2024 Most Influential Women: Sherry Coker

After a 17-year career in workforce development at Ozarks Technical Community College, Sherry Coker set out to chart her own course with the launch of Coker Consulting LLC in 2023.

At Coker Consulting, she provides education and training solutions designed to help clients pursue success in their business and personal lives.

“I chose this path because it allows me to help people every day become the best version of themselves through training and coaching,” Coker says. “My hope is that my work not only contributes to business success but also makes our community a better place.”

In recent opinion columns written for Springfield Business Journal, Coker offers guidance on building company culture and improving employee retention via empathy in leadership, trust, purpose, accountability and the exploration of personality preferences.

“What sets me apart from other professionals is not that I do more than anyone else. It’s that I have a unique blend of expertise, leadership and community engagement that set me apart from others,” Coker says. “Starting my own business has been the scariest thing I have done in my career; however, I couldn’t be more at peace and excited about the future and the potential.”

Coker’s contributions to the business community include serving as one of the four founding members of the Springfield Tech Council, a professional organization that works to advance the local technology industry. The organization has grown to more than 100 company members and 670 individual contributors since its 2021 inception, and its STC Squared Tech Conference and Excellence in Technology Awards banquet have become popular in the community.

Reflecting on her tenure at Ozarks Tech, Coker says she’s most proud of her work “improving the quantity and quality of the region’s workforce, while providing businesses with the skilled talent needed to be competitive and financially successful.”

Coker most recently served as executive director of the community college’s Center for Workforce Development, which last year was renamed as Workforce and Short-Term Training. In that role 2018-23, Coker led a team that generated $2.4 million in gross revenue and created multiple business partnerships for training programs.

“I made a positive impact on my colleagues and on the students, businesses and employees we served,” Coker says. “OTC is a tremendous asset to our community, and I smile every time someone comes up to me and says how much they loved their time at OTC or tells me that’s where they are going to finish high school or after high school. There is no greater satisfaction than knowing you empowered an individual to become a better version of themselves.”