Website Search

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.

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.

Jason Hall is the Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the public policy voice of Kentucky’s four Catholic bishops. Prior to his time with the Conference, Jason served as Deputy General Counsel to the Kentucky State Senate Majority Leadership.

Yajaira Aich West is a Vice President at PNC Bank and serves as the Director of Client and Community Relations for central, eastern and southeast Kentucky.

A born-and-raised Lexingtonian, Hunter attended Lexington Catholic High School and graduated with a B.S. in Economics from the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics in 2015. He is currently a Senior Associate at BC Wood Properties, a commercial real estate investment company, where he manages 1.8 million square feet of commercial space throughout six states. Hunter has a passion for community involvement, serving on various boards for the Explorium of Lexington, United Way of the Bluegrass, University of Kentucky DanceBlue Marathon, and Make-A-Wish Kentucky.