Ohioan - Jane Black

AGE: 48

HOMETOWN: Grew up in Oakwood and lives now in Sugarcreek Township, both in the Dayton suburbs.

FAMILY: Married to Leigh, with two children: Charlie, 15, and Hazel, 11.

WHAT SHE DOES: As executive director of the Dayton Visual Arts Center, she leads a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for artists. DVAC sponsors exhibitions, workshops and educational projects that connect artists and the community at large. “It’s a place where artists and art lovers can come together to see what’s being made now,” she explains.

SHE’S AN ARTIST, TOO: Black does block prints and fiber art, but is known in the Dayton area for practicing gyotaku — the Japanese art of fish printing, in which paint is applied to a real fish and then pressed onto fabric.

RECENT PROJECTS: DVAC teamed established adult and young artists to complete a large-scale art project to decorate Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, and is continuing the work at Children’s new hospital in Warren County.

LOOKING FORWARD TO: “The next thing that comes up. The great thing about my job is that people come up to me all the time with great ideas, and I get to help them do what they’re trying to do.”