2012 Recent Graduate Award recipient Nannette Whaley (Nan)

Nan received her Master of Public Administration in 2009 from the College of Liberal Arts at Wright State University, and her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Dayton.

She is proud to have chosen Dayton as her home.  Nan is originally from Indiana, but has lived in Dayton since graduating from the University of Dayton.

Her career is distinguished by her commitment to public service, civic involvement and interest in local government. Nan has been a City Commissioner with the City of Dayton since 2005, and was the youngest woman ever chosen for a commission seat.  Prior to serving as a Commissioner, Nan served on the Montgomery County Board of Elections and as a deputy to Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith. 

Nan is a member of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church and a graduate of Leadership Miami Valley. She is a founding member of Ohio’s Great Corridor, a regional effort committed to embracing the rivers. She current serves on the Montgomery County Planning Commission, the Iddings Foundation subcommittee for Positive School Climate in Dayton Public Schools, and the Dayton Access Television Board of Trustees.

As part of Nan’s commitment to Dayton’s neighborhoods, she has been instrumental in developing the City of Dayton’s "green and gold" land-use strategy. She is also a strong advocate for a county-wide landbank system to address the region’s housing crisis with a more regional approach. 

Nan is also committed to making Dayton a bike and pedestrian friendly city.  As chair of the Bike Walk Dayton Committee, she was an integral part of Dayton receiving a bronze level bicycle friendly community award from the League of American Bicyclists.

In addition, Nan has been committed to the political process in local, state, and national elections. While in college, she was instrumental in re-organizing the University of Dayton College Democrats and later served as Ohio Chair of the College Democrats.  She also served as Co-chair of the John Kerry campaign for Montgomery County, and is a two-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000 and 2004.  As an elector for Ohio’s Third Congressional District, Nan proudly cast an electoral vote for President Obama in 2008.

Nan has resided in the Five Oaks neighborhood since 2001, where she recently purchased a home with her husband Sam.