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NKY Chamber announces innaugural 25-member cohort of Encounter NKY leadership program


The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber) has announced the inaugural cohort of Encounter NKY, a new leadership program focused on helping participants develop a deeper sense of belonging to the community. The fall cohort will include 25 professionals representing businesses and organizations across Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.

The 3-month program focuses on assisting employers with retaining top talent and growing the next generation of leaders within their organizations. Participants will establish a greater sense of belonging to the community while exploring all the ways Northern Kentucky puts the “great” in Greater Cincinnati. Developed out of the Leadership NKY Class of 2019 in an effort the help address the region’s workforce issues, Encounter NKY rounds out the NKY Chamber’s leadership programming alongside Leadership Northern Kentucky and Regional Youth Leadership.

Laura Menge of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation is the Encounter NKY Chair.

“I’m eager to bring our fall cohort together so they can begin exploring and building a deeper understanding of everything the Greater Cincinnati region has to offer while forming a meaningful network of professional and personal relationships,” said Menge. “Each of these leaders will bring unique experiences and perspectives to this program. One of the NKY Chamber’s strategic imperatives is growing, attracting and retaining world-class talent. Encounter NKY is just one of the ways that the NKY Chamber is investing in talent attraction and retention within the Northern Kentucky Metro region.”

The following individuals have been named to the Encounter NKY fall cohort:

Jolene Almendarez, The Cincinnati Enquirer
Stephen Amend, First Financial Bank
Paula Barnes, Gateway Community and Technical College
Annabelle Bautista, Thomas More University
Sheena Brooks, Northern Kentucky University
Rachael Chamberlain, Frost Brown Todd LLC
Jessica Cleek, St. Elizabeth Physicians
Moly Diamon, Northern Kentucky University – Institute for Health Innovation
Courtney Donovan, Redwood
Kaitlin Gebby, LINK Media LLC
Gina Genco, Scooter Media Co.
Cassandra Hurst, Northern Kentucky Conventions and Visitors Bureau
D’Juan James, St. Elizabeth Healthcare
Courtney Kleier, NKY Chamber of Commerce
Nicholas Lyktey, Gravity Diagnostics
Robbie Marye, Payroll Partners
Jessica Newman, The Kroger Co.
Rebekah Null, Gravity Diagnostics
Alison Peoples, St. Elizabeth Healthcare
Lindsey Rechtin, Northern Kentucky Water District
Carlos Ruiz, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Joy Schug, St. Elizabeth Physicians
Samuel Shelton, City of Fort Thomas
Matt Tarka, HORAN
Ryan Wilkins, Duke Energy

The Encounter NKY program will kick off in September.

“New talent is vital to the future growth of Northern Kentucky,” said Dawn Denham, Director of Leadership at the NKY Chamber. “To support businesses, we must find a way to attract and retain new talent to our region. Encounter NKY is a program that will do just that. While we’re excited to kick off our inaugural Encounter NKY cohort, this program is unique and offers a fall and spring cohort each year. Applications for the spring cohort will be available in early 2023.”

To learn more about Encounter NKY, visit www.NKYChamber.com. Questions about the application process or the program can be directed to Dawn Denham at ddenham@nkychamber.com.

Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce


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