Meet ONLA's New Executive Director

Tracy Schiefferle, ONLA Executive Director, tracy@onla.org

A little about me…

By the time you read this, I will have spent approximately two months with the ONLA as your new Director. At this point, I have quickly learned that the green industry has numerous groups and acronyms, and that Roni is a talking ONLA encyclopedia. Both she and Karen are great resources and make the office fun. I also want to thank Ken Fisher for being an ongoing resource and for his time directing ONLA, and the ONLA Board for their warm welcome despite being the busiest time. ONLA is better for all their contributions.

While I hope to have the opportunity to meet with all of you in the near future to make a personal introduction (hopefully at the upcoming Walkabouts, the Golf Outing on September 21, or the educational reConnect meetings in early November), I would be remiss not to take advantage of this column to tell you a little about me.

On a personal level, I live in Dublin with my sons. My youngest “son” Tucker, while only three, has the best beard of all my boys. Tucker, by the way, is an Airedale terrier. I also have two human sons. Graham is a senior at Arizona State University in supply chain management and sustainability. He is braving his first summer in Tempe hopefully avoiding third degree burns. Gavin just graduated high school and will be heading to join his brother at ASU this fall. They keep me busy being a hockey and baseball mom among other parental titles. I grew up in Canton and graduated from The Ohio State University and am an avid fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Cleveland Indians. I love traveling, music, and cooking so my alter ego would be a travel show host like Anthony Bourdain. I enjoy being outdoors hiking, kayaking, or water skiing. I like to garden but do not like fighting with clay soil. I could spend hours looking at design trends for home and garden and usually need to be remodeling something. I will read books and watch any show with a witty sense of humor (Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Schitt’s Creek, etc.) but do not ask me to turn on the Hallmark Channel. U2 is the best band and chips are better than chocolate.

On a professional level, the bulk of my early career was spent working in government and community affairs with the Columbus Medical Association, the Ohio Sierra Club, and a brief time in the corporate world with Enron (no, I was not in charge of shredding). I transitioned to operational management having served as the Executive Director for the Ohio Ophthalmological Association and as Director/Owner for an association management company for several non-profit organizations. Most recently, I served as the Executive Director for the Building Industry Association Foundation where I also served as Assistant Director for the association. My experience ranges from advocacy to event planning; membership to budgeting and all between. I gravitate toward association management as I enjoy the collaboration with the board,

members, and staff to develop a vision and strategic plan for the organization to be the best resource to its members and the best representation of its industry.

A little about you…

First, thank you for your membership and support. Your engagement with the ONLA shows that you care about the industry and professionalism. The ONLA serves the range of the green industry having members with both unique and common needs. My hope is to understand those needs and find ways for ONLA to engage those professionals within the industry and enhance current resources. Aside from the work that you do for residents and businesses in Ohio, the members of the ONLA provide jobs and opportunities for countless people and we are going to highlight this as we seek to grow this association, this industry, and our footprint in Ohio. My goal is not to just increase engagement within the industry but also awareness of the industry’s professionalism within our communities. Working together, we will strive to serve

this industry to the best of our abilities and work to be the organization that others strive to be.

I look forward to meeting you, I look forward to hearing from you, and most importantly I look forward to serving you and this industry.

Tracy can be contacted at tracy@onla.org