Leadership Kentucky is proud to announce Ron Wilson as Chair of the 2024 Board of Directors. Alongside the Board of Directors, Wilson will oversee one of the oldest and most esteemed statewide leadership development programs in the United States.

“I am honored to serve as Leadership Kentucky’s 2024 Board Chair, especially as we celebrate 40 years of inspiring participants to make a difference in their home communities and in the Commonwealth," said Wilson as he addressed Leadership Kentucky alumni at the Annual Alumni Luncheon and 40th Anniversary Celebration on February 8 in Lexington. “As a graduate of the program, I believe in the power of Leadership Kentucky’s experiential education and networking opportunities. I look forward to collaborating with the Board, staff, and alumni in the coming year as we work to advance Kentucky.”

Wilson serves as Western Kentucky University’s Associate Vice President, Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement and is an alum of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 2011. He is a lifetime resident of Kentucky and currently resides in Bowling Green with his wife.

Leadership Kentucky elected the following officers to the 2024 Executive Committee, alongside newly added Board of Directors members:

• Gina Winchester (Murray), 2025 Board Chair-Elect
• Perry Allen (Lexington), Immediate Past Chair
• Leslie A. Fugate (Louisville), Secretary of the Board
• Daniel P. Bork (Nicholasville), Treasurer
• Betsy Clemons (Hazard), New Board Member
• Aaron Poynter (Russell Springs), New Board Member
• John Yanes (London), New Board Member

The 2024 Leadership Kentucky Executive Committee and 2024 Board of Directors members:

2024 Executive Committee

• 2024 Board Chair: Ron Wilson (Associate Vice President, Division of Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, Western Kentucky University)
• 2025 Board Chair-Elect: Gina Winchester (Deputy Judge Executive, Calloway County)
• Immediate Past Chair: Perry Allen (Retired, U.S. Bank)
• Secretary: Leslie A. Fugate (Vice President, Director of State and Local Public Affairs, Brown-Forman)
• Treasurer: Daniel P. Bork (Retired, Kentucky Commissioner of Revenue)
• BRIGHT Liaison/Committee Member: Elmer K. Whitaker (CEO, Whitaker Bank, Inc.)
• Trey Grayson (Partner, Frost Brown Todd LLP)
• Melissa Knight (President, Farmers National Bank)
• Ken Perdue (Retired, Logan Aluminum, Inc.)
• Chrisandrea Turner (Partner, Stites & Harbison, PLLC)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Regina A. Jackson (Partner, English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Barbara Dickens (Senior Operations Counsel, Atria Senior Living Group, Inc.)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Teresa Trimble Hail (President, D.C. Trimble, Inc.)

2024 Board of Directors

• Craig J. Carlson (Middle Market Banking Leader, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, Truist Bank)
• Daniel Carmack (Realtor, Sallie Davidson Realtors)
• Carolle Jones Clay (President, Republic Bank Foundation, Senior Vice President Managing Director- Community Relations, Republic Bank & Trust)
• Betsy Clemons (Executive Director, Hazard Perry County Chamber of Commerce)
• Aaron Crum (Assistant CEO, Chief Medical Officer, Pikeville Medical Center)
• Gary Gerdemann (Co-Founder, Partner, RunSwitch Public Relations)
• Alan Keck (Mayor, City of Somerset)
• Roy Lowdenback (System Vice President, Philanthropy, Baptist Health)
• Aaron Poynter (Director, Targeted Services Branch Office of Adult Education, Education and Labor Cabinet)
• Eileen Saunders (Vice President, Customer Services, LG&E and KU)
• Charles ‘Chuck’ Session (Retired, Duke Energy)
• Leslie Buddeke Smart, CFRE (CEO, Louisville Ballet)
• Cindy Wiseman (President, AEP/Kentucky Power)
• Kelley Workman (President, Planters Bank)
• John Yanes (President for Saint Joseph London and Saint Joseph Berea, CHI-Saint Joseph Health)
• Debbie Zuerner (Director of Community Engagement, Owensboro Health)

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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. 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. The Leadership Kentucky Foundation offers four unique programs: Leadership Kentucky, ELEVATE Kentucky (for young professionals), BRIGHT Kentucky (for Eastern Kentuckians) and New Executives to Kentucky (for senior level executives who have lived in the state for less than two years). For more information, please visit leadershipky.org or email lky@leadershipky.org.