Home » Community Action Council elects new board officers

Community Action Council elects new board officers

(L to R): Daniel Murphy, Michele C. Lee, Sharon Price, Denise Beatty, Kimberly Baird and Joshua Lewis.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas counties announced Monday that new officers were elected to oversee the governance of the large nonprofit organization that will soon be commemorating its 55th year of service to Kentucky.

Denise Beatty, with the Kentucky Health Information Exchange from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, will be the new board chairperson; Daniel Murphy, assistant dean of Community Engagement & Diversity at the University of Kentucky, will serve as vice chairperson; Joshua Lewis, managing director for iVisionary Capital Partners, will be treasurer; and Kimberly Baird, an assistant commonwealth attorney, is the new vice treasurer; Michele C. Lee, operations and development coordinator with the Lexington Housing Authority—who most recently fulfilled two, three-year terms as board chairperson—will continue her role as secretary.

Beatty first began working with the council in 2007 when she joined the Head Start Policy Council, a separate governing body for the council comprised of community leaders and Head Start parents who provide oversight for the council’s five Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Most recently, Beatty served as the liaison between the board of directors and the Head Start Policy Council and is well-positioned to move into the role of administering the board’s executive duties.

“I’m thrilled and humbled to be asked to serve in this role at this exciting juncture in the council’s history,” Beatty said. “I have some big shoes to fill and I’m very appreciative of the support Michele has and will continue to offer through the transition.”

Outgoing board chairperson Michele C. Lee said, “I’ve been involved with the leadership of Community Action Council in some form or fashion for more than 30 years. I’m proud of all of the work that has been accomplished, but specifically during the last year of my term when the council was awarded grant funding in the amount of $8 million dollars, annually, to educate an additional 850 children in Head Start in eight new, mostly very rural counties in Kentucky. Last year was an exceptional year.”

Executive Director Sharon Price said, “Community Action Council has been fortunate to have always had strategic thinkers and partners on its board of directors, and our newly elected officers are no exception. Our new officers each bring a tremendous amount of business acumen that, when leveraged with their individual talents, will ensure that our ongoing antipoverty efforts not just align with our mission, but advance it as well.”

For more information about the council or its services, visit commaction.org or call (859) 233-4600.