Website Search

Lisa Smith is the Public Affairs Manager for Columbia Gas of Kentucky where she has held a variety of roles since joining the company in 1996. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising from the University of Kentucky. A proud Lexington native, she has dedicated her time to volunteering and has served on the Boards of numerous organizations throughout her career. 

Shawntaye Hopkins is the Marketing and Communications Director at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. Before landing at the University of Kentucky, Shawntaye worked as a newspaper reporter, a public relations specialist at another university, and as a communications associate for a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization serving state governments. Shawntaye has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Kentucky University. Her hobbies include reading and writing about books, mostly fiction.

Elizabeth has been a member of the Lexington Police Department since 1998.  After retiring from sworn duty in 2019, she returned to the department as a polygraph examiner and background investigator.  In her current position, she coordinates with multiple divisions in the Urban County Government to ensure the fair hiring of qualified applicants.

Melissa Coulston is Partnership Coordinator at Kentucky Refugee Ministries Lexington, where she has worked since 2022. Her role at KRM involves wearing many different hats depending on the day, but she primarily works to engage central Kentucky communities to support KRM's work to welcome forcibly displaced newcomers. Prior to her work in refugee resettlement and newcomer welcome, Melissa served in various positions in academic, public, and government libraries in Kentucky and South Carolina.

Wendi Keene retired from a thirty year career with the YMCA of Central Kentucky. She held many positions from early education teacher, camp director, and after-school site director until she worked her way to outreach programing. When she left the Y she had become the Executive Director of Community Initiatives for the total Y association with her focus on the arts, literacy and volunteers.

Louetta (Lou) Hurst is a Lexington native who has a longstanding interest in community development and social services. She currently works in research grant development at the University of Kentucky and has extensive experience in grant writing for nonprofit organizations. She holds a BA in Biology and Classics and an MA in English Literature, as well as a Master’s of Public Administration.

Email Louetta Hurst

Dr. Rania Belmadani was born in Algeria, lived in Spain for more than 15 years, and now calls Lexington her home. She serves as a Language Access Specialist with GlobalLex. Rania is fluent in five languages – Arabic, French, Spanish, German and English. In addition, she holds multiple degrees from universities in both Algeria and Spain.