SPRINGFIELD – Clark State Community College has appointed Toni Overholser as director of the Clark State Foundation. Overholser has been with Clark State since 2014. She has served in the capacity of director of workforce development and the director of business and community development.
“Toni Overholser is a dedicated servant leader who is an ideal fit to lead the Clark State Foundation,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “Toni brings with her vast experience working in Clark State’s service area, fundraising, and engaging business and industry, and these strengths will benefit our students as she cultivates these resources to serve their needs.”
The Clark State Foundation seeks to ensure that a high-quality college education is accessible to all. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that creates and maintains community awareness and partners with donors to receive, manage and disburse gifts that initiate and support educational and cultural programs for Clark State and its constituents.
“In my time at Clark State, I have been able to represent the full scope of our programs from short-term certificates to degrees to supporting our communities,” she said. “My new position will enable me to be more engaged with our students, and I’m looking forward to that. My background in non-profit organizations lends well to this.”
Overholser was recently named the 2018 Greene County Career Center Friend of Education.
She was selected for the award due to her long-time commitment to career-technical education and the Greene County Career Center as a community leader, education professional and parent of a Greene County Career Center alumnus. She supported the career center as president and CEO of the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce, then as director of workforce and business solutions for Clark State. She is also a longtime member of the Greene County Career Center Superintendent’s Advisory Board.
“I’ve been inspired by the dedication Clark State has to student success, and I’ve seen the interest our students have for industry in the communities we serve,” she said. “I will strive to expand engagement with our alumni and grow the scholarship opportunities for our students. Through our outreach programs, I hope to encourage younger students who might not have considered college as a career pathway option.”
In January of this year, Overholser coordinated the Clark State and Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) to enhance regional workforce and economic development efforts in Champaign County, Ohio, and the surrounding areas. Toni will be a featured speaker at the 2018 Women in Business Networking conference on September 19.
“I’m honored to have been chosen for this position,” said Overholser. “I look forward to engaging with the communities we serve.”
Former director of the Clark State Foundation Catherine Maher supports Overholser in her new role. “It has been bittersweet to leave the Foundation, but I’m so happy to be leaving it in such capable hands,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to work with Toni on several projects over the last few years, and I know she’s going to move the Foundation forward in new and exciting ways as director.”
