Kirby Adams, Lifestyle Reporter, Courier-Journal 
Kirby Adams reports on lifestyle and entertainment topics at the Louisville Courier Journal with her primary focus for six months out of the year on “all things Kentucky Derby.”

Kirby made the move to the paper to enable her to spend more time with her daughters when they started middle school. 

Prior to that she worked as an award-winning news anchor, consumer reporter, and hosted the news magazine show Louisville Tonight Live on WHAS 11 television in Louisville.  In Seattle, Washington she was a lifestyle reporter at King 5 television and a reporter and videographer on the PM Magazine Show at KSAT television in San Antonio, Texas. 

Kirby has also hosted radio shows for Louisville Public Media, appeared in episodes of a sketch comedy television show, and currently volunteers as an emcee for various charitable events. 

Jennifer Barber, Louisville Partner in Charge, Frost, Brown, Todd, LLP
Jennifer Barber is the Partner-In-Charge of the Louisville office of Frost Brown Todd, Kentucky’s largest law firm.  She leads over 160 attorneys in the execution of the firm’s strategy, civic engagement, and charitable initiatives.  She is a tax attorney who advises clients on tax planning, disputes, and economic incentives. 

She has been named to Best Lawyers in America®, Super Lawyers®, and Martindale Hubbell’s Registry of Preeminent Women Lawyers.  She was recognized by Business First of Louisville as “Enterprising Woman to Watch” and “Forty Under 40” for her impact on state and local economic development. She was inducted into the Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame in 2022 and named to the “Power 50” in 2025, which recognizes Louisville’s 50 most influential people.  

Jennifer has served on numerous boards, including the Kentucky State Fair Board and the UK Board of Trustees, where she chaired the UK Athletics Committee.  She currently serves on the boards of U.S. Bank, UK Healthcare, Impetus, and the Louisville Economic Development Alliance. She currently chairs the Kentucky Chamber’s Center for Policy and Research.  

Jennifer previously served as United States Delegate to the 75th United Nations General Assembly where she handled foreign policy, particularly in the areas of human rights and humanitarian aid.

Britainy Beshear, First Lady of Kentucky
First Lady of Kentucky Britainy Beshear has long been an advocate for Kentucky’s children and has been there for them and their families during many challenging times.

Throughout the pandemic, she led efforts to keep kids safe at school through her “Coverings for Kids” program, for which thousands of Kentuckians, as well as businesses like Ford Motor Co., donated more than a million facial coverings directly to local school districts.

When deadly tornadoes hit Western Kentucky before Christmas in 2021, Mrs. Beshear organized a toy drive for the children who had just lost everything. She did the same to help children in Eastern Kentucky following the devastating floods in the summer of 2022. More than 100,000 toys and $200,000 in gift card donations poured in from around the country to help these children recover.

From supporting the Purple Star Certified program to visiting Kentucky’s military bases, the First Lady has worked to support and lift up military children who make sacrifices daily so that their loved ones can serve and protect our country.

The First Lady has also been dedicated to the safety of Kentucky’s children and families through her work raising awareness around human trafficking as a member of the National Coalition for the Prevention of Human Sex Trafficking.

Mrs. Beshear knows that Kentucky students are our future, and she enjoys spending time reading to and visiting with young leaders in their classrooms.
Each year, the First Lady has also supported domestic violence victims through the annual Shop & Share program. The effort directly helps domestic violence shelters located across our state have the resources and supplies they need to help survivors and their children be safe and to help them rebuild their lives.

Mrs. Beshear is actively involved in her children’s education and volunteers in their classrooms and after-school programs. The family enjoys many volunteer activities with Family Scholar House and Dare to Care Food Bank, both in Louisville, and God’s Pantry in Lexington.

