Executive Director of Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom
Emily Uldrich is the Executive Director of Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom. Emily is an Ohio native and a Shawnee State University alumnus. Her career has focused on promoting Portsmouth’s cultural heritage. From 2009 to 2014, Emily was the Brewmaster and Historian at the Portsmouth Brewing Company, Ohio’s oldest brewery. Starting in 2014, Emily spent nearly a decade at the Southern Ohio Museum & Cultural Center as the Museum Educator and the Curator of the Wertz Collection of Prehistoric Native American Artifacts. Her background in the Natural Sciences influenced her approach to researching the collection, and Emily is now the foremost expert on the Portsmouth Earthworks Complex – the largest of all Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. As Executive Director of Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom since 2023, Emily continues to advocate for historic preservation and showcase the unique character of Downtown Portsmouth.
In 2026, Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom celebrates 20 years as a non-profit organization and 19 years as a Main Street America and Heritage Ohio program. The success and longevity of Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom may be attributed to a willing spirit of collaboration with individuals, organizations, and businesses in our Community. The strong relationship between Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom, the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Portsmouth-Scioto County Visitors Bureau is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration. Because of this, we have been asked to share our story and our secret to success with regional Chamber of Commerce, County Visitor Bureau, and Business Development organizations on numerous occasions. Not only do we collaborate with the Visitors Bureau and the Chamber, but we also consider other organizations in our Community to be partners instead of competitors. Our partnership extends to our local government at the county and municipal levels. This allows us to have a greater positive impact on our Downtown Commercial and Historic Districts, and it makes our fundraising dollars stretch further for projects and events. Collaboration with Small Business in our Downtown and partnering with larger businesses for sponsorships is an economic driver and allows us to create meaningful experiences for participants in our annual events. This attitude toward partnership builds our membership and our fundraising capacity. Working together on projects with volunteers in our local school district and the county career technical center generates ownership in our urban environment amongst the student body. Not only does this collaboration create a foundation for responsible civics, but it also helps to keep these young people in our area after graduation. Our strong Volunteer Program is also a reflection of our collaborative nature. The collaborations in which we participate help to build our reputation in the region, helping to attract and retain our volunteers. Collaboration builds Community, making the positive change in Downtown Portsmouth over the last 20 years possible.