Ace of Trades: A career in social work came from volunteering for the Red Cross
COSHOCTON – The path to career satisfaction often includes childhood dreams and unexpected twists and turns. Ask Leslie Fehrman Ridenbaugh.
“My first dream job was to be a bagger at Buehler’s,” she recalled. “This was in about second grade. Beyond that, I knew I wanted to work with people. I dreamed of becoming a lawyer, being in business, working in food service and hospitality, being a wedding planner, and many other career paths. In high school, people who knew me told me I would grow up to be a social worker like my mother.”
That last part would soon come true.
“My first college major was international business management,” she continued. “In 2006, I volunteered with the American Red Cross as a disaster relief volunteer and spent time managing shelters in and around Shreveport, Louisiana, following Hurricane Katrina. During that experience, I knew social work was my calling.”
Today Fehrman Ridenbaugh is owner, CEO and a therapist at Ohio Family Counseling and Consultation.
“I began working in mental health in 2010 at Thompkins Child and Adolescent Services,” she said. “I had no idea I even wanted to provide counseling. I quickly fell in love with the work. I loved learning about people and helping them. I also enjoyed learning the administrative side of counseling agencies.”
Leslie Fehrman Ridenbaugh was born and raised in Coshocton, graduated from Coshocton High School in 2004, then tried “several paths” including the human services program at COTC. She transferred to Mount Vernon Nazarene University for a bachelor’s degree in social work and graduated in 2010. She then became a licensed social worker.
She earned her master’s in social work at The University of Akron in 2013. In 2015 she became a licensed independent social worker and independent chemical dependency counselor. Before long, she became a medical social worker at Coshocton Regional Medical Center.
Then life took some turns.
In 2018 she became a foster parent and was placed with three (now six) children. She subsequently decreased her business workload, but people kept approaching her for counseling.
“Enough of those requests came along that I decided to open an office in January 2019,” she said. “I planned to be open two days per week and estimated about 60 clients in the first year. At the end of 2019, we had about eight people on staff and had seen 435 clients. I knew the need existed in our community for mental health and substance use counseling services, but I had no idea the extent of the need.”
Today there are 14 staff members at Ohio Family Counseling and Consultation.
“Leslie is amazing,” assessed Kirby Hasseman, CEO of Hasseman Marketing as well as a longtime friend and business adviser. “She’s caring and always ready to learn and grow. I admire her and what she’s doing for her clients in the community.”
“I absolutely love what I do,” Fehrman Ridenbaugh noted. “Even on my hardest days, I’m still thrilled to not only provide counseling services, but be a business owner. I’m completely pleased with where life’s path has taken me.”
Ohio Family Counseling and Consultation, LLC is located at 550 Main St. in Coshocton. For more information, call 740-291-3737 or log on www.ofccllc.org.
About the series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at ctnews@coshoctontribune.com.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: A career in social work came from volunteering for the Red Cross