Angela McCormick Bisig, Justice, 4th Supreme Court District
Angela McCormick Bisig was elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court in November 2022. She serves the Fourth Supreme Court District which is Jefferson County. Justice Bisig has been a member of the Kentucky Judiciary for 21 years. She has served in both district and circuit courts and as chief judge of both terms.  She is also one of two founding circuit judges in the Commonwealth who presided over cases on a newly formed business court.  Justice Bisig worked as a juvenile court judge for many years.  She was a founding member of a restorative justice program which currently serves to rehabilitate juveniles and bring healing to crime victims. She helped to establish a special program called the enhanced supervision docket providing court supervision of domestic violence offenders. She also founded Jefferson County’s only language and cultural immersion training for court system partners.

Prior to her service on the bench Justice Bisig served as an attorney for 13 years. She worked for 7 years as a prosecutor in the area of domestic violence and sexual assaults.  She also practiced civil law in the firms of Brown, Todd & Heyburn and Greenebaum Doll & McDonald. Justice Bisig is very involved in the community and is on the Board of Directors of the Volunteers of America.   She served for many years on the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council and regularly hosts international delegations in her home. She also has served on the Boards of the Dare to Care food bank, the Center for Women, the Red Cross, Sister Cities of Louisville and on the Board of Trustees of the University of Louisville.

Justice Bisig was voted the “Judge of the Year” by the Louisville Bar Association in 2013 and 2020. She was named “Trial Judge of the Year” in 2021 by the American Board of Trial Advocates. She was named the Kentucky Justice Association “Judge of the Year” in 2016. She has also been named a Muhammad Ali Daughter of Greatness.  She is married to Arnold Rivera and has 3 adult children and 2 stepchildren.

Kenny Brooks, Head Coach, University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball
Kenny Brooks, who was chosen as the 2025 Sporting News National Coach of the Year, was named the ninth head coach of the University of Kentucky women’s basketball program on March 26, 2024. He enters his second season as the Wildcats’ women’s basketball head coach in 2025-26, while he enters his 24th season overall as a head coach.

Boasting a 540-212 (.718) career record through 23 seasons as a head coach across his times at James Madison, Virginia Tech and Kentucky, Brooks has compiled five Colonial Athletic Association Tournament titles, four CAA regular-season titles, one ACC Tournament title, one ACC regular-season title, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and one Final Four.

Brooks’ first season at the helm of the Kentucky Wildcats was nothing short of sensational, as evident by being named the 2025 Sporting News’ National Coach of the Year.

He hit the ground running in Spring 2024, recruiting 11 players and hiring 11 coaches and staffers that would end up being competitive in a conference that was new to almost all of them. That collection would go on to earn a 23-8 overall record in 2024-25, including an 11-5 mark in the Southeastern Conference to finish in fourth place in the loaded league. In the process, Brooks tied the late Terry Hall as the quickest head coaches in program history to reach their first 20 wins at UK (24 games). Brooks also joined Hall as just the second head coach in program history to begin their first season at UK undefeated through seven games.

The Wildcats, who earned five ranked triumphs, ranked as high as No. 8 in the Associated Press poll on the season, while they went on to earn the four seed and double bye at the SEC Tournament and the four seed and hosting privileges in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats broke or tied 12 school records before ending the season as the nation’s leader in blocks per game (7.0). Meanwhile, star-studded point guard Georgia Amoore – who he affectionally refers to as his mini-me – went on to earn consensus All-America, Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top Five Finalist, ESPN Newcomer of the Year, SEC Newcomer of the Year and All-SEC First Team – among others – before being picked No. 6 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics, while his sophomore center Clara Strack earned Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 Finalist, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Defensive Team.

The excitement abounded for the program Brooks built off the court, too, with reserved season tickets selling out prior to the season, and four home games, including its final three home games, selling out in advance of the tip times. Also off the court, Brooks’ team assembled a 3.59 GPA in Fall 2024, the program’s highest GPA in 10 years (outside of the Covid-affected semester in Spring 2020).

Brooks arrived in Lexington after serving eight seasons as the head coach at Virginia Tech. Under his guidance, the Hokies enjoyed eight consecutive winning seasons (2017-24) and made four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2021-24). He also produced a record amount of ACC win totals, ranked wins and postseason accolades in that time.

