Ohio State Senator Nickie J. Antonio to Be Honored at Beck Center Gala

Beck Center for the Arts' Spotlight 2026 Gala Fundraiser will honor and celebrate longtime champion and arts advocate, Ohio Senator Nickie J. Antonio for her outstanding legislative leadership for the arts.

This annual event features an evening of entertainment and celebration, highlighting the vital role that the arts play in enhancing and enriching the lives of so many. Beck Center for the Arts' benefit will take place on Friday, October 9, 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m., at the Music Box Supper Club.

Senator Nickie J. Antonio has made a lasting impact on Beck Center for the Arts. She currently serves as the Minority Leader and member of the Ohio State Senate. Her dedication to supporting the arts reaches back to her early days as a Beck Center for the Arts' theater parent and volunteer supporting her daughter Ariel, by doing hair, makeup and props for children's and youth theater productions. Senator Antonio shared, “I am honored to be recognized by Beck Center for the Arts, an institution that has long been a cultural cornerstone for my family, the city of Lakewood, and our entire region. Beck Center's commitment to arts education, inclusion and creative expression strengthens our community and enriches countless lives. I am grateful for this acknowledgement and partnership with the Beck Center doing the important work to further dialogue, imagination, and our humanity through the arts.”

Antonio serves as Minority Leader in the Ohio Senate, representing District 23. She was first elected to the Senate in 2018, she previously spent eight years in the Ohio House and served 5 years on the Lakewood City Council. She has also worked as an educator, nonprofit leader, adjunct professor, and nonprofit consultant among others.

Throughout her 16 years at the Statehouse, Antonio has championed legislation for families, environmental protections, women's and workers' rights, LGBTQ+ equality, healthcare and criminal justice reforms, as well as seeking addiction and recovery policy solutions. She has passed landmark laws on adoption records, step therapy, health care and criminal justice reforms. She has been a leader in returning millions of investment dollars to Northeast Ohio via capital and operating budgets which supported critical infrastructure and program operations.

In addition to her role as Ohio State Senate Minority Leader, Senator Antonio serves as ranking member on the Senate Transportation Committee. She also currently sits on the Rules and Reference Committee, Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, and Legislative Service Commission, and has previously served on the Senate Finance; Ways and Means; Health and Workforce and Higher Education Committees, Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, and has served as co-chair of the Ohio Redistricting Commission in 2024 and 2026. Additionally, she is a member of the Ohio House Democratic Women's Caucus, former chair, and is the past State Director for the National Women Legislators' Lobby.

Antonio has made several historic firsts in the Ohio General Assembly, becoming the first LGBTQ+ legislator elected to the Ohio House in 2010 and to the Senate in 2018, as well as the first woman to hold her Senate seat. She has broken barriers in leadership roles, including as House Minority Whip and now Senate Minority Leader.

Antonio holds an M.P.A. and B.S. Ed. from Cleveland State University, where she was named a Distinguished Alumni, and was a Bohnett Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School. She lives with her wife, Jean Kosmac, they are the proud mothers of adult daughters Ariel and Stacey 

Spotlight 2026 Honorary Co-Chairs are Wally and Joyce Senney, longtime supporters of Senator Nickie Antonio and Beck Center for the Arts.

This year's entertainment, produced by Artistic Director Scott Spence, will showcase the very best of Beck Center's students, faculty, and staff across professional theater, youth theater, dance, music, and visual arts. Guests will enjoy a special surprise performance with Beck Center ukulele students, and adults with disabilities from the Rocky River Adult Activities Center Choir.