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THE COVER: NKY WORKS
(From left to right): Front Row: Jennie LaMothe, NaviGo; Vicki Berling, NKY Works/NKADD; Sandra Woodall, EC Learn; Second Row: Brian Robinson, Fort Thomas Independent Schools; Correy Eimer, NKY Works/NKADD; Nancy Spivey, NKY Chamber; Back Row: Lauren Allhands, Brighton Center and Jason Ashbrook, BAWAC Inc.
Photo provided by Ben Gastright
CHAIR'S LETTER
JASON PAYNE Chair, NKY Chamber
NKY/Cincinnati SVP, Managing Director, Republic Bank
We want to hear your thoughts… LET’S CONNECT!
Listening to you, our members, is a priority. If there’s a topic or suggestion you’d like us to explore or simply a question, please contact Lynn Abeln, Vice President of Membership, at (859) 578-6390 or Labeln@nkychamber.com.
TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION
TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION ... IT’S A TOPIC OF concern for employers across our region. Scores of articles have been written on the subject, outlining the challenges many companies have faced as they navigate economic uncertainty, workforce shortages and inflation. At the NKY Chamber, we know our region has the resources, expertise and determination necessary to rise to the occasion. Now is the time to use those tools and do the work necessary to ensure a bright economic future for Northern Kentucky.
This issue of the NKY Business Journal features stories of the people leading that charge and information employers can use to help us all prosper.
There’s an adage that asks, “What’s in a name?” In the case of NKY Works, the multi-agency initiative that looks to serve as a onestop support service to businesses in five critical areas – regional talent attraction and promotion and employer best practices among them – it’s everything. Our cover story details how its staff, operating under the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, is working to connect businesses with the resources they need to meet workforce challenges. Despite being a relatively young initiative, the areas it seeks to address benefit virtually every NKY business and deserve everyone’s support.
Are you looking for ways to refresh your talent pipeline or reach people seeking new opportunities after a life or career transition? Look no further than our article highlighting strategies for reinventing your talent pipeline. Our feature on the Northern Kentucky Accountability Group at the Kenton County Public Library details how the organization’s employment education efforts are helping people return to the workforce.
Artificial intelligence – AI – is all the buzz these days. This issue’s feature on AI explores various ways employers can leverage the technology to attract and retain employees, addressing everything from crafting job descriptions to establishing workforce goals. Our Small Business Spotlight on Aunt Kathy’s Child Care & Preschool, Inc. explores both the critical impact child care has on employment and the need for support, both for working parents and service providers.
Working in the banking industry, I’m a numbers guy by trade. I tend to look at things from a risk assessment and return on investment perspective. Northern Kentucky already knows the risk of not working to make our region more attractive to both our next generation of homegrown talent and in our surrounding areas. Likewise, investing in that talent by providing them the tools and resources necessary – housing, career growth opportunities, inclusive cultures, etc. – is critical to our future.
As you explore this issue of the NKY Business Journal, I hope you find yourself inspired to share your talents with our region and encourage others to do so as well. Together, we can strengthen Northern Kentucky by investing in our people, fostering innovation and building an inclusive, thriving community. NKY
COUNT ON US
By Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media
Northern Kentucky Accountability Group helps people find career resources, employment opportunities
Libraries, by definition, house knowledge on scores of topics. This includes subjects as broad as world history and philosophy to everyday essentials such as gardening, home repair and cooking. In one Northern Kentucky community, however, the library has become something more: a resource for people undergoing life transitions to network, learn skills and ultimately, find new employment.
That resource is the Northern Kentucky Accountability Group (NKYAG) at the Kenton County Public Library (KCPL), a career training and development group helping people find success with new opportunities throughout the region.
CLASS IS IN SESSION
At its core, the NKYAG is simple: It is a job search support group for people in a state of transition due to layoffs, business closures or other life changes. According to Natalie Ruppert, the manager of the KCPL’s Career and Job Services Division, it is so much more.
“Our goal is to help people that have been laid off from their jobs become true students of the job search process. Most people that get laid off are doing so usually through no fault of their own ...They're in a position where we need to help them identify what their transferable skills are and how they're going to be able to use them in another job or at another company that will value them,” Ruppert says. “We see it as our role to teach them how to present
their accomplishments from their prior work situations in a positive manner.”
To do that, NKYAG offers a plethora of classes and support designed to help job seekers with nearly every imaginable aspect of the employment process. Meeting Wednesday mornings at the KCPL’s Erlanger branch, the NKYAG offers classes and coaching for topics like building your LinkedIn profile as well as using technology like ChatGPT, Jobscan.co and Data Axle to assist with job searches. Ruppert also produces a weekly NKYAG newsletter distributed to approximately 1,800 email addresses, many of whom are also part of a 1,500+ member LinkedIn group.
The Kenton County Public Library offers more than 40 classes a month, 12 of which are GED programs, all taught by subject matter experts in their areas. Ruppert says the instructors help attendees “feel that they’re in a safe, welcoming environment at all times.” Additionally, the group hosts weekly speakers discussing the value of relationships, resume strategies, and more, all of which are recorded and housed on the KCPL’s website for easy, retroactive access.
Ruppert says 60 to 70 people may attend an NKYAG program at any given time, with another 25 to 30 choosing to join via Zoom. In addition to training and networking, the meetings feature small group sessions where people can dive into a variety of topics.
“Some people are brand new to the job search process and have
no clue what they want to do next while others may be working on resumes, cover letters, thank you notes, interviewing, their personal branding or something else,” she says. The small group discussions are led by either one of NKYAG’s 20 dedicated volunteer coaches or KCPL’s career navigators.
Ruppert, who also sits on the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board, is quick to note NKYAG is not an executive recruiter. But for anyone seeking a job – whether in Ohio, Indiana or Kentucky – it is intended to give them as many advantages as possible to get them in front of and hired by an employer.
“One of the things we tell people is how they conduct their job search is a strong indicator of how they will do a job. We teach people the importance of the accountability factor. Networking is the number one way for a professional to find a job,” she says. “We teach people how to strategically network so as they're meeting with people, so they are not wasting their time.”
SECRET OF SUCCESS
A staple of NKYAG meetings are the success stories it helps produce. Ruppert enthusiastically shares NKYAG celebration stories, several of which can be found on the group’s website (www. kentonlibrary.org/nkyag/). This includes everyone from area natives to immigrants, including a man from Mauritania, Africa, who speaks five languages and continues to volunteer after landing a second shift position with JBL. “We need more people like these,” Ruppert says. “He still comes on Wednesdays and volunteers for us. He’s wonderful.”
One person who knows the benefits of the NKYAG firsthand is Karen Poole, a remote associate director of project management at Worldwide Clinical Trials. Laid off by her previous employer, she unexpectedly found herself on the job market and knew finding a new one would be a job in and of itself. That prompted her to become an active attendee of NKYAG meetings and classes, where she says she discovered “phenomenal” assets that helped her through several rounds of interviews with different prospective employers.
“I didn’t know it meant there were all these classes that would help me find out my marketable skills and all these other things I could be doing with my cover letter. It’s phenomenal, all the other assets available to you through the Northern Kentucky Accountability Group,” Poole says. “There are so many professionals you can connect with. Not only was I making connections for myself, I was also making them for others, which I found personally rewarding.”
Ruppert says stories like those are what NKYAG is all about.
“The thank you notes that I get from people, those are big –people make your day better. When we help people check out a book, we're providing entertainment; when we're helping them find a job, we're changing their life and their family's life and getting them on a positive track for the future. I find that very impactful,” she says.