Most recently, Virginia Tech is coming off the program’s first ACC regular-season championship and a four seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Just a season before that, he led Tech to the program’s first ACC Tournament title and earned a one seed in the NCAA Tournament. That same season, the Hokies defeated Chattanooga, South Dakota State, Tennessee and Ohio State to advance to the program’s first Final Four.

Student-athletes have thrived under Brooks’ leadership. Elizabeth Kitley, an All-America center at Virginia Tech (2020-24), became the program’s first 2,000-point scorer, while she also ranks first in program history in field goals, blocks and double-doubles. She was a three-time ACC Player of the Year, three-time Kay Yow Scholar-Athlete of the Year and three-time Associated Press All-American. Kitley was the first Hokie to hold those titles, in addition to being a four-time All-ACC First Team selection and two-time All-Defensive Team selection.

In addition, Amoore, previously an All-ACC point guard at Virginia Tech (2021-24), won the 2023 ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honor and went on to become the NCAA Tournament’s Seattle Region Most Outstanding Player. Altogether, she was a two-time All-ACC First Team selection and earned two All-America honorable mentions. In 2022-23, Amoore set a single-season program record for 3-point field goals (116), which ranked second in the nation at the time.

In 2022-23, Brooks’ seventh season at Virginia Tech, there were numerous milestones and program bests. The Hokies went 14-4 in ACC action to earn a coveted double bye in the ACC Tournament. That season, Virginia Tech went 16-1 at home with the lone loss coming to a top-five team, while Tech defeated eight ranked teams, a single-season program record.

Brooks, a Waynesboro, Virginia, native, was a finalist for the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year honor after achieving a slew of program firsts, including the first 30-win season (31).

In 2021-22, the Hokies set a program record with 13 ACC wins and five ranked wins. The squad also advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time ever. During the season, Brooks won his 450th career game at No. 16 Duke, 65-54, earning a sweep of the Blue Devils for the first time in program history.

Brooks recruited and developed All-ACC guard Aisha Sheppard, who graduated as the program’s all-time leader in points at the time (1,883) and the ACC’s leader in career 3-point field goals (402) in 2022. She earned three All-ACC awards and earned Associated Press All-America honorable mention accolades in 2021. At the time, she owned the top three single-season 3-point field goal totals in program history and played in the most games and most minutes of any player in program history.

To begin his tenure, Brooks and the Hokies reeled off 15 straight wins to open the season in 2016-17, Virginia Tech’s strongest start to a season in 18 years. Behind that strong start, Tech climbed to as high as No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25.

Brooks ushered in a new era of up-tempo basketball at Virginia Tech, as his Hokies reset the team scoring record in each of his first two seasons in Blacksburg, as well as reset the mark for 3-point field goals made in each of those seasons.

Brooks’ tenure has seen numerous players score 1,000 career points, including forward Regan Magarity who also became the program’s all-time leading rebounder at the time during the 2018 WNIT run. Magarity set the ACC record with 1,299 career rebounds.

Brooks joined Virginia Tech after an impressive 14-season stint as head coach at James Madison University, where he compiled a record of 337-122 (.756), which made him the winningest coach in school history. Brooks guided the Dukes to 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including six NCAA bids and five trips to the WNIT. During his final three seasons in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Brooks and the Dukes compiled an impressive 60-3 record in conference action.

He was named CAA Coach of the Year for a fourth time in 2015-16, while his student-athletes also garnered CAA Player and Rookie of the Year honors.

Brooks registered winning campaigns in 13 of his 14 seasons in Harrisonburg, ascending to No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll in 2014-15, as his squad tied a school record with 29 wins. In 2013-14, he led the Dukes to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1991, when his 11th-seeded Dukes knocked off sixth-seeded Gonzaga, 72-63, in the first round. In 2007, the Dukes earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking only the second time a CAA team had received an at-large berth.

