Beverly Holsted: College Access/GEAR-UP Advisor for West Union High School

Cindy Kratzer: Assistant

Beverley Holsted currently works with West Union Students. Beverley worked with the Ohio State University Extension Office in Brown County as a Program Assistant for 11 years prior to joining staff at the Southern Ohio Center of Excellence.  While being employed as a College Access Advisor, she has been able to develop post-secondary teaching tools for Brown County’s Eastern Local and Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington High Schools. Now, she is working with West Union students’ grades 7 through 12 in researching, developing, implementing and evaluating programs that assist students in removing barriers to college access, assisting to alleviate poverty within the community. Beverley also attended Southern State Community College where she studied art.

Cindy Kratzer was born in Georgetown, Ohio.  Her parents are the late Russell and Mary Geschwind.  She is married to Richard Kratzer and has one sister, Susan K. Polley.  Cindy has lived in Ripley, Ohio all of her life and she graduated from Ripley Union Lewis High School.  Over the years, Cindy has been employed at various sites and worked for over 20 years at the Fifth Third Bank, (formally Bank of Russellville), in Russellville, Ohio. She also worked for 2 ½ years for Mife Pfeffer, Attorney at Law and has been employed by Ohio State University Extension in Georgetown, Ohio for the past 6 years. She has also served as the Assistant for West Union High Schools Gear Up Program for the past 2 years. Cindy is an active member of the Ripley Tree Committee, Friends of the Russellville Library and Save St. Michael School Committee.  She is a parishioner of St. Michael Church in Ripley, Ohio and enjoys walking and playing tennis.

Rebecca Cropper: Director