The Project on Positive Leadership Board of Advisors

Adria Johnson embodies hope, integrity, humanity and has focused her career on lifting some of society’s most vulnerable populations and being of service to others. She is a dedicated and well-respected servant leader with more than twenty-seven years of hands-on experience in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Ms. Johnson’s proven ability to lead efforts toward reform and work collaboratively across a wide range of stakeholders have positioned her well for the role she now holds of President & Chief Executive Officer for Metro United Way. Prior to being chosen to serve in this capacity, Ms. Johnson was Chief Impact Officer for the organization for three years and held previous leadership roles in Kentucky State Government and Louisville Metro Government.

Her leadership has been instrumental in developing transformative investment strategies and collective approaches, bringing about expanded service provision in many areas including neighborhood revitalization supports, preventive services for children and youth at risk of abuse or neglect, comprehensive services for children and youth with greater behavioral and developmental needs, employment opportunities for youth aging out of foster care, and development of workforce opportunities for social services disciplines. In addition, Ms. Johnson stood at the forefront and led and supported efforts aimed at addressing racial disparities and equity concerns found within the populations served in child welfare.

Prior to joining Metro United Way, Ms. Johnson served as Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Community-Based Services. Before joining state government, Ms. Johnson held key roles in Louisville Metro Government ranging from Capital Planning Analyst in the Office of Management and Budget to Acting Director of the Department of Community Services and Revitalization. Ms. Johnson’s strong fiscal experience was gained in various roles held in the private sector for the first half of her career at Humana, LG&E and Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation. Ms. Johnson completed her undergraduate studies at Ball State University and completed several post-graduate courses from the University of Louisville. She is also a published author, having published a book of poetry in 2004. She is a native of Louisville.

Jenna Ahern is an SEO veteran having gained experience under 3 Google Premier Partners & two of the largest automotive search engines in the world; Autotrader & KBB. Since pursuing Guardian Owl Digital full-time in 2016, the company has grown to over 100 clients, over a million dollars in revenue, and 6 full-time Owl Members.

Jenna currently serves as the Founding Member & Advisory Board for Louisville Women in Digital, the St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer Kentucky board, and Kentucky NAWBO Symposium board member.

As a former Division I athlete for the University of Louisville Field Hockey team, Jenna is no stranger to competition and building high performing teams. Ahern served as a two-time Vice Captain for the #8 Nationally ranked field hockey team from 2006-2010.

Prior to starting Guardian Owl Digital, Jenna was awarded national recognition in sales at American Tire Distributors, Netsertive, and Cox Automotive Inc.

Jenna Ahern has been a featured speaker at national events including Women In Digital National Conference 2018, Integrating Women Leaders 2019 Conference, 2020 ESPNW Campus Conversations, and 2019 NAWBO and KCTCS Diversity Career Fair.

Leah Driver began her career in public accounting at Deloitte in Louisville, KY.   She quickly developed an interest in working with clients and alongside team members who shared a commitment to strong work ethic, integrity, and service to clients and others.  Leah spent several years in public accounting, working for various firms in the Kentuckiana area, then transitioned to leading finance and accounting departments of a non-profit, a manufacturing company, and currently a financial services firm.  Leah is the Chief Financial Officer of Axiom Financial Strategies Group of New Albany, IN. 

Leah completed her bachelor’s degree in accounting at University of Kentucky and her Master’s degree in accounting at the University of Louisville. 

Leah is a past recipient of Louisville Business First’s 20 People to Know In Accounting as well as News and Tribune’s 20 Under 40 Business Professionals recognition in Southern Indiana Business Magazine. 

Throughout her career, Leah’s most fulfilling and rewarding experiences have been through coaching and mentoring, allowing her opportunities to recognize and reflect on leadership qualities of others.  Her motivation and excitement to witness this on a grander scale fuels Leah’s desire to serve on the Project on Positive Leadership’s advisory board.  

Michele Koch has overseen Republic Bank’s Culture initiatives since 2017, including values creation, associate engagement, training, leadership development, inclusion and diversity, and more. Prior to joining Republic, Michele worked in talent acquisition, inclusion and diversity, associate and leader development, executive onboarding, internal mobility, and talent management with Humana and in various roles in human resources, training and communications with Siemens and General Motors. 

Michele spent 6 years overseas, earned three degrees from Cornell University, and holds Sr. Professional in Human Resources and SHRM Sr. Certified Professional certifications. She is a regular contributor on talent topics with Inc. Media, serves on the Board of Family Scholar House, and previously served as Board Chair of Walden/Commonwealth Theatre and as an Ex-Officio Board Member of Fund for the Arts. She is a visual artist and loves theatre, hiking and traveling – especially to our country’s National Parks.

