LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 23, 2018) – The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) has hired Johnetta Roberts to serve as Neighborhood Initiatives Manager for South and West Louisville. Building on LIBA’s successful “keep South Louisville weird” campaign, as well as the organization’s targeted efforts to support current and aspiring local businesses in West Louisville, Roberts will work in a part-time capacity to lead grassroots campaigns and promote independent business growth.
LIBA’s neighborhood development strategies include a sustained education campaign on the benefits of supporting local business, mentoring activities for business owners and their employees, and marketing strategies to highlight independent businesses in the target areas.
Johnetta Roberts is a business and community development professional known for her excellent strategic planning and relationship building skills. She launched The Forty & One Company in 2017, a consulting practice offering project-based community development, small business, and nonprofit capacity-building services. She is also working with MOLO Village Community Development Corporation (MVCDC), a nonprofit organization founded by St. Peter’s United Church of Christ. She is a member of the development team and is responsible for the pre-leasing of MVCDC’s The Village @ West Jefferson, a 32,000-square-foot mixed-use development that will be complete summer 2019.
For more than nine years, Roberts served as vice president of Community Ventures. She led CV’s expansion into the Louisville market and successfully launched their business lending products and the Women’s Business Center of Kentucky. Her most recent and significant accomplishment with CV’s was the launch of its Chef Space Kitchen Incubator, a multi-use facility in West Louisville that supports the growth of an early stage catering, retail, food truck, and wholesale food business.
“Johnetta has an amazing skill set and community connections that make her a perfect fit for this position,” says Jennifer Rubenstein, LIBA executive director. “Having her on board will bring a new skill set that will open up new opportunities.”
“It is a privilege to join a proven organization that inspires a thriving local economy in our city,” says Roberts. “Considering the renewed focus and energy west of 9th Street and the resurgence in South Louisville, I look forward to helping business owners and budding entrepreneurs realize their fullest potential.”
Roberts earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2003. A native of Lexington, she lives in Louisville with her husband Ransford, owner of New Image Barber Shop in Lyndon; sons, Jaylen and Jordan; and daughter, Riley.
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