Advisory CouncilDave Armstrong, Emeritus
Dave Armstrong, legal counsel/attorney with Greenebaum, Doll, & McDonald in Louisville, is a graduate of Murray State University, from where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1966, at the University of Louisville School of Law, from where he graduated in1969. His professional memberships and affiliations include the Louisville Bar Association, the Kentucky Bar Association and the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus. Armstrong served as Mayor of Louisville from 1999 until 2005. During his term, Louisville was twice named one of the country’s “most livable.” Prior to his service as Mayor, Armstrong was Jefferson County Judge/Executive, 1989-1999, Kentucky Attorney General, 1983-1988, and was Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 30th Judicial District, 1976-1983. Armstrong serves on the Board of Trustees for the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, the Creative Diversity Youth Board, the Kentucky Opera Board, the Muhammad Ali Center, Partners for Livable Communities and the University of Kentucky’s School of Design. He also is a member of the Filson Historical Society, is a former President of National Council of County Executives, serves as Chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition, and works with University of Kentucky’s Sanders/Brown Council on Aging. Rebecca Jackson, Emeritus
Jackson began her career as a special education teacher in the Jefferson County Public Schools. She founded an employment agency for persons with special needs. Seeing the need for reform in government services and policies, Jackson ran for and was elected to the public office of Jefferson County Clerk in 1989 which she held for 9 years. Jackson completed a four-year term as the Jefferson County Judge/Executive in January 2003. The first woman elected to either office, she fulfilled her campaign commitments to reorganize government, reduce the "brain drain" of young professionals leaving Jefferson County, and increase economic opportunities for all citizens. Jackson ran for Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2003. She was defeated in the primary election by Governor Fletcher. Jackson represented the United States as an observer of the 1993 elections in Russia; as an election expert seminar leader in establishing a Presidential selection process in Bulgaria in 1996; and as a delegate to a trade mission in China in 1997. She led a Partnership for Peace delegation to foster peaceful relationships between the United States and Morocco in the spring of 2002. Jackson is still a motivational speaker and has conducted leadership and management training in many venues in Kentucky. She spoke in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to the Dubai Business Women’s Council on “Using the Talents of Women in Achieving Leadership Goals.” Rebecca Jackson was a short term missionary in Kenya and in the Fiji Islands. She has worked with an orphanage in Braila, Romania since 2003. She is married, has three sons and three granddaughters. Christine D. Johnson, Emeritus
Christine D. Johnson is the President and CEO of the Leadership Louisville Center. Christine Johnson has been president of the Leadership Louisville Center since 1991. She is also a 1987 Leadership Louisville graduate. More than 5,000 individuals have graduated from Leadership Louisville programs since its founding in 1979. As president, Chris directs the four Leadership Louisville Center programs: Leadership Louisville, the signature program for senior leaders; Focus Louisville, a 2 1/2-day community orientation with an emphasis on volunteer service; The Bingham Fellows, a graduate level program that provides an advanced leadership experience on a specific community issue; and Ignite Louisville, a skill building leadership course for young professionals. In 2009, the Leadership Louisville Center was awarded the Pyramid Award for Collaboration from the Center for Nonprofit Ex cellence for Ignite Louisville’s community service challenge. Chris is active in several community organizations, serving on the boards of the Greater Louisville Inc., the advisory board of Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL) and Actors Theatre of Louisville’s development board. In 1996 she was recognized as a Woman of Achievement by the Kentuckiana Girl Scout Council. In 1995 Chris received the Preceptor Award as one of the five outstanding program directors by The Community Leadership Association. She also served as CLA board chair in 2000-01. Before joining the Leadership Louisville staff in 1990, Chris was an executive with Kentucky’s largest public relations firm. She is a graduate of Murray State University. She began her professional career as the first woman sports reporter for The Courier-Journal. Chris is married to John A. Johnson, an attorney. Chris and John enjoy spending weekends at their Western Kentucky farm, which has been in the Johnson family for more than 100 years. Mary Moseley, Emeritus
Mary Moseley, President of Al J. Schneider Company, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville and has been the President of the Al J. Schneider Company since 2001. Before joining Al J. Schneider Company, Moseley and her husband owned and operated Eden Gallery and Moseley Photography and Commercial Color Lab. Moseley serves on the Norton Healthcare Board and on the DDC (Downtown Development Committee). She also has been involved with GLI, Leadership Louisville, the Main Street Association, Boy Scouts of America, the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Fund for the Arts, and Home of the Innocents. Bill Samuels Jr., Emeritus
