NKY’s Jeanne Schroer, president and CEO of the Catalytic Development Funding Corporation, is among eight Greater Cincinnati-area women have been selected as 2022 YWCA Greater Cincinnati Career Women of Achievement. The awardees represent outstanding role models for their leadership, vision, community service and renowned professional success that also embraces the mission of the YWCA.
Due to COVID-19, the honorees will be profiled and honored for the third year in a special one-hour television broadcast and stream instead of a luncheon. The program will be broadcast and streamed on May 26, 7 p.m., via WCPO-Channel 9.
The 43rd annual event continues to be the single largest fundraiser for YWCA Greater Cincinnati, founded in 1868. Proceeds directly support YWCA community-wide programs in the areas of safety, racial justice and inclusion and empowerment and economic advancement. YWCA Greater Cincinnati continues to experience the impact of the pandemic, serving survivors and their children in hotels.
During 2021 over 8,500 women, men, and children were assisted through direct services, an additional 1,000 through community trainings and 2,700 through the domestic violence hotline. Several community programs focused on racial justice and inclusion through direct service, issue education and advocacy.
“The women recognized each year by YWCA have always been catalysts for change in their companies and in the community,” believes Career Women of Achievement Co-Chair Jodi Geiser, retired executive with EY. “Each of these accomplished women has done much toward fulfilling the YWCA’s mission and have embodied the motto lift as you climb.”
Schroer is one of the Tri-State’s premier authorities on all facets of commercial real estate.
Her expertise extends from project financing, lender/investor relations, project valuation and capital acquisition to teaching at the University of Cincinnati’s Real Estate Center.
She says, “My 10 years of time teaching at UC as well as my current volunteer involvement teaching in the Real Estate Accelerator Lab has been my way of preparing the next generation of real estate professionals, which hopefully includes increasing the numbers of females and people of color.”
Prior to her current role as the founding President & CEO of the Catalytic Fund, she held senior management positions with Corporex, which has $1 billion in assets today, where she was able to make a significant impact on the company’s early growth with its developments along the Covington riverfront, and its hotels, office buildings, sports clubs, and industrial parks.
As a real estate professional dedicated to the revitalization of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s urban communities, Schroer was the perfect choice to lead the Catalytic Fund, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that brings non-traditional growth capital to communities and their under-used buildings. Its revitalization projects impact the quality of life for residents and create an economic boost for
She was the first female recipient of the University of Cincinnati Distinguished Real Estate Professional Award and was named The Lane Report’s “Top Ten Businesswomen in Kentucky.
Her other recognitions include:
• Outstanding Women of Northern Kentucky Award,
• Covington Business Council Founders’ Award for meritorious service in improving the economic being of Covington,
• NKY Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Award recognizing significant advancement of economic development in the Northern Kentucky region
The other seven honorees of the YMCA 2022 Career Women of Achievement are:
• Jennifer Davis, president, Feminine Care, Procter & Gamble,
• Chandra Matthews-Smith, chief Community Engagement Officer, United Way of Greater Cincinnati,
• Narissa E. Morris, senior vice president and chief human resources Diversity officer, Cincinnati Children’s,
• Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO, Cincinnati Museum Center,
• Regina Carswell Russo, founder/CEO, RRight Now Communications,
• Melissa Stevens, chief digital officer, head of digital and marketing, Fifth Third Bank, and
• Kristen Hall Wevers, svp, chief marketing and communications officer, UC Health.