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NONPROFIT & GOVERNMENT
NONPROFIT & NONPROFIT & GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT
Andrew Aiello
GENERAL MANAGER TANK
Aiello began working at the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky in 2004 and held a number of positions before being named to the top spot in 2010. TANK has a fl eet of more than 130 buses that serve Campbell, Kenton, and Boone counties on Local, Express, Airport, and Southbank Shuttle routes. Three directors from each county make up the board that sets policy for the system that was created in 1978.
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio Education: Miami University (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (MBA) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? The pandemic was so disruptive to our industry that the usual metrics, signposts, and truisms we relied on were all pointing in new and wild directions. It was challenging to recalibrate our way of thinking and to continually reformulate strategy along the way.
Jeff rey Aluotto
ADMINISTRATOR Hamilton County
Aluotto, who has been the county’s top administration official since 2016, first managed the Solid Waste District and then served as Assistant Administrator. He is responsible for coordinating elected and independent agencies as well as overseeing the management of departments such as fi nance and budgeting, community development, and all social services functions. More than 4,500 people work for the county.
Education: Miami University (undergraduate and master’s), Xavier University (MBA)
Patty Brisben
FOUNDER The Patty Brisben Foundation
Brisben was a single mother when she began selling intimacy products to women at in-home parties in 1983 to support four children. Ten years later, she founded Pure Romance and built it into a multimillion-dollar company. She created the foundation in 2006 to address the sexual health issues facing women throughout their life.
Hometown: Cincinnati What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? Not having everyone together in the same room. The foundation was focused on raising funds for our annual grant cycle, and not having in-person events forced us to change how we go about it. Has your leadership approach changed because of the pandemic? I always say that leaders need to be surrounded by great people, and we were able to do things I didn’t think we would this past year because I’m fortunate to be surrounded by great people.
Brent Cooper
PRESIDENT AND CEO NKY Chamber of Commerce
Cooper, founder of C-Forward Information Technologies in Covington, has led the chamber since 2017. The organization advocates for and provides services to more than 1,500 businesses with more than 200,000 employees in the region. It teamed with the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce to let members join at a discount and led the NKY Restaurant Relief Fund that helped local eateries weather last year’s pandemic.
John Cranley
MAYOR City of Cincinnati
Cranley fi nishes his second term this year and has announced he will run for Governor of Ohio in 2022. He can tout population growth of more than 4 percent since the 2010 census to more than 309,000 in the latest count, as well as transformative development downtown and in neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine, Walnut Hills, and Evanston. Democrats David Mann and Aftab Pureval face off on November 2 to succeed Cranley.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: John Carroll University (undergraduate), Harvard University (master’s and J.D.)
Lee Crume
PRESIDENT AND CEO Northern Kentucky Tri-ED
Crume has led the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, which markets and promotes Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties to businesses, since 2019. In spite of losing much of its funding during the pandemic, the agency was able to lend support to more than 25 companies that expanded or made location announcements that are expected to bring almost $270 million in capital investment and more than 1,560 jobs to the region.
Hometown: Owensboro, Kentucky Education: Western Kentucky University (undergraduate and master’s)
Marc Fisher
CEO Mayerson JCC
Fisher has led the organization that celebrates Jewish life and welcomes people regardless of race, religion, or ability. JCC off ers multiple programs for students, seniors, and people with special needs that includes state-of-the-art fi tness center, award-winning early childhood and senior centers, arts and cultural events, plus a day camp, outdoor pool, playgrounds, and basketball and tennis courts in Amberley Green.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: University of Michigan (undergraduate), Northwestern University (MBA)
Jeanne Golliher
CEO Cincinnati Development Fund
Golliher has led the lending organization created by local financial institutions to share risk on innovative real estate fi nancing for under-served and emerging neighborhoods since 1998. Joe Huber, who has been with CDF since 2006, was promoted in March to President from COO and Chief Lending Offi cer. He will oversee the daily operations of the agency while Golliher will focus on relationships with the fi nancial institutions and its government, community, and philanthropic partners.
Brian Griffi n
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY-TREASURER Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council
Griffi n was elected to the top labor leadership position in September to replace Peter McLinden, who moved to Dayton to become AFSCME’s Regional Director. The Cincinnati AFL-CIO represents more than 100,000 members of almost 130 local unions throughout Ohio with the goal of obtaining economic justice in the workplace and social justice for working families. He serves on the city’s Civil Service Commission and is a member of the SORTA board.
Hometown: Gallipolis, Ohio Education: Ohio University (undergraduate and master’s) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? Communication. Everything we do relies on people working with and for other people in the ongoing eff ort to raise each other up. It’s essential to keep humanity in human interactions.
Darryl Haley
GENERAL MANAGER AND CEO Metro/SORTA
Haley, who has worked for the transit organization that provides bus service in Hamilton County and commuter routes from Clermont, Butler, and Warren counties into the city since 2006, was promoted last year after serving as interim leader. Hamilton County voters approved an 0.8 percent tax levy in 2020 that includes about $100 million annually for expanded bus service under a plan called Reinventing Metro: Phase I.
