Speakers

Clarence H. Carter was appointed to serve as a member of Governor Bill Lee’s Cabinet as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) in January 2021. Mr. Carter oversees thestate’s second-largest agency, with an operating budget of more than $3 billion and nearly 4,000 employees across 95 counties. TDHS provides more than 17programs and services, including nutrition programs, employment assistance, vocational training, and protective services, aiming to strengthen Tennessee by strengthening Tennesseans.

A chair of multiple state task forces and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Mr. Carter is recognized forhis leadership and innovation in public administration. With over 30 years of experience, includingroles under four Governors, two Presidents, and a Mayor, Mr. Carter has significantly contributed topublic service, focusing on improving the safety net for socially and economically vulnerable citizens.

Kevin Corinth is a senior fellow and the deputy director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute, where he researches economic mobility, poverty, safety net programs, homelessness, social capital, and other issues.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Corinth served as the staff director of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress and chief economist in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he previously served as chief economist for domestic policy and senior economist for poverty and social issues. He has also worked as executive director of the Comprehensive Income Dataset Project at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Corinth has testified before Congress and has been widely published in the popular press, including in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the New York Times. He has published academic articles in scholarly journals such as the Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Urban Economics, and the Journal of Housing Economics.

Dr. Corinth has a PhD and an MA in economics from the University of Chicago. He holds a BA in economics and political science from Boston College.

Joe Craft is chairman of the board, president, and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, a diversified natural resource company that is the second-largest coal producer in the eastern United States and an owner of substantial mineral interests in premier oil- and gas- producing regions. Mr. Craft serves as a director of BOK Financial and a director and executive committee member of America’s Power. A dedicated supporter of education and social services, Mr. Craft champions free enterprise, individual responsibility, and economic freedom.

Robert Doar is the president of the American Enterprise Institute.

Mr. Doar became AEI’s 12th president in July 2019, leading one of the nation’s oldest and most respected public policy think tanks. Since becoming president of AEI, Mr. Doar has recruited dozens of leading scholars and fellows across multiple issue areas and launched a new research division focused on Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies.

By supporting the extensive work of AEI scholars in areas including foreign and defense policy, education, the reform of key institutions, the US economy, and in opportunity and mobility studies, Mr. Doar has helped to solidify AEI’s position as a leading voice on the major issues facing the United States.

Leslie Ford is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility. She is also president of Ford Policy Solutions and a member of the State Board of Social Services at the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Ms. Ford previously served in the White House as a domestic policy adviser and special assistant to the president from 2018 to 2020. During that time, she worked on the development of the Trump administration’s welfare and antipoverty strategic agenda and on reforms to US social safety-net programs. Before joining the White House, Ms. Ford was a legislative adviser to Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). While working on Capitol Hill, she oversaw the development of 22 pieces of legislation and more than 50 amendments on significant bills to advance health and welfare reforms. Ms. Ford started her career at the Heritage Foundation.

Ms. Ford has been published in the Wall Street Journal and National Review. She holds a BA from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Rebecca Good is the Managing Director of Outreach at AEI. Prior to joining AEI, she co-founded The Augustine Academy, a private K-8 classical/Charlotte Mason school in Delafield, Wisconsin, where she also served as executive director. Rebecca also brings experience as Director of Advancement at The Trinity Forum; as an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship graduate student chaplain at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University (SAIS); and as an analyst with McKinsey and Co. Rebecca holds a masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Seminary (magna cum laude), an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Texas A&M University (summa cum laude), and a post-graduate certificate from Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University.

Jane Brady Knight is the executive director of Craft Philanthropy (CPKY) based in Lexington, Kentucky. Knight directs efforts and resources towards organizations that uphold core democratic principles and manages projects that support the vitality of American life and economic development throughout the Commonwealth. Prior to this role, she worked in coalitions at the American Enterprise Institute, where she managed AEI’s Civic Renewal Fellowship and the AEI Alumni Network. Knight began her career on the development team for the Manhattan Institute’s Young Leaders Circle in New York City. She graduated cum laude from Davidson College in 2016, where she received her bachelors in Political Science with a focus on global development and the politics of Africa. Knight and her husband Wyatt live in Lexington, Kentucky.

Amy Luttrell is President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, a $130M social enterprise which serves 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.  Prior to moving to Kentucky in 2014, she served three other Goodwills over a 35-year span.  As CEO, Amy leads over 2,300 employees in operating Goodwill’s business lines and providing many direct services to assist people who face barriers to employment to join the workforce and find pathways out of poverty.

