By Lauren Bishop
Enquirer staff writer

A former Cincinnati resident and Procter & Gamble employee has been hired as a contestant on The Apprentice 2, which premieres Sept. 9.

Elizabeth Jarosz, 31, was a "highly successful" brand manager for P&G, according to NBC. A graduate of the University of Michigan business school, Jarosz lives in Marina del Rey, Calif., where she owns a consulting firm, NBC said.

Jarosz is also a published poet, a state champion basketball player, an avid salsa dancer, a motivational speaker and an award-winning short-film director, NBC said. According to the Internet Movie Database, she also has had small roles in several television shows and movies, including 2000's Traffic. Part of that movie was filmed in Cincinnati.

The network will not grant interviews with any of the 18 contestants until after they've been fired from the competition. But in an interview on Entertainment Weekly's Web site, Jarosz said, "This show seemed like it was made for me, like everything I've done prepared me for this moment."

The 18 contestants, all vying for a job with real estate mogul Donald Trump, are as young as 23 and as old as 37. They hold degrees ranging from high school to the Ivy League, and work in law, real estate, investment, sales and marketing.

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E-mail lbishop@enquirer.com