A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Stewart retiring as NKWIB workforce development director; search underway for her replacement


For more than 35 years, Barbara B. Stewart has been a driving force behind
 workforce development in Northern Kentucky.

Barbara Stewart

Stewart will be retiring in December
 2019, and the hiring process has begun in order to provide a seamless transition for 
the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (NKWIB), which meets the
changing needs of employers and our labor force, resulting in enhanced economic development for our region.

With a bachelor’s in social work from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s in business administration from Xavier University, Stewart began her career under the Job Training Partnership Act. She ultimately became NKWIB director and was key in local Career Center implementation.

As directed by the strategic plan of the NKWIB, Stewart has been instrumental in focusing the work of the Career Center system on providing valuable business services to meet the needs of employers, designing a robust sector-focused model to enhance utilization of allocations and resources and making significant connections between the workforce development systems and the education and economic development partners in Northern Kentucky.

Through her efforts, the NKWIB was the first Workforce Investment Board in the Commonwealth to receive designation as a “High Impact WIB.”

In 2019, Barbara was recognized by the Northern Kentucky Chamber Women’s Initiative with an Outstanding Women of Northern Kentucky Award.

The NKWIB Director also serves as NKADD’s Associate Director of Workforce Development, which requires strategic implementation of NKWIB policies and directives, overseeing multiple grant programs, coordination with multiple stakeholders, and management of an annual budget of $3.3 million in federal funds for workforce system development.

More information is available here.


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