Mission
The Ohio Jigsaw Puzzle Association is an inclusive statewide community of puzzlers of all skill levels, abilities, and ages. We:
- Curate a calendar of speed puzzling contests, swaps, and recreational puzzling events
- Host regional races, swaps, online puzzling gatherings, speed runs, and skills workshops
- Serve as a liaison between Ohio puzzlers and the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association
About
The Ohio Jigsaw Puzzle Association is a community where you can share your collections, celebrate solves, source hard-to-find puzzles, and make new friends.
While many of us have been puzzling our whole lives, the social aspect of puzzling has grown since 2020 (silver linings and all). Lots of libraries, game shops, and breweries are hosting swaps, races and other puzzle events so we wanted to collect them in once central place so you won’t miss out on anything you want to attend.
Speed puzzling has also had a fun revival so along with the events, we want to grow the community of folks interested in learning how to solve puzzles as fast as possible. We hope to host skills workshops, strategy sessions and team practices for anyone looking to improve or try out a new aspect of puzzling.
We are grateful to our founding board members for their time, expertise, and building the OHJPA: Christine Durkin, Edith Lewis, Jessica Henderson, Jo Ford, Josh Trauger, Juli Logsdon, and Meredith Yeager.
Board of Directors
Aubrey Barrow, President
Aubrey has been puzzling for as long as she can remember, often drawn to larger, more complex designs. In 2025, she discovered the fast-paced world of speed puzzling, opening the door to a whole new challenge. At her first competition, Nationals 2025, she took on Cherry Blossoms by starting with the border and was instantly hooked. She looks forward to bringing puzzlers together, encouraging newcomers to join the fun, and creating plenty of opportunities for those satisfying “aha!” moments that make puzzling special.
Christine Durkin, Secretary
Like many, Christine enjoyed puzzling as a kid but fell out of the habit. In 2016, good friends reignited her interest in puzzles by sharing puzzles from their modern collection. She learned about speed puzzling through the 2022 USA Nationals livestream and has since worked to improve her speed. Her favorite way to puzzle is serving as the sorter and strategist on a team.
Edith Lewis
Edith is a third-generation casual puzzler who learned speed puzzlers didn’t have to start with the border, so she became a speed puzzler. She lives in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati and is a big fan of 300 piece art puzzles, exploring new strategies, and puzzling with others. Edith loves the way people can use all sorts of different approaches to the same puzzle and end up with similar times while speed puzzling.
Josh Trauger
Facilitated and inspired by his mom Josh has been a lifelong puzzler; growing up there was always a puzzle on the table in the basement. In 2019, his love of puzzling reached a new level when he discovered his first speed puzzling contest. In addition to speed puzzling, Josh is a fan of large format puzzles, completing the Educa 24,000 piece Life puzzle in 2020. Professionally, Josh is the operations manager for a deep foundations contractor in Cincinnati, OH. When he isn’t puzzling, you can find Josh cheering on his children at youth sporting events or at UC Bearcats football and basketball games.
Juli Logsdon, Treasurer
Juli has fond memories of after-school puzzling with her great aunt and uncle who always had a Charles Wysocki spread out on their dining room table. Her puzzling ramped up during the pandemic and became a passion after competing in her first speed puzzling competition in 2023 at the Origins Game Fair. She may not be the fastest, but she enjoys the challenge of a race. Her favorite puzzles are modern colorful images or cozy seasonal scenes. Juli is a full-time mom to her son Harry and dog Cosmo. When not puzzling or momming, she is likely crocheting/knitting, gardening, baking, or watching F1 with her husband. She is very excited to connect Ohio puzzlers and grow the community.
Kelsie Foster
Kelsie is a lifelong puzzler, mom of two young kids, and marketing professional who loves bringing people together around shared interests. Until 2025, she firmly believed anything under 1,000 pieces wasn’t enough of a challenge, until she discovered speed puzzling. She quickly fell in love with the energy and welcoming spirit of the community and hasn’t slowed down since. Kelsie is excited to help create more ways for puzzlers across Ohio to connect and share their love of the hobby.
Leslie Postel
Leslie is from Middleburg Heights and has enjoyed puzzling for more than 50 years. She often has a puzzle on the kitchen table—much to the inconvenience of anyone else hoping to use it. A collector of vintage Springbok puzzles, she also competed in the Hallmark Springbok Puzzle Competitions. After a career as an elementary school teacher, Leslie now teaches in the Office of Teacher Education at Cleveland State University. She is married with two grown children, none of whom share her love of puzzling. What she lacks in speed, she more than makes up for with enthusiasm for Ohio’s puzzling community.
Michelle Parsons
Michelle grew up puzzling with her aunts on summer camping trips. Her husband discovered speed puzzling for her when she joked that she wished it were a sport and she quickly became hooked on improving her times. Michelle enjoys both casual and speed puzzling, but most of all she loves the friends and community she has found along the way. Michelle has a background in design, hospitality, and human resources. She is excited to bring her variety of work and life experiences to the OHJPA as we continue expanding our love for puzzles across our state.
Meredith Yeager
Meredith is a lifelong puzzler who accelerated their hobby after discovering Escher and fine art puzzles in college. They began speed puzzling in 2020 and attended their first in-person puzzle event in September 2023. In 2024, they placed 83rd at the USA Nationals and 10th amongst Ohio speed puzzlers. Mer enjoys thrifting and puzzling rainbow, whimsical, and vintage puzzles. They are eager to connect and ramp up the Northeast Ohio puzzling community!
Supported by volunteers like you!
We are a group of volunteers who just want to connect with other puzzlers. If you have skills you want to contribute, we’d love to have you join us.
USAJPA
USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association is a national organization that supports both speed puzzling and casual puzzling with a monthly puzzle club, discounts, traveling puzzles, and community building.
Ohio is proud to be one of the first states to become an official USAJPA affiliate organization!
Financial Transparency
OHJPA is a nonprofit organization, funded by donations and events. We are happy to share our financial records with donors as we grow. For more information, please reach out to us through the connect page.