As a Group Benefits Consultant, my goal is to bring a positive change to every organization and in the lives of their employees by implementing health insurance benefits that are useful, attractive and affordable. We help companies save money and keep and recruit good employees. We provide them with exceptional service and educate their employees on using their benefits.
Ashley Bethard is the Editor and Chief Content Officer for the Dayton Daily News and Cox First Media. She has spent more than 15 years in journalism, and 11 of them have been in Dayton. She got her start in media as an intern at the Sandusky Register in Sandusky, Ohio.
She has had a variety of roles at Cox since 2012, most recently as Digital Director. In 2015, she was tapped to launch the Dayton.com brand in the market, overseeing the content and engagement strategy. In 2016, she was named to News Media Alliance’s “30 Under 30” list for her work on that project.
Ashley is also a writer, primarily focused on essays and creative nonfiction. Her essays, stories and poems have been published in VIDA Review, The Rumpus, PANK Magazine, Hobart, Fanzine, Catapult, and others. In 2022, she received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. That same year, she was the recipient of the American Society of Journalists and Authors Writing Award for First-Person Essay.
She was an attendee of the 2019 Tin House Writers Workshop. In 2017, she was awarded the Ohioana Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for the Dzanc Books “Best of the Web.”
A two-time graduate of Ashland University, she holds a BA in English and Creative Writing (’08) and an MFA in Creative Writing – Nonfiction (’10).
Licensed Attorney in Ohio
MBA from Xavier University
Executive Director at Faruki PLL
Lori Kershner, Founder & CEO, has over two decades of experience at various levels of government, association advocacy, non-profit communications, as well as in economic development, grant writing, fund-raising and policy development.
Lori brings great perspective and experience from her years working in the public sector. Prior to entering the private sector, Lori worked at various areas of government including the Ohio House of Representatives and the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State. Early in her career, Lori worked on a variety of political campaigns locally and statewide, building relationships across Ohio. This perspective serves her clients well to ensure that political aspects are being considered in addition to policy.
She was then hired by the Ohio House of Representatives where she worked as a legislative aide for the Chairman of the Health Committee. Following her work in the legislature, Lori lobbied on behalf of the influential Ohio State Medical Association representing 15,000 physicians to the General Assembly.
Lori then ran the Ohio practice of a large government affairs consulting firm for three years before starting LMK Advocacy in order to focus on Ohio government affairs consulting. Additionally, Lori has familiarity and success in grant writing, state incentive packages, grassroots advocacy and policy issues.
Lori has also served in the capacity as Communications Director for a non-profit organization in Columbus where she handled communication and marketing. She also served as the
spokesperson for leadership. In that role, she completely redesigned their monthly communication as well as redesigned their website to serve as a resource for their members.
She is no stranger to working with local media to promote her clients’ activities and accomplishments including writing and distributing press releases, positioning feature stories including all aspects of media such as TV, radio, print and social.
Former Governor Kasich appointed Lori to serve as a member of the Ohio Council on Developmental Disabilities where she served for seven years. In that role, she served as Vice Chair of the Public Policy Committee and Chair of the By-Laws Committee. Following her tenure on Council, Lori was then awarded two grants to facilitate General Assembly Briefings and the annual DD Council Awareness and Advocacy Day at the Statehouse.
Lori is also very active in the community, previously serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Dayton including two terms as President. She was honored in 2018 as Top 25 Women to Watch by Women in Business Networking. Lori is also a past board member of Kids Voting Dayton,
LMK Advocacy
Dayton office: 8888 Glen Abbey Court, Springboro, Ohio 45066 Columbus Office: 21 W. Broad St., Suite 800 Columbus, Ohio 43215 lori@lmkadvocacy.com (614) 915-2852
Miracle League of Dayton and Warren County and Associate Board of the Dayton Art Institute. Lori was awarded the 40 Under 40 Award by the Dayton Business Journal in 2008. In 2011, she was Leukemia/Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year Runner- Up. She previously served as Global Chapter Leader for EBW2020, a global women’s business organization and was a featured speaker on public policy at their 2017 Global Summit. Lori was elected and served on Springboro City Council. She is the head of fundraising for the Springboro Athletic Boosters.
