Dr. Geraldine Nelson is an accomplished community leader who has centered her work around bettering the lives of young women. Dr. Nelson spent the last 26 years at Kent State University, driving the program that provided direct services to first-generation and low-income students and their families.  She was successful in securing resources for Kent State to serve teen mothers transitioning from high school into higher education. She also created and helped oversee programming for homeless women and children in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This programming helped mothers develop healthy parenting choices, meal preparation skills, and financial literacy skills to lead to independence. She served as the Portage County NAACP President for over a decade. Building on her history, Dr. Nelson will bring her strong voice and dedication to living the Matriots values to her work at Portage County Commissioner.