“To be able to take someone that comes in with tears in their eyes, saying, ‘Oh my God, how did I not see getting let go coming?!’ and make them feel like they're not alone, is great. Then, to give them support and resources and watch them move forward with skills to change their lives is really important to me. I appreciate that.” NKY
ACCOUNTABILIBUDDIES
Northern Kentucky Accountability Group AT A GLANCE
Northern Kentucky Accountability Group (NKYAG) www.kentonlibrary.org/nkyag
WHEN: Wednesdays 9:15 to 11:30 a.m.
WHERE:
Kenton County Public Library – Erlanger Branch 401 Kenton Lands Road Erlanger, KY 41018
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
In addition to weekly NKYAG Wednesday meetings, the Kenton County Public Library hosts multiple career and job service classes weekly covering multiple topics. This includes creating resumes, preparing for interviews, developing personal marketing plans, updating LinkedIn profiles and career communication/conflict resolution among others. Registration is required for most career and job services programs whether in-person or online.
COST:
All NKYAG events are free with a Kenton County Public Library Card.
For more information, contact KCPL Career and Job Services Division Manager Natalie Ruppert, MLIS, at natalie.ruppert@kentonlibrary.org or call (859) 962-4099.
BE NKY Growth Partnership Drives Job Growth and Investment in Northern Kentucky
By Sydney Murray, BE NKY Growth Partnership Communications Specialist
BE NKY GROWTH PARTNERSHIP ACHIEVED OUTSTANDING results for the Northern Kentucky region in 2024. Through 18 project wins (20% above our target), BE NKY brought 1,467 new, good-paying jobs and $499 million in capital investment to the Northern Kentucky region. The average total compensation for these jobs, which includes salary and benefits, is $82,966.99.
This growth supports the residents and employees who enter these jobs and creates a ripple effect, supporting the service sector with new jobs in the restaurant and retail industries being created.
The advanced manufacturing sector continues to be a major force behind the region’s economic success, representing 67% of projects, 48% of jobs and 45% of capital investment for all 2024 new locations and expansions, which included companies such as Niagara Bottling, Mubea, Nexigen Communications, and Camco Chemical Co.
“The advanced manufacturing sector continues to dominate in Northern Kentucky, leading the way in project wins, job announcements, and capital investment in 2024,” said BE NKY Vice President of Economic Development Kimberly Rossetti. “We are proud to bring five new companies to Northern Kentucky and celebrate 13 existing
companies expanding their operations in our region.”
BE NKY pursues strategies to ensure Northern Kentucky’s economic success into the future. It began with four initiatives identified through the company’s Build + Elevate NKY Investor Campaign in 2022: data-informed community decision-making, activate the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, deliver customized workforce solutions, and targeted business growth.
Over the past 18 months, BE NKY met with 150 business leaders at more than 40 strategic base companies and commissioned a report from Economic Leadership in 2024 to identify five critical needs for a more competitive Northern Kentucky.
“BE NKY began our community competitive initiative to benchmark our region and gain data on how we compare to peer communities throughout the country,” said BE NKY CEO Lee Crume. “The Economic Leadership report shows Northern Kentucky is in a favorable position today. However, there are macro-level economic disruptors on the horizon and critical needs detailed in the report where our community should be focused to ensure we stay on this prosperous path into the future.”
Readers can learn more at be-nky.com. NKY
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
In a year that included a presidential election, uncertainty surrounding interest rates, a slow start to business activity, and continuing global unrest, BE NKY Growth Partnership still achieved strong results in all areas though the hard work of the entire team and our board of directors.
The heart of our mission is opportunity and prosperity for all Northern Kentuckians, and this starts with bringing good-paying jobs to the region. In 2024, BE NKY won 18 projects, representing nearly $499 million in capital investment, 1,467 new jobs, and an average wage of $66,049. We achieved wins in multiple industry sectors, but advanced manufacturing led the way.
Through the business growth initiative, the team visited new markets and attended five conferences and tradeshows in cities such as Barcelona, Montreal, and Seoul, and led 80 meetings with potential clients, more than doubling the number in 2023.
For the eighth year in a row, BE NKY received the Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development and multiple team members were recognized individually for their personal and professional contributions to the Northern Kentucky region.
As I finish out my term as chair of the Board of Directors, I am proud of our achievements over the past two years and know we will continue making great strides for Northern Kentucky from our new home in the OneNKY Center in 2025.
James A. Dressman
Board Chair, BE NKY Growth Partnership Partner, DBL Law
CONSISTENT GROWTH & INVESTMENT IN NKY
$499M
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
11% above our goal
AVERAGE WAGE $66,049
97% of our goal
PROJECTS WON 18 received funding or credits to assist with workforce training COMPANIES 12
20% above our goal
1,467
JOBS ANNOUNCED
13% above our goal
PROJECTS BY SECTOR
ANNOUNCED JOBS BY SECTOR
Tools of the Trade
NKY Chamber membership benefits that can help you achieve your business goals
As an NKY Chamber member, you gain exclusive access to a robust network of resources designed to help grow and support your workforce, strengthen your company, and drive your success.
SAVINGS, SUPPLIES AND MORE
HEALTH INSURANCE – The NKY Chamber has teamed up with Anthem to offer ChamberAdvantage, a health coverage solution that gives small businesses an easy, affordable way to offer health benefits to employees. Save 20% to 25% on your monthly medical spend with ChamberAdvantage.
OFFICE SUPPLIES – The NKY Chamber offers several perks in the form of discounted office supplies. ODP Business Solutions offers members up to 55% off their most purchased office supplies both in-store and online with no contract. VIE Ability, which was launched by the Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, has 60,000+ office products and supports people who are blind or have severe vision loss.
BANKING – The NKY Chamber’s partnership with PNC Merchant Services provides several benefits to members including referral bonuses, no early termination fees, next-day funding of card payment processing transactions and more.
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS – NKY Chamber members can receive discounts on advertising courtesy of Adsposure and Everything Cincy, both of whom can help you save on social media, ad packages and more.
IT SOLUTIONS – The Circuit’s CIO Circle is a problem solving, information sharing, technology-based peer group allowing IT leaders to collaborate. NKY Chamber members enjoy a $200 discount for the program.
HR SERVICES – In need of human resource help? NKY Chamber members can save on a variety of HR services through partnerships with ClearPath Mutual and MPI Management Consulting.
MEMBER DIRECTORY – Leverage the NKY Chamber’s online Member Directory to connect with fellow NKY Chamber members, build valuable business relationships, and keep your dollars within the community.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE
BUSINESS REFERRAL NETWORKS – The NKY Chamber’s Business Referral Networks (BRN) can connect you to teams of 15 to 30 people to help you learn how other members can help you grow your business.
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE – Rali Solutions helps companies foster successful outcomes by uniting technology, behavioral science and change management best practices via its Change Experience Platform to help drive behavior change.
THE VOICE OF BUSINESS IN NKY – The NKY Chamber advocates on members’ behalf on key legislative and regulatory issues in Northern Kentucky, Frankfort and Washington D.C.
HR 100 – HR professionals and small business owners can utilize timely programs centered on talent recruitment and retention issues while also often earning SHRM-credits in the process.
HR TRIFECTA – Hosted in partnership with NKY SHRM, the HR Trifecta brings HR leaders together to discuss three unique aspects of the workforce pertinent to industry professionals.
