We are pleased to announce the hiring of two new employees and other recent staff transitions.
NCRPC welcomed new staff and announced recent staff transitions. Pictured from left to right at top are Deb Ohlde and Bri Beck and below are Chelsea Smith and Kendra Ryser.
Deb Ohlde returned to the NCPRC in July as Strategic Development Advisor. She brings many years of experience in strategic planning, small group facilitation as well as proposal writing/project management in the public and non-profit sectors. Deb first joined the NCRPC in 1994 and served in a variety of roles culminating in Assistant Director, through 2016. She stayed connected to community development while operating her own consulting company, NEW Heartland Freelance. Most recently she was Director of Grower Services for Kansas Corn before rejoining the NCRPC. Deb is a graduate of Kansas State University with a BS in Agricultural Economics and a Master’s in Public Administration. She has completed the Economic Development Finance Professional certification through the National Development Council and the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas. She is a certified Ice House Facilitator. While Deb will work throughout the region as needed, her primary counties will be Marshall, Washington, Republic, Jewell, Cloud and Clay.
Chelsea Smith began work in September as Administrative Assistant. In this role she provides support to many of the NCRPC programs and handles accounts receivable and provides support to NCKCN, the 501(c)3 Internet Service Provider operated by the NCRPC. Chelsea previously worked in customer service for 20 years—most recently in e-commerce and web data management. She is a Wichita area native and moved to Beloit in 2014.
Other recent position changes include the naming of Bri Beck as Director of Community Development and Kendra Ryser as Weatherization Director. Beck has been with the organization since 2020 as a Community Development Representative. Ryser joined the NCRPC in 2019 as Weatherization Assistant and most recently served as the Interim Weatherization Director.
This article appeared in the Quarter 3 2022 NCRPC Newsletter.
