Chief Executive & Artistic Director, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC)

Debbie Blunden-Diggs became Chief Executive & Artistic Director in 2024. She became Artistic Director for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) in 2007. In the fall of 2025, she received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Dayton in recognition of her dedication and commitment to dance and performing arts in Dayton and across the nation. In 2019, she was named Chief Artistic & Producing Director.  For over 20 years, she performed with the company, appearing in most of the company’s repertoire. Before becoming Artistic Director, she served as the company’s Associate Artistic Director, Deputy Director for Arts and Operations, and Resident Choreographer. In addition to her choreographic and artistic leadership, Ms. Blunden-Diggs is the Executive Director of Jeraldyne’s School of the Dance, the cornerstone of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and she works closely with DCDC’s pre-professional company, DCDC2. She has created works for the company, which have become part of the company’s artistic blueprint. Her notable works include Configurations, Kaleidoscope, Fragments, In My Father’s House, and Traffic. Her first piece, Variations in Blue, composed when she was 17, was submitted as an entry in the Young Choreographers Showcase and selected for inclusion in the National Choreographic Plan. She has contributed an impressive body of work, including No Room, No Place, No Where, for which she received a Monticello Award in 1982."

In May 2002, she adjudicated the Regional Dance America Northeast Competitions. Ms. Blunden-Diggs was Co-Director/Choreographer for The Human Race Theatre’s production of Crowns, as well as Director/Choreographer for Central State University’s original production of In The Pursuit of Wind among others. She created ballets for and worked with students at the University of Dayton, Sinclair Community College, Wright State University, Central State University, South Dayton Dance Theatre, and Stivers School for the Arts.

She served on the Board of Directors for "The International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD)" from 2000 to 2006. She has received numerous awards and accolades. Among them are honors from Regional Dance America, Monticello Choreographic Fellowships in 1979 and 1980, and two Individual Fellowship Awards from the Ohio Arts Council in 1981 and 1984. Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) awarded her the Black History Month Congressional Award for Community Service in recognition of 40 years of serving the community through dance and dance education.

The Fisk University Alumni Association honored her with an Excellence in Artistry Award, and she was awarded a Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District Master Fellowship for artistic excellence and community outreach initiatives in 2000. In 2014, she received the Image of Hope Youth Advocacy Award for her contributions to improving the lives of youth in the Greater Dayton area. Ms. Blunden-Diggs has been an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Technology Program and continues to serve on numerous boards: membership chair of the IABD, secretary for the National Board of Trustees of Dance/USA since 2020, and the Seedling Foundation Board for Stivers School for the Arts.

CEO, Brunner Literacy Center & Executive Director of Kettering Backpack Program

Myla Cardona-Jones is a proud Dayton native and currently serves as CEO of the Brunner Literacy Center and Executive Director of the Kettering Backpack Program. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati. Deeply passionate about literacy and food equity, Myla is dedicated to creating access and opportunity for all, making her dual roles a natural fit. Myla serves on the Board of Trustees at the Dayton Metro Library and is a Past President for the Junior League of Dayton. She serves on the Board of Directors at Rippl Affect, the Associate Board for the Dayton Art Institute, and on the Dayton Women’s Children’s Board. She is also a proud member of Welcome Dayton. In 2019, Myla was the NIA Faculty Award Recipient from Sinclair College, the Sally Riffle Award for Innovative Leadership recipient from the Junior League of Dayton, and a Forty Under 40 recipient from the Dayton Business Journal. That same year, she was also honored as one of the Top 25 Women to Watch by Women in Business Networking. She was a Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education award recipient in 2020 and a League of Innovation Excellence in Teaching Award recipient in 2022. In 2024, she was recognized as a Dayton BusinessJournal Diversity Champion and was recognized as a 2025 Dangerous Dame of Dayton by the League of Women Voters. Myla has been married for 16 years and is a proud mom to her 14-year-old son. She enjoys discovering new cuisines, coaching basketball, and traveling the world with her family.

President & CEO of Pink Ribbon Good

A 20 year breast cancer survivor and the driving force behind Pink Ribbon Good, Heather saw first hand how vitally important the support she received from family, friends and even strangers was during her own cancer battle and set out to ensure No One Travels This Road Alone. It all began with a $50,000 grant announced on The Ellen Show and after more than a decade and a lot of hard work, last year Heather led PRG to raise over $10 million to support those facing breast and gynecological cancer in eight regions of the country from Buffalo, New York to San Francisco, California. After starting out serving just four families in Ohio, PRG has now delivered over 1.5 million healthy meals to brave fighters and their families and has provided more than 150,000 rides to cancer treatments. Heather and her husband Steve are proud parents to four children and have been blessed with three amazing grandsons with more grandbabies on the way!

