Business Leader of the Year Lance Vaught has been an integral part of the Penn Station brand, growing it to more than 325 locations in 15 states. He started as an intern with Penn Station in 2003 and has since held every position within the Operation and Training departments before proudly assuming the president position in January of 2022. 

Graduating Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in management and minor in business administration in 2006, Lance Vaught has since been involved with Northern Kentucky University in many ways. He proudly served four years on the University’s Alumni Board of Directors where he was the Co-Chair of the Alumni Membership Committee and served as Member of the Student Career Development Committee. Lance has served as a guest speaker at Business Week and for the talented students taking part in the Eva G. & Oakley Farris Leadership Academy.

For his efforts at Penn Station, Lance was recognized as a member of QSR Magazine’s exclusive 16 Young Leaders to Watch. It is also worth noting that under Vaught’s leadership, Penn Station has earned many of the industry’s highest accolades such as:

• America’s Best Sandwich by Nation’s Restaurants News, Fast Casual.com, Top 100 Movers and Shakers
• Franchise Business Review’s prestigious Top Franchises List 
• Training Magazine’s Top 100 Training Apex list for top training and development programs in the world

Humanitarian of the Year Pam Viscione is the CEO and president of the consulting company, Leadership and Change Consulting, LLC. In this capacity she provides coaching, consulting and speaking engagements for the benefit of girls, women and people of color. Her engagements often focus on helping individuals and organizations make sense of, cope with, and pursue advancement of women and people of color in many situations.

Originally from Cleveland, Pam earned her undergraduate degree at Princeton University in Civil Engineering and Architecture in 1983. She then went on to earn her master’s degree at Northern Kentucky University in the Executive Leadership and Change Program (ELOC), which is now the Masters of Business Leadership and Innovation (MBLI). 

Since obtaining her master’s at NKU, Pam has spent time as a member of the advisory board for the NKU College of Business. She also has been a consistent financial contributor to the university, which is known for matriculating first generation college students.

It is also worth noting that she earned her master’s in Leadership and Change from Antioch University in 2020 and a PhD in Leadership and Change in 2022.Prior to Leadership and Change Consulting, LLC., Pam worked at Procter and Gamble up until 2018, gaining 20 years of executive experience. Most of her career experience was in Supply Chain Management. Her career encouraged the opportunity to visit over 30 countries and live and work in western Europe.

Pam prides herself in being a wife, mother, grandmother and a dog mom.

Young Professional of the Year Kevin Donnelly is vice president of project management for REDI Cincinnati. In his role, Kevin leads REDI’s project management team and is the main contact for companies evaluating the Cincinnati region for growth opportunities.Originally from Cincinnati, Kevin graduated summa cum laude from Northern Kentucky University (NKU) with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies before receiving his MBA from the same institution.

Prior to joining REDI, Kevin worked for BE NKY Growth Partnership (Formerly Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Tri-ED)), guiding the IEDC Gold Award-winning business retention and expansion program. He also played a strong role in business development and project management. Before working for Tri-ED, Kevin was a strategic coordinator for Northern Kentucky’s community visioning plan Vision 2015 and a manager of public affairs and communications for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

Outside of work, Kevin can be found exploring Northern Kentucky and greater Cincinnati sports, breweries and restaurants with his wife Liz and son Jack.

The HAILE College of Business is committed to providing a top-quality, well-rounded business education that equips students with the skills and tools necessary to be successful in today’s challenging world. We do this through the promotion of academic excellence; a focus on building a strong community of faculty, staff, students and alumni; and partnerships both locally and globally that all contribute to excellence and engagement in business education. The principles that define, differentiate and drive our culture include engagement, innovation, and impact. We help businesses create a better world through developing skilled, passionate future business leaders through our global programs, entrepreneurship opportunities and real-life experiential learning opportunities.