Bill Samuels Jr., President and CEO of Maker’s Mark, is a graduate of Vanderbilt’s Law School. Since his graduation in 1967, Samuels has been working at his family business, Maker’s Mark. He has been the President and CEO since 1975. Samuels was named Kentucky Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995 and 2005. He also was selected Louisville’s 2004 Citizen of the Year, Harvard Lampoon’s Man of the Year in 2005, and inducted into the Kentucky Business Hall of Fame in 2006. Samuels serves as Chairman of Board of Trustees for Bellarmine University, is on the President’s Advisory Board for Clemson University, and is the immediate past Chairman of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, and is the past Chairman of the University of Louisville’s Board of Trustees the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Louisville Area Workforce Development Board, the Kentucky Distillers Association, the Kentucky Derby Museum, and the Louisville Area Boy Scouts Council. Dan Crutcher
Dan Crutcher is president of Louisville Magazine Inc. and publisher of Louisville Magazine, the city's premier cultural and lifestyle publication. He is also the principle owner of Louisville.com, a community-centered Web site for Louisville. Crutcher, a native of Lexington, holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky. He is currently chair of the advisory board of Kids Voting Metro Louisville and serves on a steering committee that is directing a capital campaign for the Louisville Central Community Center. John Kurnick
John Kurnick is the Chief People Officer for Yum! US and Long John Silver’s/A&W in addition to the Vice President of Global Talent Management and Corporate HR for Yum! Brands. John joined the Yum family in June 2007 and has responsibility for Talent Management, including Executive Recruitment, US Restaurant Support Center Staffing, Staffing Technology, Relocation, Research and Policy for all US Brands and Yum! In addition, John also manages the Corporate HR Generalist team, the Aviation team and the Corporate Services team totaling roughly 100 employees in John’s direct and in-direct responsibility. The diverse groups that John manages offered the opportunity to gain broad cross functional knowledge. John had a fast start in the first 6 months after joining the company. He has built critical business knowledge, has a solid understanding of our brands, he knows the leadership team and how things get done. In addition, John has been successful at building, developing an implementing the Hiring Management System for all US brands, KFC UK and other YRI BMUs to follow. This was a first for Yum. In his CPO role with LJS and A&W, John leads HR programs and all people activity. John’s previous work experience is in primarily two other industries – Transportation and Communications. Nearly 10 years with United Airlines and 12 years in the wireless communications industry with Cingular Wireless (the new at&t). Having held progressively more responsible roles in a variety of HR disciplines, John has created a reputation as a seasoned HR professional and a solid HR Generalist. John has a creative approach to solving problems along with strong interpersonal skills which allow him to work across all levels of the organization. He is a clever individual with strong intuition, solid decision making and strategic skills. John is known for strong leadership skills and ability to motivate a team to success. John is active in the Executive Network Board, the Retail Talent Network and the Human Resource Planning Society. He is on the advisory board of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville as well as the Client Advisory Board of Kronos Talent Management Solutions. John holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Madonna University in Michigan, USA. He and his wife Maria along with their three boys live in Louisville, KY. Tom Monahan
Tom Monahan, President and Publisher of Business First, holds degrees in journalism and sociology from Indiana University. He began his Louisville newspaper career in 1974 as a Reporter for The Record, a weekly Catholic newspaper. He joined Business First’s start-up team as a Reporter in July 1984 and was named Managing Editor that fall. Monahan was promoted to Editor and Vice President a year later. He was named President and Publisher in 1995. Monahan serves on the boards of the Fund for the Arts; the Lincoln Heritage Council, Boy Scouts of America; the Catholic Education Foundation, the Louisville Advertising Federation and the Greater Clark County Schools Educational Foundation. He also is a member of the advisory board of the Young Professionals Association of Louisville. Monahan is the immediate past president of the Better Business Bureau board and former chair of the New Directions Housing Corp. board and former chair of the Leadership Louisville Center board. Joe Reagan
