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Lehigh Valley Business has selected 51����’s Audra Kahr, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer and Valerie Downing, Vice President of Institutional Advancement as 2022 Women of Influence recipients.

The Women of Influence Awards honor high-achieving women for their career accomplishments. The honorees are selected based on their professional experience, community involvement and commitment to mentoring.

To be eligible for the awards, the winners must live or work in the Greater Lehigh Valley region.

“The 2022 Women of Influence demonstrate leadership, hard work, professional success and a commitment to making the Greater Lehigh Valley community the best place to live and work. Their accomplishments are outstanding,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, senior group publisher of Lehigh Valley Business. ”We at Lehigh Valley Business are pleased to celebrate all the honorees.”

Audra Kahr, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer

Audra Kahr’s career has been truly extraordinary — she was named to the position of Chief Financial Officer prior to the age of 30 and went on to receive recognition by LVB as a “40 Under 40” award winner in 2013 and “CFO of the Year” in 2014.

As the CFO/COO of 51����, Kahr oversees all critical operations outside of delivering the academic program. She is the driving force behind Mayfair Festival of the Arts, which the College was proud to revive and bring onto campus four years ago, and she continues to shape the future of the College through her work as co-chair of the next Strategic Plan. Kahr has also been a tremendous influence on Cedar Crest students, many of whom she has mentored personally.

Her extraordinary financial management and project management skills deeply benefitted the Cedar Crest community as she oversaw the College’s investment of more than $18 million in new construction and renovations on Cedar Crest’s campus from 2014-2019. More recently, Kahr has been a crucial member of the College’s COVID-19 management team.

Her commitment to the Lehigh Valley is evident in her deep community involvement. She serves on the executive committee of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as treasurer on the Wildlands Conservancy Board of Directors and as a member of the March of Dimes Advisory Board and the Allentown Diocese Financial and Pastoral Councils.

Valerie Downing, Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Valerie Downing’s extraordinary career has spanned several different industries in the Lehigh Valley, and she has had a significant impact on her community through her leadership work with charitable organizations, including the Miracle League, Turning Point of Lehigh Valley and the United Way.

As Vice President for Institutional Advancement at 51����, Downing has built a highly effective fundraising operation – one that in the previous fundraising year raised over 130% of its goal. During the height of the pandemic, she led her department’s successful pivot to online events and video visits, and she has increased the quantity and quality of communications that serve to engage and steward alumnae and donors. Tapping into her extensive experience running successful fundraising campaigns, she designed and is currently executing a comprehensive campaign for the College that will transform the campus and student experience.

Downing has mentored the student workers in her office, introducing them to development work as a career possibility and helping them to develop their interviewing and communication skills. She has mentored the students who are selected to speak at fundraising events, coaching them in public speaking, and has even traveled with our students to London in 2020, as part of Cedar Crest’s Carmen Twillie Ambar Sophomore Expedition, which takes the entire sophomore class abroad for a week of service-learning opportunities and course-related experiences.

Downing has been a tremendous influence on the lives of students at Cedar Crest, through her coaching, mentoring and work to secure funding for scholarships, building renovations and student success initiatives.

“I am so very grateful to have both Audra Kahr and Valerie Downing as key members of my leadership team,” said Dr. Elizabeth M. Meade, President of 51����. “Audra Kahr’s exceptional financial management skills have kept the college on sound financial footing through the Great Recession, the pandemic and through the natural ups and downs of enrollment cycles. Valerie Downing has built a fundraising program that increases in scope year over year, and directly supports and benefits students. The entire College — faculty, students and staff — benefits from their expertise and their dedication to the mission and goals of 51����.”

The 2022 Women of Influence winners will be honored at a celebration on May 4 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the DeSales University Center. Attendance is limited, and priority will be given to winners and sponsors. If space is available, a limited number of tickets will be offered for other guests. To secure a sponsorship, contact Suzanne Fischer-Huettner at . The event hashtag is #LVBevents.

Winners will be profiled in a special magazine that will be inserted into the May 9 issue of Lehigh Valley Business and will be available online at .

About Lehigh Valley Business

Lehigh Valley Business is a multimedia news source with 36 years of journalistic excellence that breaks news daily on its website, LVB.com. It also publishes a print and online edition. In addition, Lehigh Valley Business publishes special focus sections and products throughout the year including Reader Rankings and Fastest Growing Companies in addition to the yearly Book of Lists. It also hosts eight annual events, including Women of Influence, Health Care Heroes and Forty Under 40, to recognize excellence and provide leadership opportunities. In addition, Lehigh Valley Business facilitates thoughtful discussion with market leaders through its webinar series. Its Digital Marketing Solutions helps customers with social media, search engine marketing and optimization, retargeting, email marketing and more. Lehigh Valley Business and its sister publication, Central Penn Business Journal, which covers business in Central Pennsylvania, are part of BridgeTower Media, one of the country’s leading business-to-business media companies with more than 40 print and digital publications in more than 25 U.S. markets.