Jennifer McDonald
Chamber Executive and COTC Graduate Knows Value of her Degree
The president and chief executive officer at the Licking County Chamber of Commerce knows the value of a Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) education from both sides of the table. Jennifer McDonald is a COTC graduate. She received a business management technology degree in 1990. Now, as president of the chamber, McDonald is in charge of trying to attract new business and industry to Licking County, and she knows that COTC is a huge part of that. “Workforce is the number one question posed by a company looking to locate into our area,” said McDonald. “They need to know how the workforce will be trained, and we can turn to COTC for that technical training. The curriculum is set up so students can be ready to go into the workforce quickly. Companies are much more apt to come into the area because COTC is here.”
“It is awesome that the school I graduated from is doing so well. It’s important to our community, and it’s important to me. It’s a very great honor,” said McDonald. McDonald served as marketing director for the Licking County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau from 1991 to 2004. In 2004 she became vice president at the Licking County Chamber of Commerce and served in that role until October 2016 when she was named president and CEO. McDonald was also one of the founding members of the COTC Alumni Council.
“COTC did a great job of preparing me for my career. There was a lot of hands-on training. The professors did a great job of preparing me for my future jobs,” said McDonald. “The students that graduate from COTC go right into jobs and are very prepared. They are the ones that are going to advance and make a good wage.” In December 2017, McDonald received the COTC Outstanding Alumni Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize COTC Alumni who have personal and/or professional achievement that brings honor and distinction to the college and individual attainment and/or contributions for the betterment of our community. “I was very well-trained and ready to go in my career and have succeeded from there.”