Joe Reagan is president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. – the Metro Chamber of Commerce. Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) is the leading business and economic development organization for the region. The mission of GLI is to provide leadership on initiatives that impact the success of its members and contribute to the prosperity of the entire community. GLI is consistently ranked one of the best Chambers and top economic development organizations in the United States. Joe has worked with GLI since February 1998; prior to becoming president and CEO, he served as chief operating officer. He specializes in complex business transactions, including public-private partnerships, economic development deals, innovative legislative solutions and community initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life and economic vitality of the Greater Louisville region. Currently, Joe serves on the board of directors for the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Regional Leadership Coalition, Downtown Development Corporation, Leadership Louisville, Tri-State Minority Supplier Development Corporation, the Health Enterprises Network and the advisory board of Nucleus, LLC, Kentucky’s Life and Health Sciences Center. He is a member of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Authority and was a co-founder of The Bridges Coalition, which helped draft and pass the legislation leading to the Authority’s creation. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa. He and his wife Julie have seven children. Steve Trager
Steve Trager, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Bank & Trust Co., earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville School of Law. Trager then joined Republic Bank & Trust Company in May of 1987. In 1998, Trager was appointed President and CEO of Republic Bancorp. Trager also serves as Chairman and CEO of Republic Bank, where he remains actively involved in the operation and retail management of the bank’s 29 banking centers. Trager is a past Chairman for the Kentucky Bankers Association and serves on the Boards of Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Louisville Branch, Fund for the Arts, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, Louisville Bar Foundation, the Jefferson Club, Leadership Kentucky, the University of Louisville’s Board of Overseers. Trager was the Juevenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Man of the Year in 2003. And, in 2003, he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Southern Ohio and Kentucky. Trager in 2004 was inducted into the Atherton High School Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Louisville’s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Gill Holland
Independent film producer Gill Holland moved to Louisville in 2006 from NYC and went on to open The Green Building, the greenest commercial building in Kentucky (anticipating LEED platinum certification). A Spirit Award nominee for producer of the year (the Oscars for independent films), Gill has worked on three notable environmental documentaries: MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL won Al Gore’s Reel Current Award for best documentary of 2007, FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER and CARBON NATION. Gill is a former lawyer, has produced over 50 films and runs sonaBLAST! Records (featuring CDs made with recycled plastic and cardboard cases) and is obsessed over his compost earthworms. He and his wife Augusta, daughter Cora and twins Owsley and Lilla have landmarked several buildings in “NuLu” - Louisville’s East Market District. Louisville Magazine named him its “Person of the Year” in 2009. Christopher A.R. Brice
Chris serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Northwestern Mutual – Kentucky & Southern Indiana. A native New Yorker and young teacher back in 1992, Chris moved to Louisville after graduate school at Duke University, to teach history and coach at Kentucky Country Day School. After two years at KCD, he worked as general manager for Maker’s Mark Products where he was responsible for coordinating the first catalog featuring Maker’s Mark promotional products. Chris joined his family’s business, Superior Printing Ink Company in 1996. He established a branch office in Louisville to service printers in the Ohio Valley region, and he served as the national accounts manager. Chris also headed the re-branding effort for this eighty year-old company. Chris returned to KCD as Assistant Head of School for Development in 2000. During his tenure at KCD, Chris led a variety of initiatives related to the external affairs of the school, including fundraising, alumni relations, parent relations and admissions. Chris joined Northwestern Mutual in April 2009. Chris has volunteered extensively in the youth services sector of the Louisville community. Chris’s volunteer efforts are now focused on supporting the soldiers and families of a U. S. Army Special Forces battalion stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY. Chris, his wife, Sarah, and their two children (Lilly and Wilder) are all proud Louisvillians. Rev. Ron Oliver, Ph.D., BCC
