2018-2019 Board of Directors

President: Tara Noland

Tara Noland is the founding Executive Director for GreenLight Cincinnati, a non-profit that works to identify and solve critical, local needs. Having earned a B.A., B.S.W., and M.S.W. from the University of Kentucky, she has spent her career in the non-profit sector. She was a member of C-Change, Class 4 and WeLead, Class 10. She was named one of Cincinnati’s Forty Under 40 by the Business Courier and a YWCA Rising Star in 2012. She is also a member of the Source Cincinnati National Connectors Group, a group that works to inform our region’s national storytelling efforts.

Tara enjoys volunteering in the community, currently serving on the local advisory boards for the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Family Independence Initiative. She served as a co-chair for a 2015 MLB All Star Summer committee, president of the C-Change Alumni Society and member of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Senior Strategic Advisory Team for Leadership Programs. A member of the Junior League since 2009, Tara has held positions as the Vice President of Training and Development, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Leadership Development Committee, and member of the Nominating Committee. She received the JLC Rising Star award in 2012. Tara lives in Anderson with her husband, Zac, and daughters, Elliot and Norah.

President-Elect: Meredith Comin

Meredith is a Senior Director of Program Management at Empower, a local agency specializing in a variety of creative media advertising and marketing practices. She received her B.A. in Public Relations with a concentration in Marketing from Auburn University in 2006.

Prior to serving as President-Elect, she was a member of the Nominating Committee, Co-Chair of the Spring Fundraiser CinSation, Chair of the Cookbook Committee, in which she and the committee were responsible for the creation of the JLC’s fall fundraiser, Tour of Kitchens, VP of Communications and VP of Membership. Always up for life’s adventures, she spent time as a proud transfer member of the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach (VA) where she served as Chair of the Research & Development Committee and along with the committee cultivated and successfully launched the JLNVB’s new fundraiser, Brunched. She was elected to the Board of Directors as VP of Fund Development before re-locating back to Cincinnati.

A fourth-generation Junior Leaguer, she has been active in the Junior League since 2008. She has been recognized with the Rising Star Award for her work and dedication to the JLC. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she now resides in Over-the-Rhine.

Secretary: Kate Fortlage

Kate Fortlage began at Formica in April 2014 and is a Senior Manager in the Marketing Department with proven abilities in strategic planning, managing projects and direct reports, driving top-line and bottom-line sales growth, and influencing cross functional managers. Prior to Formica, she was a Brand Manager for KAO USA, where she worked for over 8 years. She received her B.A. from Bowling Green State University in 1999 and her MBA from the University of Dayton in 2005. Born in Toledo, Kate relocated to Cincinnati after her MBA to start her marketing career at KAO. Currently, she manages the residential segment at Formica and is responsible for developing and leading brand strategy, innovation, and marketing plans. Kate joined the Junior League of Dayton in 2000 and transferred to the JLC in 2006. She has served on every JLC Council and has been a leader on all Councils but one (New Member Vice Chair and Chair, Social Vice Chair and Chair, Nominating Committee Vice Chair and Chair). Kate also served on the Board of Directors as Special Projects and led an Ad Hoc Committee in creating the JLC strategic plan. She also led the points system initiative, and served in an Out-of-League Placement as a Steering Committee Chair for the All-Star Game.

Legal Advisor: Beth Berkowitz

Treasurer: Kristian Scarpitti

Kristian is a Finance Manager at Ethicon, Inc. (part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies). She received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Miami University and her M.B.A. from Xavier University with a concentration in Marketing. Since joining the Junior League of Cincinnati in 2010, Kristian has served on the 5K, Nominating, and Membership Satisfactions Committees, as well as Chaired the Transfers Committee, and now serves on the Board as the Treasurer. In addition to her involvement with the JLC, she is involved with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Heart Institute Patient-Family Advisory Council. Kristian and her husband, Andy, reside in Hyde Park with their three children, Evie, Andrew and Nick.

Past President: Vicki Marsala Calonge

Having received both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education degrees from the University of Cincinnati, Vicki is a proud Bearcat through and through. Her love for working in higher education and commitment to student development is evident from her tenure as she served in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development at her Alma Mater, for over ten years. During that time she also taught classes as an Adjunct Instructor in the Center for Access and Transition and the College of Allied Health Sciences. Additionally, out of a passion for inspiring others to fitness, Vicki became certified to teach group fitness classes, was a personal trainer and designed and coordinated a revenue-generating and comprehensive fitness, nutrition, wellness, and social program for brides-to- be. Currently, Vicki works as a freelance event production consultant.

Vicki joined the Junior League of Cincinnati in 2008. Prior to her appointment as President-Elect, Vicki served as the Vice President of Community Impact on the Board of Directors, Nominating Committee Vice Chair and Chair, Kids in the Kitchen Co-Vice Chair and Co-Chair, and as an engaged member of the Strategic Planning Ad Hoc Committee, Infrastructure Ad Hoc Committee, and RefugeeConnect Committee. Vicki is the proud recipient of the 2010 JLC Jeanne Boyce Morrison President’s Award. In addition to her volunteer work for the JLC, Vicki also serves on the Duke Energy Children’s Museum Advisory Board, the Cincinnati Ballet Dancer Sponsorship Committee, and she is a Fall 2010 Graduate of the United Way of Cincinnati Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) program. Vicki uses the volunteer management skills she honed in the JLC out in the community working on large-scale community events such as the Cincinnati Parks Foundation Hats Off Luncheon, Cincinnati Community Organizing Committee for the MLB All-Star Summer 2015, and Dress for Success Cincinnati Fashion Show. Through serving in these professional and volunteer roles, Vicki has developed her skills in managing programs and large-scale events, developing strategic plans to increase efficiency, training and coaching leaders, managing large numbers of volunteers, creating and evaluating assessment tools, and managing large budgets. She is a proud lifelong resident of Cincinnati and truly loves this great city of ours. Vicki and her husband, Allan, reside in Madeira with their two children.

