Board Of Directors
Chris Garrett
CHAIR
Chris Garrett was named Vice President-Financial Strategy and Chief Risk Officer with PPL in March 2024 where he is responsible for financial strategy development and risk management.
He has been with the company his entire career, joining Kentucky Utilities in 1995 after graduating from college. Garrett previously served as the Vice President – Finance and Accounting for LG&E and KU following his role as Controller. He has held multiple positions including management roles in Tax, Corporate Accounting, Financial Planning and State Regulation and Rates.
Garrett currently serves on the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation as its chair after having served as its vice-chair and treasurer. He is a certified public accountant, a member of the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also is an Ignite Louisville and Bingham Fellows graduate.
Garrett attended Eastern Kentucky University, graduating with honors, and lives in Bardstown, Ky., with his wife, Katie, and their three children.
He has been with the company his entire career, joining Kentucky Utilities in 1995 after graduating from college. Garrett previously served as the Vice President – Finance and Accounting for LG&E and KU following his role as Controller. He has held multiple positions including management roles in Tax, Corporate Accounting, Financial Planning and State Regulation and Rates.
Garrett currently serves on the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation as its chair after having served as its vice-chair and treasurer. He is a certified public accountant, a member of the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also is an Ignite Louisville and Bingham Fellows graduate.
Garrett attended Eastern Kentucky University, graduating with honors, and lives in Bardstown, Ky., with his wife, Katie, and their three children.
Melanie McCoy
VICE CHAIR
Melanie L. McCoy is a partner of Frost Brown Todd LLC and leads the firm’s Wealth Planning team. She focuses her law practice on estate and gift planning for individuals and families, with a focus on business succession planning, asset protection and charitable gift planning. Melanie is a frequent speaker on a variety of trust and estate planning and administration topics. She is a member of the Louisville Bar Association, Kentucky Bar Association and Estate Planning Council of Metro Louisville. Melanie serves as a member of the Planning Committee for the University of Kentucky Mid-South Estate Planning Institute.
Melanie is involved in a variety of civic endeavors. She is the President of the Henry and June Swaim Foundation and a member of the Philanthropic Services Committee for the Community Foundation of Louisville. She is also a graduate of the Leadership Louisville Center Ignite Louisville Program (2007), Bingham Fellows (2020) and Leadership Louisville (2023). She is a past Board Member and Executive Committee Member for Volunteers of America Mid-States, Inc. and a past Chairperson of the Library Advisory Commission.
Lee Burchfield
SECRETARY
Lee Burchfield, Director of Louisville Free Public Library, has been with the Library since 1997. His previous positions included Assistant Branch Manager, Electronic Resources Supervisor, Manager of Computer Services, and Director of Strategic Planning & Technology.
He has been Director since 2019. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Samford University, where he also worked in the computer lab, circulation department, and serials department at the University Library. He earned his Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky, and earned an additional master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Historical Studies from Southern Seminary.
In 2014 he completed a strategic planning certification from George Washington University and the Balanced Scorecard Institute as a Balanced Scorecard Professional. He received Six Sigma Green Belt training and certification from Louisville Metro Government. He has published several biographical and historical articles, and has been active as a presenter and panelist at library and technology conferences.
Brian Stivers
TREASURER
Brian Stivers is an investment officer and Director of Research at Commonwealth Bank & Trust, within their Wealth Management & Trust Group. He has over 25 years of experience in managing equity and fixed income portfolios for both individuals and institutions.
Stivers specializes in the municipal market, including both tax-free and taxable bonds, with particular expertise in Kentucky issuers. As fixed-income strategist, he has served as portfolio manager of Commonwealth Bank’s maturing Kentucky tax-free common trust funds since 1995, and manages the individual fixed income securities and trading within the department.
In addition, Stivers is responsible for equity coverage of the financial sector and runs a number of liquidity-based institutional portfolios. He also works with the bank’s investment portfolio and serves on the Asset/Liability and Deposit Pricing committees.