Eddie Koen
PRESIDENT AND CEO Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio
Koen joined the organization in 2019 and helped organize the Black Lives Matter mural in front of City Hall. He also accepted a $1 million gift from Phil and Gail Holloman to establish the Center for Social Justice led by Rickell Howard Smith, former Greater Cincinnati Foundation Senior Director of Community Strategies.
Hometown: Chicago Education: University of Alabama (undergraduate), University of Alabama at Birmingham (master’s), Samford University (J.D.) How are your employees feeling as they and your business emerge from the pandemic? Our employees are resilient and have stretched themselves beyond their capacity. In 2019, we served 18,000 people in the metro area and Dayton. Post-pandemic, that number has ballooned to 40,000 people, with 70 percent of our clients never working with a nonprofi t previously.
Ellen Katz
PRESIDENT AND CEO Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Katz has led the leading community foundation that brings together donors, nonprofi ts, and changemakers to improve the region since 2015. Founded in 1963, the agency has made more than $1.25 billion in grants, including $80 million in 2019. In addition to money, the organization sponsors programs to bring people together, including a series of sessions called Racial Equity Matters over the past year, and has invested in local aff ordable housing initiatives.
Hometown: Greenwich, Connecticut Education: University of Vermont (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (master’s), Xavier University (MBA)
Eric Kearney
The former Ohio state senator leads the organization that advocates for African American-owned businesses with programs, events, and resources. Kearney worked with Mayor John Cranley and other stakeholders on Ascend*Cincy, an initiative that aims to double the number of local minority-owned businesses in the next fi ve years. In May, the chamber launched PIVOT to help businesses recover from the pandemic.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Dartmouth College (undergraduate), University of Cincinnati (J.D.) Has your leadership approach changed because of the pandemic? We’ve all changed as leaders and as humans. I’ve become even more nimble and resourceful, but I’ve always been a servant leader and that’s not going to change.
Peter Landgren
PRESIDENT UC Foundation
The former Dean of UC’s College-Conservatory of Music has led the university’s chief philanthropic operation since 2017. The foundation is spearheading Next Now: The Campaign for Cincinnati, the school’s ambitious fund-raising campaign, which has a goal of $2 billion by 2024. The money will provide scholarships, fellowships, research, and healthcare initiatives to attract top talent to UC and UC Health.
Hometown: Rochester, New York Education: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (undergraduate)
Kimm Lauterbach
PRESIDENT AND CEO REDI
Lauterbach leads the Regional Economic Development Initiative, launched in 2014 to advocate for companies locating or growing in Greater Cincinnati’s 15-county region. Since its creation, REDI has helped bring more than $1.4 billion in capital investment and 22,000 jobs to the area. The agency provides help in fi nding sites, securing fi nancing and tax incentives, and connecting with business leaders.
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio Education: University of Dayton (undergraduate), Indiana University (master’s) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? When it started, we had just fi nalized our fi ve-year strategic plan. Like everyone else, there was a lot of uncertainty around how we should adapt to the situation. No one knew how long it would last, and we still don’t, so it wasn’t easy deciding whether to plan for a few weeks, a few months, or even longer.
Gary Lindgren
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Cincinnati Business Committee
Lindgren, the former Chief of Staff for Rep. Steve Chabot, leads the organization that directs the business community’s collective eff orts to identify and provide leadership on issues important to the economic vitality of Greater Cincinnati. He helped launch the Cincinnati Regional Business Committee in 2012, which includes CEOs from nearly 100 mid-size Cincinnati companies, and leads that group as well.
Candace McGraw
McGraw, who has led CVG since 2011, has helped create the largest North American cargo operation for both Amazon and DHL. Amazon opened its hub in August, the fi rst step toward 2,000 new jobs. DHL Express announced it would add 1,100 jobs, an increase of 25 percent to its local workforce. On the passenger side, Alaska Airlines began daily service from CVG.
Hometown: Pittsburgh Education: Duquesne University (undergraduate and master’s) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? It continues to be uncertainty about the pandemic’s depth and duration. After initially losing 95 percent of passengers and associated revenues in March 2020, through the return of the summer leisure traveler in 2021, to the rise in the variant, we’ve had to be acutely aware of health and safety concerns.
Patrick Longo
PRESIDENT AND CEO HCDC
Longo, who has worked at the former Hamilton County Development Co. for more than 20 years, took over the top spot in 2018. The organization helps build businesses and create jobs by providing incubation, lending, and economic development services. The agency, founded in 1983, has nurtured more than 300 resident companies, fi nanced more than $1 billion in projects, and helped create thousands of jobs.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: John Carroll University (undergraduate) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? Handling calls and emails from struggling businesses and communities that needed assistance with the vast array of newly created federal, state, and local assistance programs. The listening and hand-holding led to helping thousands of businesses in Greater Cincinnati to fi nd a path forward and to secure assistance.
