Leadership Kentucky Names Melissa Knight 2026 Board Chair
Leadership Kentucky is proud to recognize Melissa Knight as Chair of the 2026 Board of Directors. Knight will work alongside the Board to oversee one of the oldest and most esteemed statewide leadership development programs in the United States.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve as Chair of the Leadership Kentucky Board in 2026 and to carry forward the legacy of an organization that has played such a vital role in developing leaders across our Commonwealth,” said Knight. “I am excited to work alongside our dedicated board members, engaged alumni network, and talented staff as we continue to strengthen our impact, expand opportunities, and shape a bright future for Leadership Kentucky.”
Knight currently serves as President of Farmers National Bank and is an alum of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 2015. As a lifelong resident of Kentucky, Knight currently resides in Lebanon with her husband, Will, with whom she has four sons and one daughter.
The 2026 Leadership Kentucky Executive Committee and Board of Directors members are:
2026 Executive Committee
• 2026 Board Chair: Melissa Knight (President, Farmers National Bank)
• 2027 Board Chair-Elect: Trey Grayson (Partner, Frost Brown Todd LLP)
• Immediate Past Chair: Gina Winchester (Deputy Judge Executive, Calloway County)
• Secretary: Charles Session (Retired, Duke Energy)
• Treasurer: Daniel P. Bork (Retired, Kentucky Commissioner of Revenue)
• Leslie Buddeke Smart, CFRE (Regional System Director, Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation)
• Leslie A. Fugate (Vice President, Director of Public Affairs, U.S. State and Local, Canada, and Latin America, Brown-Forman)
• Chrisandrea Turner (Partner, Stites & Harbison, PLLC)
• Cindy Wiseman (President and COO, AEP/Kentucky Power)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Perry Allen (Retired, U.S. Bank)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Barbara Dickens (General Counsel, Kentucky Finance & Administration Cabinet)
• Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Regina A. Jackson (Partner, English Lucas Priest & Owsley, LLP)
Committee Member-Ex-Officio: Ron Wilson (Retired, Western Kentucky University)
2026 Board of Directors
• Tiffany Benjamin (CEO, Humana Foundation)
• Ricky Campbell (Market President, Whitaker Bank), New Board Member
• 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)
• Robert Heil (Executive Director of Strategic Relationships & Community Engagement, KLH Engineers)
• Kansas Justice (Chief Operating Officer, Pikeville Medical Center), New Board Member
• Roy Lowdenback (System Vice President, Philanthropy, Baptist Health)
• Ryann Mabry (Vice President/Controller, Planters Bank), New Board Member
• Woody Maglinger (Vice President, RunSwitch PR), New Board Member
• Janie McKenzie-Wells (Retired, Circuit Judge)
• Shannon Montgomery (Vice President, Customer Service, LGE-KU)
• Aaron Poynter (Director, Targeted Services, Kentucky Office of Adult Education and the Education and Labor Cabinet)
• Rhonda Whitaker Hurtt (Retired, Duke Energy)
• John Yanes (President for Saint Joseph London and Saint Joseph Berea, CHI-Saint Joseph Health)
• Debbie Zuerner (Director of Community Engagement, Owensboro Health)