The Waynesboro, Virginia, native has coached nine WNBA Draft picks in his tenure; first-rounders Georgia Amoore (sixth overall) and  Tamera Young (eighth overall), as well as Liz Kitley, Lauren Okafor, Jazmon Gwathmey, Regan Magarity, Aisha Sheppard, Kayana Traylor and Taylor Soule. Sheppard and Traylor were selected 23rd in consecutive drafts, the highest picks ever in Virginia Tech program history and Traylor and Soule became the first two Hokies student-athletes to be selected in the same WNBA Draft.

A 1992 graduate of James Madison, Brooks played for three seasons under coach Lefty Driesell and made two NIT appearances, while also earning a degree in business management. He began his coaching career as a part-time assistant for the 1993-94 JMU men’s squad that won the CAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Then, after four seasons as an assistant for the men’s program at Virginia Military Institute (1994-98), he moved back to his alma mater as a men’s assistant from 1998-2002. He was named interim women’s head coach on Dec. 6, 2002 before taking over those duties on a full-time basis on March 21, 2003.

Brooks and his wife, Chrissy, have four children, Kendyl, Chloe, Gabby and Nicholas.

Tara Conner, Miss Kentucky 2006, Miss USA 2006, Recovery Advocate
Tara Conner is a former Miss USA, TV Host, TEDx Speaker and Recovery Advocate. Conner made headlines in December 20026 when she tested positive for cocaine during her reign as Miss USA. After a lengthy media scandal largely fueled by the Miss Universe organization and now President Donald Trump, Tara became a voice of long term recovery.

After facing the stigma head on as someone recovering from a substance use disorder and mental health challenges, Conner decided to turn her mess into her message by sharing her experience, strength and hope to audiences around the globe.

Tara is wildly known for her brutal truth and transparency. In 2017, Conner had the privilege of sharing her story in her own TEDx talk, encouraging other to “Recover Out Loud”. Since then, Tara has become a recovery coach, social media influencer, and most recently a wife and mother.

Tara hopes that sharing her continued story will be an example and a true representation of what long term recovery looks like. Conner says, “Recovery doesn’t promise us a life without hardship, but it does give us the tools to navigate hard times with grace and dignity.”

Pamela Goodwine, Justice, 5th Supreme Court District
Justice Pamela R. Goodwine was the first African American woman to serve on the bench in Lexington and currently serves on the Supreme Court of Kentucky.  She is the first woman and fifth justice to serve at all four levels of Kentucky’s judiciary.  Prior to being elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, Justice Goodwine served six years on the Kentucky Court of Appeals.  Earlier, she served as a trial judge from 1999 to 2018.

Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Justice Goodwine moved to Lexington in 1979 to begin her legal career in court stenography.  After enduring two family tragedies and overcoming a life-threatening health challenge, she persevered to earn her undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Kentucky. She practiced labor and employment law from 1994 until her appointment to the bench.  Justice Goodwine earned her LLM from Duke University in 2023.

Justice Goodwine has earned numerous awards and commendations for dedicated service to her community, most recently receiving the “Justice William A. McAnulty, Jr.” award for her dedicated service and commitment to the legal profession. She was inducted into the UK Gatton College of Business Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000; and, awarded Trial Judge of the Year in 2012.  She is a published author of “Fighting Death, A Critique of Kentucky’s Death Penalty System,” 112 Ky.L.J. 511 (2024).

Justice Goodwine is married to Lee A. Padgett, Jr.  They share a large family.  She is a certified Jazzercise fitness instructor.  She enjoys motivational speaking, fitness classes and sports.

Kimberly Halbauer, Kentucky Regional President, Fifth Third Bank
Kimberly Halbauer serves as regional president of Fifth Third Bank, N.A. (Kentucky), which covers Kentucky and Southern Indiana and has more than $2.5 billion in assets. She is responsible for the growth and strategic direction of the Bank’s Commercial, Wealth & Asset Management and Consumer businesses to deliver distinctive value to our customers and community impact throughout the region. 

