Klohs has spent her career in economic development and working to make the west Michigan region an economic leader in the Midwest. Since 1987, she has served as the CEO of The Right Place, Inc., the regional economic development organization for Grand Rapids and West Michigan. Under her leadership, more than $4 billion in capital investments have been made and more than 40,000 jobs have been created in the region. In addition, The Right Place has developed international partnerships and collaborations with local and regional government and business to create innovative opportunities. As a result of her efforts, Klohs was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the International Crossing Authority to oversee construction of the North American International Trade Crossing.
As a transfer student who was working full time while completing her degree, Klohs regrets not having the opportunity to become involved in campus activities as a student.
“The opportunity to get to know my alma mater better came in a very different way. I was incredibly honored when Dr. Diether Haenicke (President of WMU) asked Michigan Governor John Engler to appoint me to the WMU Board of Trustees,” Klohs said. “Without a question, one of the best experiences of my career.”
Klohs served on the WMU Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2004, acting as chair in her final year. In 2010, she presented “Positioning West Michigan for the Global Economy” for the Haworth College of Business Distinguished Speaker series, and was honored in 2012 by the Haworth College of Business with an Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award. She worked with WMU Staff on the Downtown WMU Grand Rapids Campus and continues to do so. She also enjoys finding ways to work with various WMU departments to bring their resources to West Michigan companies.
As an immigrant from Germany in the ‘70s, Klohs settled in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Mich., and landed a job at the Berrien County Economic Development Corporation. She realized that she liked the work, but in order to turn it into a career she would need a degree. Klohs enrolled at Lake Michigan College, taking classes at night and working during the day. When she reached the end of her coursework at LMC, Klohs transferred to WMU and took classes at its satellite campus in Benton Harbor. For her final year, she would need to travel to main campus.
“I negotiated with my boss and the HR director of Berrien County that I would take all the evening meetings for the organization--we had a lot of work with municipalities that involved township, city and village meetings in the evening; and thus could take classes on campus during the day,” Klohs explained. “So I commuted to Kalamazoo for over a year, taking classes during the day; and continuing to work full time.”
Because economic development involves a high volume of financial transactions, Klohs settled on a major in finance and fondly remembers classes with Dr. Ahmed Issa, now WMU professor emeritus of finance and commercial law.
“He was very tough, but very fair,” Klohs recalled. “He set his expectations for his students very high. Having attended a very structured and tough German high school, this was fine with me.”
Klohs advice for current students and recent graduates is to remember that education continues to be the key.
“It opened doors that I walked through and eventually lead to my position as the CEO of the Right Place,” Klohs recalls of her education at WMU. “Global competition is fierce and getting more so. You need to be prepared for that competition and that comes with a good education. Like for me, it opens doors that are otherwise closed to you. What you do once you go through that door is up to you, but without an education, the doors won’t be open.”
*** Klohs graduated from the Economic Development Insititue of Oklahoma in 1982 in addition to attending Harvard University’s program on negotiation. She also completed the professional economic development finance program through the National Development Council.
Before beginning her career at The Right Place, Klohs served as assistant director for the Office of Expansion at Grand Valley State University. She’s also worked as a marketing executive for Prince Corp., as an account executive for the Michigan Department of Commerce- West Michigan Region, and as an industrial consultant for the Economic Development Corporation in Berrien County, Mich.
She has served or serves on a number of boards including, but not limited to, Spectrum Health, Kent County Aeronautics, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
Klohs has also received numerous honors for her work and community involvement including Crain Detroit’s “Most Influential Women, 2016”, and has made several appearances on the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s list of “Most Influential Women West Michigan.”
Jeanne Carlson (B.B.A. ’68, Accountancy) will also be honored with an award. The 2017 Distinguished Alumni Awardees will be honored at a reception during Homecoming weekend. Learn more about the WMU Distinguished Alumni Award at MyWMU.com/DA.