Amy currently serves on the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce board of directors, the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (KWIB), and several councils and task forces.  She graduated from Leadership Kentucky in 2015 and is a member of the Rotary Club of Louisville.  Amy grew up in Lexington and Murray and graduated from Murray State University.

Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade of Stanford has served in the House of Representatives since 2013. Meade is serving his third term as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives, a constitutional office within the Kentucky General Assembly. Prior to his election to Speaker Pro Tempore, Meade served as House Majority Caucus Chair.

Meade is an outspoken advocate for Kentucky children and families, sponsoring multiple legislative packages aimed at improving the state’s foster care and adoption programs as well as services to families in crisis. His work on HB 1 during the 2018 Regular Session made Kentucky a national model. The Speaker Pro Tempore was instrumental in efforts to increase funding for broadband throughout rural Kentucky, providing $250 million for the state’s Broadband Development Fund.

Meade represents the 80^th House District, which is comprised of Lincoln and Garrard counties and a portion of Pulaski County in southcentral Kentucky. He serves on the Legislative Research Commission, the state legislature’s administrative body.

Justin “Jay” Miller was appointed Dean and Dorothy A. Miller Research Professor in Social Work Education in July 2019. At the time of his appointment, Dean Miller was the youngest dean in the country. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University, Master of Social Work from Spalding University, and PhD from the University of Louisville.

Dean Miller is dedicated to a host of social issues and community outreach, a passion which he brings to his work as an educator and scholar. His research and academic interests focus on child welfare and youth involvement in juvenile systems. His work has shaped practice with foster youth and has informed a myriad of policies and practices related to participatory engagement with youth and families. Dean Miller has practiced in a variety of different contexts at local, state, and federal levels.

In addition to child welfare, Dean Miller is actively leading research related to self-care and wellness. In 2017, he founded The Self-Care Lab (SCL). SCL is the first known lab specifically dedicated to empirically investigating self-care among helping professionals. Dean Miller has conducted groundbreaking research on broad ranging self-care and wellness research with social workers, educators, nurses, law enforcement, teachers, and attorneys, among others. Through this work, Dean Miller demonstrates his commitment to address potentially toxic employment conditions.

Dean Miller is actively involved in a variety of community service endeavors and has served as the co-founder/past president of the Louisville Association of Social Workers, founder of the Jefferson County Foster Care Peer Support Program and the Kentucky Chapter of the Foster Care Alumni of America. Dean Miller has also led Kentucky’s Children Justice Act Taskforce, Citizen’s Review Panel, and Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. In 2016, Dean Miller was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice by OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee. This committee was tasked with reviewing mandates associated with juvenile justice and making systems improvement recommendations to the United States Congress and President. Currently, Dean Miller serves as the Chairperson for the Kentucky Board of Social Work, a post to which he was appointed by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, and President of the Board at St. Joseph’s Children Orphanage.

The impact of Dean Miller’s work has been recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally. Dean Miller is a past recipient of the Paul Grannis Award, Kentucky’s highest public child welfare practitioner honor. In addition, he has received the Sunny Andrews Award for Outstanding Commitment to Regulatory Board Service from the Association of Social Work Boards, the Supporting the Workforce Award from the Children’s Bureau, and is a 2014 inductee into the College of Health and Human Services Hall of Fame at Western Kentucky University, among other awards and recognitions.

Dean Miller has authored numerous juried papers, reports, and briefs. Notably, Dean Miller co-authored Activating a Teaching-Learning Philosophy: A Practical Guide for Educators (CSWE Press) and co-edited The A-to-Z Self-Care Handbook for Social Workers and Other Helping Professionals (White Hat).

Last, but certainly not least, Dean Miller is a loud, proud foster and kinship alum!

Senator Gerald A. Neal represents the 33rd District as a member of the Kentucky State Senate in the Kentucky General Assembly and was elected by his caucus to serve as the Democratic Floor Leader. He is the managing member with the law firm, Gerald A. Neal & Associates, LLC.

In serving as Senate Democratic Floor Leader (2023) and having served as the Senate Democratic Caucus chair (2014-2016), both accomplishments are a first for a African American in the history of Kentucky.

Senator Neal was first elected in 1989 and has since served consecutive terms to present (2023). He currently serves on the Education, Judiciary, and the Appropriations and Revenue standing committees. He also serves on the Pension Oversight Committee and the Education Accountability Review Subcommittee.

He formerly served as Vice President, Regional Director, and Region VI Parliamentarian of the National Bar Association (NBA), and as President of the Kentucky Chapter of the NBA. He is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and is a Louisville and Kentucky Bar Association Fellow. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) having been elected Parliamentarian.

