Advancing Performance Excellence in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia & Illinois


About us

Our Commitment & History

What We Do

The Partnership for Excellence (TPE) is a Baldrige-based program serving Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Illinois, helping organizations achieve performance excellence through assessments, leadership development, best practices, and state-level recognition.

Funding

TPE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded through corporate sponsorships, individual contributions, and membership fees, with all donations tax-deductible and no government funding.

How We Do It

TPE educates organizations in performance excellence management. Using the Baldrige Excellence Framework, we provide expert evaluations, actionable feedback, and learning opportunities to drive continuous improvement.

Our History

Established in 1998 as the Ohio Award for Excellence, our organization evolved into the Ohio Partnership for Excellence before becoming The Partnership for Excellence in 2011, expanding to serve Indiana and West Virginia.


Learn more about our history in this PDF.


about the baldrige excellence framework

A Proven Path to Excellence and Sustainable Success

The Baldrige Excellence Framework is designed to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. organizations by promoting performance excellence through an integrated approach to performance management. Aligned with this mission, TPE helps organizations assess, improve, and align key processes using the seven performance excellence categories, driving sustainability, effectiveness, and continuous improvement.

A black and white drawing of a hexagon with a cross in the middle on a white background.

How the Baldrige Criteria Drives Continuous Improvement


  • Guiding the Way

    Organizations everywhere are looking for ways to effectively and efficiently meet their missions and achieve their visions. Thousands of organizations use the Baldrige Excellence Framework and its Criteria for Performance Excellence to guide their enterprises and achieve organizational excellence.


  • Creating the Framework

    The Baldrige Excellence Framework provides the tools to examine and improve each dimension of your organization’s performance while keeping the whole organization in mind. Baldrige offers a proven way to achieve:

    • Innovation
    • World-class results
    • Integrated processes that enhance your effectiveness and efficiency
    • Organizational learning, with support from state role-model organizations in every sector
    • Sustainable success

  • Sustaining the Organization

    The success of the Baldrige Criteria is two-fold. It identifies the key components that create excellence within the organization, but more importantly, it defines how the process of creating excellence can be undertaken with predictable, reliable and repeatable results.



  • Delivering Results

    The real value in the Baldrige process is the intrinsic understanding - how the criteria applies to your company - and what processes need to be aligned to achieve the desired change. In short, implementing the Baldrige Criteria helps you see - so you can do the right things, at the right time, and in the right way.

Our Staff


President/CEO

Phone: (614) 425-7157


Editor

Phone: (614) 599-3250


Director, Training and Administration Services

Phone: (901) 830-4499

Our Board of Trustees

The Partnership for Excellence is governed by a Board of Trustees, with members serving staggered three-year terms. The Board is responsible for formally approving award recommendations, recognizing high-performing organizations for their commitment to excellence.


Board Member Term Ends Position/Organization
Kurt Schoch - Chair 2027 Independent Consultant Performance Improvement Consulting LLC Zionsville, IN
Pamela Jensen - Vice Chair 2026 Principal Proven Results, LLC Fort Myers, FL/ Port Clinton, OH
Michael Everett - Secretary 2025 Organizational Excellence Officer Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Oak Brook, IL
Sara Kuczek - Treasurer 2026 VP & General Manager Reuter-Stokes, a Baker Hughes Business Twinsburg, OH
Robert Barnett 2025 Executive Vice President (retired) Motorola Chicago, IL
Greg Braylock, Jr. 2025 Vice President Strategic Integration ProMedica Toledo, OH
Matthew Browning 2025 Senior Vice President - Member Solutions & Engagement Indiana Hospital Association Indianapolis, IN
Tammy Dye 2027 Chief Strategy Officer & Principal Jordan Johnson, Inc. Seymour, IN
MarJean Kennedy 2027 Vice President of Marketing, Development & Strategic Initiatives WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center Parkersburg, WV
Dr. William Kose 2026 Vice President - Special Projects Blanchard Valley Health System Findlay, OH
Richard Kramer 2027 President & COO City Uniforms & Linen Findlay, OH
Jon Malone 2027 Chief Executive Officer Northwestern Illinois Association Sycamore, IL
Kirby Overton 2027 Dean, College of Business University of Findlay Findlay, OH
Lori Persohn 2026 Associate VP Patient Services Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center Jasper, IN
Chris Rawlings 2027 Chief Executive Officer HospiceCare West Virginia Charleston, WV
Shane Sommers 2025 Chief Operating Officer Hendricks Regional Health Danville, IN
Laura Viaches 2025 President & Founder Endeavor Pharma Solutions, LLC Indianapolis, IN
Andrew Weber 2027 VP/Administrator Vandalia Health CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital Charleston, WV
Paul Worstell 2027 Principal Lead Learn Coach LLC Plain City, OH

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