Executive Director, Preschool Promise, Inc.

Robyn Lightcap is the founding and acting Executive Director of Preschool Promise, Inc., the nonprofit in Dayton, Ohio, committed to helping every child in Montgomery County, Ohio, be ready for success in Kindergarten and beyond. Preschool Promise partners with schools, families, and community leaders to make sure all children have access to high-quality early childhood experiences from birth to age five. 

Robyn is passionate about bringing diverse groups of people together to develop a vision and implement a plan to improve the well-being of children and communities. She is the immediate past Chair of Groundwork Ohio, the statewide advocacy organization for early childhood, and is on the Governor’s Children and Youth Advisory Council. Robyn also serves on the boards of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance and the Grants Committee of the Warren County Foundation. 

Robyn lives in the Dayton region and loves to travel, visit art fairs and farmers markets, attend performing arts events, and explore new places with her three girls and her husband, Scott. Robyn completed her B.S. in Business from Wake Forest University in North Carolina and has led complex, new initiatives in business and nonprofit settings for over 20 years.

Executive Director, The Levitt Pavilion Dayton

Lisa Wagner is the Executive Director for the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, hired in 2017 to build and lead the non-profit organization with the mission of building community through the power of music, one free concert at a time.  Previously, Lisa spent 15 years of her career working as an arts administrator for the Victoria Theatre Association in the role of Vice President of Ticketing and Hospitality. Lisa attended Miami University, and she holds a certificate in Strategic Leadership for Non-Profits from the University of Pennsylvania. She also completed the Senior Management Institute in a joint program with National Arts Strategies and the University of Michigan.  She currently serves on the boards of the Downtown Dayton Partnership and Miami Valley Meals, and she is a member of Dayton Rotary.

She is celebrating 39 years of marriage with her husband, Rob, and they are both enjoying their growing family, as well as spending time traveling and playing golf.  

Betsy Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award

Vicki Giambrone is a lifelong advocate for women, children, and families whose leadership has helped advance equity, safety, and opportunity across the Miami Valley and Ohio. Her career has been shaped by a steadfast belief that systems should work for people—especially those most often left unheard—and that empowering women and protecting children strengthens entire communities.

As a Partner at CBD Advisors, Vicki works with healthcare organizations and nonprofits to advance policies, partnerships, and strategies that improve outcomes for children and families. Her work focuses on translating complex policies into meaningful action, ensuring that public systems are accountable, accessible, and responsive to community needs.

Vicki spent 24 years at Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she served as Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Business Development. There, she built nationally recognized advocacy and public affairs programs, strengthened access to pediatric care, and led philanthropic efforts that led to children’s advocacy centers and expanded services for children with complex medical, behavioral, and developmental needs. Her work consistently elevated the voices of families and reinforced the critical role children’s hospitals play as community anchors and safety nets.

Her commitment to women’s leadership and civic engagement includes eight years on Beavercreek City Council, serving as Vice Mayor and Mayor. During her tenure, she was the only female mayor of a top 25 Ohio city—demonstrating the importance of women’s representation in decision-making spaces and paving the way for others.

Vicki’s service extends deeply into the nonprofit sector, including leadership with the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton, Pink Ribbon Good, the Ohio Children’s Hospitals Association, and Ohio Kids First. A very proud two-time graduate of the University of Dayton, she taught Health Policy, served on the University’s Board of Trustees, and now holds the title of Trustee Emeritus. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and board-certified in healthcare administration and governance.

In 2021, Vicki received the Dayton Children’s Elsie T. Mead Lifetime Achievement Award. Her honors also include Dayton YWCA Woman of Influence, University of Dayton Distinguished Alumna, Dayton Daily News Top Ten Women, Woman of the Year for the Southwest Ohio Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Communicator of the Year from the Public Relations Society of America, Dayton Chapter.

Throughout her career, Vicki has remained committed to one principle: when women are empowered, children are protected, and families are supported, communities become safer, stronger, and everyone wins. And she wants you to know, she isn’t retiring, she is just getting started.