Ken Jordan named as Hamilton County's equal employment opportunity officer

Ken Jordan

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said this morning that he has appointed Ken Jordan, a former Erlanger hospital trustee and aide to former Mayor Bob Corker, to head the county's Equal Employment Opportunity office.

Jordan will be responsible for recommending policies and procedures to ensure all Hamilton County employees have fair and equal opportunity in employment terms and conditions, according to a news release.

He will be responsible for investigating and reporting on allegations of discrimination, harassment or retaliation lodged by county employees.

Corker named Jordan to the Erlanger board of trustees in 2003 when Jordan worked for him at City Hall on community education and HOPE VI programs.

Jordan later founded his own development company to redevelop unused manufacturing sites known as brownfields. He ran unsuccessfully for the 10th District state Senate seat in 2007 and has worked in real estate, as well as a congressional liaison-public information officer in Georgia.

In the news release, Coppinger said Jordan's "depth of knowledge and experience" will help him be successful.

"Ken understands the complexities and demands of the workplace and appreciates the issues that can arise from a workforce that exceeds over one thousand people," Coppinger said.

The release quoted Jordan as saying he's pleased and grateful to come back to public service and believes the job of ensuring fair treatment of county employees as a "worthy effort."

In addition to his Erlanger service, Jordan has volunteered with the Hamilton County Virtual School collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the success rate of students.

He is a member of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, a former board member of Chattanooga's United Way and of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor's African-American Advisory Committee, former president of the M.L. King Merchants Association and a former director of the Southside-Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers.

Jordan has a degree in business administration from Morehouse College and holds two certificates from the Harvard Business School.