Administrative Staff
Dennis Underwood - Executive Director
LIUNA member since 1975. Instructor since 2002. He took on the roll of Training Director in 2013. Dennis has taught the A classes, Blue prints, Advanced Instruments, Advanced Grade Checking, Environmental classes as well as the Safety classes and several other classes at the Training Center. Dennis is a member of Local #265 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
John C. Hughes, Jr. - Training Director
John is a second generation Laborer. He began his career, in 1989, working on pipeline projects. In 1990, he started working for The Shelly Company. He specialized in traffic control even though he was involved in every aspect of road work. He continued to work for them until 2005. He became an instructor here at the Training Center in October 1998. He taught the "B" and "C" series as well as various safety and environmental classes. 2005 brought another opportunity. John was asked to be the Statewide Apprenticeship Coordinator. He oversaw the implementation of the Laborers’ Apprenticeship Program. He was offered and accepted the position of Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET) Executive Director in September 2009. With the retirement of Executive Director Robert Chatterson at the Training Center, John returned as the Training Director.
Ginny Cochran - Curriculum Administrator
Ginny is the Educational secretary. Her responsibilities include preparing all the instructional material needed for every class we offer, both here at the training center and the classes held at Union Local halls. Ginny also makes all the certification cards that are issued upon successful completion of the training courses. She has been with the Drexel J. Thrash Training Center since 2006.
Chris Wolford - Executive Administrator
Chris is the Administrative Secretary of the Drexel J. Thrash Training Center. Her main responsibilities are taking care of the payroll and procurement. Chris has been with the training center since 2010.
Jill Burson - Student Administrator
Jill was hired in the fall of 2017. She will be taking care of scheduling students for classes. When she is not busy with that, she will also assist Ginny and Chris with preparing instructional material for classes and also payroll.
Paul Vineyard - Instructional Designer
Paul comes to us as a seasoned training developer with 15+ years experience in complex eLearning and instructor led training development. Specializing in interactive eLearning, instructor led training development, and multimedia content creation, Paul has successfully delivered world-class training to multiple industries including the gas & oil, medical, and HVAC industries. Paul has also worked to create award-winning marketing and advertising campaigns throughout these industries.
Jen Hanes - Project Manager, Instructional Designer
Jen Hanes, is one of our newest additions to the team, joining us in the summer of 2021. She proves as an asset coming into OLTC, being an accomplished Project Manager (PMP) with a BA, a BS, and is currently working towards her MBA. Jen's 15+ years of experience in developing best practices in training and development, across several industries, offers OLTC her personal touch to complement and enhance our existing programs. Her role includes aiding in the creation and development of the eLearning platform and online classes, to be offered at OLTC. Jen is dedicated to outcome-oriented project development and execution, while promoting a positive, team-oriented work environment.
Melissa Emery - Marketing & Communications Director
Melissa joined our staff as a full-time employee in June of 2022 after spending a year as a marketing and communications intern for the fund. Before work with the Ohio Laborers’, Melissa worked with organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and 4 Paws for Ability directing communications and recruiting. Melissa graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene University with her BA in Marketing and Public Relations and her MBA with a concentration in marketing.
