Secretary Nikki Jackson
Nikki Jackson, J.D. Secretary, Personnel Cabinet. Secretary Jackson most recently served as Director of Human Resources at Norton Suburban Hospital in Louisville, overseeing all areas of Human Resources administration for 1,600 employees. She has worked for large private sector organizations to include: Philip Morris USA, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, ADP, and CW Johnson Xpress, a minority owned transportation company operating in the west end of Louisville, KY. There, she served as Vice President of Human Resources and General Counsel. Jackson is a member of the Society of Human Resource Professionals, National Employment Law Council and is well versed in a multitude of HR disciplines, having delivered Organizational Effectiveness and HR Compliance Strategy Presentations at conferences across the country. She has authored and delivered several leadership development courses and has been a featured keynote speaker, both locally and regionally, on the same topic. Jackson began her career as a labor and employment attorney in South Florida, representing public and private sector employers in all facets of labor and employment law and regulatory compliance. Certified in Collective Bargaining from Cornell University's School of Industrial Relations, she earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Miami, School of Law and a Bachelors of Arts degree from Hampton University.
Deputy Secretary Tim Longmeyer
Tim Longmeyer, J.D. Deputy Secretary, Personnel Cabinet. Tim brings nearly 15 years of legal experience to our cabinet. A member of the Kentucky Bar Association, Tim earned his BA from the University of Kentucky and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Louisville. Tim and his wife, Lyn, have three children and are members of St. Agnes Parish in Louisville.
Robert Brown
Robert "Bob" C. Brown, Executive Director, Kentucky Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Authority (Authority). He has over 35 years of employee benefits experience with heavy emphasis on the administration of governmental defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans as well as health insurance plans. In his role as Executive Director, Bob is responsible for the daily administration of the Authority’s $1.6 billion 457 and 401(k) (including a Roth 401(k) option and Deemed IRAs (both Traditional and Roth) voluntary retirement plans. He is a member of the Louisville Employee Benefits Council where he is a past president. Bob is also a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators where he has earned the designations of Certified Retirement Administrator and Certified Retirement Consultant. Bob graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree. He also took advanced courses in Employee Benefits and Compensation offered by the American Management Association, American Compensation Association and legal education courses.
Dan Egbers
Dan Egbers, J.D. Executive Director, Office of Legal Services. Dan has served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet since April, 1989, with the exception of three and a half years spent in the Justice and Education Cabinets from 2004 to 2007. Currently, Dan advises and represents the Personnel Cabinet on a broad range of employment law issues as well as consulting with Executive Branch agencies with respect to state and federal employment requirements. Before coming to the Personnel Cabinet, he served as the lead attorney for the Cabinet for Human Resources on employment issues from 1981 to 1989. Dan began his career as an Assistant City Solicitor and Alcoholic Beverage Control Administrator for the City of Newport, Kentucky while maintaining a general private practice in Northern Kentucky. He has been admitted to the Bars of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Federal District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Dan holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law and Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Political Science from Morehead State University.
Wayne Harman
Wayne Harman Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. Wayne is charged with setting the strategic direction for the Personnel Cabinet, improving processes and developing services, and planning the direction over the next four years. Before coming to state government, Wayne worked as a Business Transformation/IT consultant for three years. Prior to that, he was the Director of IT Operations at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He was also employed by Wang Laboratories as a Regional Business Director and Kronos Inc. as District Manager of Support Services. Harman serves as the Technology Officer for the Human Resource Information Systems project and is instrumental in providing leadership and vision for the initiative. His background includes 36 years of progressive management experience in information technology and business transformation services. Harman obtained an Associate’s Degree in Electronic Technology from United Electronics Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. He also completed Management Certification Programs from Indiana University and Executive Development Training at Louisiana State University.
Carla Hawkins
Carla Hawkins Commissioner, Department of Personnel Administration. As Commissioner, Carla is responsible for the Commonwealth’s state employment process; classification, compensation and payroll systems; employee records administration; and information technology services for the Cabinet. As a 23 year state employee, she has led technology initiatives to move many manual, paper based processes to an automated environment. Carla is the Executive Sponsor for the Kentucky Human Resource Information System (KHRIS) and the Career Opportunities System (COS) initiatives. KHRIS will replace the Commonwealth’s personnel, payroll and benefits administration systems and increase services available to employees and managers. COS allows applicants to apply for state employment on-line. These are the largest state wide human resource initiatives in the past 25 years. Prior to coming to Personnel, she directed technology projects for the Revenue Cabinet’s tax administration processes including: Billings and Receivables; Individual Income, Sales and Use tax electronic filing; credit card payments; and tax document scanning and imaging processes. Carla is a Morehead State University graduate with degrees in Recreation and Public Affairs.