Kim has more than 30 years of experience with Fifth Third, most recently as managing director of Fifth Third Private Bank in Cincinnati. She was responsible for Wealth & Asset Management businesses, including the customer experience for more than 3,000 clients with $12 billion in assets and 100 wealth professionals. Kim began at Fifth Third Bank as a customer service representative. After working through college, she rose to leadership in the Consumer and then the Commercial divisions, where she worked with government, not-for-profit, small and midsized businesses as well as publicly traded companies, focused on customer and employee development, strategy and growth. 

Kim earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in finance and business from Thomas More College and completed an Executive Leadership program at Yale University. Kim serves on the boards of the Kentucky Chamber, Kentucky Chamber Foundation, One West, One Southern Indiana, Greater Louisville Inc., Leadership Louisville Center and Fund for the Arts. She has served as chairman of the board for American Heart Association and United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s Tocqueville Society. She was vice chair for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and on the boards of United Way Greater Cincinnati, Kentucky Educational Television, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Thomas More College Leadership Council. 

Kim is a Northern Kentucky native. She and her husband, an entrepreneur, have four daughters and live in Louisville, Kentucky.

Michelle M. Keller, Justice, 6th Supreme Court District
Justice Keller is serving in her 12th year on the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to her service on the Supreme Court, Justice Keller served for 7 years on the Court of Appeals. She is the first woman to hold the court seats she has occupied, as well as the first woman to earn the Distinguished Lawyer of the Year Award from the Northern Kentucky Bar Association. Justice Keller has served as the Chair of the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission for the past 8 years. In 2020, the Kentucky Bar Association awarded her the coveted Distinguished Judge Award. Prior to her service on the Bench, Justice Keller practiced law for 17 years, including as an assistant County Attorney. Justice Keller has been recognized by her alma mater, Chase College of Law, as well as numerous Northern Kentucky organizations, for her contributions to legal education and community service. She and her husband of 38 years, Jim, a physician, are the proud parents of two adult daughters.

Sarah Ladd, Health and Policy Reporter, Kentucky Lantern
Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist from West Kentucky who's covered everything from crime to higher education. She spent nearly two years on the metro breaking news desk at The Courier Journal. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since. As the Kentucky Lantern's health reporter, she focuses on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, maternal health, children's welfare and more.

Debra Hembree Lambert, Chief Justice, 3rd Supreme Court District
Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert serves the 3rd Supreme Court District, which is composed of 25 counties.  She has served as a judge at the Kentucky Court of Appeals and a Circuit Judge/ Family Court Division for the 28th Judicial Circuit, composed of Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties.  

Chief Justice Lambert has previously chaired and now serves on the Kentucky Judicial Mental Health Commission.  In that role she led a large group of key stakeholders in a statewide effort to improve judicial processes cases where parties have mental health, substance use or intellectual disabilities. Lambert currently volunteers as a certified suicide prevention trainer, training others how to properly intervene to prevent suicide.

She is a native of Bell County, Kentucky.  She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Diane Medley, Principal and Managing Member, Waterfront Financial Group LLC
Active in public accounting since 1981, Diane Medley founded Waterfront Financial Group in 2024 as a concierge tax and financial planning firm. She previously co-founded Chilton & Medley in 1988 and Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP (MCM) in 2010. She led MCM through several mergers and acquisitions, making MCM the largest CPA firm in the region with approximately 350 employees across five locations, including offices in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Indianapolis and Jeffersonville, Ind., and Cincinnati, Ohio. As the former Managing Partner and Co-Founder, she was the first woman in the region to have this leadership position within a major firm, and one of only a few in the U.S. Top 100. Effective August 7, 2023, MCM was acquired by Cherry Bekaert LLP, a top 25 Firm in the US with offices throughout the southeastern United States.

Diane’s other distinctions include induction into the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, 2017; the Today’s Woman Most Admired Woman Award, 2016; The UofL Entrepreneurship Circle of Fame Award, 2016; Alumna Fellow of the Year of the University of Louisville, 2015; Women Leading Kentucky, Martha Layne Collins Award, 2015; Business First’s Enterprising Woman of Achievement Award, 2014; NAWBO’s Business Owner of the Year Award for Large Businesses, 2014; Tower Award for Business, 2009; Business First Who’s Who in Finance and Accounting, 1995; Outstanding CPA, 1987 and Outstanding Alumnus, 1993 Award from University of Louisville Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Fraternity; Kentucky Society of CPAs Award for Highest Grades on May 1981 CPA Exam; Elijah Watt Sells Award for National High Distinction on May 1981 Exam.

