Kent State University President Beverly Warren has appointed entrepreneur and Kent State alumna Sharlene Ramos-Chesnes as the university’s 2016 President’s Ambassador. The President’s Ambassadorship, a one-year, part-time appointment beginning spring 2016, is designed to bring distinguished local minority professionals to share their professional knowledge and experience with the Kent State community.
Sponsored by Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the President’s Ambassador is expected to help promote pluralistic understanding and mutual respect among diverse constituencies of students, staff, faculty and administrators at Kent State; help address diversity challenges; implement diversity initiatives; engage students; and assist with other responsibilities that advance universitywide goals.
A respected business owner, Ramos-Chesnes is the chief executive officer of InterChez, an industry leader in domestic and international logistics. Located in Stow, Ohio, InterChez is a family of companies that offers direct and integrated supply chain and logistics solutions for middle-market companies and large corporations. Prior to her involvement as major shareholder of the InterChez companies, Ramos-Chesnes was an educator and department head at a private school. She has held senior-level positions in both the nonprofit and for-profit business sectors, where she has been instrumental in the growth of the company or the expansion of services, and has carried out various initiatives in support of such escalations.
As President’s Ambassador, Ramos-Chesnes plans to be a champion for the development of key student initiatives and scholarship. Ramos-Chesnes says she has always believed in education as the stepping stone to success.
“Having an invitation extended to serve as the President’s Ambassador for Kent State University, my alma mater, is truly an honor,” Ramos-Chesnes said. “I have great respect and admiration for President Beverly Warren, and I look forward to being a part of the engine that helps advance the mission of the university and that of the president.
“I believe that a community is strongest when it continuously cultivates a culture of diversity and inclusion,” she continued. “As the President’s Ambassador, I will share the knowledge I have accumulated throughout my career and education. As a first-generation Hispanic business woman, I hope to inspire students to become leaders in their respective communities and careers. I believe that the role we play as professionals in the global community begins at home.”
Ramos-Chesnes has been recognized by several organizations for her leadership and contributions, including the Thurgood Marshall Civil and Human Rights Commission, People to People Leadership, Ohio’s Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs, the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Kent State’s Latino Networking Caucus, National Association of Professional Women, Key4Women, the Alzheimer’s Association, Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center, and Friends of Lincoln-West, the city of Cleveland high school she attended.
Ramos-Chesnes currently serves on several boards in both the private and public sector, such as the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Advisory Committee, the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) Board of Trustees, and the Board of Directors of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.
For more information about the Kent State President’s Ambassador, contact Shana M. Lee, Kent State’s director of special projects and initiatives in the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, at slee@kent.edu or visit www.kent.edu/diversity/presidents-ambassadorship.
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Photo Caption:
Entrepreneur and Kent State University alumna Sharlene Ramos-Chesnes of Stow, Ohio, will serve as Kent State’s new President’s Ambassador.
Media Contacts:
Shana Lee, slee@kent.edu, 330-672-8582
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595