Vicki thrives within the intersectionality of educational strategies, workforce / talent solutions, community consensus-building, and personal & professional training and development. Much of her expertise lies in the process of discovering and implementing effective, innovative solutions for specific business and industry challenges, while also building ecosystems where educational institutions are centric to the model. Prior to becoming a professional consultant, Vicki served as Vice President for Economic Development and Workforce Solutions for a community and technical college in central Ohio where she also led government/community relations and served as administrator over the regional extended campus sites, as well as the Workforce Development Innovation Center. 

 

A nationally acclaimed presenter, consultant, researcher, and keynote speaker, Vicki has dedicated her career to discovering and implementing effective, innovative solutions for economic, workforce, and educational challenges. A former collegiate level instructor of Interpersonal Communication, she is also as an advocate of personal and professional development, having served as a Dale Carnegie Training ® performance coach for over two decades highlighting human relations, effective communications, and relational sales strategies. Early in her career, Vicki was a television news anchor and reporter in Ashland, OH, as well as a morning radio personality in Mansfield, OH, and a writer for a series of talent magazines with a column titled: Perky Positive Practical: Vicki! 

 

An accomplished panelist, editorial contributor, and internationally published researcher, Vicki has been a recurring featured presenter for the Ohio Economic Development Association and the National Council on Workforce Education conferences; plus, she presented “Collaboration vs. Isolation: Community Colleges as Economic & Workforce Development Partners” for the national conference of Community Colleges of Appalachia. She also fulfilled a term as a National Commissioner for Economic Development and Workforce Solutions with the American Association of Community Colleges. She recently published national research, “The State of the Workforce in Manufacturing: An American Industry Outlook” as commissioned by Valor 180skills. Additionally, her doctoral dissertation research was steeped in the role of the community and technical college in bridging the manufacturing and engineering technology-based workforce gap. 

 

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She has led workforce priorities and skills gap analysis projects throughout the greater Appalachian region, including the feasibility study for the Coshocton Collaborative initiative – a project designed to catalyze innovation and increase workforce preparedness through a business incubator anchor within a multipurpose facility that aligns innovation, learning, entrepreneurship, and economic revitalization. Additionally, she co-led the Appalachian Ohio Manufacturing Coalition (AOMC) market study project covering six Appalachian counties along the Ohio River (a partnership with DByers & Associates). 

 

One of the flagship initiatives Vicki led for Ohio’s Appalachian region was the implementation of the Advancing Coshocton through Technical Training (A.C.t.T.T.) program which offered free technical skills training and 21st Century Job Readiness Skills. With over 1,100 participants served, A.C.t.T.T. was funded through an Appalachian Regional Commission grant awarded through OMEGA (the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association). Within the Appalachian region, clients ranged from McWane Ductile, Three Rivers Energy, AEP Conesville, and Ohio Fabricators to Daniels Amish Collection, Wiley Companies/Organic Technologies, and Kraft Heinz. 

 

Vicki also co-created the Manufacturing Leaders in Manufacturing 1.0 and 2.0 training programs, offering them to hundreds of regional employers who sought opportunities for identifying leadership potential within the incumbent workforce and advancing them as a supervisor, manager, and/or crew/team leader. 

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Within the central Ohio footprint, Vicki’s manufacturing-based clients have ranged from THK, Ametek, and Owens Corning, to Anomatic, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Boeing. Examples of customized engineering technology curriculum Vicki co-designed with colleague, Asif Khan, include: 

(a) advancement training for the maintenance team at a coal-powered energy plant with courses in Applied Machine Shop Math; Basic Measurement and Quality Assurance; Blueprint Reading; Cutting / Tooling, Manual Lathe/ Mill Operations, and Surface Grinders; 

(b) an intensive, multi-day Blueprint Reading course tailored to the needs of a pioneer in precision metal-forming who secured four new international customers and was expanding two new production lines; 

(c ) a traineeship model for a major manufacturer consisting of classroom learning in Basic Mathematics; Circuits I; Circuits II; Applied Mathematics for the Electrician, Electrical Engineering Technician and Master Electrician; Hydraulics & Pneumatics; Instrumentation and Measurement; Dynamics and Control; AutoCAD; Electric Motors, and Digital Electronics I. 

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As a national senior director for another consulting firm for nearly two years, Vicki led a variety of projects for institutions of higher learning. Some of her credits include: 

• Indiana Wesleyan University National & Global strategic advisor 

• Indiana Wesleyan University’s Rev2Tech Accelerator strategic advisor  

• Paradigm Educational Solutions strategic advisor 

• Tri-County Technical College Business & Industry Engagement Program strategist, trainer, and playbook designer 

• Virginia Community College System Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment and Perkins V strategist 

• Employ Prince George’s County (MD) Workforce Board training for new Board members and staff

• Indiana State University Early Childhood Education asset mapping and opportunity scan lead 

• Reynolds Community College DOE Basic Needs Grant lead 

• Vincennes University Strada grant lead 

 

Additionally, she managed workforce, talent, and economic projects such as:  

• Geauga County Business Retention & Expansion Program developer and roadmap designer 

• Greene County Ohio Strategic Workforce and Resiliency Plan project lead 

• Knox County Ohio Workforce Needs Assessment advisor 

• Greater Springfield Partnership’s Consider Clark County funding scan lead 

• Pikeville Kentucky Design & Implementation of a New Industry Cluster (biomedical research & development and advanced manufacturing) researcher and facilitator 

• New American Immigrant Research Center conceptual design

• American Ceramic Society / Ceramics Glass Industry Foundation funding scan lead 

• Michigan Economic Development Council’s Engineering, Design, & Development engagement lead 

 

Vicki holds a Doctor of Educational Leadership Studies degree from Ashland University, where she also earned an undergraduate degree in Communications and Radio/Television Performance, Production and Programming, as well as a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. She also completed the Institute for Management & Leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

 

She is the Founder and CEO of the Revive consultancy which she founded in 2020.