Mrs. Ligon is a business development and sales expert whose 27-year career encompasses successful collaborations with elected officials, community agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, and small to large for-profit organizations. Mrs. Ligon’s fundamental objective at Team NEO is the cultivation of positive economic impact through the creation of tactical business alliances to grow and strengthen a more inclusive and equitable coordinated regional economic development network.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Mrs. Ligon was the Regional Director for the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a program of the Ohio Department of Development, where she led a team of professional business advisors in the development of minority, women, disabled, and veteran owned businesses across eight counties in the state of Ohio. Before joining the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, Mrs. Ligon was the Assistant Director of Diversity & Corporate Relations at Case Western Reserve University where she was the national lead consultant on key strategic project-based opportunities between the University and the corporate sector for research
engagements through the lens of diversity, talent development, and co-branding.

The cornerstone of Mrs. Ligon’s career started in the financial services industry where she was Vice President, of Municipal and Non-profit Finance at JP Morgan Chase Bank. During her 8-year career with JP Morgan Chase, she managed the financial portfolios for commercial sector, nonprofit, and municipal clients.

Mrs. Ligon’s notable and numerous boards of director appointments have included, Ohio Economic Development Association (current), Ohio Economic Development Association Inclusive Economic Development Committee Chair (current), Northeast Ohio Development Exchange Chair (NODE), Northeast Ohio Equity Trust, RLB Leadership Academy, The Land- Vice Chair, the Better Business Bureau Board, COMPACT, UNCF of Orlando, the Citrus Club’s Women’s Executive Exchange, Youngstown State Minority Business Assistance Center, Youngstown Regional Chamber Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee, The Guardians Community Review Group, and numerous advisory roles to C-
suite economic development leaders focused on local data to drive vibrant community engagement strategies. She is the 2024 & 2025 Who’s Who in Black Cleveland Most Influential, Engage Cleveland 2025 Mentor of the Year, and Color Magazine 2025 Most Influential Women POWERLIST. She is a member and past class officer for Leadership Cleveland Class of 2020, LC2 2021, and most recently selected as a professional mentor to emerging leaders in greater Cleveland for the Leadership Cleveland Champion 2026 class.

Mrs. Ligon holds a B.A. in Communications from John Carroll University and a M.S in Human Resources Management from Nova Southeastern University.