By Bryan McCleary and Carlos Perz
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Two African American women, Cynthia Booth and Barbara Turner, stepped into important leadership positions with the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
Archie Brown, First Financial Bank president and CEO, will chair the 2019 United Way of Greater Cincinnati campaign, and Booth will serve as vice chair. She is a member of the First Financial Board Of Directors and president and CEO of COBCO Enterprises LLC, owner of McDonald’s Restaurants. She has held various executive positions at Firstar Bank (now U.S. Bank) in Cincinnati, and is active in many civic and community organizations, including serving as a director of the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati and a director of the Greater Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce, where she also recently completed a two-year term as treasurer.
In their leadership roles at the sixth largest United Way in the country, Brown and Booth will engage with volunteers and United Way staff in working with thousands of corporate and community partners. The local campaign annually raises funds that help the United Way unite communities to change lives by investing in programs that sustain the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community.
Brown said, “United Way is uniquely positioned to understand the needs of families in our communities. Through its relationships with the business community, government and the more than 140 agency partners serving 329,000 lives, it’s able to make life-changing impact. I am very pleased to be part of this campaign during such an important year.”
Booth also is an experienced United Way volunteer who has an extreme passion for serving her hometown. Setting a high standard, Booth added, “It will take all of us together to make this campaign extraordinary. This is our year to take it to a new level.”
Meanwhile, the board of United Way of Greater Cincinnati elected new leadership in June: Steven J. Shifman as board chair and Barbara A. Turner as board chair elect/vice chair. These positions are effective immediately.
Shifman is the president and chief executive officer of Michelman, a privately held global technology and manufacturing company.
“I am honored with this opportunity to take my involvement in our community to the next level. I am committed to helping United Way mobilize even more support to help achieve our goal of breaking the cycle of poverty and building a more prosperous and inclusive community,” said Shifman.
Turner is president and COO of Ohio National Financial Services.
Timothy A. Elsbrock, regional president, Fifth Third Bank, has served as interim board chair and launched a review to identify ways to strengthen governance to deliver even more impact for the community.