WORKFORCE BEST PRACTICES SYMPOSIUM – This event brings regional experts together for discussions and breakout sessions highlighting strategies employers can use to attract/ retain talent and promote workforce development.
INCLUSIVE IMPACT BREAKFAST – This morning event features discussions around the critical role inclusion plays in attracting talent, driving investment, and ensuring our region remains competitive in the global economy
TALENT STRATEGIES SPOTLIGHT – This regular feature of the NKY Chamber Spotlight podcast features employers and workforce practitioners discussing tactics, resources and more centered on talent attraction, retention and inclusive business strategies.
INCLUSIVE BUSINESS STRATEGIES SERIES – This workforce programming series empowers businesses with actionable strategies to overcome employment barriers, enhance talent attraction and retention, and unlock the benefits of cultivating an inclusive workplace.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WOMEN’S INITIATIVE REGIONAL SUMMIT – Powered by PNC, this daylong learning event for women of all career stages features speakers who present inspirational content for professional women.
LEADERSHIP NORTHERN KENTUCKY – Powered by Citi, this popular program uses the community as a classroom to develop leaders that will serve the region.
ENCOUNTER NKY – Powered by Citi, Encounter NKY is a talent retention program designed to help young professionals (YPs) and those newer to the region with career advancement while also developing a deeper connection to Northern Kentucky.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY YOUNG PROFESSIONALS (NKYP) –NKYP connects YPs with peers by expanding their networks, programming and engagement while impacting their community through diversity and inclusion.
NKYP EVENT PASS – The NKYP Event Pass provides employees admission to nearly every event hosted by the NKY Chamber and helps them engage with the community, network with others, and take advantage of professional development opportunities.
WOMEN’S INITIATIVE MENTOR/MENTEE PROGRAM –
Designed to help female leaders in your organization, this program pairs like-minded individuals for a one-on-one growth period over one years’ time.
These are just some of the resources and benefits that come with being an NKY Chamber member. To learn more, contact Lynn Abeln, Vice President of Membership at labeln@nkychamber.com or call (859) 578-6390. You can also find information on all the programs and benefits included in this article at www.nkychamber.com.
Finding a Home for All in Northern Kentucky
By Sarah Brookbank, Scooter Media
Leaders release innovative strategies to help bolster housing stock in the region
NORTHERN
KENTUCKY IS FACING A CRITICAL housing shortage, with thousands of homes needed to meet the demand of the region’s largest workforce segment: those earning $60,000 a year or less.
From teachers and nurses to logistics workers and seniors on fixed incomes, many residents in this salary range are struggling to find homes that meet their needs due to a limited supply. With 60% of Northern Kentuckians earning $60,000 or less annually — and that percentage expected to rise — regional leaders have released a list of strategies aimed at tackling the growing housing crisis.
In early 2025, community stakeholders released Home for All: Northern Kentucky Housing Strategies, a comprehensive report designed to help address these shortages across the eight northernmost counties in the Commonwealth.
This comes after the 2023 Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) NKY Housing Study – which found
that job creation in Northern Kentucky was outpacing workforce housing availability, putting strain on residents and employers.
According to the study, the region need to create a combined 6,650 additional housing units beyond existing planned developments to support current housing needs and continued economic growth.
“The results of the 2023 study make clear that incomealigned housing availability is a vital issue for our region’s economic growth and continued success,” said Seth Cutter, Vice President of Public Affairs, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).
Led by NKADD, Brighton Center and Brighton Properties, stakeholders from urban, suburban and rural communities collaborated on the list, bringing a holistic and regionally coordinated approach to addressing housing challenges.
The list of 50 high-impact strategies aims to address housing challenges across the entire region - from Covington to Carrollton.
These strategies focus on affordability, accessibility, income-alignment and innovation, providing a framework for economic growth and community development. “Each county faces unique housing challenges and opportunities. Home for All is a comprehensive and multi-faceted plan that offers solutions that can be tailored to each community," said Gary W. Moore, Boone County Judge/Executive. "In Boone County, we know that our children and grandchildren, entry-level workers such as emergency responders, nurses and teachers, and empty nesters ready to downsize need adequate housing stock. This plan offers innovative approaches to help fill this 'missing middle' and enable our residents to stay right here in our county."
NKADD Executive Director Tara Johnson-Noem echoed Moore’s statement. She has young children and as she looks to the future, she wants to know that they will be able to live in Northern Kentucky.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to close the housing gap across income levels to ensure our children have somewhere to live in our region when they leave home, that our parents can afford to downsize if they wish, and that our teachers and first responders have somewhere to live within a reasonable drive of their workplace,” Tara JohnsonNoem said.
The 2023 NKY Housing Study found that while NKY’s housing stock is well positioned for middle- to upper-middle professional incomes, availability for employees making less than $60,000 a year is currently lacking and will be exacerbated by continued economic growth in the region.
“The lack of housing can drive up housing costs near job centers, making it more expensive for employers to find and recruit employees. In providing a list of solutions for communities across the region – it was the hope of community leaders and partners that Home for All sparks conversations and action that help provide income-aligned options for all residents of Northern Kentucky,” said Wonda Winkler, Brighton Center and Brighton Properties President & CEO.
A diversity of income-aligned housing stock ensures that Northern Kentucky will have homes available for the variety of income levels our region boasts, supporting everyone from C-suite executives to those working in Northern Kentucky’s growing hospitality industry, NKY Chamber President & CEO Brent Cooper said.
“In our annual survey of 1,750 member businesses, our members identified growing, attracting, and retaining talent as their top concern. We understand that housing is directly linked to workforce development. Northern Kentucky’s workforce reflects the diversity of its businesses, from entry-level employees to executives. This diverse span requires housing that meets a wide range of preferencesincluding rental properties,” Cooper said.
Cooper said there will be no “silver bullet” that solves housing issues across Northern Kentucky. Each community will require tailored solutions to address their different needs and will determine which solutions best fit those needs and goals that will help Northern Kentucky continue to be a great place to live, work, play, learn and give back.
To learn more about the work behind Home for All and read the full report, visit http://housingnky.org NKY
ADAPTING & THRIVING ADAPTING & THRIVING ADAPTING & THRIVING
Wednesday, March 12 | 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM | Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Register today at NKYChamber.com/Events
Wednesday, March 12 | 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM | Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Register today at NKYChamber.com/Events The
KEYNOTE: The Changing Nature of Work: Adapting & Thriving for Workforce Success
Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani, Associate Dean, Haile College of Business at Northern Kentucky University
ROUNDTABLE TOPICS AND FACILITATORS INCLUDE:
AI Tips & Tricks
Stacy Jordan, Fifth Third Bank
Building Frontline Success: Empowering Supervisors to Align with Company Goals and Drive Daily Impact
Jesse Megenhardt, Holcim
Building Meaningful Employment Environments
Ben Green, Trailpath Workforce Solutions
Boosting Team Morale Using The 5 Languages of Appreciation
Antoine Smith-Rouse, Gateway Community & Technical College
Delegation: The Key to Developing Your Talent Pool
Tim Kiley, Dale Carnegie
Mediation: A Better Way to Resolve Disputes
Lou Manchise, NKU
Mental Health in the Workplace
Megan Switala, TiER1 Performance
Overcoming Current Recruitment Challenges
Kim Dube, Reflex: Recruiting Flexibility
Tackling What Keeps You Up At Night
Vicki Crawford, Hanna Resource Group
Thriving With People Analytics
Kristie Dierig, Ever Spark LLC
Using Data to Make the HR Case
Ashby Drummond, BE NKY
Working on Workforce R3: Readiness, Recruitment, Retention
Dr. Kathy Burkhardt, Learning Grove-NaviGo
ART OF
By
Experts share how AI can reshape talent attraction and retention for local businesses
Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media
Image Credit: Image created by Ben Gastright, using AI
NORTHERN KENTUCKY
KIM DUBÉ HAS SEEN SCORES OF CHANGE IN HER 20+ years in recruiting, just as Kendra Ramirez has in her 15+ years working with technology companies. Both agree that the growing presence of artificial intelligence – AI – in the workplace is not something to fear but an opportunity to improve talent attraction and retention.
