The Cincinnati Business Courier named its Forty Under 40 class of 2022. The annual awards program recognizes young leaders and professionals from across Greater Cincinnati. Kate Gille, the Cincinnati Parks Foundation’s Creative and Communications Director, was selected as one of the 2022 honorees.
About the Forty Under 40 Awards
Each year, through an open nominations process, the Cincinnati Business Courier seeks “forty individuals, under the age of 40, who are making a difference in business and community. The emphasis is on leadership and potential leadership- whether it is in business, politics, the arts, nonprofits, education, health care or public service. Focus is also placed on the nominee’s community involvement.”
About Kate Gille
Kate is a graduate from Michigan State University where she studied Sustainable Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. She moved to Cincinnati in 2018 to join the award-winning team at Cincinnati Parks. There she served as the department’s Marketing Communications Specialist. During her tenure, she increased Cincinnati Parks’ Instagram following by 266%, reaching over 20,000 followers in less than one year. She and her teammates also brought home the 2nd Place Marketing Innovation Award of Excellence from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
From there, Kate joined the Cincinnati Parks Foundation as the Creative and Communications Director.
In 2020, she was instrumental to the first-year partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and its be.well program. The be.well program gives children with disabilities the opportunity to be active outdoors, make new friends, and improve their health. Kate worked with the team at Cincinnati Children’s closely to create a hybrid virtual/in-person programming option for families. That year, Cincinnati Parks Foundation won a first-place Award of Excellence from the Ohio Parks & Recreation Association (OPRA) for the adaptive running program.
In 2021, through Kate’s development of a passport hiking program with Cincinnati Children’s and Luke5Adventures, the be.well program took another first-place OPRA Award of Excellence followed by the 12th Annual Governor’s Award for Parks and Recreation.
Outside her leadership at the Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Kate volunteers with the following organizations:
- President, Pleasant Ridge Community Council
- Marketing Committee, CROWN Cincinnati Trail
- Environmental Action Committee, Woman’s City Club
- be.well Adaptive Rock Climbing Guide, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- Board Member, Ohio Climbers Coalition (2019-2021)
Congratulations to our teammate for this well-deserved recognition!
