WVNCC Commencement Speaker Named

Beth A. Thomas, a Wheeling native who is executive vice president/managing director of consulting services for Sequent, a Columbus-based firm, will be the keynote speaker for the class of 2017 commencement exercises at West Virginia Northern Community College.

The event will be held beginning at 7 p.m. May 12 at WesBanco Arena, downtown Wheeling.

Thomas, who resides in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, is responsible for the overall success of the human resources consulting practice. She has 25 years of experience specializing in transformational change, whether implementing new systems and processes or a total cultural redesign.
 
The nationally-recognized speaker and author, in addition, has been named the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus at WVNCC which Thomas attended in the mid-1980s. She will be honored at the conclusion of her address to the graduates.

Prior to joining Sequent, Thomas was the senior vice president and head of retail training development and planning at JP Morgan Chase. Before that, she led the Learning Center, OCM & Service Management practice for all LimitedBrands. She also has worked as a regional support executive for the international brokerage firm, The Fritz Companies, Inc.

In addition to many volunteer groups and boards she is involved with, Thomas is a globally recognized thought leader in organizational change, leadership and employee engagement. Her work has been recognized throughout the world and she has been a trusted advisor to dozens of Fortune 500 companies. She is a leading executive coach in helping leaders change and foster an engaging culture.

Thomas is a frequent speaker, and her professional work has been recognized with national awards and in several national-circulating magazines and newsletters. She also is a contributing editor on four books, “On Demand Learning;” “Implementing eLearning;” “Learning Rants, Raves and Reflections;” “Lies About Learning” and, most recently, the author of her own book relating to her experience with employee engagement, “Powered By Happy.”

4/21/17