Dubé says AI’s ability to assist companies in these areas makes it an essential tool for businesses to embrace.
“I am a fan of helping demystify AI,” she says. “Nothing will replace a well-honed recruiter who understands the business trends, the labor pool and the labor market. But AI removes administrative tasks from that individual's plate so they can focus on value-add activities. I view it as an enabler to make people more strategic and effective.”
Originally from Montreal, Quebec, and now living in Northern Kentucky, Dubé is the president and CEO of ReFlex Recruiting, LLC, an independent hiring agency that helps smalland medium-sized businesses find talent. That includes using recruiting specific AI tools and software that enable her team to source candidates in minutes, rather than spending hours on manual searches. This efficiency not only saves time for her recruiters but also enhances their ability to find the right talent quickly for their clients.
Ramirez, owner of KR Digital Agency, is also a big proponent of AI. She has delivered more than 100 talks on the subject and says AI can help small- and mid-sized businesses compete with their larger counterparts for talent.
“That's why I love it so much for small to mid-sized businesses – it allows us to compete against the big players,” she says. “We can make decisions quicker and adopt AI faster because it's not such a big task for us.
Ramirez emphasizes the importance of staying current.
“What I don't want is for people and organizations to be left behind; that's why I intentionally serve nonprofits, small businesses and mid-sized businesses, because they tend to be underserved,” she says.
Dubé and Ramirez are putting their words into action by offering practical advice for employers looking to enhance their recruitment and retention strategies.
LET’S CHAT(GPT)
Job descriptions ... While essential to the hiring process, writing them – and writing them efficiently – is not always an easy task. That’s why both Dubé and Ramirez suggest using AI platforms like ChatGPT to streamline the process. AI-written descriptions can help reduce biases so employers can focus on more strategic aspects of recruiting like interviewing and onboarding.
“When we think about programmatic job postings and where to post to get it in front of the right audience, AI tools can help,” Dubé says.
AI can also assist in responding to candidate questions and guiding them through the interview process.
“Talent intelligence platforms can help with analyzing data
Photo by Ben Gastright.
by scanning resumes – a time-consuming activity for hiring teams which AI can reduce by up to 75%,” Dubé says. “This savings allows recruiters to focus on interviewing candidates and working with hiring managers.”
Ramirez adds that AI can enhance the interview process itself.
“Use AI to build strong interview questions and to think about accessibility in your interview process. Think about how you can put potential candidates at ease and better tell your story around why they should work for you,” says Ramirez. “You can also use it when you're stuck on ‘How do I tell the story of why to work for our organization’ and ‘How do I build a communication plan for our teams?'”
BRIDGING THE GAPS
Recruiting talent is one thing; keeping them is another. That’s why Ramirez says one organization enlisted her help developing an employee engagement strategy. Ramirez created a rubric and then asked an AI platform to identify what leadership skills were missing. Ramirez then used AI to write a plan to address them, and the company achieved “wildly successful” results.
Ramirez says, “employee engagement starts even before the employee begins. AI can be used at every touchpoint - interviewing, onboarding and beyond.”
She encourages employers to focus on their objectives rather than the tools themselves.
“Consider what you’re trying to achieve, then determine how AI can be applied,” she says. “Look at your workflow and identify where AI fits, then redefine the workflow.”
The same principles, Ramirez says, apply to introducing AI to the workforce. Employees need to know that AI is a tool to prioritize tasks and make their jobs easier, not take them away.
“The most critical thing when you're doing any kind of learning or training around AI is if someone is coming in and talking about only the tech and not addressing the human, you're wasting your money,” she says.
“As leaders, it's our job to ensure employees understand AI is not here to take away jobs. There’re simply not enough people to go around.”
A FINAL WORD OF ADVICE
Connecting with employees and ensuring them you have their best interests at heart, remains essential, Dube says.
“The goal at the end of the day is to get the right talent at the right time as efficiently and effectively as possible,” she says. “For me, it's how do you use AI as an enabler instead of operating from a place of fear in terms of attracting talent.”
Ramirez agrees, noting, “AI is not here to replace us. It's here to enhance what we're doing. The big thing is stay curious. There's so much opportunity, but we must approach it with the right mindset.” NKY
ABOUT THE EXPERTS
Possessing 20+ years of experience in the world of recruiting working for the likes of Fifth Third, Anthem and General Cable (now the Prysmian Group), Dubé is well-versed in the world of talent attraction and retention. A graduate of both Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More (where she earned her MBA), she founded ReFlex in 2023 “to help lead a new era of hiring” for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Dubé has both Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certifications.
Owner of the award-winning, fully remote digital agency that bears her initials, Ramirez is the co-host of the largest AI monthly meetup in the Ohio region, the Cincinnati AI for Humans group. She is also a member of Cincinnati AI Catalyst, whose mission is to “improve the lives of people in the Cincinnati region by providing a coordinated, collective artificial intelligence capability.” She has given more than 100 AI talks, using more than 100 AI tools in the process.
Possessing more than 15 years’ experience in technology companies, Ramirez has been recognized with several awards, including a Women of Influence Award, John Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award and recognition by Cincy Chic as its Woman of the Year.
SMALL BUSINESS
AUNT KATHY’S CHILD CARE & PRESCHOOL, INC.
By Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media
Northern Kentucky native strives to bring quality, awareness to the local child care industry
IN A WORLD WHERE THE BATTLE FOR WORKFORCE TALENT IS SEEMINGLY NEVERending, child care is often cited as a major challenge for employers and employees alike. This has spotlighted the critical need for both available and affordable child care to enable parents to stay or re-enter the workforce.
Kathy Donelan, however, says there is another equally important aspect of child care that is often overlooked.
“Early learning is at the beginning of the workforce. We're able to teach children so the parents can go to work, we’re also training the future workforce,” says the owner of Aunt Kathy’s Child Care & Preschool, Inc. “The brain develops 95% in the first five years, basically we are brain builders. By the time they leave child care and head to school or kindergarten, they already have skills built into them.”
It is her hope those with the power to financially support early childhood education will recognize these efforts and enable others like her to continue developing the next generation of talent.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Founded in 1998 out of her home before moving to Highland Heights in 2002, Aunt Kathy’s Child Care & Preschool, Inc. specializes in child care and early education for children from six weeks to preschool age. In addition to the Highland Heights facility, the business also services Southgate Public School and Grandview Elementary School in Bellevue, offering wrap around programs for those enrolled in before and after preschool hours at those locations.
Aunt Kathy’s is not a babysitting service; in fact, it’s far from it. Donelan’s business utilizes an experience-based curriculum, which includes foundational skills of language, literacy, science and math, but also teaches contextual understanding, situational norms and more.
“I've talked to kindergarten teachers and a lot of what they look for are social skills. That's what we teach here,” she says. “That's a great building block for starting school because if they already have those skills, then they can learn, listen and do the work.”
