About us

Centered in Southwest Ohio’s Greater Miami Valley, the Women’s Resource Collaborative fills a distinct void for women in career transition. The goal of WRC is to help women who
have been out-placed, are unemployed, re-entering the job force, or
transitioning to a new career, by helping them clarify their
career paths or start their own businesses.

History

The WRC is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 by volunteers who know career resources are vital for the women of the Miami Valley. Our common thread is the belief that women in our area should have access to resources that encourage, promote, and guide women to establish entrepreneurial endeavors and/or reassess their professional abilities and chart new career paths. Many of the WRC staff members and current volunteers have experienced downsizing. As we struggled to maintain or regain stability, some of us have started our own businesses – many in unique new areas. All, however, keenly feel the tremendous lack of coordinated information, emotional support, and tailored guidance. A desire to band together to bridge the gaps in community resources and services, together with a strong desire to give back to the community prompted the birth of WRC. By sharing our knowledge and experience about how we made the transition from unemployed to business owner, new career, and/or new job, we can inspire and empower others to do the same.

Our Mission

To support women in business or career transition by providing resources
to achieve personal and economic prosperity.

How? By being the right place for you, connecting to women like you, to learn, teach, laugh, network, grow, dream, talk and build the future of the greater Miami Valley, by building new futures, one woman at a time.

Every day, WRC serves all kinds of women. We provide the resources; you provide the goals. Together, we build bridges to careers, career transitions and even new, woman-owned businesses.

Board Members

Jonathan Bartos is President and CEO of his own Mason-based firm, Jonathan Scott International (JSI), which specializes in Permanent Placement Staffing, Contract Staffing and Leadership Training for the Supply Chain, Document Management, Healthcare and Packaging industries.

Michael Brooks ~ With over 15 years of business development experience, Michael is currently the owner of the Columbus Franchise of The Entrepreneur’s Source, a business that is a premier source for self-employment options, franchising information, education and training. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Small Business Development Center at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

C. Jeanine Hufford founded J. Hufford Consulting in August 2003 and currently serves as president. Jeanine brings over 20 years of non-profit experience in local, regional, and international organizations. Jeanine approaches her role as Philanthropic Advisor with warmth and compassion. Jeanine believes each individual has his or her own passion or dream which can be achieved through philanthropy and her goal is to facilitate the creation of a solid foundation from which to build philanthropic success. Jeanine holds a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric & Communication from Kent State University. She is a lifelong resident of Ohio having lived in both the northeastern and southwestern portions of the state. A 22-year resident of Clark County, Jeanine along with her husband and three sons, currently reside in an 1855 farmhouse they restored in 2003.

Jill A. May concentrates her practice in the area of labor and employment law. She primarily assists clients with issues arising out of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Fair Labor Standards Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and Ohio’s unemployment compensation statute. Her work in this area includes drafting employee handbooks, counseling employers regarding employee leaves of absence, discipline and termination, and defending employers in administrative proceedings. In addition, Jill represents employers in their dealings with labor organizations, including issues arising out of the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.

Roxann Patrick brings 27 years of experience in advertising, marketing and graphic design to her role as CEO and Creative Director of Designed Solutions Group. Roxann has worked as an adjunct professor at Sinclair Community College in the Visual Communications Department and has been a guest speaker at The University of Dayton’s Marketing classes. She has also recently developed and led a class designed to aid women-owned business start-ups with marketing and design for the Women’s Center of the SBA in Columbus, Ohio. She is a Women’s Enterprise Leadership Forum board member for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council in Washington D.C., serves on the board for the School of Advertising Art in Kettering and is also a board member for the Dayton Region of the NCCJ. Roxann’s business, Designed Solutions Group, Inc., is a twelve-year-old graphic design and marketing firm that is a certified woman-owned enterprise. DSG's core competency is as a branding consultant across a multitude of applications from: brand development to brand implementation for corporations in identity creation, corporate communications, marketing and collateral materials; package design; event branding; direct mail and point of sale. This comprehensive understanding of branding and marketing in conjunction with design excellence and technological acumen with programming for interactive and websites differentiates DSG from its competitors. Roxann is married with one adult son currently working in Budapest, Hungary.