Jill Meyer
PRESIDENT AND CEO Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber
Meyer has led the organization, which advocates for almost 5,000 businesses in Greater Cincinnati, since 2015. She collaborates with public offi cials to develop plans on issues such as transportation, health care, and education that fuel economic growth. The chamber is in the forefront of the campaign for a new Brent Spence Bridge and committed to recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce across the region.
Hometown: Cincinnati Education: Mount St. Joseph (undergraduate), Northern Kentucky University (J.D.)
Tim Maloney
PRESIDENT AND CEO Haile Foundation
Maloney leads the private family philanthropic foundation created by the estate of Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile. The organization, which simplifi ed its name and moved to new offi ces this year, has distributed more than $140 million in grants to more than 380 organizations since 2009. Its support has been integral to such high-profi le events as Lumenocity and BLINK, and its People’s Liberty incubator project that made grants to individuals who will be the next generation of city leaders.
Joseph Meyer
MAYOR City of Covington
Meyer, who was elected in 2016, has helped shape a revitalization of the city. It was named “City Government of the Year” by the Kentucky League of Cities organization, which praised its “transformational” work during the pandemic. The award highlighted the $3 million public Wi-Fi project, riverfront improvements, and $90 million in private capital investment.
Hometown: Covington Education: Bellarmine University (undergraduate), St. Louis University (master’s), Northern Kentucky University (J.D.) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? To keep my employees safe and healthy (physically and mentally) as they respond to COVID-related needs while continuing to provide the “normal” day-today services citizens and businesses need.
Beth Robinson
PRESIDENT AND CEO Uptown Consortium
Robinson leads the organization created by leaders of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, UC Health, TriHealth, and the University of Cincinnati to collaborate on projects. It’s in the process of transforming the intersection of Reading Road and Martin Luther King Drive with the construction of UC’s Digital Futures Building and the planned Innovation Greenway, which would include trails for walking and biking, pocket parks, seating decks, and public art.
Hometown: Georgetown, Ohio Education: University of Cincinnati (undergraduate and master’s) Has your leadership approach changed because of the pandemic? It’s forced me to be aware of new changes in how we do our work and stay on top of what is happening next. My ability to embrace fl exibility and be ready to make these changes much quicker than I ever did before has grown as a result.
Moira Weir
PRESIDENT AND CEO United Way of Cincinnati
Weir, who led Hamilton County Jobs & Family Services for 12 years, is the fi rst female leader of the local United Way organization. The agency met its $50 million campaign goal this year, from more than 60,000 donors, in spite of the pandemic. Then, in December, McKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, gave $25 million to United Way as part of donations to a number of local nonprofi ts.
Hometown: Philadelphia Education: Simmons College (undergraduate), Thomas Moore (MBA), Bryn Mawr College (master’s) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? My role as President and CEO began on March 16, 2020, when the state launched its pandemic response. The most challenging part was feeling a sense of urgency, understanding that time was of the essence, but the work also needed to be executed with tone of hopefulness.
Dennis Schnurr
ARCHBISHOP Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Most Rev. Schnurr oversees an archdiocese of about 450,000 Catholics that has a tradition of faith, education, and healthcare in 19 counties of Greater Cincinnati and Dayton. Schnurr led the celebration its bicentennial in June at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains. It was established by Pope Pius VII in 1821, the ninth in the country at the time. Bishop Edward Fenwick was the fi rst leader of the new congregation.
Hometown: Sheldon, Iowa Education: Loras College (undergraduate), Gregorian University (master’s), Catholic University of America (Ph.D.) What has been the toughest challenge for you as a business leader during the COVID-19 pandemic? As Catholics we believe that we grow in faith and love of God together in community. In the minds of many, maintaining this sense of a community of faith is a key component to overcoming the challenges of the pandemic.
Allen Woods
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MORTAR
Woods, Derrick Braziel, and William Thomas II created the organization in 2014 to help marginalized entrepreneurs fi nd resources and partners. The Pendleton-based organization has grown to seven cities in six states. Its Entrepreneurship Academy is designed for people starting or growing a business. Alumni include Brian Jackson, CEO and head brewer of Esoteric, one of the few minority-owned breweries in the country. Woods and his wife, Kayla, host a marriage podcast, Permanent Plus One.
Brian Tome
SENIOR PASTOR Crossroads Church
Tome founded the nondenominational congregation in 1996. It has 11 campuses in Ohio and Kentucky and operates Prison Ministry at seven facilities. Tome has written four books; created OCEAN, the fi rst faith-based business accelerator; hosts The Aggressive Life podcast; and released Phantom Lake, an adventure motorcycle TV show. To mark its 25 anniversary this year, Crossroads donated $2.5 million to 75 nonprofi ts.
Hometown: Pittsburgh Education: Robert Morris College (undergraduate), Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (master’s)
