Her Story
About Natalie
Natalie Ritter, MHA, is the Executive Director of the Conway Center for Family Business, where she leads one of Central Ohio's premier organizations dedicated to supporting the success and longevity of family-owned businesses. In her role, she oversees strategic operations, member engagement, staff leadership, budgeting, and educational programming while cultivating meaningful relationships with business owners, advisors, and community partners. Through conferences, networking events, and peer learning opportunities, Natalie helps foster a collaborative environment where family businesses can thrive across generations.
Before joining the Conway Center, Natalie built a decade-long career in healthcare, serving in leadership, consulting, and policy roles with organizations including the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Baker Tilly, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Nationwide Children's Hospital. Her diverse background in healthcare administration, consulting, and organizational leadership provides a strong foundation for guiding complex organizations and facilitating strategic growth. She earned a Master of Health Administration from The Ohio State University after completing her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was also a member of the varsity swimming and diving team.
Natalie attributes her professional success to the unwavering support of her family, friends, mentors, and the vibrant Columbus professional community. She believes integrity, clear communication, and reliability are the cornerstones of both effective leadership and lasting professional relationships. Passionate about connecting people and creating opportunities for collaboration, Natalie encourages emerging professionals to build meaningful networks, embrace every opportunity to learn, and have confidence in their ability to grow throughout their careers.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Natalie
01What do you attribute your success to?
Just the people in my life. I have a great community in Columbus, Ohio, so like I have great family, great friends that support me in my personal life, and then a great professional community that is supportive and has always taken those meetings and they've led me to great places, so just the people I know, and the people that have always lifted me up and believed in me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Fake it til you make it. Honestly, because no one's ever 100% sure about what they're doing. So, just, you know, be confident, ask questions, and keep trying.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just take all the meetings. Like, reach out, don't be afraid to just reach out to people. You're not bothering anyone. People love to get coffee to help young careerists. It's something that people really, really enjoy, so send that LinkedIn message, make that phone call. If you have a family friend that's like, I can set you up with coffee with this person, just do it. Just say yes to all the meetings and meeting all the people, because something's bound to transpire.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Making sure that we're not kind of just falling into what we've always done, and really making sure we continue to get feedback and stay up to date on what's happening in the business world in Columbus. Our content, our education content, and offerings remain relevant. So it's just a constant learning process, making sure we're not only talking to our members, but absorbing and reading information about the current market and our current environment.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and communication, and just putting the members first, and putting the people I love first. So, just knowing that I can be a reliable person, not only for the Conway members and my staff, but for my family and friends as well. I like being thought of as reliable.
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