Covington Partners’ new executive board members know the impact the organization can have on students, some first hand.

Trent Ledbetter of Covington is mentoring a freshman at Holmes High School. One week last year, the student said he expected to miss an upcoming school day because “my mom is just running out of gas and can’t drive us.”

Ledbetter felt the boy already had a lot of things to juggle, including the stress of getting ready for high school and life as a teen in general. “Now this added to his plate,” Ledbetter said, “That’s the moment I knew I didn’t only want to have a great impact in this organization, but I needed to.”

Ledbetter believes he can be an advocate and a resource for Covington students, so their circumstances don’t hold them back from doing great things.

A financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual, Ledbetter said he is looking forward “to just being an advocate to the organization and trying to get others to be a resource and help support Covington Partners.”

Ledbetter and his wife, Carson, live in Latonia and have a 10-month-old daughter.

New board member Vicki Seligman has supported Covington Partners for many years. She has served on the Finance Committee and been involved in the Pink Link Project, which provides period products for students who cannot afford them.

Seligman believes in Covington Partners’ mission. “I think it is vital that we work to remove barriers that keep the students from being their best and having success at school,” she said. “It will help to break the cycle of poverty.”

Seligman is a retired CPA and expects to be involved in financial aspects of the organization. She grew up in the area, in and around Covington.

Ellen Houston works at DBL Law, which recently relocated to Covington with the intention of becoming more involved in Covington initiatives. DBL Law, along with Houston, also participates in the work-based mentoring program through Covington Partners. 

“I chose Covington Partners in particular because of its mission,” she said. “Children deserve every opportunity to succeed and grow.”

Houston wants to work on governance and development activities as an executive board member.

She lives in Crescent Springs with her husband and two teenaged children.

In addition to practicing law, Houston serves on the Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home Board, where she is on the Development Committee, and is a member of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Steering Committee for the Northern Kentucky University campus. She also served as a member of the 2009 Leadership Northern Kentucky Class with Covington Partners board members, Lesley Holgate and Phyllis Yeager, and Executive Director Stacie Strotman.

Covington Partners welcomes all three new members and is excited to see how the nonprofit and members can grow together.