LMK is a member of the Springboro Chamber of Commerce, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Lobbying Association.
Lori has undergone professional media training and has served as media spokesperson for several organizations. Lori received her B.S. in Political Science and Certificate in Political Communication from Ohio University.
She resides in Springboro with her husband, Chris and two daughters, Morgan and Tatum.
Director, Counseling and Wellness Serivces
I have worked in the mental health and substance use disorder field, as well as within the public health sector since 1993. I have extensive clinical care and executive leadership experience. I value community collaboration and I have spent my career working on improving access to care for underserved populations as well as coordinating community responses to the drug epidemic through various task forces and coalitions.
I received my Doctorate Degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California, a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Cincinnati, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Wright State University.
I have served on several advisory boards and published articles on juvenile justice initiatives and the impact of the drug epidemic.
My passion lies in working with others who are devoted to the betterment of our communities. I value diversity, equity, and inclusion and I am committed to developing and implementing innovative solutions to improve community outcomes.
Eight Eleven's Story:
Eight Eleven started in 2020 by 2 forward thinking entrepreneurs who were determined to find a better way to connect the best and brightest talent with companies looking for future leaders. Eight Eleven was built on 6 core values; Family, Opportunity, Passion, Service, Grit, and Innovation which we embody internally everyday to help provide a great experience to our 400+ clients nation wide. Since 2020 we have grown into 3 sister companies who embody all of the same core values while having specific focuses and capabilities.
Business Lines:
Brooksource: Developed at the start of 2003, the Brooksource mission is to help companies find a trusted partner when it comes to providing staffing, upskilling & training, and managed & professional services to IT and engineering organizations. Our clients range from healthcare & health insurance to banking and finance to mobility and CGP.
Medasource: Spun off in 2012 as our health - IT staffing division. Specializes in providing professional services for revenue cycle application & management, life sciences, clinical engineering, and business applications.
Calculated Hire: Lastly Calculated Hire spun off in 2016 and is centered around all non IT business needs. Here we heavily focus on marketing, HR, operations, sales & customer experience, and accounting & finance.
Service Lines:
Experience Driven Staffing: Centered around building strong support systems with our clients and consultants to provide critical talent in key technology areas including, enterprise applications, digital experience, analytics & intelligence, cloud journey, IT infrastructure, and cyber security.
Elevate: Our workforce transformation program designed to upskill talent and build sustainable workforces of the future. Customers invest in this program to address skill gaps, infuse diversity, and create seamless succession plans. We pull from 4 different pipelines including emerging, diverse, veteran, and reskilled talent who are all provided additional technical and professional training by Eight Eleven Group.
Managed & Professional Services: Customers engage our Professional Services line for expertise, ownership, and execution to solve high impact challenges. Our three engagement models allow us to help with all phases of your initiative and include Advisory & Consulting, Project & Product Solutions, and Ongoing Support.
Lindsay [Communication, Responsibility, Woo, Discipline, Positivity] founded Moxie by Nature to use her designations as a Gallup Certified CliftonStrengths Coach & a NACE Certified Career Coach, as well as professional experience in corporate recruiting and staffing, and various functional areas of higher education (including admissions, new student orientation, career development/exploration, student leadership and institutional accreditation initiatives), to connect talent to purpose by challenging clients to own what’s RIGHT with them. She brings both structure and vulnerability to conversations around personal and professional growth, living authentically, employee performance, engagement and motivation, and overall wellbeing.
As a coach, Lindsay partners with organizations to maximize individual and team performance, inform coaching and decision making, encourage intentional collaboration and improve employee engagement and retention, as well as coaches individual clients for clarity, confidence and accountability, often in areas of personal and professional goals, career growth and transition and business development.
