Jo Miller | Advisor, Hocking College Fashion; Consult, Columbus Fashion Alliance; Board Member, Passport2Fashion

Jo Miller is a workforce training strategist and educator specializing in Registered Apprenticeship program design across multiple industries, as well as the development of equitable training pathways within the fashion industry—particularly apparel manufacturing. Her work focuses on helping partners navigate complex systems and translate them into clear, actionable programs. She aligns industry needs, education, and public workforce strategy to build solutions that are practical, scalable, and designed for long-term impact. She is currently working at the forefront of Ohio’s apparel manufacturing expansion, supporting statewide curriculum frameworks, industry partnerships, and workforce strategies that strengthen domestic production.

With a background in technical apparel development and production, combined with her work in public workforce systems, Jo brings a unique blend of hands-on industry experience and systems-level expertise. She is known for her ability to translate complexity into clarity—whether through program design, facilitation, or technical assistance. She has taught at the college level, led workforce and mentorship initiatives, and supported emerging designers and professionals through skills-based, applied learning models. Her approach is grounded in a simple principle: if pathways aren’t clear or accessible, they don’t work—so her focus is always on making them functional in real-world settings.

In her role with the South Central Ohio Workforce Partnership, Jo develops and supports pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs across multiple sectors throughout the region. She remains actively engaged in Central Ohio’s fashion ecosystem through partnerships with organizations like the Columbus Fashion Alliance, Fashion Week Columbus, and First Fridays, and serves on advisory boards including Divercity614, the Women of Color Retail Alliance, and Hocking College’s Fashion Design & Retail program. Across all of her work, Jo is focused on building systems that connect—people to opportunity, education to industry, and ideas to implementation—so that both businesses and emerging talent can move forward with clarity and purpose.