Southern Ohio is at the threshold of one of the most significant periods of investment in its history. ASCEND is the regional alliance organizing the businesses, careers, and communities that will define what comes next.
📍 Southern Ohio
Find Your Place in ASCEND ↓Whether you're growing a business, building a career, or invested in your community's future — there is a seat at this table with your name on it.
The PORTS corridor is reshaping the regional economy. ASCEND connects you to the intelligence, relationships, supplier networks, and workforce partnerships you need to compete and grow with it — regardless of your company's size.
Explore the Business Alliance →Whether you're entering the workforce, transitioning careers, or looking to advance — ASCEND Academy builds training pathways around what regional employers actually hire for. Real credentials. Real opportunity.
Explore Career Pathways →You already care about Southern Ohio. ASCEND's Community Platform turns that commitment into coordinated action — connecting businesses, nonprofits, governments, and civic leaders around the things that matter most.
Explore the Community Platform →ASCEND operates through three interconnected pillars — each addressing a critical dimension of our region's long-term economic future.
ASCEND brings together employers, developers, investors, contractors, and suppliers across the PORTS growth corridor — aligning the regional business network in a way that no single company or existing organization can do alone. Small firms find visibility. Large investors find trusted local entry. Every member shapes the region's future.
Learn about the Business Alliance →ASCEND Academy coordinates workforce training around verified employer demand — connecting job seekers, students, veterans, and workers with the credentials and careers that power Southern Ohio's economy. Training begins with what employers actually need.
Learn about ASCEND Academy →ASCEND's Community Platform connects businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and civic leaders around the shared priorities — housing, education, childcare, broadband, and quality of life — that make Southern Ohio a place people choose to stay and invest in.
Learn about the Community Platform →Every initiative ASCEND undertakes advances one of four enduring outcomes for the people and businesses of Southern Ohio.
Businesses grow through collaboration, investment, and access to shared regional opportunity.
People gain meaningful employment, lifelong skills, and real pathways to economic advancement.
Communities become healthier, more resilient, and more attractive places to live and raise families.
Southern Ohio becomes a premier destination for industrial investment, innovation, and long-term growth.
ASCEND serves all entities within the PORTS ecosystem and anchored by the existing and emerging industrial landscape — one of America's most significant centers of environmental remediation, energy development, and advanced manufacturing investment. ASCEND is accessible to all interested entities and is not limited by geographic location.