Lindsay has professional experience in corporate recruiting and staffing as well as various functional areas of higher education including admissions, new student orientation, career development, student leadership and institutional accreditation initiatives. Currently, she works for one of the largest community colleges in the world (Sinclair Community College), connecting high school students in career technical education programs to post-secondary paths, scholarships and credit opportunities.
Diane Pleiman is President & CEO of the Premier Physician Network –the largest multi-specialty in Southwest Ohio including 1000+ physicians and APPs. Since being named to this position in January 2018 she has focused on transforming the group from an acquisition focused to an operating focused organization with an emphasis on access and providing an outstanding experience to grow the business.
Her previous executive roles included Chief Operating Officer at Upper Valley Medical Center, Vice President of Neuroscience and Oncology Service Lines for Premier Health, Vice President of Operation at Miami Valley Hospital. Diane joined Premier Health in February,1999.
Mrs. Pleiman holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Wright State University and a Bachelor of Arts in nuclear medicine technology from the University of Findlay.
Her current community service work includes Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and vice chair, and Dayton Live board member. Past volunteer services include serving on the Fort Loramie School Board of Education holding offices of both President and Vice President, member of the Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors, New Choices, Inc. Board of Directors and the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio Board, 2021 chair of the Women of Influence, as well as holding memberships and positions on church and school committees.
She was the recipient of the Dayton Business Journal 's Power 50 as well as earning Dayton Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award. Diane was also named the Wright State University School of Graduate Studies Outstanding Alumni of the Year.
Diane and her husband, Mark, reside in Tipp City. They have two adult children, Elizabeth and Caleb.
Experienced Human Resources Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the metal recycling industry. Skilled in Microsoft Word, Coaching, Sales, Team Building, and Management. Strong human resources professional focused in Business Administration and Management, alumni of Southern New Hampshire University.
I am a true Daytonian through and through having lived my entire life in roughly four square miles in Belmont or Beavercreek. I love my community!
I have two boys, Ben who is 11 and Will who is 9, that I simply adore! They are so different but so amazingly sweet! Together we play with our two BIG dogs, who are the biggest babies but would scare the pants off anyone!
One of my most recent hobbies is discovering succulents. I love plants that need little care but look great! I am enjoying finding creative ways to display them inside my patio and house. Let's hope the green thumb keeps going!
Outside of my family, two of my true loves are history and politics. In fact, I graduated from Wright State with a BA in History and a Minor in Political Science. While I enjoy those things, I have been lucky enough to parlay skills into the business world yet I am happy lounging on the couch watching documentaries all day.
Jamaica White is a business strategist passionate about
people/project management. With over a decade of professional
experience in project management, business development,
conceptualizing and implementing business strategies to accelerate
performance and productivity and drive sustainable/profitable growth.
Jamaica White is also the proud co-owner of Divine Catering and
Events and DCE Management specializes in catering, event
coordination, and commercial kitchen management. She is also the
Program Manager for OHTastes' Sharpen the Axe program and the
6888 Kitchen at the Dayton Arcade. Jamaica is passionate about
cultivating strong relationships that produce desirable outcomes while
optimizing the value and impact of both client and consumer.
Jamaica's business experience started in 2005 when she began
investing in residential real estate. That experience has made her an
expert in affordable housing programs where she consults landlords on
navigating the complexities of the federal and local housing authority
procedures. That experience opened the door for her property
management company where she oversees tenant contracts,
residential and commercial rehabs, and resource management for over
14 years. Due to her love for business and her passion for people,
Jamaica works with other small businesses to develop their operations,
scalability, financial and compliance reports, and program
implementation. Areas of service for many the small businesses
Jamaica has consulted for including Real-estate development,
franchising, food and beverage industry, sales, digital marketing,
health/wellness, and many more!
Jamaica graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University, earning
her Master's degree in Business Administration. She earned her
Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Ohio State
University, where she was also a Division I Track and Field athlete. When
Jamaica is not networking and creating an impact in the business
world; you can find her spending time with her fantastic family and
Account Executive at Elements IV Interiors