Diane currently serves as a Board Member of Brinly Hardy Inc, a multi-generational family owned business; Board Member of German American Bancorp; President of IWF-KY; former Chair and a Board Member of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees; former Board Chair of Greater Louisville Inc.; Past Chair of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; former Board Chair of One Southern Indiana; Former Board Chair of the University of Louisville Foundation; former Board Member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of Impetus, the KY Society of CPAs and the AICPA. She is an alumna of the Leadership Louisville Class of 2008 and the Leadership KY Class of 2015.

After graduating from Meade County High School, Diane attended the University of Louisville and graduated with a B.S. in Commerce with Highest Honors. She was the class Valedictorian of the School of Business and Outstanding Senior in Accounting. She is married with a combined family of six children and eleven grandchildren.

Damaris Phillips, Celebrity Chef, Cookbook Author and Former Host, Southern at Heart on the Food Network 
Damaris Phillips is a dynamic chef, entrepreneur, and speaker who inspires others to live their best, most fulfilling lives. Known for her modern takes on Southern comfort food, Damaris has become a Food Network favorite, hosting shows like Outrageous Pumpkins and Summer Baking Championship and appearing as a judge on Beat Bobby Flay and Chopped. She’s passionate about health, wellness, and the power of food to bring people together.

A champion for female entrepreneurship, Damaris co-founded Bluegrass Supper Club, a catering company that celebrates Kentucky’s local farmers, and Pixilation Productions, a media company specializing in social media marketing. Through Pixilation, Damaris helps brands build their digital presence and engage with audiences in creative ways, empowering women in the media and marketing space.

Damaris also co-hosts the podcast That’s Fun with Nikki Dinki, where they explore how to embrace more joy and adventure in your 40s. Her message is simple: live with intention, cultivate meaningful connections, and make room for fun.

As a guest speaker, Damaris brings a refreshing perspective on health, business, and personal growth, offering actionable advice on entrepreneurship, building strong relationships, and living a vibrant, purposeful life.

Amber Philpott, News Anchor and Reporter, WKYT News 
Amber Philpott is an award-winning news anchor with WKYT TV in Lexington, Ky. She is living her dream as a television news journalist, she proudly brings the news to Central and Eastern Kentucky each night as co-anchor of the 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30, 6 and 11pm newscasts.

Amber is a native of Central Kentucky having grown up in Cynthiana. She graduated from Morehead State University in 2003. Amber began her broadcast career shortly after graduation at WYMT-TV in Hazard, KY. While there she served as reporter and co-anchor of Mountain News this morning. Amber came to WKYT in 2004.

Amber was named Best News Anchor by the Kentucky Broadcasters Association in 2023, in 2013 she was named Best Newscaster in Kentucky by the Associated Press, an award she also won in 2009. She has been a part of several award winning newscasts and has been nominated for several regional Emmy awards.

Amber is living out her life-long dream and doing so in her home state that she loves so dearly. Her parents always said she was blessed with the gift of gab and that she should use it. Amber makes dozens of public appearances a month and enjoys meeting and shaking the hands of those that turn to WKYT for their news source each day.
Amber is committed to her community and to giving back. She is the former Board Chair for the Bluegrass Chapter of the American Red Cross. For five years Amber served as chair for their annual Disaster Blaster event, raising thousands of dollars for relief efforts. She works closely with Girls on the Run, has worked with the American Diabetes Association, serving as the honorary chair for the Annual Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes in central Kentucky. In 2014 Amber was named Volunteer of the Year for the ADA for her efforts to raise awareness about diabetes in Kentucky. She has also been recognized by Baptist Health with the Celebration of Women Award for her work in the community. In 2015 Amber was given the Celebration of Life Award for raising awareness about breast cancer from Komen Kentucky. She is a member of Republican Christian Church in Cynthiana where she serves a deacon.