Stivers received his B.S. in Finance, with honors, from the University of Louisville and is a graduate of the National Trust School at Northwestern. He joined the Library Foundation’s Finance & Audit Committee in 2014.
Liz Amick
Board Member
Liz Bryan Amick is the owner of Alignment Bookkeeping and Finance. Her experience includes over 20 years in the fields of education, personal and small business finance, community relations, and mental health support. A Chicago native, she has a BA in English from the University of Iowa, and an MS in Family and Consumer Sciences from University of Kentucky. The current President of the Friends of the Louisville Free Public Library, Liz has worked with many non-profit agencies since making Louisville her home in 2008.
Ashley Anderson
Board Member
Dr. Ashley M. Anderson received a Master of Science in Nursing with a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Specialty in 2008, a certificate in Health Professionals Education in 2012 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing in 2016, all from the University of Louisville. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Berea College in 2005. She was a record holding team Captain for Berea College’s Women’s Basketball team. Dr. Anderson participated in beauty pageants to take advantage of additional scholarship opportunities as she pursued her education. She won Ms. Kentucky United States 2013, Miss Black Ohio in 2010 and was crowned the 1st Miss University of Louisville in 47 years when the competition returned to campus in 2008.
Dr. Anderson is the founder and CEO of Athena Health and Wellness, a women’s health practice that is the first of its kind in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2020, she partnered with doTerra and launched an essential oil business to help promote natural healthcare in the western realm of medicine. She is a family planning specialist, trained researcher, author, certified health science educator, community activist, international runway model, actress, radio personality, and motivational speaker. .
Waleed Bahouth
Board Member
Waleed is the CEO / Co-Founder of Arrow Health. He has a BA in Economics and Finance from Trinity University, and a JD from the University of Louisville.
Kendall Boyd
Board Member
Mr. Kendall Boyd is a litigation attorney and a specialist and trainer for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He worked prior as the Manager of Inclusion and Employee Engagement for LG&E-KU. In that role, he was responsible for the development, review and implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and commitments, to ensure a diverse and welcoming work environment and safe space. Prior to this role, Mr. Boyd was the Chief Equity Officer for Louisville Metro Government (2020-2021). Mr. Boyd was the Executive Director of the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission from 2017 until 2020. Mr. Boyd has also served as the Assistant Director of Human Resources for Louisville Metro Government, as an Assistant County Attorney for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office, was a deputy prosecutor for the Vigo County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana and was the City Attorney for the City of Terre Haute, Indiana. Mr. Boyd is also currently an adjunct professor for Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg, Indiana, where he teaches Business Law, Intro to American Government, Human Resources Management and Business Marketing.
Florence Chang
Board Member
Florence Chang, Ph.D., is the Director of Planning and Program Evaluation for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). Dr. Chang received her doctorate from the University of Louisville, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel in the area of early childhood education. She joined Jefferson County Public Schools in 2005 as an Evaluation Specialist and served as a researcher and evaluator on several major national evaluation studies. She left Jefferson County in 2013 and conducted education research in the United Kingdom, before returning to JCPS in 2016.
Fannie Mae Cox
Board Member
Fannie M. Cox is the Outreach and Reference Librarian at the University of Louisville (UofL) Libraries. With this role, she combines her role as the Libraries Faculty representative for Signature Partnership Initiative (SPI)/Community Engagement (CE), to promote Information Literacy and encourage critical thinking, which allows her to engage communities locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. She also tracks, investigates, and uses data proactively to address emerging trends that improve library services and promote library resources. Cox has extensive experience using and teaching others about research, various tools used to gather and apply user information to make data-driven strategies and decisions. She has memberships in several organizations, such as: the American Library Association (ALA) Joint Working Group on eBooks and Digital Content in Libraries; the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Budget & Finance Committee; the Executive Board of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA); a past President of the Kentucky Library Association (KLA); member of the Western Branch Library Support Association, the Friends of Parkland Library, and Wayside Christian Mission Board of Directors. She earned her B.A. in 1982 and her Masters in Library Science in 1998, both from Indiana University. She earned a MPA in 1992 from Kentucky State University.
