FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 19, 2021) Leadership Kentucky is proud to announce the members of the BRIGHT Kentucky Class of 2021. 

BRIGHT Kentucky, which began in 2019, engages bright, entrepreneurial minds from various occupational sectors to offer non-partisan, ethical leadership training, expanded networks, and mentors designed especially for residents of the 54 Kentucky counties of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The program is made possible by a $500,000 ARC grant and private funding from the Whitaker Foundation, SOAR, Kentucky Power, and other generous donors.

 BRIGHT Kentucky is made up of five, three-day sessions where the primary goal is to help participants fully understand the local economic context and to build robust skill sets in communication, collaboration, consensus building, visioning, and community engagement. The program, which runs July through November, will take participants across Eastern Kentucky: Pikeville in July, Hart County in August, Ashland in September, Somerset and Corbin in October, and Berea and Frankfort in November. The program's start date is July 21.

 This year’s class includes 39 participants from 27 different ARC counties representing a variety of public and private sectors. Leadership Kentucky congratulates the following members:

1. Lina Abdallah — Pike County — Pikeville Medical Center
2. Erin Adkins — Elliott County — First National Bank of Grayson
3. Cole Atkinson — Laurel County 
4. Joshua Baker — Knott County — Alice Lloyd College
5. Hunter Boyd — Boyd County — Boyd County Fiscal Court
6. JR Briscoe — Pike County — University of Pikeville
7. Timothy Caldwell — Floyd County — Mr. Tibbs Trading Company
8. Kendra Calhoun — Harlan County — Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia
9. Baylen Campbell — Perry County — Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky
10. Ricky Campbell — Perry County — Whitaker Bank, Inc.
11. Clay Christian — Letcher County — Double Kwik, Childers Oil
12. Jordan Collins — Knott County — Hindman Settlement School
13. Wendy Crain-Lawson —Menifee County — Gateway Community Action
14. Michelle Culp — Boyd County — Boyd County Fiscal Court
15. Jackson Davenport — Madison County — Chenault Vineyards
16. Natalie Detherage — Knox County — The Holler Creative
17. Tara Dykes — Leslie County — Kentucky River District Health Department
18. Jessica England —Lincoln County — Somerset Community College
19. Stephen Frazier — Casey County — Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment
20. Kiara Gabbard — Rowan County — PrintUSA
21. Whitley Gatliff — Laurel County — Baptist Health Corbin
22. Olivia Gilkison — Boyd County — VanAntwerp Attorneys, LLP
23. Jocelyn Gross — Rowan County — Gateway Area Development District
24. Brittany Guffey — Wayne County — Transamerica Agency Network
25. Colby Hall — Floyd County — Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR)
26. Austin Hart — Fleming County — Fleming County Schools
27. Emily Hathcock — Warren County — Barren River Area Development District
28. Justin Holsinger — Greenup County — AEP/Kentucky Power
29. John Hughes — Madison County — Office of the Attorney General
30. Tara Leisure — Clark County — P&P Creative
31. Matt Lorimer — Garrard County — Isaiah House Inc.
32. Ashley McCarty — Madison County — Bluewater Diagnostics Laboratory
33. Will Napier — Laurel County — Cumberland Valley Area Development
34. Toni Ousley — Johnson County — Big Sandy Skills U
35. Kelsey Sebastian — Breathitt County — Kelsey’s on Main
36. Kellene  Turner — Whitley County — Kellene.Turner.Art
37. Kiristen Webb — Leslie County — Leslie County Schools
38. Chris Whitenack — Lawrence County — Addiction Recovery Care
39. Jennifer Witt — Laurel County — Operation UNITE

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 About Leadership Kentucky

 Leadership Kentucky, created in 1984 as a non-profit educational organization, brings together a select group of people who possess a broad variety of leadership abilities, career accomplishments, and volunteer activities to gain insight into complex issues facing the state. Our goal is to prepare our participants to take an active role in advancing the state for the common good. By fostering understanding of how the state’s issues are interconnected, and by forging new relationships among community and regional leaders, Leadership Kentucky graduates bring a fresh and informed perspective to their communities and companies, serving as important participants in the unified effort to shape Kentucky’s future.

BRIGHT Kentucky is designed to build the capacity of next-generation leaders in the Appalachian region of Kentucky to innovate, collaborate, and advance community and economic development.