Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel
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Outreach and Education
Linda Walls-Rominski
Linda Walls Rominski is the Community Outreach Manager with the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate. She joined the OCC in October 1996.
Linda directs the outreach and education activities of the Communications Department. She and her staff of outreach and education specialists provide seminars, workshops and public forums to educate consumers about a variety of utility topics.
Prior to joining the OCC, Linda worked for 13 years at DeVry Institute of Technology in career planning and placement. She served as Career Services Director and Dean of Corporate Relations. Prior to that she was employed in higher education administration for Marshall University and Southern West Virginia Community College. She also has experience designing curriculum and teaching at the college level.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from West Virginia University and a Master of Arts in counseling and guidance from Marshall University. Linda is active in the Ohio Wind Working Group and the Ohio Interagency Council for Environmental Education. Linda was also a member of the local organizing committee for the national solar conference, Solar 2007, and developed the consumer workshops for the event.
Amy Carles
Amy Carles is an outreach and education specialist with the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate. She joined the OCC in June 2004.
As an outreach and education specialist, Amy's responsibilities include conducting presentations to social and human service agencies, community and professional organizations and other interested groups on a wide range of utility topics including electric, natural gas, telephone and water. She also plays an active role in educating consumers about OCC's services by meeting with consumers, answering their questions and distributing information such as fact sheets, brochures and newsletters. Amy coordinates OCC's outreach and education efforts in the Northwest Ohio area.
Prior to joining the OCC, Amy was a consumer education coordinator with the Ohio Attorney General's office, where she was responsible for marketing, scheduling, coordinating and presenting education activities statewide. Additionally, she has worked as the director of complaint management and dispute resolution and the director of advertising review for the Better Business Bureau serving Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
Amy graduated from Owens Community College with an associate's degree in Sales and Marketing including a certificate in Supervision, and earned a certificate in Management Advancement from the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at The Ohio State University.
Ray Foeller
Ray Foeller is an outreach and education specialist with the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility advocate. He joined the OCC as a compliance investigator in November 1997 and moved to the Communications Department in December 1998.
As a specialist, Ray’s responsibilities include giving speeches to community and professional organizations on a wide range of utility topics including electric, natural gas, telephone and water. He also attends shows and fairs to increase awareness of OCC’s services by speaking with consumers, answering their questions and distributing information such as fact sheets, brochures and newsletters. Ray coordinates OCC’s outreach and education efforts in the Central Ohio area.
Before joining the OCC, Ray worked as a national product specialist with Simon and Schuster Education Publishing in its school division group focusing on Language Arts textbooks. Ray’s education background has helped him to make complex utility issues understandable to Ohio citizens.
Ray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Arts in English Education from The Ohio State University.
Benjamin Machado
Benjamin Machado is an outreach and education program specialist with the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility advocate. He joined the OCC in February 2001 as a compliance investigator.
Benjamin is bilingual and speaks fluent Spanish. As a specialist, his responsibilities include presenting speeches to community and professional organizations on a wide range of topics regarding electric, natural gas, telephone and water. He also attends shows and fairs to increase awareness of OCC’s services by speaking with consumers, answering their questions and distributing information such as fact sheets, brochures and newsletters. Benjamin coordinates outreach and education efforts in the southwest area of Ohio.
Before joining the OCC, Benjamin worked for United Behavioral Health of Ohio as an appeals coordinator on behalf of consumers in the New England Area. Benjamin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing from Franklin University.
Andrew Tinkham
Andrew Tinkham is an Outreach and Education Specialist with the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate. He joined the OCC in November 2002 as a compliance investigator in the consumer services division and later transferred to the communications department in November 2006.
As an outreach and education specialist, Andrew’s responsibilities include conducting presentations to social and human service agencies, community and professional organizations and other interested groups on a wide range of utility topics including electric, natural gas, telephone and water. He also plays an active role in educating consumers about OCC's services by meeting with consumers, answering their questions and distributing information such as fact sheets, brochures and newsletters. Andrew coordinates OCC’s outreach and education efforts in the Southeast Ohio area and throughout Ohio’s colleges and universities.
Before joining the OCC, he worked in various positions at CoreComm and as a customer support clerk at AirTouch Cellular. Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in communications from Otterbein College.
Chris Verich
Chris Verich joined the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility advocate, as an outreach and education specialist in March 2002.
As a specialist, Chris’ responsibilities include giving speeches to community and professional organizations on a wide range of utility topics including electric, natural gas, telephone and water. He also attends shows and fairs to increase awareness of OCC’s services by speaking with consumers, answering their questions and distributing information such as fact sheets, brochures and newsletters. Chris coordinates OCC’s outreach and education efforts in the northeast Ohio area.
Previously, Chris served in the Ohio legislature as a State Representative for the 66th District. During that time he sat on several important committees including public utilities and was heavily involved in drafting Senate Bill 3, which helped restructure Ohio’s electric market. Chris’ experience in telecommunications, marketing and promotions, as well as governmental relations has given him insight into the complex utility issues facing consumers.
Chris earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in political science from Kent State University.
Office
of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel - Your Residential Utility Consumer
Advocate 10 West Broad Street, Suite 1800, Columbus, Ohio 43215-3485
1-877-742-5622 (toll-free in Ohio) or 614-466-8574
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