Meet Leslie Fehrman Ridenbaugh – LCC Class of 2021

Leslie Fehrman Ridenbaugh

Leslie Fehrman Ridenbaugh is a Coshocton native, growing up in the City of Coshocton attending Coshocton High School. Following graduation in 2004, she attended Marietta College majoring in international business. Realizing this major was not a good fit for her career goal, Ridenbaugh returned home to attend Central Ohio Technical College, where she started in the human resource program. After one year, she transferred to Mount Vernon Nazarene University where she completed her bachelor’s in social work. She went on to earn her master’s in social work from Akron University, and is working toward her doctorate through online coursework offered by Tulane University.

Ridenbaugh began her career in social work with Thompkins Services, now Allwell Behavioral Health Services, working for eight years.  She also worked at Coshocton Regional Medical Center as a medical social worker as well as various social service agencies in grant funded positions. Recognizing there was a need for mental health and family counseling services in Coshocton, Ridenbaugh opened her practice, Ohio Family Counseling and Consultation LLC, in January 2019. The practice is certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to be a community behavioral health center, which allows them to provide more services through Medicaid reimbursement. Her agency provides counseling and direct practice services to individuals, families, couples or groups; contracts with the Alternative School to provide anger management training; provides grief counseling and serves substance abuse groups. Additionally, counselors in her practice consult with other agencies such as Help Me Grow to assist with case studies; provide trainings for other organizations; assist schools with case management services to help with mental health and therapy goals; work with Journey Home Foster Agency in seven counties and provide services through Employee Assistance Programs. In her role as CEO/Owner, Ridenbaugh runs the agency and supervises a staff of 13 employees. It is her goal, that “everyone” who seeks services from her agency “is treated the same when they walk through the door.”

Ridenbaugh is regional director for the National Association of Social Workers; a Master Gardener Volunteer with OSU Extension; Triple Locks Theater volunteer and is a member of the Coshocton Family and Children First Council and the Creative Options Committee.

Ridenbaugh had wanted to go through Leadership Coshocton County “for years,” as both of her parents went through. While she’s a lifelong resident, Ridenbaugh wants to learn more about Coshocton – she “knows the social services field but not other fields.” She wants to meet others who “want to better the community;” stating, “this is my home; I’m proud of my home and want to do positive things that relate to the community.”

She refers to Coshocton as “an amazing place to live and work.” Ridenbaugh “chose to work, raise a family and start a business here; and is excited for the future.” She does think we “need to refocus our vision as a community” and states, “If more people could take ownership of ‘their thing,’ we could move the community forward.”

To make the county stronger, Ridenbaugh would like to see more people “taking pride in the things we do – start on a small level, but from there come together as a community with a positive focus.” Ridenbaugh recognizes the community has weaknesses, but “way more strengths,” and points out one such strength – new businesses and support for new businesses is on the rise.

Ridenbaugh would recommend Leadership Coshocton as a way to learn new things about Coshocton and come together with other like-minded people and move forward.  She states, “I’ve encountered other people I wouldn’t have otherwise, which is really neat.”

Category: Clubs & Organizations