Senator Neal is a graduate of Kentucky State University (KSU), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in history and political science. He was later bestowed an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from KSU. He received a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and was named a Distinguished Alumni Law Fellow by the faculty. He later received the Law school’s highest recognition, The Lawrence Grauman Award, for service to the legal profession. He also pursued graduate studies in political theory at the University of Michigan.

He founded the Kentucky Education Reform All Children’s Caucus, dedicated to addressing issues of educational diversity. He also founded the African American Community Agenda Initiative which brings together policy makers and implementers to promote positive policy change.

His academic appointments have included Senior Fellow of Public Policy and Adjunct Professor and lecturer in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Louisville; adjunct Professor, Pan African Studies Department; Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Kentucky State University and Adjunct Professor at Simmons College of KY. He taught/teaches courses in history, state and local government, health and welfare policy, Civil Rights & the law (including voter, housing, Civil Rights and the law, employment, education, world political theory, criminal justice). He is a frequent lecturer and panelist.

Senator Neal has served as assistant director of Public Health and Safety for the City of Louisville, was a hearing officer for the Kentucky State Workers’ Compensation Board and worked as a juvenile probation officer. He served five terms as chair of the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, where he increased transparency by opening the agency to public scrutiny and involvement.

He served as a United Nations observer for the historic April 1994 all- race elections in South Africa. Senator Neal has received many honors and commendations for his distinguished service to the community, the legal profession, and as a Kentucky State Legislator. He was honored as an inductee to the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame and the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. Recently he was a awarded the Lyman T. Johnson Distinguished Leadership Award. He is also a 2023 inductee to the Kentucky Public Service Hall of Fame by the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy.

He and his wife Kathy reside in Louisville Kentucky and have two adult children, Brandon & Kristin.

Elyse Newbert is the Director of Coalitions at the American Enterprise Institute. She is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and finding opportunities for collaboration between AEI and individuals and organizations in D.C. and around the country. Ms. Newbert also works to bring the research of AEI’s scholars to a broader audience though events, conferences, and the AEI Leadership Network. Prior to joining AEI, Ms. Newbert worked for almost a decade in Canadian politics. She resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two sons.

Brent Orrell is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on job training, workforce development, and criminal justice reform. Specifically, his research focuses on expanding opportunity for all Americans through improved work readiness and job training and improving the performance of the criminal justice system through rehabilitation and prisoner reentry programs.

Before joining AEI, Mr. Orrell worked in the executive and legislative branches of the US government for over 20 years. He was nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Employment and Training Administration of the US Department of Labor, and he served as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Administration for Children and Families at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Orrell is the editor of “Rethinking Reentry” (AEI, January 2020), in which he authored the chapter “Identity and Agency: A New Approach to Rehabilitation and Reentry.” He is also the host of the podcast “Hardly Working.” A frequent contributor to the popular press, Mr. Orrell has been published in Law & Liberty, RealClearPolicy, RealClearMarkets, and The Hill.

He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.

John Pallasch is Founder and CEO of One Workforce Solutions. He was previously the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the US Department of Labor. The mission of the Employment and Training Administration is to contribute to the more efficient functioning of the U.S. labor market by providing high-quality job training, employment, labor market information, and income maintenance services primarily through state and local workforce development systems. This appointment marked his return to the Department where he previously served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Prior to his return to DOL, he served as the Executive Director of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Office of Employment and Training where he led initiatives to improve outcomes for workforce education programs, increase accountability and performance of the unemployment insurance program, and consolidate job training and workforce development programs in a single cabinet agency.

An Illinois native, Pallasch earned a Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law. He currently lives in South Carolina with his girlfriend, six dogs, and too many horses.

Ryan Quarles is the fourth president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the first native Kentuckian to lead the system of 16 community and technical colleges and 70 campuses. He was named president by the KCTCS Board of Regents Sept. 29, 2023, following a national search. Quarles began his position Jan. 1, 2024.

Quarles comes to KCTCS with a long history in statewide public service. He was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2010 where he served until his election as Kentucky’s state commissioner of agriculture in 2016. In that role, he led the state’s second largest executive branch agency through 2023, serving two terms. On a national front, he was president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in 2020-2021.

His earlier work experience includes serving as associate general counsel at Georgetown College and working in private practice.

While a college student at the University of Kentucky, Quarles was appointed by former Governor Ernie Fletcher as the student representative to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the state’s higher education coordinating agency. The three-year stint ignited his interest to seek advanced degrees in higher education.

Quarles holds seven college degrees: a doctorate in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University; a master’s degree in higher education from Harvard University; and a juris doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He earned his four other degrees, including two master’s degrees, from the University of Kentucky.