Ron Oliver is the System Vice President for Mission and Outreach at Norton Healthcare. He joined Norton Healthcare as a chaplain resident in 1989, and in 1993 became a staff chaplain for the pediatric intensive care unit of Kosair Children’s Hospital. He was named director of the Pastoral Care Department in 2002 and subsequently was promoted to division director, then associate vice president of the department. Oliver was named vice president, Mission and Outreach, in November 2009. He is a frequent speaker on grief, theodicy and self-care and has published several peer-reviewed articles. He earned a Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. His doctoral dissertation, “Effects of an Acute Traumatic Crisis on Faith,” is the basis for the Kosair Children’s Hospital Bereavement Intervention Program. Oliver is endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and is a board-certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. In his spare time, Oliver enjoys working on home construction projects and spending time with his wife, Joyce, and their two teenage sons. Laura Douglas
Laura Douglas, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs for Eon U.S. Laura Douglas was named to her current position in November 2007. She joined the company in October 2003 as Director of Communications and currently serves as the U. S. market contact for the development of E.ON's group wide corporate responsibility report. In addition, she has participated as a member of the Global Reporting Initiative's Electric Utility Sector Supplement since joining the company, traveling to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Berlin, Germany, and Iguaçu, Brazil for Sector Supplement meetings. She is an active member of numerous professional organizations and civic boards. Douglas currently serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Water for the American Bar Association's Section of Public Utility, Communications, and Transportation Law, a Fellow of the American Bar Association, a volunteer Trial Commissioner for the Kentucky Bar Association, and a member of the Kentucky Women's Forum. In addition, she is a member of the board of directors of Republic Bank and Trust Company and Actors Theatre. As the result of a mayoral appointment, Douglas has served as Chair of the Citizens Commission on Police Accountability since its inception. Two governors appointed Douglas to serve on the Kentucky State University Board of Regents. Currently, she serves today as Chair of the Kentucky State University Board. T. Vernon Foster
T. Vernon Foster is the Director of Business Solutions at the University of Louisville College of Business. His role entails connecting the business community to the vast resources of the business school. Additionally, he serves as the Director of the Ulmer Career Management Center, which includes the oversight of internships for the new, innovative full-time MBA program. As well as working closely with professional, graduate, and undergraduate students at U of L, he serves on a number of business boards in various states ranging in fields from technology and finance to textiles and food. This includes the Board of Directors for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Kentucky and a publicly traded bank. An avid entrepreneur, he attends the Venture Club and Enterprise Angels. Vernon comes with a rich history of service to the community in Winton-Salem, North Carolina with board leadership for many organizations ranging from the arts and education to social services and health care. A graduate of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business (B.S. ’73, M.B.A ’94), he has served as president of the MBA Alumni Council, been a member of the Board of Visitors for the Wake Forest Graduate and Professional Schools, and is currently the vice-chair of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Center. Gary England
Gary Wm. England is Senior Vice President, Corporate Counsel, and Director of Human Resources for Hilliard Lyons. In addition to managing Hilliard Lyons’ human resources area, he oversees the firm’s professional development, corporate communications and administrative services functions, and he serves as corporate counsel, managing litigation and other legal matters. Before joining Hilliard Lyons in 2004, Gary held corporate counsel and/or human resources director positions at a number of other financial institutions, including Raymond James Financial, Florida Progress Corporation (now Progress Energy) and Barnett Banks, Inc. (now Bank of America). He also has substantial private Labor & Employment Law practice experience. Gary is an ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky. He serves on the board of Walden Theatre and on the YMCA Activate Kentuckiana fitness initiative, as well as its food security task force. Previous board service includes the Louisville Orchestra and Kilgore Samaritan Counseling Center. Gary holds a law degree from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. He also holds a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior and a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, both from the University of Alabama. Gary and his wife Maria have two daughters and a son. Heather Howell
A consummate relationship builder and business partner, Heather secured funding, and enthusiasm from across the city to bring the National Women’s MBA annual conference to Louisville in 2010. Her trusted community leadership has brought her recognition as one of the Leadership Louisville Center’s first “Connectors,” and as a recent Bingham Fellow, she played a key role in envisioning and developing plans to make Louisville a cool region for top talent. Heather was named Top 40 Under 40 in 20 by Business First. She is a member of Greater Louisville Outstanding Women (GLOW), the Women4Women’s Luncheon Committee, a corporate advisory board member of the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA), and a board member of the Louisville chapter of NAWMBA. Mike Moll
