Besa welcomes community advocate and civic leader Kesha Garrett as its first COO
Columbus, Ohio — Besa welcomes respected community advocate and leader Kesha Garrett as its first Chief Operating Officer.
Garrett brings to Besa over a decade of active civic leadership through positions at the Columbus Partnership, Columbus Urban League and most recently Orange Barrel Media.
“Kesha is a dedicated community champion. She’s incredibly bright, thoughtful, down-to-earth and a problem solver. And she’s all in on making an impact by mobilizing people through Besa,” said Besa CEO Matthew Goldstein. “By adding Kesha, we will be able to show up in even more powerful ways for neighbors in need, nonprofits, volunteers, corporate partners and donors. I am thrilled and inspired Kesha is bringing her talent to Besa.”
Garrett is a Columbus native who grew up on the city’s east side and worked her way to the epicenter of civic leadership. Her work, while largely behind the scenes, has been experienced by thousands. As development manager for Orange Barrel Media, she has cultivated relationships nationwide to deploy and install interactive, 8-foot kiosks like those found in the Short North, St. Louis, Tempe and soon Miami. As integration manager at the Columbus Partnership, she managed cross-functional strategies and operations, special projects and events, including supporting the annual Harvard executive leadership retreats. And as chief of staff at Columbus Urban League, she served as a thought partner and advisor to the CEO and senior executive team as well as a development officer.
“I love to strategize. I love to solve problems,” Garrett said. “I don’t want to just impact one community challenge. I want my impact to be broad and significant. And the great thing about Besa is that it does just that. I’m excited to help them do even more and expand their extraordinary resources to more diverse communities in Columbus and across the country.”
“To be the first person in this role is inspiring,” Garrett continued. “And to lead in this role as a Black woman — it’s huge. I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. It is absolutely an honor to be in this seat. And I’m very serious about making change.”
Since launching in 2012, Besa has rallied 56,000 corporate and individual volunteers to give 135,000 hours on 9,700 service projects and has made $41M in community impact.
As Besa sits on the cusp of its 10-year anniversary, with millions of dollars of community impact made but myriad problems to continue help solving, Goldstein said he already is inspired by Garrett’s energy.
“Kesha will help us ensure our operations are aligned and we get more resources to where they are needed most,” he said.
Plus, he noted, Garrett will help Besa become a national organization. She’s up for it all.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Garrett said. “But who doesn’t want to be challenged to change the world?”
Besa is a Columbus nonprofit dedicated to supporting those who need it most by connecting people and businesses to community service. Besa offers a portal at www.givebesa.org where Columbus residents can easily find and register for volunteer opportunities citywide; it hosts drives for various nonprofits; and it helps corporate partners manage and strengthen their philanthropic efforts.
CONTACT
Kristy Eckert, Kristy Eckert Communications
614.746.2787, kristy@kristyeckert.com
