Jamie Callender

Ohio General Assembly

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 & 2003 Vice-Chairman, 2002 & 2004

Judiciary Committee 

Vice-Chairman, 2004

Criminal Justice Committee 

Vice-Chairman, 1999–2000

Civil and Commercial Law Committee 

Chairman, 2001–2002 Vice-Chairman, 2003–2004

Education Committee 

Chairman, 2001–2002 Vice-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)