As the newly elected Board Chair for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Lisa Desmarais understands her mission will be to prepare all Kentuckians for the workforce.  As someone who’s known her for many years, Gateway Community and Technical College President/CEO Dr. Fernando Figueroa is confident she is up to the task.

“We’re very excited here in Northern Kentucky for Lisa,” said Figueroa. “What Lisa brings to her position is a real focus on economic and workforce development and a real appreciation for the potential of KCTCS to serve Kentucky in those fields. The more voices we have out of Northern Kentucky that are involved in the statewide conversations, the better.”

Desmarais is ready to get those conversations started now and well into the future. 

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORKFORCE 

A resident of Covington, Desmarais is the first Northern Kentuckian to head the Board of Regents, the 14-member governing body of the 16-college Kentucky Community & Technical College System. A native of Rhode Island, Desmarais, who worked for Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA moved to Northern Kentucky when the company located their new campus in Covington. She found the area “a bit more friendly” for work and raising a family given its “great community feel.” Finding purpose in “the opportunities here in the state to make an impact,” she would eventually take a job as Kenton County’s Technology Services Director.  Desmarais spent 16 years working in the for-profit sector,10 years working in a K-12 school, and 6+ years working in city and county government.  She was appointed to KCTCS’ Board of Regents in 2016.

Now that she is its Chair, Desmarais says her goals are focused on making sure others have access to opportunities to make them feel inclined to do the same. This includes serving the approximately 75,000 students that come thru KCTCS annually and helping them to get the training, certifications and/or licenses needed in in-demand job sectors such as healthcare, technology, advanced manufacturing, construction, transportation, and logistics.

“Eighty percent of the credentials we award each year are in the top-five job demand job sectors,” said Desmarais. “We are the learning and training provider for those jobs. We could easily impact one million jobs a year.”

Dr. Figueroa agrees.

“Let me give you a statistic: 80% of the jobs since 2008 that have been created since the Great Recession will and do require a post-secondary credential of some kind. We need more Kentuckians with a post-secondary credential than ever, and especially now,” he said. “This is going to be critical to economic and workforce development and essential to whether the Commonwealth is a destination state or it's a flyover state. The Northern Kentucky perspective is: Let’s get things done … Lisa sees that.” 

Ensuring Northern Kentucky fulfills its potential is why Desmarais is ready to fulfill the important role ahead of her.

“It’s a statewide role and yet, it’s also one important to the local economy and the region … We have a lot of great folks here in Northern Kentucky leading the local business economy, education, healthcare, social services, etc., but we don’t have too many folks leading at a statewide level unless they’re in an elected official capacity,” Desmarais said. “If we can share more of our knowledge and encourage folks to take what they gain here in Northern Kentucky and apply it in technology solutions or other occupations, that helps everybody all around. I’m interested in helping Northern Kentucky, but I’m more interested in how influential Northern Kentuckians can be in helping all of Kentucky.”

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

NKY Chamber President and CEO Brent Cooper says KCTCS is “critical” to the region’s workforce ecosystem, which is why he’s thrilled Desmarais will now chair the KCTCS Board of Regents. Said Cooper, “Lisa’s experience in both the public and private sector will help ensure the organization has the guidance it needs to continuously grow and improve to meet the future demands of our workforce.” 

Cooper is confident Desmarais can inspire others to follow a similar path, leading to greater economic prosperity for the region. 

“With over 400,000 people in the NKY Metro and 500,000 in the NKY region, we play an important role in Kentucky’s overall economy, yet we are often underrepresented on statewide boards and commissions,” said Cooper. “Our hope is that leaders throughout the NKY region will see Lisa’s commitment and be inspired to pursue other leadership roles around the state.”

Desmarais is up to the challenge. It is her hope others are as well.

“You can’t sit at home and worry and wallow and wring your hands and say, ‘Oh, Northern Kentucky doesn’t get what it deserves;’ you have to get out there,” said Desmarais. “You’re going to have good days, bad days and you’re going to be challenged in ways that you didn’t foresee, but everything is a learning experience, so just jump right in. At the end of the day, Northern Kentucky will benefit.”

To view the complete September/October issue of the NKY Chamber Business Journal, click here: https://issuu.com/nkychamber.