Quarles is a graduate of Scott County High School in Georgetown, Ky., and attended Lexington Community College, the forerunner of Bluegrass Community and Technical College. He is also a ninth-generation Kentucky farmer at Quarles Farms in Scott County.

Tim Robinson is the founder and CEO of Addiction Recovery Care (ARC), a leading provider of treatment, recovery, and behavioral health services. Following his own addiction struggle with Alcoholism, Mr. Robinson founded ARC in 2010. Today, ARC employs 1,300 people and serves more than 2,000 individuals daily. The organization operates more than 35 programs across Kentucky and is expanding to Virginia, Ohio, and other states in the region. Under Mr. Robinson’s leadership, ARC’s “Crisis to Career” model, which combines treatment with job training and employment, has been nationally recognized for its innovation and efficacy. In 2023, ARC opened its first psychiatric hospital in Greenup County, Kentucky. As part of his commitment to deliver treatment with an end goal and help people return to healthy, meaningful lives, Mr. Robinson also founded The Millard College, an accredited post-secondary educational institution based in Louisa, Kentucky. The Millard College provides academic opportunities to individuals in recovery with an emphasis on short-term certificates to enter the workforce after treatment. Prior to founding ARC, Mr. Robinson served as a county prosecutor. He has been recognized for his work to address the addiction crisis and in 2022 received the prestigious Congressman Hal Rogers Beacon of Hope Award at the International RX & Opioid Summit. He is also the recipient of the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce East Kentucky Ambassador Award and the Operation UNITE Butterfly Award and was named the Young Professionals of East Kentucky Entrepreneur of the Year. Robinson graduated from Cumberland College with a B.S. in Political Science and from the University of Kentucky College of Law with a Juris Doctorate. He currently serves on the boards Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Rural Development, Louisville GLI Foundation, and Elder at The Table Christian Church. He is a former board member of the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy and Commissioner of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission. Mr. Robinson will celebrate 18 years of recovery in December 2024. He and his wife Lelia live in Louisa, Kentucky with their four children Russ, Destiny, Kent, and Haley.

Ian Rowe is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a new International Baccalaureate high school in the Bronx. In addition to serving 10 years as CEO of Public Prep, he held leadership positions at Teach for America, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the White House, and MTV, where he earned two Public Service Emmys. With his recent book Agency, Ian seeks to inspire young people of all races to build strong families, overcome the victimhood narrative, and become masters of their own destiny. Ian is Chairman of the Board of Spence-Chapin. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and his high school diploma from Brooklyn Tech as part of a K-12 NYC public education. Mr. Rowe is a recipient of many honors, including the Harvard Business School Bert King Service Award and most recently the George A. Sutherland Award.

Aaron Thompson is the first Black and native Kentuckian to hold the position of president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Dr. Thompson’s leadership focus centers on his challenges as a student:

● Improving the success of underrepresented minority students;

● Expanding education access for rural and low-income students; and

● Improving the employability of Kentucky’s college graduates.

A nationally known speaker and scholar, Dr. Thompson has authored or co-authored publications on topics including diversity, cultural competence, first-year experience programs, student retention and success.

Dr. Thompson received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Kentucky, and bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

Ashli Watts was named the President and CEO for the Kentucky Chamber, the state’s largest business association, in November 2019 after serving seven years as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. During her tenure 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. As part of the Chamber’s leadership team, the Kentucky Chamber was named National State Chamber of the Year in 2017. 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, Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, University of Louisville President’s Advisory Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of State Chambers, and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), where she was also named a 40 under 40 in 2020. She currently resides in Frankfort with her husband Ryan and two children, Emma and Carter.

Scott Winship is a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute, where he researches social mobility and the causes and effects of poverty. He also focuses on economic insecurity and inequality, among other poverty issues.

Before joining AEI, Dr. Winship served as the executive director of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC). During his time at the JEC, under Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT), Dr. Winship created the Social Capital Project, a multiyear research project to investigate the evolving nature of social relationships including families, communities, workplaces, and religious congregations.

Dr. Winship was also a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, where he is still an honorary member of the board of advisers; a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; a fellow in the economic studies department of the Brookings Institution; and the research manager of the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Winship also served as a senior policy adviser at Third Way and the managing editor at the Democratic Strategist.

Dr. Winship has testified before Congress and has been widely published in the popular press, including in National Affairs, National Review, the American Prospect, the New Republic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He contributed an essay on antipoverty policy to Room to Grow: Conservative Reforms for a Limited Government and a Thriving Middle Class (YG Network, 2014). His broadcast appearances include National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, and CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS.

Dr. Winship has a PhD in social policy and an MA in sociology from Harvard University. He holds a BA in sociology and urban studies from Northwestern University.