Mary Hook
Mary E. Hook Deputy Executive Director, Kentucky Personnel Cabinet’s Office of Employee Relations. Mary has over twenty years of extensive insurance experience that includes rehabilitation, case management, mediation, claim examination, settlement negotiation, actuarial projection, job modification and fraud prevention. As an Ombudsman for the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims, Mary mediated numerous workers’ compensation claims and Medical Fee Disputes. She also provided assistance with various projects, such as Managed Care and Electronic Data Interchange for the Office of Workers’ Claims. Mary worked for several years serving county government in Flint, Michigan in mental health and child and adolescent services. Working as a claim examiner for several insurance carriers, third party administrators and group self-insured, she has gained a great perspective on the Workers’ Comp Claim community. She is also experienced in vocational assessment, work readiness training, on-the-job- training, and job placement for injured employees. Mary attended Central Michigan University where she earned a BS degree in Psychology and completed the Master of Rehabilitation Counseling Program at the University of Kentucky.
Howard "Burr" Lawson
Howard “Burr” Lawson Executive Director, Office of Administrative Services. Burr has an extensive background in state government. Over the years, he has served as Deputy Commissioner of Labor, Director of the Special Fund in the Labor Department, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Manpower Services, Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services, Executive Director of the Office of Administration for the Cabinet for Human Resources, Executive Assistant to the Secretary for Human Resources and Deputy Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Policy and Management. Burr has served as Executive Director of Administrative Services since 1998. He holds both BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
Michelé Lawlis
Michelé E. Lawlis Executive Director, Office of Diversity and Equality. In her most recent role Michelé served as Compliance Officer for the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission. Her duties included monitoring and investigating equal opportunity and affirmative action compliance on behalf of Louisville Metro Government. Michelé also planned events to promote diversity through collaborative efforts with federal, state and local agencies and community organizations. Michelé is an appointed member of the International Advisory Board & Speakers Bureau of the Professional Woman Network (PWN) and a professional coach and certified trainer on diversity, women's issues & youth empowerment. Michelé is co-author of Beyond the Body! Developing Inner Beauty (PWN Publishing), an international empowerment guide for women. Michelé is the founder of The DIVA Institute which provides customized training, keynote addresses and consulting on women’s issues in the workplace, single parenting, youth empowerment, leadership and community engagement. Michelé earned her BA in Political Science from the University of Louisville. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and the National Association for Female Executives.
Sissy Meredith
Sissy Meredith, Ph.D Executive Director, Governmental Services Center. Sissy comes from a strong educational background as a prior instructor of Public Speaking, Business Communication and Industrial Communication at the University of Kentucky. During her tenure she designed and implemented original curricula for public speaking and organizational communication courses. Sissy is co-founder of the Graduate Student Association and the Communication Graduate Student Association both were at UK. She is also the co-author of Getting There: Functional Public Speaking, Waveland Publishing. Most recently, Sissy held the role of Manager, Corporate Manager, Education & Development at Norton Healthcare. Sissy is and has been a member of HR Roundtable, UK Gatton College of Business and Economics, Women in Business, Women in Law and ASTD. Sissy earned her BS in Communications, MA in Instructional Communications with an emphasis in Anthropology (honors) and Ph. D. in Instructional Communications (honors), all from UK.
Fred Nelson
Frederick D. Nelson, J.D. Commissioner, Department of Employee Insurance. Mr. Nelson brings executive-level experience in multiple areas of insurance to include Health Insurance, Worker’s Compensation and Risk Management. Mr. Nelson recently held the post of Director of Risk Management and Safety for the Fayette County School System, covering development, implementation, and direction of all aspects of a comprehensive risk management and safety program. During the Patton Administration, Mr. Nelson helped to build Kentucky Access and served as its Director, under the Department of Insurance. In addition to his expertise in insurance programs, Mr. Nelson also offers over 13 years of experience as a practicing attorney. Mr. Nelson received a BA with a double major in philosophy and political science and a Juris Doctor Degree, all from the University of Kentucky.
Crystal Pryor
Crystal D. Pryor, MPA Chief, Legislative Affairs and Media Relations Liaison. Crystal previously worked in community development, as a grant writer where she administered state and federal development projects for communities in Central Kentucky. In this capacity she assisted in the formulation and implementation of the following grants, projects, contracts and infrastructure related plans: Homeland Security, tourism, transportation, Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission and FEMA. Crystal holds certifications with the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and the Community Emergency Response Team. She is currently a member of the American Society for Public Administrators. Ms. Pryor earned a BA in Government and Communications, with an emphasis in Advertising and Public Relations from Morehead State University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Kentucky, Martin School for Public Policy and Administration.