Meet the 2012 Leadership Network
Carol Cecil, Executive Director, Kentucky Partnership for Families and
Children
Carol W. Cecil has a
master’s degree in special education from Eastern Kentucky University and
taught in a variety of settings for thirteen years. Over the past twenty-one
years, she has become an advocate for families that have children with
emotional, behavioral and/or mental health challenges. Carol and her husband
are the proud parents of four children; their two older children were
“handpicked” in 1990 from the Special Needs Adoption Program and her two
younger were home-grown. Carol feels honored to work at KPFC and is passionate
about helping other families that have children with behavioral health diagnoses.
Stacy Funk, Chapter President, National MS Society Kentucky/Indiana Chapter
Stacy began her tenure as Chapter President of the National MS Society –
KY SE IN in the spring of 2009. Upon graduation from Stephen’s College
in 1984, she began her 27-year career in non-profit work and never
looked back. She joined the Society from the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana,
where she served as the Director of Development and Marketing for the
three years. In that position, she successfully merged the development
and marketing departments of this $6.8 million council into a
high-performing team of seven professionals covering 60 counties in
Kentucky and Indiana. Prior to her work with the Girl Scouts, Stacy
served as Director of Development and Communications with Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Kentuckiana. Among her many accomplishments Stacy grew
their Bowl for Kids Sake event from a one-weekend $17,000 event into a
12-week $400,000 pledge and team driven fundraiser.
Beth Hedges, Executive Director, Choices, Inc.
Beth Hedges is one of the founding members of the Board of Directors of
Choices (1990). She served as secretary and treasurer of the board. Beth received her Master of Social Work from the Carver School of
Church Social Work at The Southern Baptist Seminary. She worked for a number of years at Seven Counties Services –
Crisis and Information Center She is a mother of two boys, ages 16 and 19. She enjoys knitting,
reading, and playing bass clarinet in the Church Orchestra.
Mark Hohmann, Chief Financial Officer, Spalding University
Prior to joining Spalding University in June
2011, Mark served as Director of Finance and Operations at St. Francis High
School from 2001 to 2011. He also was a
member of GE’s financial management program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in
Business Administration from Boston University, a Master of Arts from Spalding
University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of
Louisville. Currently, he serves as a volunteer on the St. Francis High School
finance committee.
Viola Petty, Chief Operating Officer, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana
Viola Petty is the Chief Operating Officer for Girl Scouts of
Kentuckiana. She has worked for nonprofit youth serving organizations for
more than thirty years with her primary focus being youth leadership
development. Viola is a graduate of Central Michigan University where she
majored in Organizational Development receiving a Master of Science
Administration; and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from St. Leo
University. Viola volunteers her time and energies in the volunteer
sector, an active member of the Kentuckiana Chapter of Executive Women
International and serves on the Board of Director as Secretary and volunteers
at various shelters. Viola is a native of Philadelphia, PA; she is
married to James Petty and has a 2 children; James and Janelle. In her
leisure time she enjoys the Arts and Theatre, reading, bowling and simply some
quiet time meditating.
Russ Rakestraw, Fire Chief, Lyndon Fire Protection District
Chief Russ Rakestraw of the Lyndon Fire Department has over
40 years fire service experience including almost twenty years as a chief
officer. He has served in volunteer,
combination and fully career departments.
While his tenure as chief in the city of Petersburg, Virginia the
department suffered its first line-of-duty death. Chief Rakestraw has written about the
experience as well as spoken about the fatality at several fire service
schools. During his career Chief
Rakestraw has instructed at numerous fire schools and colleges from coast to
coast. Chief Rakestraw and his wife Vivian reside in Louisville.
Diana Ratliff, Executive Director, Leadership KY Foundation
Diana began serving as President/Executive Director of the Leadership
Kentucky program in 2006, and is a 1997 Leadership Kentucky graduate. She resides in the beautiful quaint community
of Midway where she is an active community volunteer, has served in leadership
roles in the Midway Women’s Club, served as a member and past president of
Midway Renaissance, Inc. and past-president of Thoroughbred Community
Theater. Her board service currently extends
statewide as a member of Friends of KET Board and the Advisory Committee for
the KY Girls STEM, and previously served as a member of the Kentucky Tourism
Industry Association board of directors.
Kay T. Roberts, EdD,
APRN, FNP-BC, FAAN
Executive Director, Harambee Health Center
Dr.
Roberts is the Executive Director of the Harambee Health Center, a nurse led
health care program that was created to improve health care access for underserved
persons living in the Smoketown, Shelby Park and surrounding areas. For the past 12 years, the Center provided
clinic care for acute and chronic health programs as well as numerous community
health promotion programs. Dr. Roberts is a member of the Presbyterian
Community Center’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Program Committee. In 2009, she retired from the University of
Louisville where she developed and led the Family Nurse Practitioner program. She now serves as adjunct clinical and online
faculty member for the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and
Health professions.
Dana Slucher, RN, BSN, MHA
Executive Director, Southwest Center for the Developmentally
Disabled
Dana joined the Southwest Center in March of 2008 as the
Executive Director. Prior to working for the Southwest Center, Dana worked in
various roles for Active Day and Almost Family Medical Adult Day Care Centers
including Director of Sales and Marketing, Community Liaison, Center Director
and Director of Nursing for Caretenders Home Health Agency. Dana has a passion
for helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live as
independently as possible. Dana earned
her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Louisville in 1988 and
has a Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration. Working in the Non-Profit
environment has proven to be both challenging and rewarding for Dana. She is
always searching for ways to help her program and herself grow.
Lynda Weeks, President & CEO, Community Health Charities of Kentucky
Lynda Weeks is the president and CEO of the Community Health
Charities of Kentucky. She has 28 years of experience in the health care
industry. Ms. Weeks is a former pharmaceutical sales representative for
Sanofi-Aventis, and she has owned and operated several Jazzercise studios for
17 years. Community Health Charities supports more than 20
health-related charities across the state, including the American Lung
Association of Kentucky, the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky and The Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society Inc. Ms. Weeks works closely with the board of directors to
oversee the organization’s fund-raising and development goals, fiscal
accountability and marketing initiatives. Her focus is set on expanding
partnerships with local companies and raising awareness for the organization’s
26 member charities.
Jack Will, Executive Director, Jefferson County League of Cities
Jack Will has a
career in community and fund development in the nonprofit, government and
education sectors. He is currently Executive Director of the Jefferson County
League of Cities. He directs the government and community relations strategies
and programs for JCLC at the local, state and federal levels. The JCLC is a
membership based organization comprised of the 83 Suburban Cities within Jefferson County and governed by a 15 member Board
of Directors.
Linda Witt, Executive Director, Louisville Education and Employment Partnership
Linda Witt has 30 years experience in the successful
development and implementation of youth services which includes educational and
recreational programming at state, city, and non-profit organizations.
Currently she is the Executive Director of the Louisville Education and Employment
Partnership. LEEP provides multiple services and programs for students who are at
risk of dropping out of school at 14 high schools and 1 middle school. She has
previously worked for JCPS Family Resource
and Youth Services Center Coordinator (FRYSC) and Cabbage Patch Settlement
House.
