Leadership Portage County has found a new way to reach out to the future leaders of the business sector across Northeast Ohio. The professional development non-profit organization is launching the Leadership Lunchbox Series, a series on guest lectures from business professionals at the Kent Free Library on 312 West Main Street in Kent.
“We feel very fortunate that we have such a stellar group of leaders that we can pull from,” Executive Director Andra Polasky told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 26. “I had surveyed alumni and the last two classes of topics that they needed. We are hoping that they can strengthen their leadership skills and build connections and join us for this.”
The Leadership Lunchbox Series will consist of three guest lecture events, taking place on September 22, October 20 and November 1, with guest lecturers Will Duck, Dr. Tadarelle Lett and Amanda Cole. The cost of each individual session is $40 but a special price of $100 is offered if someone is interested in attending all three lectures. Each lecture will provide an attendee an individual boxed lunch.
According to Polasky, Duck and Cole are both alumni of the Leadership Portage County program, while Dr. Lett is a recent doctoral graduate from Kent State University.
Duck, a graduate of the 2025 class, currently works as the Environmental Health Supervisor of the Portage County Health District.
“He exudes professionalism and etiquette in the way he conducts his business and is a director at the Portage County Health District. He is just a natural presenter and leader,” noted Polasky.
Cole, a 2024 alum, is the Executive Director of PLEXUS, the LGBT + Allied Chamber of Commerce located in Cleveland.
“She has a vast array of experience with communication, networking, professional and development in a lot of different areas,” added Polasky. “She actually was one was of our speakers at our conference in 2024 and was well-received, so we feel lucky to have her back.”
Dr. Lett, a 2026 doctoral graduate at KSU, is a program developmental professional and social services manager.
“Dr. Lett has a nice background in facilitation and outreach in high school education and the business community,” said Polasky.
Polasky said the Lunchbox Leadership Series is a follow-up to the Leadership Portage County’s Leadership workshop last year, which was a five-week leadership program.
She noted that Leadership Portage County sought to showcase other leaders in the Northeast Ohio business community and reached out to former participants such as Cole and Duck while contacting some new leaders like Dr. Lett. She said that one crucial element of this guest lecture series will be the level of audience engagement and interaction.
“I am insistent that any presenter I put in front of a group is engaging and interactive,” she added. “I don’t think any of us like to sit and be talked at. We like to have activities, exercises and engagement with the presenter. I think we learn better when we can relate to the presenter and the material.”
Polasky said that the goal of each guest lecture event is for the attendees to gain helpful leadership advice that they can bring to their respective business teams or organizations. She added that Leadership Portage County welcomes interested attendees who sought to become self-starters or launch their own personal enterprise.
“The program gives them resources and the confidence and the wherewithal to take that leap, have that leap of faith and start their own businesses,” she said. “We have had one who has started their own project management company, another alum became a realtor and left their career in education, and another one began her own accounting firm.”
As much as Polasky hopes that each guest lecture event will provide necessary insight to business professionals across the Northeast Ohio business community, she added that Duck and Cole represent the benefits of being a member of Leadership Portage County and that those ties continue to bind even after an individual leaves the program.
“We work hard to keep our alumni engaged because there is power in community so when you are in the program and 40 other likeminded individuals and you create those connections and friendships, our hope that you take that out into the community,” she said.