Born and raised in Louisville, KY, Scott Koloms attended the University of Louisville where he earned his BA in English and completed coursework towards an MA in Literature. In addition, Scott pursued his PhD in Literature and Rhetoric at Kent State University. Upon his father’s sudden death, Scott returned to Louisville to take over Facilities Management Services (FMS), the janitorial service his father purchased just eighteen months prior.

Maintaining his desire to teach and to have a positive impact on people and communities in his new role, Scott runs FMS in a way that prioritizes the wellbeing of his employees and focuses on making a difference in their lives, all while maintaining the financial bottom line. His personal growth through mindfulness and meditation has led him to incorporate new strategies into the practices at FMS.  Over the course of 18 years, FMS has sustained significant growth, increasing its staff from 30 to 850 employees between 2001 and 2019. Under Scott’s leadership, employee turnover has decreased from 120% in 2014 to 69% in 2017 in an industry with an average turnover rate of 250%.

In November of 2016, this business model allowed FMS to become Kentucky’s second certified B-Corporation and the first B-Corp janitorial service in the world.  The certification requires that the business meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

In early 2017, Scott began working with others to pass legislation in Kentucky to recognize Public Benefit Corporations as legal entities, and in July of 2017 the law went into effect.  FMS became Kentucky’s first Public Benefit Corporation on July 1, 2017. In May of 2017, Scott founded Canopy, a nonprofit organization aiming to make Kentucky first in good business.  Its goal is to create a strong network of socially conscious and impact driven businesses that work to make lives better in Kentucky. 

Susan Veech

Todd Creek brings 30 years of leadership experience in financial markets/exchanges, consumer packaged goods, and public accounting.  Todd has spent the last four years as CEO of Clear Cut Phocus, an emerging CPG/beverage brand.  Prior to Phocus, Todd was with ICAP PLC, a publicly traded global leader in financial markets and provider of execution and information services. Todd served numerous roles during his 15 years with ICAP, most notably as CEO of ICAP Futures, its international CFTC regulated futures brokerage subsidiary and President of ICAP Commodities, its commodities execution subsidiary. 

Prior to ICAP, Todd was CFO & shareholder of APB Energy, an international leader in the execution of energy commodities & financial contracts.  Todd was instrumental in growing APB through organic initiatives and numerous acquisitions culminating with the sale of APB to ICAP in 2002.  Prior to APB, Todd was a manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where he gained exposure to various industries and M&A transactions. 

Todd currently serves on the board of directors for Clear Cut Phocus and the advisor board of the Project for Positive Leadership at the University of Louisville.  Todd has previously served on the boards of SIF ICAP Mexico, Portable Solution Group, MP2 Energy, APB Energy, CFTC’s Energy & Environmental Markets Committee, and amongst others.     

Todd received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky.  Todd and his wife Cathy reside in Louisville, KY and have three children.

Recognized as one of Engagedly’s Top 100 Global HR Influencers of 2021, Vivian Blade, MBA, MBB, PMP is a sought-after leadership expert and thought leader. She works with the world’s top brands, equipping leaders with the resilience that inspires teams to recover quickly in the face of ongoing disruption and thrive in spite of insurmountable odds. Her impact is felt as a frequent speaker for association conferences, and in delivering transformative leadership development programs, executive coaching, and consulting for corporations. 

In her work with the world’s top companies, Vivian applies her extensive business, finance and leadership experience from a 20-year corporate career with Humana and GE, to coach and develop aspiring and established leaders in building high-performance, high-quality and high-service level organizations.  Her corporate experience as a leader and individual contributor spans product management, marketing, ecommerce, Lean Six Sigma and customer experience. She also works in academia as an Adjunct Professor for the University of Louisville College of Business.

Vivian is a prolific writer whose articles, featured in a number of professional, industry, and business publications, and published books have helped thousands of professionals succeed. Her #1 best-selling book Resilience Ready: The Leader’s Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises reveals the key to living and leading with resilience. FuelForward: Discover Proven Practices to Fuel Your Career Forward reveals the inside secrets of career success. And her upcoming book, Influence, unpacks how to SCALE this essential skill for greater impact

Her resilience tools can now be found on the PPL website and include the Resilience Ready Principles Framework, a Resilience Ready Self-Assessment, Stages of Internal Crisis Response, as well as many other important resources