Louisville: A City of Champions and Challenges
Posted on: October 16, 2025
Written by Brady Shultz, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Director of Marketing and Recruitment
Loovull, Luhvul, Lewisville, Looeyville…
No matter how you say it, it’s hard to deny that Louisville sets the pace for Kentucky’s culture and economy.
After all, this is the city that hosts the most exciting two minutes in sports: the Kentucky Derby. It’s the hometown of Muhammad Ali, Diane Sawyer, Hunter S. Thompson, and more recently, Jennifer Lawrence and Jack Harlow.
Louisville is home to some big players, too: Humana, Yum! Brands, Brown-Forman, and Papa Johns all call it home. GE builds appliances there. Ford assembles trucks there. UPS operates its global air hub there. And Louisville Slugger bats are still made downtown on Main Street.
It’s a destination city known for the arts, great food, world-class bourbon, and that unmistakable Kentucky charm.
But this visit was about a different Louisville, one I’m less familiar with. A Louisville that’s been shaped by a series of recent, newsworthy events.
One glance at this month’s Leadership Kentucky agenda made it clear: this wasn’t going to be the usual trip to Derby City. Our class was diving deep, not just into bourbon or basketball, but into the city’s heartbeat…its people, its neighborhoods, and its ongoing story of challenge and renewal.
We met the leaders, doers, and dreamers shaping what’s next for Louisville. Those tackling tough issues head-on and working to find creative ways to move their city forward. It was equal parts inspiring and humbling, and it left me thinking differently about what “leadership” looks like when it’s rooted in community.
We visited Kentucky Performing Arts. Home to the Louisville Orchestra, Louisville Ballet, and nationally touring Broadway shows that regularly make stops there…and where some of us even made our on-stage dancing debut! We spent time at the Muhammad Ali Center and learned how a young man from West Louisville grew up to be known as “The Greatest” and how his legacy continues to inspire us today.
We received a tour of West Louisville from Kevin Fields, President of the Louisville Central Community Center with a stop at The Healing Place. There we heard powerful testimony from people who proved that “addiction doesn’t discriminate” and that “within every acorn is the hope of a mighty oak.” We also saw firsthand how the resolve of a few dedicated citizens transformed a former tobacco-industry brownfield site into the state-of-the-art Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center. At the Goodwill West Louisville Opportunity Center, we witnessed their “holistic approach to ending poverty” through wraparound services like career counseling, legal advising, a technology center, and access to second-chance banking.
Our visit to Kentucky’s largest city was also packed with panels featuring a who’s who of Louisville’s political, business, and community leaders. We heard from Mayor Craig Greenberg and the Chief of Police, Paul Humphrey, who acknowledged the city’s challenges but remain committed to keeping Louisville moving forward as a key economic driver for the state.
Additional panels highlighted Louisville’s vibrant arts scene — with some of the best galleries, museums, and performing arts in Kentucky — while others focused on West Louisville’s revitalization efforts, working to modernize while preserving its proud heritage.
A highlight of the trip for me was a presentation by Tori Murden McClure, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Her story was both inspiring and filled with her trademark wit and humor.
The class was also treated to some stunning views of downtown from the 23rd floor of the Humana Tower, thanks to our classmate Christa Turner, who is leading Humana’s transition into a new, modern campus in the eastern part of downtown.
And I have to mention another one of our own. Classmate Whitney Austin shared her story as a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati. Since that day, Whitney has made it her life’s mission to reduce gun violence by promoting and supporting responsible gun ownership through her organization, WhitneyStrong.
We wrapped up our time in Louisville at Greater Louisville Inc., overlooking the city and hearing from Carlos Sanchez, President of AT&T Kentucky, and Kentucky Derby Festival President Matt Gibson.
By the end of the Louisville session, I left feeling more energized than when I arrived, charged to do more, do better, and seek out stories different from my own. See you all next month…
