23 Dayton area women business leaders chosen for Empower cohort

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce has named its second Empower cohort of business leaders.

In partnership with program sponsor Fifth Third Bank, this group of women began its experience Sept. 13 with a retreat hosted at Mills Park Hotel in Yellow Springs.

Over the next nine months, the cohort will engage in leadership workshops combined with day-sessions, business coaching and an extensive network of training support to help participants identify individual leadership strengths, values and goals, develop a personal brand and eliminate barriers to advancement.

Through a strategic partnership with Aileron, the region’s leadership and training development center, Empower will provide participants with a unique blend of hands-on business coaching and group support with peers. The experience will culminate with a closing retreat in June 2020.

Members of the second Empower Cohort are:

• Stephanie Balser of CareSource

• Britney Bart of Kettering Health Network

• Ashley Bethard of Cox Media Group Ohio

• Mandy Bingaman of University of Dayton

• Stacey Domicone of Verso Corporation

• Lindsay Dorsey of Dayton Power & Light

• Samantha Elder of Montgomery County

• Diane Farrell of Dayton Metro Library

• Tami Fourman of LexisNexis

• Leslie Goodwin Nidec of Minster Corporation

• Christine Haaker of Thompson Hine LLP

•Antoinette Hampton of The United Way of the Greater Dayton Area

• Jessica Jones of Universal 1 Credit Union

• Grace Jones of Dayton Children’s Hospital

• Kim Lahman of Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission

• Jodi Long of Montgomery County ADAMHS

• Kristen Marks of Centerville-Washington Parks District

• Jacqueline McGuire of Buckingham Advisors

• Marya Rutherford Long of Fifth Third Bank

• Charlynda Scales of Mutt’s Sauce LLC

• Errin Siske Spark of Space Creative LLC

• Katina Stone-Jones of Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

• Zdravka Todorova of Wright State University

• Jill Weaver of Wright-Patt Credit Union

Empower began as a new initiative under the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce in 2018.

“The chamber recognized a gap that exists in many metros across the country; the number of women in top-level executive positions in our business community doesn’t proportionately reflect the number of educated women in our community who have the skills to lead companies,” said Chris Kershner, executive vice president, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

According to Emsi, a labor market analytics firm, there are 622 c-suite executive positions in the Dayton region. Of those, 144 are occupied by women. When compared to numbers that show women hold 51.5% of all management and professional positions nationally, and that 40% of U.S. MBA grads are women, the chamber found a need for programming that will advance women business leaders to top-level business roles.

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