In turn, helping children learn enables their parents and employers to focus on their own work.
“Because we're providing child care, we're helping the economy by letting parents work. I also employ people here, so it's a full circle experience. My fear, however, is so many centers are closing, and we're going to become extinct. What will that do to the workforce and the economy?”
SUPPORT SYSTEM
That question is not hypothetical for Donelan. A board member of the Early Childhood Learning Education Assessment Resource Network (EC Learn), Donelan wishes more parents and employers would take advantage of resources like the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP) Program that can offset child care costs. She believes many employers fail to recognize how the program can address their workforce’s child care needs, so it’s underutilized by those who could benefit from it the most.
If more employers leveraged the ECCAP Program, Donelan believes it would change the trajectory of the concerning trends she is seeing in the child care industry. That includes
giving child care centers the funding they need to pay their employees adequately.
“I like to think that 2025 will be better. I hope our legislators will listen and recognize the negative domino effect of all these child care centers closing,” says Donelan. “We've had at least three close since November of last year and that's a lot of children in need. Parents are emailing us asking, ‘Do you have room? What are we going to do?’ If we had to charge parents how much it costs to run a child care center, they wouldn't be able to afford it.”
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
While Donelan is very frank about the struggles her industry is facing, there is always one simple thing to which she can point that keeps her going: the children.
According to Donelan, partnering with a local employer investing in child care as an infrastructure for their employees assisted a family with contributing to the tuition of their children enrolled in her program. Initiatives supported by the government such as the ECCAP program, empowered a family to be employed, engaged consistent revenue for her center, and elevated her programing to build the future workforce.
“This program is still in the early stages. We need more businesses to be aware of this partnership between employers, employees and child cares to increase the access to affordable quality child care benefiting all those involved in workforce,” she says. “This career is rewarding watching children learn and grow. Being a part of forming their foundation for school and life success.”NKY
Aunt Kathy's Child Care & Preschool, Inc. AT A GLANCE
Aunt Kathy's Child Care & Preschool, Inc. 4 Hidden Valley Highland Heights, KY 41076
Aunt Kathy's also offers wrap-around preschool programs at Southgate Public School and Grandview Elementary School
akccp.com
FOUNDED: 1998
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
25 total across its three programs
CHILDREN SERVED:
Aunt Kathy’s is licensed to serve 93 children at the Highland Heights location, 13 at Southgate Public School and 20 at Grandview Elementary School; owner Kathy Donelan estimates that her business serves approximately 91 children across its three programs at any given time.
WORKING for Northern Kentucky
NKY Works initiative looks to foster collaboration, connections to attract and retain talent throughout the region
By Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media
MAYBE IT’S THE PROXIMITY TO THE GREATER CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY International Airport that inspired Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore’s analogy ... But the message is clear when he compares the workforce development initiative NKY Works to the work of an air traffic controller.
“Like many things across Northern Kentucky with the three counties, our regional efforts were strong,” Judge/Executive Moore says, regarding the multiple organizations and initiatives that, along with the fiscal courts of Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, came together to formulate the initiative now known as NKY Works. “However, we felt there needed to be more cohesion between all those efforts. There was duplication in some areas, but we knew everyone could excel if we worked together.”
It was then that he, alongside Campbell County Judge/ Executive Steve Pendery and Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann, examined the success of a similar effort several years ago focused on the opioid crisis. While many agencies working on the issue were doing good work, the pervading thought was they would do even better under the supervision of a single executive director. As Judge/Executive Moore says, “We needed an air traffic controller making sure everything was working well and was coordinated.”
That effort resulted in the creation of the Office of Drug Control Policy. The Judges/Executives began to meet with different agencies and eventually agreed upon a similar setup to help local workforce efforts.
“We chose Correy Eimer, the Associate Director of Workforce Development for the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD), to be the air traffic controller and director (of the initiative),” Judge/Executive Moore says. “Because it’s centered around workforce, we quickly came to the name ‘NKY Works.’”
Now, with their air traffic controller in place, NKY Works looks to elevate the region’s workforce efforts to new heights.
COLLABORATION, COMMUNICATION & CREATIVITY
An evolution of the program once known as GROW NKY, NKY Works was created last year in recognition that “low unemployment, high workforce participation rates and essentially stagnant population growth could only be tackled through a collective approach.” Led by a nine-member executive committee of regional growth organizations and local leaders,
the organization is advised by a 24-member committee of private sector representatives and workforce partners. NKY Works is housed at NKADD, where Eimer is assisted by Dr. Vicki Berling, the workforce integrator, as they work to address each of NKY Works’ five identified priority areas:
(1) early childhood education; (2) career readiness; (3) workready adults; (4) regional talent attraction and promotion and (5) employer best practices. How does NKY Works look to achieve those goals? By collaborating with and supporting its partners to pinpoint workforce-development opportunities and challenges and communicating best practices for growth
and success. This includes collaborating with those partners to promote a strategy for the region, connecting ideas to action to advance the entirety of Northern Kentucky’s workforce.
Curious as to the main difference between NKY Works versus its predecessor GROW NKY? Eimer says the answer exists in the focus and support NKY Works can now provide to all the employers they are actively working to reach.
“GROW NKY did a fantastic job of heightening the issues around workforce development and the realities of, ‘If we don't address workforce now, we're going to be paying the price for decades to come.’ The initiative convened major partners, particularly in the nonprofit, educational and support community but businesses didn't see it as something that they needed to be directly involved with,” Eimer says. “We are still working to tell businesses, ‘This is for you. We want to know what your issues are. We want to help you deal with those issues. We don't want to just share information if you're having problems; we want to help you figure out who can address those problems.”
Eimer says getting people back to work is one of the key goals of NKY Works. They’ve identified three groups among the non-working that can help reverse the negative workforce trend: (1) People in recovery from substance use disorders; (2) Legal immigrants who are not currently working and (3) People with commitments currently preventing them from working such as serving as caregivers.
EMPLOYING TOOLS FOR EMPLOYMENT
While NKY Works seeks ways to help get those groups to reenter the workforce, Dr. Berling emphasizes the importance of supporting each of them as they reenter the job market while also ensuring they stay.
“We have to get people into good jobs they can grow with, where they'll find training and where they can see a future,” Dr. Berling says. “We're not looking for jobs where people have to
move every six to eight months or they're going to have to job hop for a dollar more an hour. Retention is a really important part of this whole equation for us, and you get retention when jobs are good.”
NKY Works doesn’t run its own programs; it works to support and promote other regional programs. Many high-
quality workforce programs and services exist in our region. NKY Works strives to bring them together, to agree upon a primary set of goals and strategies, to ultimately make our workforce development ecosystem one that is simple to access and that serves both job seekers and employers in a cohesive and comprehensive way.
“We are grateful for the many organizations, from
non-profit, to government to private sector, that have chosen to work together to improve our workforce ecosystem. It’s NKY Works’ privilege to lead and integrate all the great work that is happening,” Eimer stated.
“Sometimes the issues are straightforward. For example, we know that transportation can be an issue for workers, so we encourage employers to consider how their start and end times align with bus routes. Sometimes starting a shift a half-hour later or ending it a half-hour earlier can make all the difference for your workforce," Dr. Berling says. "Lately, companies have been re-examining their job descriptions to ensure the requirements align with the skills and competencies they need in new candidates. Scaling back the application requirements and increasing in-house training can open doors for many potential workers. We can connect businesses with our many partners who understand these issues and can share ideas for workforce success."