Brian Sharp is currently the Divisional Vice President-District Manager for Elder-Beerman Stores Corporation, with responsibility for stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. He has been actively involved in the arts community and health and human services and has previously served as Board Chair for the Dayton Playhouse, Board Member for AIDS Foundation Miami Valley, Board Treasurer for Shiloh House Adult Day Care and Board Member for Gem City Ballet.

Elizabeth Beth Wardecke has over 20 years financial banking experience in retail, operations, cash management, e-commerce, commercial lending as well as external small business experience. Beth was formerly responsible for driving business production and results for the Small Business Segment. She managed the Small Business team of managers in the Dayton-Springfield Market. She has shared responsibilities with the Retail Leaders to Drive Business Opportunities through the retail channel. She earned a Bachelor degree from Wright State University in Organizational Communication. She has earned licenses: series 6, state of Ohio Life and Health Insurance, Certified Cash Manager and Moody’s Expertise in Commercial Lending. Native to Dayton she is Treasurer for Fairborn Skyhawk Athletic Club, active with Children’s Hospital TWIG 46, and the Greater Dayton IT Alliance. Beth and her husband Kent have two sons and reside in Dayton.

Staff

Catherine Springer currently owns her own business; Springer Group Consultants, which focuses on the people within not-for-profits and small-to-medium sizes businesses. Prior to that, she held staffing manager and human resource generalist roles at NCR and Standard Register, as well as having 15 years experience in retail management at a Federated Department Store division. In addition to continued volunteer work in the not-for-profit arena, she has previously served on numerous nonprofit boards. She is currently an officer with Westar Construction, Inc., and a Member Manager with Longyear, LLC. While Catherine has achieved many goals in her business career, she’s most joyous about her family and the many friendships she’s been lucky enough to build. Contact Catherine

Peggy Steinberg is the owner of Focal Essence Visual Communications, a business that provides the services of photography, publication design, multimedia presentation and public relations. She has a line of fine art photography note cards that are available through the Morning Sun Florist in Centerville. While living in Michigan and Illinois, Peggy worked in the field of early childhood education as a teacher, advisor and parent educator. She served on the boards of local and state organizations and was active in conference planning for early childhood professionals. After relocating to the Miami Valley area from Chicago she worked for The Miami Valley School as the Alumni and Public Relations Coordinator. She is a graduate of The University of Toledo. Contact Peggy

Stacey White brings an eclectic work history to WRC. She currently works for Standard Register as a Senior Integration Analyst, implementing 3rd party vendors via EDI and XML transactions. Her previous stints include being an Event Coordinator for Dayton Business Journal, Intern Coordinator for Standard Register and Advertising Sales Assistant for Dayton Daily News. Most importantly, and rewarding, Stacey is "mommy" to two beautiful girls. Contact Stacey

Workshop Facilitator

Sylvie Stewart owner of *CareerBridge, has more than 14 years of experience as a strategic human resources/development consultant and trainer. Sylvie has experienced the career transition/management process from both the employer’s and employee’s perspective. Sylvie holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management and Human Development from Antioch University McGregor. She has earned a reputation as a down-to-earth and energetic facilitator with a passion for helping organizations/people reach maximum potential.
*CareerBridge is a human resources/development consulting firm specializing in helping employers attract and retain seasoned professionals who are seeking flexible part-time work arrangements and helping people through the career transition process.

Advisors

Steve Cox has over fourteen years of auditing and consulting experience within the financial management, portfolio management, contracting, depot maintenance, material management, and data design functional areas. He currently provides the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Financial Management and Comptroller, with technical and functional insight in such areas as portfolio management, capital investment reporting, balanced scorecard and financial management architecture and data warehouse efforts. While Steve has had several accomplishments in his business career, he is most proud of his family and the relationships he has built and maintains with family and friends.

Tim Forbess, M.Div., Tim currently serves in a halftime capacity as Senior Pastor to the First United Methodist Church, in an experimental post allowing for the development of a model of how urban parishes remain vital in transitional areas of a city. Tim is also the owner of Urban Campaign, which is a national fund development company that specializes in consulting to non-profit groups on avenues of strategic planning, fund generation and capital campaigns.

