Vice President of Administration and Finance - Richard Power, CBAP

Richard Power, CBAP is currently a Senior Business Analyst at R.J. Corman Railroad Group. He previously worked as a Business Analyst for SQS Rural USA and RW3 Technologies. He has also worked in the areas of education and music technology and tries to bring his wide range of experience into his current work in order to provide a fresh perspective.

Richard is a Certified Business Analyst Professional^TM (CBAP^®), and has been working in the area of Business Analysis for over 15 years. He enjoys the challenge of finding appropriate solutions for business problems, searching for the best way in which to communicate requirements and ideas, and collaborating with and learning from his colleagues

 Richard values his membership within the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter for the excellent learning, professional growth, and networking opportunities it provides. When not at work he enjoys writing and performing music, hiking, reading, and being a dad. 

Email: Finance@bluegrass.iiba.org 

Vice President of Community Outreach – Judeth Tarter, CBAP

Judeth Tarter has 25 years in the IT world holding several positions in system test, product management and business analyst within the software development lifecycle at companies such as Siemens, KYTC and Savi. She is currently a Business Analyst at SQS-USA, a Global Software Quality Systems consulting company, providing software testing and Quality Managed services to customers. Judeth moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 2009 and she and her husband, Andrew, are kept quite busy with their young son, Jackson, enjoying all the local activities the horse capital of the world has to offer.  Judeth has a BSEE degree from Florida Atlantic University and is currently working toward her CBAP certification. Judeth wishes to assist Bluegrass IIBA Chapter to provide an understanding and recognition to the skills and expertise of the position and the values a business analyst can offer to excelling business qualities and serve as a community voice.  

Email:  Community@bluegrass.iiba.org

Vice President of Marketing and Communication – Bill Powers, CBAP

Bill Powers, CBAP is a Business Analyst in the Enterprise Business Consulting Group at Republic Bank & Trust. He is a highly accomplished, innovative and team spirited professional with several years of experience in Business Analysis, Project Management, Client Service Management, Operations and Benefit Administration. Bill has experience in Data Analytics, Operation Efficiency, Project Implementation, UAT and QA testing efforts. 

Bill was born and raised in the Northern Illinois suburbs and relocated to Louisville, KY with wife Andrea, son William and daughter Alison. Bill obtained his Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) certification in October 2018. Bill would like to see Bluegrass IIBA Chapter continue to advocate for the consistent use of the IIBA techniques and for our practitioners to always challenge the status quo.  

Email: Marketing@bluegrass.iiba.org

Vice President of Membership - Joann Sims, CBAP

Joann Sims is a Certified Business Analysis Professional and is happiest spending her time building relationships while helping businesses develop and optimize business value using IIBA techniques and best practices. A formalized business analysis approach provides governance and positive outcomes while eliminating current challenges and pain points. Joann has 20+ years experience in IT and business, has served in all roles involved in the Software Development Cycle, and strongly believes that Process Improvement is critical for success in today's business landscape. She serves as a value driver ensuring the right problems are solved and gets excited about empowering herself and others to learn, grow, and produce excellent solutions and better outcomes. Joann's goal is to increase membership in the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter while promoting the value of the business analysis profession and the understanding of the benefits of a more formalized approach to analysis.     

Email: Membership@bluegrass.iiba.org  

Vice President of Professional Development – Aaron Whittenberger, CBAP, CSPO

Aaron Whittenberger has 30 years of Business and Information Technology experience, including 17 years of business analysis and 15 years as a Consultant. He earned his Certified Business Analyst Professional^TM (CBAP^®) certification in 2008, and his Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO^®) in 2018. Aaron is our Founding President, as well as currently serves the IIBA^® as Regional Director of the Americas Eastern Region and the former Chairperson of the Role Delineation Committee, responsible for the relevancy and validity of the IIBA^® certification program. He is a 2016 Inductee into the Bluegrass Business Analysis Hall of Fame.

Aaron lives in Independence, KY and has four children. He recently retired from umpiring high school baseball, but still enjoys watching his kids play soccer, football and baseball. Just a few years ago he participated in his first ever game of cricket with his co-workers. For himself, Aaron enjoys a good round of golf, we’ll see if he ever has one. Aaron hopes that the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter brings a business analysis educational program to the area to spark innovation and creative thinking and raise the level of business analysis performed for organizations in the Bluegrass area. This will raise the awareness of the value of business analysts as change agents to allow organizations to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Email: Professional@bluegrass.iiba.org

Vice President of Sponsorship – LeShai Phelps  

LeShai Phelps earned her Bachelor's Degree in Business Management at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY.  She explored a career in Telecommunications by working in a call center.  This exploration led to over a decade of experience with the public, how to handle escalated issues, internal training programs, and business process improvement projects.  This pursuit has offered various career titles, including Customer Service Supervisor and Business Process Owner.  Most recently, she obtained a new title of Business Analyst for Tempur-Sealy International in Lexington, KY, where she has been employed for the past 10 years.  She enjoys cooking, traveling, spending time with family, and long drives on summer days.  LeShai currently lives in Richmond, KY.  She desires to be an asset to the Chapter with the knowledge she has collected over the years.  She hopes to also help the Chapter members increase by recruiting some of her co-workers to join, as well as involve the community

Email: Sponsorship@bluegrass.iiba.org