Jamie Callender is an attorney, college professor, and former member of the Ohio General Assembly. He was elected as a Republican State Representative for Ohio's 70th and 62nd districts. He was limited to a maximum of four terms in the state legislature. After practicing law full-time as a partner at Buckley King LPA, he founded Callender Law Group and The Callender Group, education law and consulting firms based in Concord and Columbus, Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee. Callender is also an adjunct professor of political science at Kent State University for the Columbus Program in Intergovernmental Issues. In his spare time, he is a certified Master Scuba Diver, an FAA IR Certified Pilot, a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and Society of American Magicians, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
In 1997, Jamie Callender was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives for four terms (maximum under term limits) to represent District 70 (& eventually District 62), of western Lake County, which includes Concord Township, Eastlake, Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Lakeline, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Timberlake, Waite Hill, Wickliffe, Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, and Willowick. As Chairman of the Ohio House Education Committee, Representative Callender was an integral part of the creation of Ohio's charter school laws and shepherding legislative reforms thereafter as a champion of community ("charter") schools. He was instrumental in creating "value added" as a measurement of a child's educational progress. Representative Callender was appointed as Ohio's representative on the Education Commission of the States (ECS), and worked closely with the Bush administration and various state governors to develop the national education standards and accountability measurements as used today – work that led to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
Committee assignments
Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review
Chairman, 2001 & 2003Vice-Chairman, 2002 & 2004
Judiciary Committee
Vice-Chairman, 2004
Criminal Justice Committee
Vice-Chairman, 1999–2000
Civil and Commercial Law Committee
Chairman, 2001–2002Vice-Chairman, 2003–2004
Education Committee
Chairman, 2001–2002Vice-Chairman, 2003 - 2004
Boards, Commissions and Memberships
Professorial Member, Archaeological Institute of America
Member, Masonic Lodge, Willoughby 302
Member, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Cleveland
Precinct Committeeman, Lake County Republican Party
2010–2011, Education Committee Co-Chair, Rob Portman, U.S. Senate
2009–2011, Member, Mentor Public Library Board
2005–2009, Chairman/President and Founding Board Member, Ohio Association of Charter School Authorizers (OACSA)
1995–2007, Member – Paralegal Advisory Board, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, Ohio
1998–2004, Member – Board of Directors, Ohio Coalition for Suicide Prevent, Ohio Department of Mental Health
2002–2004, Board of Editors – Ohio Lawyer Magazine, Ohio State Bar Association
2002–2003, Ohio Representative - Appointed by Governor Robert A. Taft, Education Commission of the States
2001 -2003, Member – Board of Directors, Lifeline for the Empowerment and Development of Consumers
2001–2003, Member, Ohio State Board of Education
2001–2003, Member, Ohio Board of Regents
2002–2003, Member – Appointed by Governor, Ohio Closing Achievement Gaps Taskforce
2000–2002, Founding Member, OhioReads Council
2000–2002, Member, Lake County Emergency Coordination Taskforce
2001–2002, Member – Appointed by Governor, Governor's Commission on Teaching Success
1993–2000, Member, 1995–1998, President, Lake County Historical Society
1991–1995, Member, 1993–1995, Chairman, City of Willowick, Recreation Board
1988–1994, Member, 1988, Secretary, 1989, Vice President, 1990, President, Lake County Young Republicans
1989–1992, Chairman and Founding Board Member, Retinitas Pigmentosa Foundation of Ohio
Awards and honors
2011, 2013, Certificate of Partnership, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation
2011, Teaching Success Award, Kent State University, Columbus Program in Intergovernmental Issues
2004, Legislative Leadership Award, Ohio Association of County Boards of Mental Retardation
2004, Legislator of the Year, Ohio Trial Lawyers Association
2004, Special Recognition Award, G.P. Griffith Foundation Memorial
2003, Service Award, Best Friends of LEAF
2003, Person of Courage and Leadership Award, Ohio Charter Schools Association
2003, Civil Leadership in Gifted Education Award, Ohio Association for Gifted Children
2003, Closing the Achievement Gaps Award, Ohio State Board of Education
2003, Legislator of the Year, Ohio Association of Gifted Students
2003, Legislator of the Year, Ohio Education Music Association
2003, Citizen of the Year Award, Bridges Mental Health Consumer Empowerment
2003, Lake/Geauga Young Republicans, Charter School Association of Ohio
2002, Hall of Fame, Person of Courage and Leadership Award
2002, Ohio Person of Courage
2000, 1998, Watchdog of the Treasurery of Ohio
1999, Legislator of the Year, Ohio Staffing Services Association
1999, Media Award, Ohio Advocates for Mental Health
1998, Legislator of the Year, Ohio Advocates for Mental Health
1998, Defender of the 2nd Amendment Award, National Rifle Association (NRA)
1997, Precinct Committeeman of the Year, Lake County Republican Party
1997, The Robert M. La Follette Institute of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin
1992, Campaign Management College, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)