Michael D. Moll is Director of Client and Community Relations for the Kentucky and Tennessee operations of the PNC Financial Services Group, one of the nation’s largestand most dynamic financial services organizations. In his current role, the 24-year PNC veteran acts as a collaborative “chief of staff,” bringing together people inside and outside the bank to solve problems, build business and pursue mutually beneficial opportunities. As a nexus between PNC’s business lines, staff areas and the bank’s philanthropic and community outreach, Mike connects people and opportunities that benefit the bank and the greater good. Mike directs marketing, community relations, internal communications and employee engagement activities which have an impact on the bank’s local brand and image. Beyond local market responsibilities, Mike has long been engaged in PNC’s regional and national initiatives, from helping streamline retail product offerings to his involvement in National City Bank’s integration into PNC. Moll is a 1996 Leadership Louisville graduate, and was named a Top 40 Under 40 Achiever by Louisville’s Business First newspaper in that year. He has served on numerous boards and committees for such organizations as Leadership Louisville, Metro United Way, Brightside, the Ad Federation, PNC Broadway Across America, the Greater Louisville Sports Commission and Bellarmine University. Mike’s personal passions include fitness and health, and environmental sustainability. Tray Cockerell
As a corporate strategist, Mr. Tray Cockerell plays an integrative leadership role across the Innovation, Marketing, Strategic Analytics, Public Affairs, Communications, and International functions at Humana. Prior to working in this capacity, Tray spent the first eight years of his career at Humana as Director of Human Resources, with a wide range of increasing responsibilities, including Employee Relations for all 28,000+ Humana associates and Human Resources Business Leader for all corporate senior executives, including Law, Marketing, Innovation, Finance, Corporate Strategy, and Human Resources, as well as for Humana’s Healthcare Delivery Services and Clinical Processes. Tray also spent several years leading Humana’s HR Communications function, during which time he provided critical insights to Humana’s “laboratory-to-showcase” benefits model. Exercise, golf, shooting sports, snow skiing, reading, and watching his sons play baseball occupy most of Tray’s time outside of work. T.J. Graven
Graven joined Brown-Forman in 1998 as a Finance Manager. In 1999 he was appointed to Manager, Planning & Analysis for the Business Planning and Analysis Team, and was subsequently named Controller for the Wine Group within BFBW. He has also served as the Director of Enterprise Systems with the Information Technology Group. Prior to joining Brown-Forman, Graven was a consultant for SAP America, Inc. where he worked with Fortune 500 clients to apply technology to improve business processes. T. J. received a Bachelor’s degree in finance from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree with high distinction from the University of Notre Dame. T. J. resides in Louisville with his wife, Kimberly and their three children. Cynthia Knapek
Before joining Leadership Louisville in 2010, Cynthia worked for Mayor Jerry Abramson as Executive Director of Brightside. Brightside is an innovative public private partnership that works to build civic pride in the community and keep Louisville clean and green. As Director Cynthia launched the highly successful Gallopalooza fundraiser which helped double Brightside’s private revenue. Under Cynthia’s leadership Brightside won two Center for NonProfit Excellence Pyramid Awards. Cynthia was named to Business First’s Top 40 Leaders Under 40 in 2001 and recognized as Today’s Woman’s “Way to Go Woman” in 2006. Cynthia was a founding member and the first President the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL). Cynthia is active in several community organizations, having served on the boards of the University of Louisville Alumni Association, the Mayor’s Arts and Cultural Attractions Board, the Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) Board and on the advisory board for the Young Professionals Association of Louisville. She has a Master’s degree from the University of Louisville. Cynthia married her college sweetheart Mark and they have two boys. Chris Green
Chris also has provided assurance and advisory services to developers that specialize in low-income tax credit and HUD developments. Chris is a member of the firm’s Audit Technical Issues Committee that oversees the firm’s quality control system. He is also a member of the MCM’s Manufacturing & Distribution, Real Estate, and Emerging Business Teams.
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Chris Green specializes in providing assurance and management advisory services to manufacturers, distributors and real estate developers. He has several years of private accounting experience with a privately held furniture manufacturer that brings a unique perspective to his clients.