Meet Our Board

The Board of Trustees is composed of descendants of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah Jane Leary Evans, members of the Oberlin’s African American genealogy and history community, members of Oberlin’s historic preservation community, and members of the Oberlin College community.

Doris E. Hughes-Moore

President

Doris Hughes-Moore is a committed member of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society and is
working alongside so many committed to the preservation of the legacy of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah. Jane Evans and advancing their commitment for uplift to all seeking social and economic parity with educational opportunities for all. She is also the great-great Grand-daughter of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah Jane Evans.

Phyllis Yarber Hogan

Vice President

Phyllis Yarber Hogan is a life-long resident of Oberlin, Ohio.  She retired from Oberlin College after serving 42 years as an administrative assistant.  Phyllis is a founding member of the Oberlin African-American Genealogy History Group (OAAGHG) and currently serves on the Board of the Oberlin House of The Lord Fellowship and Ruby N. Jones Community Scholarship Fund RNJCSF.

Annessa Wyman

Secretary

Annessa Wyman is an Oberlin resident and committed Trustee for the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society.

Catherine Grooms

Treasurer

Catherine Grooms is a Great-Great-Great Granddaughter of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah Jane Leary Evans. 

Catherine Grooms leads and manages the SBDC hosted by College of the Canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley, San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley and Metro Los Angeles.  She works with thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs, and has broad experience prior to joining the SBDC working with public and private companies both small and large on the East Coast, in the Midwest and in California including a variety of industries both domestic and international. Catherine has a BBA in Accounting from Howard University and an MBA (Accounting/Management Concentration) from the University of Baltimore. She is a graduate of the Leadership Development Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Executive Education; and the Leadership Development Program at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Gary Kornblith

Trustee

Gary Kornblith is Professor of History Emeritus at Oberlin College and has resided in Oberlin for forty years. With Carol Lasser, he is the joint author of Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio, published by Louisiana State University Press in 2018. Gary and Carol raised their three children in Oberlin. 

Gary is a long-standing member of the Oberlin African-American Genealogy and History Group and of the Oberlin Heritage Center, and he serves on the board of Oberlin Community Services.  He is proud to be a founding member of The Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society.

Liz Schultz

Trustee

Liz Schultz is the Executive Director of the Oberlin Heritage Center, a local historical society that collects and interprets Oberlin’s unique heritage and advocates for local history and preservation projects. Liz holds degrees in anthropology and museum studies and moved to Oberlin in 2007. She began as the education coordinator of OHC and regularly shared the history of the Evans family with visitors and residents and is excited to be part of this next stage of sharing Evans family stories.

Richard Hughes

Trustee

Richard Hughes (“Richy”) is a great, great, great grandson of Wilson Bruce and Sarah Jane Evans and a founding board member of the society.  Richy is a director of quality assurance for a global clinical pharmacology “biotech” with decades of experience in laboratory, environmental, and pharmaceutical industries. Richy lives with his wife, Michelle, and 2 (two) sons Levi Russell Hughes and Simon Lewis Hughes. Both of which are great, great, great, great grandsons of Wilson and Sarah. Moreover, Simon’s middle name, Lewis, honors the ultimate sacrifice paid by Lewis Sheridan Leary at the Harper’s Ferry, with Reverend John Brown.

Melany Hughes, MD, MPH, FACS

Trustee

Melany Hughes is a great, great, great grandchild of Sarah Jane Leary Evans and Wilson Bruce Evans. Melany is Vice Chair of Surgery/Service Chief at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.

Camille Hamlin Allen Ph.D.

Trustee

Camille Hamlin Allen, Ph.D., is a native of Oberlin, Ohio. Professionally, she spent 40 plus years working in the field of higher education, both as a licensed professional counselor and as a college administrator.

She is a founding member and past president of the Oberlin African American Genealogy and History Group; a member, docent, chair of the Westwood Cemetery GPS gravesite identification project and past trustee of the Oberlin Heritage Center; and a charter member of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society.

She is passionate about giving voice to the historical experiences of women of color, who were often only shadows within the historical records and whose voices were suppressed as background noise. Camille wants the world to know and acknowledge, “We too were here.”

Donna Russell

Trustee

Donna Russell is the Assistant Dean of Academic Advising Resource Center at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. Donna has been been a part of the community for twenty-three years and has served with various community service organizations as well as participated in outreach and service at Oberlin College. Mrs. Russell has served with various community service organizations as well as participated in outreach and service at Oberlin
College. Mrs. Russell always admired Oberlin’s rich history and the community appreciation and celebration of Oberlin’s rich history, and serves as a Trustee for WBEHHS as another channel to contribute to Oberlin’s as shared national treasure. Donna shares her passion for education and community contribution with her husband, Kurt Russell. WBEHHS is honored to have her support.

Brigette Cardwell-Johnson

Trustee

Brigette Cardwell-Johnson is a great, great, great grandchild of Wilson Bruce Evans and Sarah Jane Evans. She has over 20 years experience in education and corporate organization development.  Brigette has experience as a classroom teacher, Principal and a Training Manager for a large water utility company. She also is the sole proprietor of Unlimited Expectations,  a tutoring company located in Detroit,  Michigan. Brigette holds a BA in Communications from Central State University  and a MA in Educational Leadership from Concordia University , River Forest, IL. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and the Links, Incorporated.

Lewis Sheridan Hughes

Trustee

Lewis Sheridan Hughes is a great, great, great grandchild of Sarah Jane Leary Evans and Wilson Bruce Evans. Lewis is a professional chef in Beacon, NY and is the namesake of ancestral family member Lewis Sheridan Leary who was martyred alongside John Brown in the Raid on Harper’s Ferry. Lewis is leveraging his culinary expertise toward activism in his own right.

Nancy Wall

Trustee

Nancy Wall is a life-long resident of Oberlin whose family traces their arrival back to the 1850s. As a member of one of the first Black families in Oberlin, she is deeply aware of the long and complicated history of race in this city. Nancy has served on many Oberlin organizations and was a member of the city’s Oberlin Comprehensive Steering Committee and also served as a member of the Underground Railroad Implementation Team that oversees the creation of the city’s nearby venue for the Black history programs and the Juneteenth celebrations.

Wilson Hughes

Trustee

Wilson Inborden Hughes is a namesake descendent of Wilson Bruce and Sarah Jane Evans and a founding board member of the society.  Wilson brings over 20 years of experience in eCommerce, Smart Home and Energy Management industries, supporting the technology and digital presence needs of the Society.  Wilson has 4 children along with his wife, Maeghin and lives in Colorado.

Thomas Karo-Gassner

Trustee

Thomas Karro-Gassner is the great, great, great grand-son-in-law of Sarah Jane Leary Evans and Wilson Bruce Evans and husband of Dr. Melany Hughes. Thomas is a strong supporter of the society, working on support activities and clerical and administrative support.

Candyce Hughes-Coulibaly

Trustee in Memorium

Candyce Hughes was a great, great, great grandchild of Sarah Jane Leary Evans and Wilson Bruce Evans. She was a founding board member of the Wilson Bruce Evans Home Historical Society. She had experience in human service management, project management, operations and organizational planning. She was co-owner of Brick by Brick Masonry & Stone Restoration LLC, a historic preservation masonry restoration company located in Washington, DC.  She was also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Mali, 2001-2003).  Candyce held an MSW and a BA in Sociology from Howard University.