Eimer agrees.
“The one thing about our work is that it is not siloed; we fully leverage resources across the Greater Cincinnati workforce ecosystem” he says. “When we’re having conversations with employers, it’s important to mention when we talk about providing comprehensive support for employers, it's not just feeding them talent. It's working with them to look at their policies and practices to make it easier for them to tap into traditionally untapped talent pools.”
ALL THE TALENT IN THE WORLD
While plenty of challenges may remain ahead – Judge/
Executive Moore cites childcare costs, recreation amenities and attainable housing as chief among them – all NKY Works partners are committed to doing the work necessary to resolve them. Helping Northern Kentucky to compete, he says, are the region’s amenities coupled with its centralized location, noting how “We have big city opportunities and attractions ... We're in Kentucky and we can provide opportunities for young families.”
Judge/Executive Moore says those are the actions that will make people take notice of Northern Kentucky and want to be a part of not just its workforce but community as well.
"Workforce development is not a challenge unique to our region. Communities across the country struggle with this," Judge/Executive Moore says. "We know that because of the success of the Office of Drug Control Policy, this model works. And we know that when communities proactively identify barriers and address them with innovative ideas and solutions, they are the ones who can attract and retain families, employees and employers."
Growing Northern Kentucky is why Dr. Berling says she and Eimer are confident in NKY Works.
“I want more employers to call and have a conversation with me about the things that are on their to-do list or keeping them up at night,” Dr. Berling says. “We want to know those things so we can better work with them. People do see and feel the difference. Collectively, we're doing really good work. Let’s keep it going.”
If your organization is facing workforce challenges, NKY Works can help. They will connect you to a variety of resources to address your issues. Contact NKY Works at (859) 657-WRKS (9757) or NKYWorks@NKADD.org. NKY
NKY WORKS AT A GLANCE
Founded in 2024, NKY Works is led by a ninemember executive committee of regional growth organizations and local government leaders and advised by a 24-member advisory committee comprised of private-sector representatives and workforce partners. The initiative has engaged 75+ business and community partners with approximately 200 participating individuals. The initiative is housed at the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) and supported by Boone, Campbell and Kenton County Fiscal Courts in conjunction with BE NKY Growth Partnership.
NKY Works has enjoyed several positive outcomes in its first year of existence. The following is a sampling of the organization’s notable achievements:
• Promoted the importance of early childcare education and incentives available to employers;
• Convened educators and companies to discuss the career aptitudes of local high school students, as measured by the YouScience assessment;
• Developed a training guide highlighting shortterm certification options for career readiness;
• Created NKY Career Jumpstart (https://www. nkycareerjumpstart.com) to highlight workbased learning opportunities at NKY companies; and
• Established a series of communication vehicles to highlight workforce-related events and opportunities, and to provide suggested best practices for companies to address key challenges.
WEBSITE: www.nkyworks.org
TALENT SHOW
Attracting and retaining young
talent
“HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW.” THAT CLICHÉ IS acceptable when describing fads – mood rings, anyone? However, for business owners focused on building a strong workforce, the challenge lies in retaining the next generation of talent. The potential for students currently enrolled in local high schools and colleges to seek career opportunities outside the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati region upon graduation is a concern shared by many employers. To combat this, employers need to establish strong connections with these potential future workers through internships, co-ops and mentorship that can help cultivate a steady pipeline and keep skilled talent in Northen Kentucky.
So, what can employers do to connect with the more than 123,000 students attending higher education institutions in Greater Cincinnati? A lot – and that was never more evident than at the NKY Chamber’s recent forum designed to help its members, “Reinventing your Talent Pipeline.”
Local universities including the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Northern Kentucky University (NKU) are introducing new methods to streamline partnerships with businesses. Offering robust support systems for employers looking to establish co-op and internship programs, these resources include matching businesses with students who align with their needs. Additionally, the programs also help provide guidance on setting up impactful roles to prepare students for the workforce.
The NKY Chamber convened industry leaders from small and large businesses, including Philippe Garnier, CEO and general manager, Safran Landing Systems, Kentucky; Kevin Brummer, director of strategy and operations for Global Business Solutions; Maria Perez, internship program coordinator/FAME coordinator and DEI ambassador for Bosch Automotive Steering; and Jim Vitali, AVP, Remote Site Operations and Bonnie Wathen, AVP,
By Tabari McCoy, Scooter Media
starts with early efforts, incentives
Talent Acquisition with Western & Southern Financial Group. The discussion, moderated by NKY Works/NKY Workforce Investment Board Executive Director Correy Eimer, highlighted how their companies successfully leverage regional college and university talent to meet workforce needs.
Consider utilizing these practical insights to help build effective partnerships and incorporate students into your recruiting and training practices.
EMBRACE THE INTERNSHIP
A point agreed upon by all the event’s panelists: internships are a wonderful way to attract talent to your company for several reasons:
• Internships provide an opportunity for students to experience your company firsthand and gain insight into what you do and why you do it. That early exposure can help cultivate an interest in the company that will expand horizons and provide more valuable hands-on experience than what can be learned in a classroom.
• Through internships, your company can identify gaps between classroom and real-world experience, providing insight into the skills newer generations bring to the workforce, where deficiencies in needed skills may lie, and how trainable potential future employees may be.
• Internships allow you to hear from incoming talent and learn about their interests, goals, expectations and how they view your company, processes and more. While work itself may remain constant, the ways in which people do it over time may change. Providing opportunities to participate in real-world scenarios and paying a fair-market wage for their work can prove highly valuable in attracting and retaining
OPENING KEYNOTE:
employees. As much as you are evaluating your interns’ work, your interns are evaluating your company to determine if all aspects – workload, expectations, culture, etc. – are a fit for them. Additionally, their feedback can help refine your training, policies and procedures to be more attractive as a potential landing spot in the future.
“Those students are great resources,” says Garnier. “You discover that they are capable of doing things much faster and in a different way than we are used to.”
THINK LOCALLY, ACT GLOBALLY
• Being a France-based company, Safran has routinely sent interns from its homebase to the United States and viceversa. Garnier says doing so has enabled the students to learn about diverse business practices and different cultures, which may prove valuable in a growing global economy. While every company may not be able to afford such a practice, opportunities to be part of regional, national and/ or global work experiences can increase talent’s enjoyment and fulfilment at your company.
GO WHERE THE TALENT IS
• If you’re looking for talent, it’s best to go where the talent is. That’s one lesson Western & Southern has learned, which is why it has found great success with its contact centers at NKU and UC. The NKU center provides students real-world work experience, performing a variety of duties, including making outbound calls to life insurance applicants to verify information as part of the underwriting process. At UC, students employed through the company’s Accelerated
PHILIPPE GARNIER
CEO, General Manager, Brakes and Wheels Division, Safran Landing Systems KY
FEATURED PANELISTS:
BRUMMER Director of Strategy & Operations, Global Business Solutions, Inc.
Internship Program Coordinator/FAME Coordinator/DEI Ambassador, Bosch Automotive Steering, LLC
MODERATOR:
Career Program work with current and prospective clients
COREY EIMER
Associate Director of Workforce Development, NKADD
of Gerber Life Insurance, a nationally recognized member company of Western & Southern. Both measures acquaint students with the company while remaining flexible around their class schedules. While your company may not have on-campus positions available, being present – through presentations, job fairs and more – where talent is can help spur interest in your business and help talent get their proverbial foot in the door.
