Cincinnati Chamber Adds Number of New Faces to Meet Business Post-Pandemic Needs

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber team is growing to meet the evolving needs of Cincinnati Chamber members. After two years of delivering members benefits with reduced staff due to COVID-19 pandemic impacts, the Chamber’s members and supporters can expect to see a more robust team ready to serve them and lean into the region’s economy in even more deliberate, long-term ways. 
 
The Chamber has added ten new team members since January 1 and expects to add several additional positions by the end of the year. Recent new hire, De-Ajura Bess, has joined the Chamber’s leadership team as Director of Human Resources. Bess’ appointment will help drive the expansion and make the Chamber an employer of choice. Bess will report directly to Jill Meyer, President and CEO of the Cincinnati Chamber.
 
“The Chamber is growing, with a huge component of that growth being phenomenal people who are raising their hands to build this future city. I couldn’t be more thrilled that our members and entire region are benefitting from this level of talent,” says Jill Meyer. “With the ebb and flow of what the last two years brought to the team, it feels great to bring on De-Ajura to partner alongside me in rebuilding and reinvesting in our team. She’s a phenomenal leader with incredible experience.”  
 
Bess’ career spans nearly 25 years with her most recent tenure being with TriHealth in Human Resources, and prior to that she had a long career with Macy’s Inc. in Management, Operations and HR. She is a graduate of Wilberforce University and obtained her Master’s in Business Administration from Miami University. Bess’ background covers all aspects of human resources with a particular emphasis on developing people and creating nurturing workplace cultures.  
 
“It’s an exciting time to join the Chamber,” says Bess. “As with many organizations, the Chamber faced economic challenges in the troughs of the pandemic, but now we’re back to investing in the people and processes that make the Chamber’s various engines run.” 
 
In addition to Bess, and previously announced Justin Brookhart, Executive Director of BLINK, and Sean Comer, VP of the Leadership Center, the Cincinnati Chamber team has also added the following new team members in the first quarter:   
 
·       Lee Best, Senior Staff Accountant 
·       Kabrella Clark, Talent Connections Manager 
·       Kristyn Harmon, Controller 
·       Susan Healy, Office Service Coordinator 
·       Christina Heidi, Operations Project Specialist 
·       Brandon Rudd, Director of the Center for Research & Data 
·       McLean Strickland, Membership Development 
·       Rob Weidle, Events Manager 
 
Learn more about the Cincinnati Chamber and current opportunities at CincinnatiChamber.com.