Lisa DeJaco
Board Member
Lisa DeJaco Crutcher is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities of Louisville, Inc. She also serves on the Board of Dare to Care and is the diocesan representative to the Boards of Boys and Girls Haven and St Joseph’s Children’s Home. She formerly served on the Board of the Friends of the Library, and her first job was as a page with the LFPL. An attorney by training, Ms. DeJaco Crutcher received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Furman University.
Marcie Deffenbaugh
Board Member
Marcie Deffenbaugh is the Manager of Geographic Information System (GIS) Services for Haag Global, Inc., a multi-faceted forensic engineering and consulting company. In this role, Deffenbaugh oversees initiatives related to GIS planning, system design, and system administration. She also actively develops and maintains the Haag Geoportal, a web mapping application used for data visualization of project information such as GIS data, 3D scans, drone imagery, spherical photography, and more. She has over 10 years of experience in project management and technical consulting services.
A Texas native, Deffenbaugh graduated from Texas A&M University in 2007 where she received a B.B.A. in Management Information Systems and a B.A. in Spanish Studies. Following graduation, she joined the Peace Corps where she served as an Information Technology volunteer in Ecuador from 2008 to 2010. After completing her volunteer service, Deffenbaugh attended Indiana University and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Information Science from the School of Library and Information Science as well as a Master of Latin American Studies from the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She moved back to Texas and worked as a GIS Analyst for an energy company until 2015 when she joined Haag and moved to Louisville. Since moving to Louisville, Deffenbaugh has earned certifications from Code Louisville for frontend and backend web development as well as SQL development. She is passionate about public library systems and fostering community involvement and engagement with local libraries.
Katy Delahanty
Board Member
Jennifer Glassner
Board Member
Jennifer Glassner is an AVP, Regional Business and Community Development Manager at Republic Bank. Her areas of expertise include, new client relationships, community development for the Louisville Region, collaborating with partners, growing relationships, and business and commercial lending. Jennifer currently serves on the boards of Hildegard House and Feat of Louisville.
Brian Gupton
Board Member
Brian Gupton is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Dataseam. From a coal mining family and a native of Princeton, Kentucky, Brian now resides in Louisville but spends a majority of his time in the ARC service region. He has served on a variety of state and local Boards for Gifted and Talented Education and the Louisville Parks Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville and enjoys supporting Cardinal Athletics as well as traveling for sports, concerts, and museums. When not working in and with the Dataseam schools, Brian spends available downtime renovating a mid-century modern home, hunting for vintage vinyl records, history, cooking for others, or in the yard with dogs, vegetable gardens, and astronomy.
John Harris
Board Member
John Harris, a West Virginia native and Dartmouth College alum, started his career at Oracle Corporation in San Francisco, transitioning to Shaw Construction in Colorado as a project manager for five years. Relocating to Chicago, he ventured into the family beer distribution business, gaining three years of experience in wholesale beer. In 1999, John arrived in Louisville, becoming VP-Sales of River City Distributing, eventually quadrupling sales volume and becoming the city's largest beer wholesaler by 2002. Recently retiring after selling the company, John's 24-year career showcased remarkable growth.
For 21 years, he's been part of the Young President's Organization; he also served on the board at Brightside.Org for six years and held multiple presidencies in the Kentucky Beer Wholesalers Association (KBWA). John helped create the Sierra Nevada Council and chaired it for eight years. John's journey reflects a commitment to leadership, community engagement, and the success of River City Distributing.
Frank Harshaw
Board Member
Frank Harshaw is President and CEO of Harshaw Trane. He founded Harshaw Trane in 1976 with 13 associates. Today the company employs 300 associates with offices in Louisville, Bowling Green, Evansville, Ft. Knox and Lexington. Frank attended the University of Florida where he earned his Master’s degree in Engineering and did his post Masters study.
His professional activities included being a Registered Professional Engineer in North Carolina, member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers, the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Frank has also served on the board of the National Association of Trane Franchise Holders and has served on Trane’s Marketing Council numerous times. He is a current member of Trane’s Distribution Advisory Board.
