Commission Members

Merom Brachman, of Bexley, Ohio was elected as Chairman of the Ethics Commission in February 2022 and has served on the Ohio Ethics Commission for many years. Mr. Brachman is a retired Columbus business executive. He previously worked as Chief of Staff for a United States Senator and for the Secretary of the Interior in Washington D.C. Mr. Brachman received his Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree from Harvard University. He served in the United States Air Force and has been active on numerous public and community boards.

Term Expires: 1/1/2031

Mark A. Vander Laan, of Cincinnati, Ohio was re-elected Vice Chairman of the Ethics Commission in January 2023 and has served on the Commission since April 2016. Mr. Vander Laan serves as Litigation Director to the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, which advocates for those who are incarcerated or who encounter legal roadblocks as a consequence of criminal convictions. He is also Of Counsel with Dinsmore & Shohl LLP law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has 50 years’ legal experience, including business and fiduciary litigation, white collar crime and investigations. In addition to his work at the law firm, he teaches legal ethics as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and is very active in his community. He graduated Cum Laude from Hope College and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.

Term Expires: 1/1/2027

Megan C. Kelley, of Delaware, Ohio was appointed to the Commission in March 2016 and is currently serving her second term. Ms. Kelley currently serves as the Vice President and General Legal Counsel for United Church Homes, a national nonprofit senior living provider. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Assisted Living Association, a statewide professional association representing senior living providers, and as Vice President for National Church Residences, the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing and aging services. Prior to her career in the senior living industry, she also worked in the Ohio Legislature.

Term Expires: 1/1/2028

Mary M. Ross-Dolen, of Bexley, Ohio, was appointed to the Commission in March, 2023. Dr. Ross-Dolen is a retired physician and serves on the board of her family’s business, Highlights for Children, Inc. She is a writer of literary non-fiction and a community volunteer, having served on numerous non-profit boards. She received her BA from Wellesley College, her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and her MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Term Expires: 1/1/2029

Jennifer L. Sheets, of Pomeroy, Ohio, was appointed to the Commission in February 2026. She has been in private legal practice since 1982. Ms. Sheets earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from The Ohio State University and graduated summa cum laude from Capital University Law School. Ms. Sheets previously served on the Ohio State Board of Education from 1995 to 2009 and was elected to five two-year terms as president. During her tenure, she served on several statewide education initiatives, including the Governor’s Commission on Student Success, the Governor’s Commission on Teaching Success, the Blue Ribbon Panel on School Funding, and the Joint Council of the State Board of Education and the Board of Regents. She is currently serving as president of the Meigs County Foundation, on the Board of Directors of the Home National Bank in Racine, Ohio, as treasurer of the Meigs County Community Improvement Corporation, and secretary of the Foothills Music Foundation Board of Directors.

Term Expires: 1/1/2032

Christian H. Stickan, of Mayfield Village, Ohio, was appointed to the Commission on October 10, 2025. He graduated from John Carroll University and received his Juris Doctor from Indiana University Law School at Indianapolis while working as a probation officer for the criminal courts. He then served as an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit for the Northern District of Ohio for over 30 years. He served as an Enforcement Attorney for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and then as an Assistant U.S Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit. He served his community as a court-appointed Volunteer Juvenile Court Magistrate.

Term Expires: 1/1/2030

Paul M. Nick serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio Ethics Commission where he oversees the state-wide responsibilities of the Commission. Mr. Nick joined the Ohio Ethics Commission in 1995 and has previously served as the Commission’s Chief Investigative Attorney where he supervised the Commission’s investigations and as Investigative Counsel. Before joining the Ethics Commission staff, Mr. Nick served with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office as an assistant city prosecutor and assistant city attorney in the civil division. Mr. Nick received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, his Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Accounting from Franklin University, and his Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University.