Director of Open Government
Constitutional Offices Section
Contact:
Office: 614-466-2872
Fax: 614-728-7592
Heather.Buchanan@OhioAGO.gov
Heather serves as the Director of Open Government for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. She manages the Office’s Public Records Unit and oversees the Office’s training, education, and outreach on Ohio’s Sunshine Laws, including the three-hour Sunshine Laws Certification Training for Elected Officials. Heather coordinates and advises on responding to internal public records requests, and assists with mediation and litigation of public records complaints. Heather also counsels state clients on compliance with the Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Act, and provides non-legal assistance and outreach to constituents and other public offices.
Heather joined the Attorney General's Office in July 2016 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Constitutional Offices section. Heather was previously counsel at a Columbus firm focusing primarily on civil litigation defense work; and an associate at a large global law firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on insurance coverage defense. Heather started her career as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- State of Ohio (2008)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
- Presenter, Ohio Sunshine Laws Certification Training for elected officials, 2017 to present
- Author and Editor, Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual, 2017 to present
- Contributor, Property Insurance Litigator’s Handbook, ABA Publishing, 1st ed. (2007), 2nd ed. (2013)
AWARDS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- 2022 Ohio Attorney General’s Office All-Staff PRIDE award, awarded for efforts in co-drafting Sunshine Laws Certification Training
- Cozen O’Connor’s Pro Bono Award, 2004 and 2005
- Colgate University Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award, awarded for improving the status of women on campus, 1997
EDUCATION
- The University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., 2000
- Note and Comment Editor, The North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation, 1998-2000
- Colgate University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1997