Email
Print
FeedA big gig for Hightower
Stephanie Hightower
File
A few minutes into a meeting with a visitor, Stephanie Hightower is interrupted by her assistant, Takisha Martin. “Sorry, this is urgent,” Martin says. She shuffles an important contract in front of Hightower, and the new CEO and president of the Columbus Urban League dutifully signs the document.
It’s mid August, about a week since Hightower took over the agency, and she’s learning fast the nitty-gritty of running such a broad and influential organization. She’s also begun to leave her mark. A couple of days earlier, she held her first all-staff meeting at 7:30 am. “That’s sort of a culture change for folks,” says Hightower, a self-described morning person.
Hightower has worn many hats since she came to Columbus to attend Ohio State University in the 1970s. She’s been a world-class hurdler, City Hall staffer, leader of the Columbus school board, vice president at the Columbus College of Art & Design and chairwoman of USA Track & Field, to name a few. But the Urban League job marks the first time she’s been the daily manager of an organization. “That was one of my long-term goals, to one day be a CEO,” she says.
What’s more, the job is putting Hightower back into the local spotlight. Six years since she resigned from the board of education, Hightower is taking on another important and challenging role as the leader of the city’s most important historically African-American organization. “When I was approached by the search committee to consider the job, it made sense to me because I miss being on the board of education—not the drama, but the community work.”
Hightower has undergone some recent changes in her personal life, as well. In December, she married Ian Stewart, a British track and field official and a former Olympian. A resident of Birmingham, England, Stewart met Hightower on the track-and-field circuit (she remains the voluntary chairwoman of USA Track & Field). They’ve been maintaining a long-distance relationship since 2007, and, for now, they’ll continue to live apart. “We figure we’ll get through the games in London next year, and then we’ll address it,” Hightower says. “If anything, it now looks like with me taking on this responsibility, he’ll be coming over here.”
Despite the balancing act, Hightower says she’s in a good spot in her life to take on the Urban League job. She says she and her husband typically see each other once a month. “We sort of liken it to being on a perpetual honeymoon,” she says. “We’re always glad to see each other, and we never have enough time to have any disputes.”
And with her son, Cameron, now in college (he’s a junior at Haverford College near Philadelphia), she can devote more time to the Urban League, which she hopes to reposition as an organization for all ethnic groups. The long hours shouldn’t bother anyone except her Labrador. “I need to check the pet policy here at this building,” she says with a laugh.
Dave Ghose