“We started with 14 people a little over three years ago ... Today, we have over 40 part-time students who are supporting five different business units and 13 different business functions,” Vitali says about the NKU student workers. “Right now, some of them are outperforming our full-time staff.”
Brummer says Global Business Solutions has enjoyed a similar experience at UC.
“Because we were out in the field, we had the opportunity to expose professors to emerging technologies,” he says. “This allowed us to bring new knowledge and equipment to the university, deepening our relationship beyond working with interns. Together, we helped establish a technology innovation center on campus, creating a dedicated space for collaboration that brought interns and our team closer together.”
BONNIE WATHAM AVP, Talent Acquisition, Western & Southern Financial Group
KEVIN
MARIA PEREZ
JIM VITALI AVP, Remote Site Operations
SHOWCASE YOUR FULL RANGE OF CAREERS
• While Bosch Automotive specializes in diesel and fuel injection systems and Global Business Solutions focuses on IT and managed security services (MSSP), those are not the only careers available at their respective companies. There are also positions in marketing, finance and human resources – thus making the need to showcase the full range of opportunities available at a business essential to finding talent to fulfill roles in those fields. Making sure your communication channels reflect all the opportunities available at your business can mean the difference between finding talent or endlessly searching for it. NKY
Newport Business Council 2025 Event Calendar
Tuesday, February 25
Tuesday, March 25
Tuesday, April 22
Wednesday, May 7 - Annual Celebration
Tuesday, June 24
Tuesday, July 22
Tuesday, August 26
Tuesday, September 23
Tuesday, October 28
Tuesday, December 9
Membership is open to businesses and community organizations operating within the Newport city limits. If you are a current member of the NKY Chamber in good standing, your business is automatically a member of the Newport Business Council.
NEWPORT BIZ COUNCIL
You do not have to be a member of the NKY Chamber to be a member of the Newport Business Council. Newport Business Council dues are $100 annually. Reach out to Lynn Abeln at labeln@nkychamber.com to join.
You can upgrade your Newport Business Council member level to a NKY Chamber full member level, visit nkychamber.com/business-council or contact Lynn Abeln at labeln@nkychamber.com to learn more.
Register for these events and more at nkychamber.com/events
Jenny Sand, Executive Director, Government and Community Relations at NKU
Philippe Garnier, CEO & GM at Safran Landing Systems Kentucky
Marianne W. Lewis, PhD, Dean, UC Carl H. Lindner College of Business
Building Northern Kentucky’s Tech Talent
By NKY Chamber Staff
We Lead CS and NKY Chamber partner to address tech workforce gap.
IN JANUARY, KENTUCKY STATE SENATOR SHELLEY
Funke Frommeyer and Representative Mike Clines joined Alicia Sells, Chief Executive Officer, We Lead CS and Brent Cooper, President and CEO, Northern Kentucky Chamber, to celebrate a milestone for the region’s tech workforce – the announcement that the Northern Kentucky Chamber received We Lead CS’ first Take the Lead grant to develop the region’s tech-industry talent pipeline.
The grant will support initiatives designed to expand students’ access to computer science education, particularly in rural communities, and enhance Kentucky’s standing in the technology industry. Through We Lead CS’ innovative virtual career academy, students will gain more than just technical knowledge—they will receive personalized mentorship from a
College and Career Coach, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the demands of an evolving job market.
“We Lead CS is a program like no other. We teach computer science to students across Kentucky; however, the program is more than just teaching classes, we provide all students with career coaching, mentorship and more to ready them for the workforce,” said Alicia Sells, Chief Executive Officer, We Lead CS. “To ensure our students are ready to meet the needs of employers, we provide grants to the Northern Kentucky Chamber and other chambers across the state to help us understand what local employers need in their talent pipeline.”
To prepare Kentucky’s future technology workforce for their future careers, We Lead CS is working to better understand Kentucky’s needs for the tech industry, both present and future.
To glean this understanding, We Lead CS is investing in local chambers of commerce, like the Northern Kentucky Chamber, to research and provide insights that will benefit Kentucky’s students and the workforce.
"As talent remains the top priority and challenge for employers in Northern Kentucky and across the state, initiatives like We Lead CS are essential to our region’s growth and competitiveness," said Brent Cooper, President and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber. "Technology touches every industry, and by building a strong tech talent pipeline, we not only prepare students for high-demand careers but also attract businesses and innovation to our region. We encourage employers to engage with We Lead CS through mentorships, internships and virtual job shadow opportunities. Together, we can ensure students are equipped with the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving economy."
The numbers underscore the urgency of investing in Kentucky’s tech workforce. There are approximately 3,400 open technologyrelated positions in Kentucky at any given time that pay on average $80,000 and provide great opportunities for students as they prepare to enter the workforce.
Through partnerships with groups like the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati and chambers like the Northern Kentucky Chamber, We Lead CS is working to get students in front of employers to learn about career paths in the industry and begin forging connections. Businesses can lead the talented up-and-coming workforce through mentorship, job shadowing, mock interviews, internships and more.
We Lead CS is setting a national standard for integrating computer science education into secondary and post-secondary curricula. The program enables students to earn dual credits while maintaining strong connections to their local high schools. By engaging in coursework covering coding, video game design, programming, computer-aided design, and engineering, students are charting pathways to success in a rapidly evolving job market.
As Kentucky looks to the future, investments in programs like We Lead CS are shaping a competitive workforce ready to meet industry demands. Schools and businesses interested in joining this transformative initiative can learn more at weleadcs.org. By coming together, Kentucky’s leaders, educators, and employers are ensuring that the next generation is prepared to take the lead in technology.
To learn more about We Lead CS, or to get involved as an employer through mentorship, job shadowing, mock interviews, internships and more, visit www.weleadcs.org. NKY
From left to right: Brent Cooper, President & CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber; Sen. Steve Rawlings; Nancy Spivey, Vice President of Talent Strategies for the Northern Kentucky Chamber; Rep. Mark Hart; Alicia Sells, CEO of We Lead CS; Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer; Rep. Mike Clines; Tami Wilson, Vice President of Government Relations & Business Advocacy, Northern Kentucky Chamber
AROUND THE CHAMBER
GOVERNMENT FORUM: FEDERAL LEADERSHIP RESET | RADISSON HOTEL
INVESTMENTS |
NKY COMMUNITY AWARD - KEVIN CANAFAX, FIDELITY
COVINGTON, KY
NKY CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND BOARD OF ADVISORS HOLIDAY LUNCHEON | RECEPTIONS ERLANGER
NKYP LUNCHTIME LEADER CHAT: PAUL FURTADO, COO, PRYSMIAN NORTH AMERICA
WOMEN'S INITIATIVE PROFESSIONAL SERIES | BOONE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
AROUND THE CHAMBER
FORT THOMAS BUSINESS COUNCIL HOLIDAY SOCIAL | THE POST
FLORENCE BUSINESS COUNCIL HOLIDAY PARTY | TURFWAY PARK RACING & GAMING
FORT THOMAS BUSINESS COUNCIL | MESS HALL
NORTHERN KENTUCKY YOUNG PROFESSIONALS HOLIDAY PARTY | BUFFALO BAR, LUDLOW KY
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS | OFF PAR GOLF & SOCIAL, CRESTVIEW HILLS KY
The city of Fort Thomas is the largest in Campbell County with a rich heritage, beautiful neighborhoods, a vibrant business community and award winning schools. Our panelists will discuss the achievements of 2024 and share 2025 goals and plans for city, economic development and the schools.