Nancy Henson has been a human resources professional for over twenty years, and is currently the owner of her own firm, Henson Associates. Nancy consults with managers, teams and individuals to develop strategies for successful change and improved performance. She is an expert in employee development, competency modeling, 360 feedback, and behavioral assessments. She has worked with organizations with as few as four employees to Fortune 100 companies. Prior to forming her own firm in 1995, Nancy was employed by NCR and AT & T to develop and train associates worldwide.

Connie Howard is the owner of Envision Technology Marketing Group (ETMG), in San Jose, CA. ETMG provides some of the country’s most innovative high-tech companies with marketing solutions that deliver bright technical minds that quickly grasp the technology and how to market it effectively. The ETMG team brings excellence in writing, design, Web engineering, and production into electronic and printed materials

Janice James is currently the Resource Development Director for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, a non-profit organization providing legal services to low income people. She has worked in development for several non-profit organizations including St. Joseph Children’s Treatment Center, Planned Parenthood, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and Artemis Center for Alternatives to Domestic Violence. Prior to joining the non-profit sector, she worked in advertising and public relations. Janis is also active in the League of Women Voters, serving on the board as the Voter Editor.

Ed Marrinan ~ became executive director of the Greene County Community Foundation (d.b.a. Greene Giving) on April 2, 2002. Immediately before joining Greene Giving, he spent ten years with The Dayton Foundation, one of the country's oldest community foundations. For over twenty years, he has assisted individuals and families with incorporating charitable gifts into their estate and financial planning, the creation of charitable initiatives component to community foundations as well as the selection of recipients of charitable grants (Small grants program at ArtsDayton, etc.). In addition, he provides consulting services to charitable organizations in designing and implementing major and planned giving programs, plus charitable gifts negotiations for the benefit of various emerging or small groups in Greene County.

Kimberly McClurg Snow, MBA, Kimberly is currently the Director of Marketing for the YWCA Dayton. Prior to her position at the YWCA, she served as Assistant Vice President in Marketing at National City Bank. Kimberly has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dayton. She is actively involved in the community serving on committees and boards of the following: Better Business Bureau Eclipse Integrity Awards, Cox Arboretum, Junior League of Dayton, America's Promise, InvenTours, Women of Influence and Professional Women's Learning Series.

Ty Swain is the CEO & founder of Growth Dynamics, a leader in solutions for employee selection, retention and corporate performance. GDI offers leading-edge selection and retention assessment programs and job benchmarking solutions to help companies select, develop and retain the "right" people for the "right" positions... maximizing sales, productivity and profitability. Mr. Swain received his Bachelors degree in 1987 from Ohio University in Organizational Communications, with minors in Psychology and Sociology. Over the past 17 years, Mr. Swain has specialized his skills and expertise in sales, sales management, operations and executive leadership roles for various companies where maximizing human capital for business growth and improvement were required. His career has provided him the opportunity to work in many areas of today’s industry such as industrial manufacturing, distribution, corporate services and technology.

Kate Unrath brings 15 years of experience as a marcom maven to WRC. She is currently a Marketing Strategist for Executive Communications at NCR, and has also been a Marketing Communications Manager, University Instructor, Technical Writer, Secretary, and Factory worker. Kate was also owner of Luna Group Communications. Most importantly, she is mom to two young girls.

Alicia Whitaker has been employed by NCR for 25 years in multiple finance positions recently as the Network Products Division Controller in New Jersey and currently as Accounting Manager for the NCR US General Ledger. She graduated from Wright State University with a BS in Accounting and MBA in Finance. Alicia also has been a long time supporter & volunteer of the Muscular Dystrophy Association both in NJ and Ohio.

Contact WRC

Phone:
937.862.9980

Fax:

937.862.9862

Snail Mail:

25 Greene Street, Xenia, OH 45385

Email:

General information: info@wrcmv.org

Webmaster: stacey@wrcmv.org

WRC is currently a component part of Greene County Community Foundation (GCCF), which is exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code 501(c) (3). Under our agreement, all money and property is restricted to the organization and is held as general assets by GCCF.
Gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law.