Home » Local Initiatives Support Corp. names Kentucky Highlands president to national board

Local Initiatives Support Corp. names Kentucky Highlands president to national board

Jerry Rickett
Jerry Rickett

NEW YORK (Nov. 17, 2016) — The Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) has elected one of the country’s top rural business development leaders to its board of directors.

Jerry Rickett, president and CEO of Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC), joins LISC’s 25-member board of foundation presidents, senior corporate executives and community development officials who oversee the national nonprofit’s $1 billion in annual investments to revitalize low-income communities.

In KHIC, Rickett leads a regional organization that for nearly 50 years has fueled affordable housing, new businesses, good jobs, workforce skills, health care and other critical services in 22 counties across eastern Kentucky.

“We are thrilled to be able to tap into Jerry’s deep experience and clear-eyed perspective about what works to lift up rural communities—especially in places largely overlooked by the private market,” said Michael Rubinger, LISC president and CEO.

“He has helped build a model of community development that pushes traditional boundaries and tests new ideas,” Rubinger continued. “KHIC not only creates opportunity in Appalachia, but it also informs the work of other nonprofits grappling with some of the same challenges in their communities.”

Rickett has served as KHIC’s CEO for nearly three decades. Prior to that he was the organization’s vice president and marketing manager. Earlier, he worked with community organizations as part of two regional planning commissions.

“We have to be willing to think outside the box if we want to create the kind of economic opportunity that so many of our communities need,” said Rickett. “Over the years, LISC has helped KHIC do that, and I am excited to join a board that is bringing both capital and innovation to efforts that offer families the chance to build a better future.”

Read more about the diverse group of professionals that comprise the LISC board www.lisc.org/about-us/board-of-directors.