Amber is married to her best friend and Cynthiana native, Steve Hill. When she isn't at the station or out in the community you can find Amber in the gym working out, running or with a good book in hand.

Kerri Richardson, President, C2 Strategic Communications
Kerri Richardson is a communications leader respected by both newsmakers and journalists for her communications savvy, insight, candor and grace under pressure.

As President and Chief Business Development Officer, Kerri leads the firm’s client development in Kentucky and Indiana and advises high-level clients who intersect with public policy, community development, media and government. Kerri’s deep experience in health care, economic development and education helps government agencies, private businesses and communities work together to achieve shared goals.

Prior to joining C2 Strategic, Kerri served as communications director and chief spokesperson for Gov. Steve Beshear, leading policy messaging across the Executive Branch. She was named National Communicator of the Year in 2014 by the National Association of Government Communicators for her work on Medicaid expansion and Affordable Care Act implementation. Richardson also served as a spokeswoman for former Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and won two Emmys during a nine-year television reporting career.

Kate Shanks, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Kentucky Chamber 
Kate Shanks is Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Kentucky Chamber. She has been with the Chamber for more than six years and focuses her work on energy, environment, small business, and competitiveness issues. She is a lifelong resident of Kentucky and earned both a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation and Management and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining the Chamber, Kate spent nearly 12 years working for state agencies focused on energy and environmental policy and regulation and has held multiple positions relating to communications, outreach, policy analysis and design, and legislative affairs.

Seema Sheth, Senior Vice President and Regional Executive – Louisville Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Seema Sheth is senior vice president and regional executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Sheth became head of the Louisville Branch, which serves southern Indiana and western Kentucky, in December 2021.

Sheth joined the St. Louis Fed from PNC Private Bank in Louisville, where she served as vice president and relationship strategist. At PNC, she specialized in financial planning and stewardship of high-net-worth clients. Passionate about financial capability, Sheth founded the Adulting Academy, which teaches the basics of finance to young adults, and still speaks frequently on the topic and its importance.

Sheth was recognized in 2024 by Louisville Business First as a Forty Under 40 recipient and in 2021 as one of 20 people to know in wealth management and financial planning. Other recognitions include receiving a MOSAIC Award from the Jewish Career and Family Services Foundation for her work in the nonprofit sector and receiving a Tough Cookie award by the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana for her work in the Louisville community, particularly as it relates to uplifting and supporting girls. She has been featured in TOPS Louisville, StyleBlueprint and Today's Woman magazines as a leader in business. Sheth serves as co-chair of Canopy KY, a social enterprise nonprofit. In addition, Sheth is a board member of Louisville Public Media, the University of Louisville College of Business board of advisors, the board of trustees of the Speed Art Museum, the Kentucky Financial Empowerment Commission, the Jefferson County Public Education Foundation and the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Sheth earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California-Irvine and an undergraduate degree in theater from the College of William and Mary. She and her husband are the parents of four children.

Ashli Watts, President & CEO, Kentucky Chamber 
Ashli Watts was named the President and CEO for the Kentucky Chamber, the state’s largest business association, in November 2019. Ashli joined the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in November of 2012, and during her tenure as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at the Chamber, she has led efforts in passing significant pieces of legislation such as felony expungement, right to work legislation, workers’ compensation reform, unemployment insurance reform and tax reform. Prior to joining the Chamber, she worked at the Kentucky Bar Association and the Legislative Research Commission.

Ashli graduated from Campbellsville University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History in 2004 and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Louisville. Ashli is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Kentucky, currently serves on the boards for Campbellsville University, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of State Chambers, and the Louisville Orchestra. She was appointed by Governor Andy Beshear, and confirmed by the Kentucky State Senate, to serve on the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, where she was also elected Chair in 2025. She currently resides in Frankfort with her husband Ryan and two children, Emma and Carter.