Janet Reid Named 2018 Leader of the Year

ANN ARBOR, MI, February 16, 2018 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the academic advancement of talented female high school students from the Midwest, today announced Dr. Janet Reid as its 2018 Leader of the Year. Dr. Reid is founder and CEO of BRBS World and founding partner and Director (retired) of Global Novations, which was acquired by Korn/Ferry in 2012.

The Joyce Ivy Foundation is the leading provider of summer academic scholarships for female high school students from the Midwest. Selected Scholars participate in programs at Joyce Ivy partner institutions, including some of the nation’s most rigorous colleges and universities: Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Yale, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Cornell, Barnard, Smith, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Foundation also holds an annual college admissions symposium which serves over 400 high school students, families, counselors, community-based organization leaders, and educators throughout the Midwest.

Each year, the Joyce Ivy Foundation names a Leader of the Year who has achieved notable success in her professional and educational careers. The Leader of the Year embodies a relentless pursuit of her own educational and professional goals and serves as a powerful example of female empowerment and leadership for the Scholars.

“We are very pleased to name Dr. Reid as our 2018 Leader of the Year,” said Mike Pritula, Chair of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Board and a member of its Leader of the Year Selection Committee. “Dr. Reid has a powerful story, having achieved success in a varied and interesting career. The Selection Committee was immediately struck by Dr. Reid’s ability, throughout her career, to create solutions to complex challenges with creativity, logic, and innovation. Dr. Reid is an intuitive leader and she will be an inspiring role model for the young women the Joyce Ivy Foundation supports.”

Dr. Reid is a visionary serial entrepreneur who founded BRBS World; co-founded, grew and sold Global Novations; co-founded Global Lead, Inc., and founded J. B. Reid and Associates. Her management consulting firms have served Fortune 100 corporations world-wide in leadership development, organizational structure, diversity and inclusion and talent management. Dr. Reid has given keynote sessions and led workshops in over 20 countries. Her success in management consulting is bolstered by her decade of work for Procter & Gamble where she quickly gained more responsibility and leadership, first starting as a Research Chemist and then advancing to Section Head and Brand Manager.

Dr. Reid’s impact is far-reaching and has been recognized in a variety of ways: Laureate of The Greater Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame; Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award; Leadership Cincinnati Distinguished Alumni Award; Procter & Gamble Product Development’s Pioneering Black Woman Award; YWCA Career Woman of Achievement; and Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year.

“A college education and exposure to different environments is more important than ever to having a successful career,” said Dr. Janet Reid. “The Joyce Ivy Foundation plays a critical role in providing pivotal experiences that set Scholars up for lifelong success. I am humbled to accept this award and to help this year’s Scholars begin their amazing experiences.”

Dr. Reid is a Trustee at Xavier University and Vice Chair of the Ohio State University Board of Trustees. In addition, she is the Vice Chair of the Mercy Health System, Cincinnati Region, and sits on the Board of the Wexner Medical Center affiliated with the Ohio State University.

Her past Board involvement includes Chair of the Board of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, the first woman and person of color to hold such a position; Chair of the Board of the Health Foundation; Director of Catholic Health Partners and Vice Chair of the Mission and Governance Committee; Founder of the African American CEO Roundtable; Director of ChoiceCare; Board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati Branch; Board member of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and Board member of the United Way of Cincinnati.

Dr. Reid is a graduate of Howard University with a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry. She resides in Cincinnati with her husband, Dr. Calvin Washington, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army.

Dr. Reid will be honored at the 13th Annual Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars Gala Dinner, to be held at the Marriott Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on May 12, and will address the 2018 group of Summer Scholars as they prepare for their summer program participation.

Past recipients of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Leader of the Year Award include: Jocelyn Benson, Chief Executive Officer of Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) (2017); Susan L. Blount, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Prudential (retired) (2016); Valerie J. M. Brader, Executive Director of the Michigan Agency for Energy (2015); Lisa A. Payne, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Taubman Centers, Inc. (2014); Lucy Clark Dougherty, Vice President and General Counsel of General Motors North America (2013); Deanna Mulligan, CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (2012); Kim Schatzel, Dean of the University of Michigan – Dearborn College of Business (2011); and Anne Hiller, Vice President of Marketing, The 41st Parameter (2010).