Nominating Chair: Tara Mosley

Tara J. Mosley currently works for the Kroger Co. where she heads merchandising for the small formats division, which focuses on planning and launching new and emerging store formats nationwide. Prior to joining Kroger, Tara held roles in strategic planning and brand marketing at Spectrum Brands and Procter & Gamble.

Tara joined JLC in 2012. She served as a committee member for two years on the Member, Outreach & Events committee before serving as the Vice Chair and Chair of New Members. She is currently the Chair of Nominating and sits on the Diversity & Inclusion committee. In addition to her committee placements, Tara has had the opportunity to serve and volunteer for many of our signature fundraisers and projects including: Kids in the Kitchen, Tour of Kitchens, Grin Up, and RefugeeConnect.

Tara is very involved in her community and works with several organizations here in Cincinnati. In addition to her work with JLC, she serves as a speaker, mentor, and job coach with Dress for Success Cincinnati’s Professional Women’s Group, is a Portaluca (the retail branch of Dress for Success) board member, a consultant for Public Allies pilot mentoring program, and a college mentor with Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.

 

 

At-Large Member: Alison Bushman

Alison Bushman joined the JLC in 2009. She served for three years as a New Member Advisor, and as a member of the Nominating and Membership Outreach & Events Committees. While serving as the Chair of a new Membership Recruitment Committee, she also stepped in a completed a term as Vice President of Membership. Alison has her undergraduate degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She currently works as the President & CEO of Bake Me Home, a non-profit organization she founded in 2008 with her twin daughters. In addition, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Cincinnati History Museum, and is the Vice President of the Corporation Board of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta. Alison is a Board Member Emeritus of Beech Acres Parenting Center and the Duke Energy Children’s Museum. She is a native of Washington, DC, and relocated to Cincinnati in 1995. Alison, and her husband, Lee, live in Anderson with their teenage daughters, Amy and Emma.

 

At-Large Member: Judy Schneider Dalambakis

Judy Schneider Dalambakis has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Cincinnati.  Her past work experience includes: Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Cincinnati, Director of Community Relations for Joseph Beth Booksellers, Columnist for the Cincinnati Post and a Columnist for Express Cincinnati.

Judy served as President for the Junior League of Cincinnati, President of the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Chair of the Friends of the Cincinnati Art Museum and President of BRAVO of the Cincinnati Ballet.

She has served on numerous boards including the Alzheimer’s Association, Playhouse in the Park, Association of Volunteers for Children’s Convalescent Hospital, Friends of the Art Museum, UC Alumni Board of Governors, Civic Garden Center, Junior League of Cincinnati, Women Helping Women, Impact 100, and currently serves on the UC Bicentennial Commission, the Christ Hospital Foundation, and the Cincinnati Ballet Board as the co-chair of Etoile.

Judy has chaired numerous fundraisers raising thousands of dollars for nonprofits including Cincinnati Zoo’s Zoofair, Cincinnati Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Junior League and the Alzheimer’s Association.

She has been recognized as a 2006 Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year, A Girl Scout Woman of Distinction, the University of Cincinnati’s Alumni Distinguished Service Award recipient, received the Junior League’s President’s Award and been honored as a UC Communication Alumni Champion.

At-Large Member: Mary Ivers

Mary Ivers started her business career as an entrepreneur, co-founding an INC 500 software company, Software Clearing House. As this company grew over 15 years, Mary learned how to expand an organization on a tight budget and also worked with many of the internal systems for managing clients, databases, mailing campaigns, and websites – all skills that would later prove useful when managing a thriving nonprofit. In 1999 Mary started an affiliate of Dress for Success in Cincinnati. Mary also started an Earned Income Venture, called the 4th Street Boutique, a thrift store, to sell excess clothing to generate proceeds for the support of the Dress for Success mission. Mary retired from Dress for Success Cincinnati in 2012 and continues to serve on the Board of Directors.

Mary is an alum and a trustee of Mount St. Joseph University and has been a Commencement speaker and awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree. She is a Cincinnati Enquirer Women of the Year, a Great Rivers Girl Scout Council Woman of Distinction, and an Athena Award Finalist. Mary is also member of Leadership Cincinnati Class 12 and Leadership Northern Kentucky. However, Mary’s greatest accomplishment is being a mother of four and the grandmother of seven.

 

At-Large Member: Shelley Poffenberger

At-Large Member: Megan Stacey

Megan Stacey is a Cincinnati native with a passion for giving back to the community. She graduated from Miami University in 2005 and earned her master’s degree from Xavier. Megan helps families buy and sell homes as a Realtor with Keller Williams Advisors.

She resides in Mt. Lookout with her husband (Drew), daughter (Emory), son (Ford) and two dogs (Murphy & Briggs). When not working or spending time with her family, Megan enjoys several hobbies including her fashion blog, Polka Dots & Pleats.

After joining the JLC in 2009, Megan has served in various leadership roles including VP Membership, New Member Advisor, Chair of Membership Outreach & Events, and Chair of Major Gifts. She has also served on Ad Hoc Committees, including New Member Curriculum (from her years as a teacher and assistant principal) and Points & Obligations.

 

At-Large Member, Sustainer Advisor: Juliana (JJ) Wales