Women of Influence Preview #21: Trudy Bartley (plus learning about a renowned local artist)

In 2007, Trudy Bartley was recruited to become the president of Diversified Development Group, a minority-owned real estate firm. It didn't go exactly as planned. "When I started with Diversified Development, that is when the recession hit,” Bartley, now a vice president with Ohio State University, said during a recent taping of our Women of Influence podcast. “At that point in time the banks were not lending to anyone who didn’t really have a portfolio."Although much of what the firm was working on then has since become a reality after the recession, working there made for a challenging couple of years for Bartley. She left after about two years, taking a job with the state.For more on what that experience taught Bartley, check out our preview episode of our Women of Influence podcast. You'll also get to hear a bit of my thoughts on a group of arts organizations' efforts to preserve the home of local artist Aminah Robinson, a project we wrote about earlier this week.