LOUISVILLE, KY. – Goodwill Industries of Kentucky announced that Martha Stephenson has been promoted to vice president of career services. She most recently served as a director of career services for the nonprofit.
In her new role as VP of career services, Stephenson will be responsible for the strategic design, implementation and oversight of all Goodwill Industries of Kentucky program services across the nonprofit’s 103-county footprint, for both internal and external clients. This includes planning, developing, implementing and monitoring services to assist individuals through barrier removal and training and development.
“I am inspired by the work done at Goodwill Industries of Kentucky to provide Kentuckians pathways out of poverty,” Stephenson said. “To be in a position of leadership to continue and expand this work is a dream come true.”
Stephenson served as a director of career services in the Louisville area since 2020, where she created, implemented and led programs and services offered at the Metro Louisville Opportunity Center. One of her responsibilities was engaging with individuals needing resources and, with her then-team of five, directing the individuals to services that will provide pathways out of poverty.
Stephenson joined Goodwill Industries of Kentucky in 2017 in the philanthropy field as the director of development. In that role, she developed and sustained fundraising for the statewide nonprofit. Prior to Goodwill, she was the director of development for Presentation Academy in Louisville. She was also executive director for the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. As a fundraising professional, she has experience leading capital campaigns, special events and major gifts.
A native Louisvillian, Stephenson is a graduate of Spalding University, where she earned her degree as a full-time employee using the employee tuition benefit program. She is a member of the Fundraising Executives of Metro Louisville (FREML) and attended the University of Notre Dame Development 2012 Program through a FREML scholarship award. She has completed trainings through the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. She has also completed the Positive Leadership Certificate Program with the University of Louisville.
About Goodwill Industries of Kentucky
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is a 99-year-old nonprofit organization that operates in 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The organization is committed to using resources from its 67 retail stores to help build pathways out of poverty for individuals who need a hand up in life. In 2021, Goodwill helped place 2,636 Kentuckians into jobs with 871 of its employer partners and inside its own retail stores. Goodwill uses approximately 90 cents from every dollar generated in its retail stores to operate programs and services that help Kentucky’s hardest-to-serve job seekers build the life they desire.