there now, and graduated from Orange High School. My Dad was a Republican and businessman. My Mom is a Democrat, an educator and author, and former school board member. I am the 6th of 7 children, and we remain close although we are scattered from Maine to Alaska. Our Family Motto is “Doing does it.” This meant that we each developed a work ethic that has stayed with us.

While my husband Rick was enrolled in a PhD program in environmental engineering at MIT he learned during a routine physical that his kidneys were failing, and that he would be on dialysis within the next 18 months. The news was devastating, but a diagnosis of a serious medical issue was not unique to us; I am sure many of you either have or know someone close to you who faces a medical challenge.

We addressed the issue by arranging to do Rick’s hemodialysis treatments at home, which meant our three children grew up with their father hooked to a dialysis machine in the family room three nights a week. We never let the machines dictate our lives, but took them with us on vacation, doing dialysis runs at our parents’ homes and even at a family cabin in Canada where there was neither running water nor electricity.

Rick eventually got a kidney transplant but after 16 years his immune system was no longer able to defend him from infections, and after a serious but brief illness and hospitalization in the fall of 2009 he came home, and died a few days later in his sleep.

I was absolutely not prepared for his death. But when I emerged from the fog, I realized that we only get one chance at life. Although I have been in public service through my teaching for years, I wanted to find a way to move into a larger public service opportunity. I continue to teach at Ohio State Newark, and I served as a member of the Westerville Public Library Board of Trustees, as a deacon at First Congregational Church in Columbus.

I was a first time candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives for the open seat in 2018 and was thrilled to be elected to that position. That same “Doing does it.” spirit I learned from my family helped me all the years we managed Rick’s medical regimes, our family, and our work, and has absolutely helped me as I moved into the leadership position to represent you, and to make a difference in our community and state.

My Early Adult Years

I stayed home with my children for ten years while my husband was starting his career as a university professor. We carried three mortgages to pay for our first home, a small house in a small town near his campus. In college I had learned how to cook dinner for 35, to make bread, to sew, and to knit, which helped me in our early married life. In the lean years that followed our move, I made all the children’s clothes, kept a large garden, and “put food by” to reduce on the grocery bill. I think we could not survive on one salary these days, as many others in our community know all too well.

Now that I am in the State House, I am fighting for a living wage and fair policies that support working families.

 This page contains information from earlier re-election campaigns. Rep. Lightbody retired 1/9/24.