Thursday, March 27 | 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM | Mess Hall, 801 Cochran Avenue | NKYChamber.com/events
April: District Roundtable Discussion: Business Support
FT TOM BIZ COUNCIL
Every business needs support to thrive. What does support look like for your business? During the April roundtables there will be discussions on ways for the Fort Thomas business community to support each other and learn what options are available.
Thursday, April 24 | 8:15 - 9:30 AM | Mess Hall, 801 Cochran Avenue | NKYChamber.com/events
Crossroads of US 16 and US 17 | Independence, KY
Register for these events and more at nkychamber.com/events
A team that anticipates
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NKYP EVENT PASS
“The NKY Chamber, particularly the NKYP program, has been a huge part of my career growth. My involvement has given me access to new relationships, business partners, leadership opportunities, and lasting friendships. I’ve learned when you surround yourself with other young professionals who are dedicated to furthering the Northern Kentucky region, you are able to move mountains.
I’m also a huge fan of the NKYP Event Pass which has allowed me to make one annual investment to expand my network and take full advantage of everything the NKY Chamber offers.
- Hank Heidrich, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
MILESTONES
Easterseals Redwood, a nonprofit working to advance 100% equity, access, and inclusion for all, has welcomed Rachel Fausz as its Vice President of Agency Advancement and Marketing. Fausz will oversee fundraising, marketing, communications, and volunteer management while leading marketing and development efforts for special events that enhance the agency’s image in the community. Additionally, she will serve as a brand ambassador and liaison to Easterseals National and local board committees, while overseeing the schedules and responsibilities of management-level staff in the department.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to Easterseals Redwood as a strategic leader in advancing our mission,” said Easterseals Redwood President and CEO, Pam Green. “With an exemplary career and history in the nonprofit space coupled with a personal connection to the organization, we are confident in her ability to grow awareness of the important role nonprofits play as a resource and asset within the community. Her professional expertise and passion for our mission will be valuable as we continue to expand our impact across the region working daily at helping adults and children with disabilities, people facing economic disadvantages, and veterans live full and meaningful lives.”
Fausz has more than 20 years of experience working in nonprofits spanning many sectors, including in healthcare, higher education, and health and human services. As a result of her work, these organizations have realized more than $90 million in fundraising impact across the region.
“This job combines both personal and professional passions for me,” Fausz said. “My daughters attended the early childhood program at the Fort Mitchell campus making this opportunity a full-circle moment. I’m thrilled for the chance to advance my career at an organization that holds such meaning for my family.”
Fausz has her bachelor’s degree of science in mathematics from Centre College. She’s a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has been recognized as a member of WE Lead Class 7, Legacy’s Next Generation Leadership Award Finalist, YWCA Rising Star, and 100 Wise Women.
EVENT CALENDAR
MARCH
3/1 LNK Class of 2026 Application Open
3/4 WI Annual Breakfast | Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, Florence | 7:30 - 10:30 AM
3/7 LNK Talent Pipeline Pre-session | TBD | 12:00 - 5:00 PM (Class only)
3/11 RYL Capstone | Xavier University, Health United Building | 7:45 AM - 3:00 PM (Class only)
3/12 Workforce Best Practices Symposium | Kenton Co. Public Library, Erlanger | 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM
3/13 NKYP Coffee and Conversations | The Hive, Erlanger | 8:00 - 9:00 AM
3/13 LNK Talent Pipeline Session | Kenton County Library, Erlanger | 12:00 - 5:30 PM (Class only)
3/18 Eggs ‘N Issues: Fireside Chat with NKU President | Receptions, Erlanger | 7:30 - 9:00 AM
3/19 Business After Hours | OneNKY Center and Smoke Justis | 4:00 - 6:30 PM
3/20 Florence Business Council: State of the City | Florence Baptist Church | 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM
3/25 Newport Business Council: The Foundation of AI | TBD | 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM
3/27 Fort Thomas Business Council: State of the City | Mess Hall, Fort Thomas | 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM
3/31 WI Connect Hour | Elite Medspa, Union | 4:00 - 6:00 PM
TBD RYL Graduation | Kenton County Library, Erlanger | 2:30 - 3:30 PM
APRIL
4/2 Getting the Most of Your Chamber Membership | NKY Chamber, Ft. Mitchell | 9:00 - 10:00 AM
4/10 NKYP Lunchtime Leader Chat: Civic Connections – Kenton County Govt Center, Covington | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
4/15 Eggs 'N Issues: Cybersecurity - Risk Mitigation for Your Business | Receptions, Erlanger | 7:30 - 9:00 AM
4/17 LNK Community Health Session | TBD | 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM (Class only)
4/17 Florence Business Council: Medical Cannabis | Florence Baptist Church | 11:15 AM - 1:00 PM
4/18 Inclusive Business Strategies Series 3 | TBD | 8:30 - 10:30 AM
4/22 WI Coffee Connect | Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, Florence | 8:00 - 10:00 AM
4/22 Newport Business Council: Business Social | Newport Racing & Gaming | 4:30 - 6:30 PM
4/24 Fort Thomas Business Council: District Roundtables | City Building | 8:15 - 9:30 AM
MAY
5/1 Business Impact Awards | Devou Properties, Covington (formerly Drees Pavilion) | 4:00 - 6:00 PM
5/1 LNK Class of 2026 Application Deadline
5/7 Business Council Annual Celebration | Turfway Park, Florence | 5:30 - 8:30 PM
5/8 LNK Community Vibrancy Session | TBD | 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM (Class only)
5/10 NKYP Volunteer Opportunity | Brighton Center, Newport | 4:00 - 8:00 PM
5/14 HR 100 | TBD | NKY Chamber, Ft. Mitchell | 8:00 - 9:30 AM
5/16 LNK Closing Retreat | Florence Nature Park | 11:30 AM - 6:00 PM (Class only)
5/16 NKYP Cocktails and Conversations | Killer Queen/Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati | 4:00 - 10:00 PM
5/19 WI Connect Hour | New Riff Distilling, Newport | 4:00 - 6:00 PM
5/20 Eggs 'N Issues: Bridging Futures - Career Development & Education for a Thriving Business Community | Receptions, Erlanger | 7:30 - 9:00 AM
5/22 Business After Hours | TBD | 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Northern Kentucky Business Journal is published bi-monthly by:
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
300 Buttermilk Pike
Suite 330 P.O. Box 17416
Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017 859-578-8800 NKYChamber.com
The Business Journal is a benefit of membership and included in membership fees. Annual subscription rate for nonmembers is $30.
Periodicals Postage Paid USPS-548630 at Covington, KY.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 300 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 330, P.O. Box 17416 , Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017-0416.
Subscribers: Please send address changes by e-mail to info@nkychamber.com.
© 2024, The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Inc. and by the individual authors. All rights reserved.
CEO/Publisher
Brent Cooper | bcooper@nkychamber.com
Marketing & Communications
Shannan Boyer | shannan@scootermediaco.com
Design & Photography
Ben Gastright | bgastright@nkychamber.com
Lindsey Vanderkolk | lindsey@scootermediaco.com
Vice President, Membership–Sponsorship Sales
Lynn Abeln | labeln@nkychamber.com
Director, Sponsor Investments
Diana McGlade | dmcglade@nkychamber.com
Staff Writer
Tabari McCoy | tabari@scootermediaco.com
Printing Black Tie Productions