Frank is a former board member of the Community Foundation Board, Greater Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage Civic Club, and past chairman of the Jeffersontown Chamber of Commerce. He has served two terms as President of the National Association of the Trane Franchise Holders Association (NATFH) as well as numerous terms as board member. Frank was an organizer of Eclipse Bank and has served on the Executive Committee since the bank’s founding in 2007. He also serves on the board of directors for Sullivan University Systems.
Bill Hollander
Board Member
Bill Hollander served as Louisville's 9th District Metro Councilmember for two terms, from 2015 to 2023. He was Council President Pro Tem and Democratic Caucus Chair during his second and third years on the Council and Budget Committee Chair the last five. Bill chose not to run for reelection in 2022 and left office in January 2023.
Before joining Metro Council, Bill practiced law and served as Managing Partner at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs. He also served as Chair of Leadership Louisville, Vice Chair of the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation, Vice Chair of Maryhurst, on the boards of the Fund for the Arts and the Children’s Hospital Foundation and President of the Crescent Hill Community Council and the Peterson Dumesnil House Foundation. He was also Treasurer of the Friends of the Crescent Hill Library and led a capital campaign at United Crescent Hill Ministries.
After leaving the Council, Bill continues to serve on the boards of the Coalition for the Homeless, the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation, Trees Louisville, and Beargrass Creek Alliance. Bill has been married to Lisa Keener for 37 years and lives in Crescent Hill.
Carrye Jones
Board Member
Andrea Kinser
Board Member
Kathy Knotts
Board Member
Kathy Knotts joined The Gheens Foundation in 2014 after serving as managing director of KentuckyShow! and director of marketing, e-commerce and public relations for Knotts Shoes. She began her career in public relations with Humana, specializing in writing and community relations, and produced their first corporate news video program. Kathy graduated from Murray State University with a B.A. in Journalism and minors in art and public relations.
She currently serves on the boards of Bernheim Forest and Research Arboretum, the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation and Better Business Bureau. Kathy is a member of the Archdiocese of Louisville Development Council and the Louisville-based organization, Women of Color & White Women Against Racism. A graduate of Leadership Louisville and Bingham Fellows programs, she also has earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
She is married to John and has four adult children. Previous volunteer work includes Habitat for Humanity, Youngers Women's Club of Louisville, Meals on Wheels, Hand in Hand Ministries, Nativity Academy and Sacred Heart Academy (alumnae board).
Virginia Lee
Board Member
Virginia Lee has over 20 years of experience working in the philanthropic, environmental and finance sectors. Currently, she is an independent consultant supporting philanthropic organizations in Louisville, Kentucky. From 2015 to 2020, Virginia focused community development as a program officer at the James Graham Brown Foundation. Prior to that, she was as an advisor and program director at the Owsley Brown II Family Foundation. Virginia is active in the the community, serving on boards or committees for: the DendriFund, the Center for Neighborhoods, and the Kentucky Waterways Alliance. Virginia holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia.
Kathryn Luttner
Board Member
Kathryn Luttner is the senior editor of corporate communications for Yum! Brands where she serves as the in-house journalist and develops executive communications. With more than 13 years of experience, her work has been published in Esquire, MTV News, Fast Company, Entertainment Weekly, Refinery29 and more. Luttner joined the Library Foundation board in 2019 and is a member of Leadership Louisville's Ignite class of spring 2018. A Texas native, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with two bachelor's degrees, one in journalism and the other in advertising.
Phyllis Metcalf-Turner
Board Member
Phyllis Metcalf-Turner, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota, 1993) is currently a retired university professor. During her tenure as a university professor she also served in several administrative roles including Associate Vice President of Diversity and International Education, Dean of the College of Education, Department Chair, Acting Associate and Assistant Provost, and Director of The Minority Teacher Recruitment Program.
Dr. Metcalf-Turner has always been and continues to be a strong advocate of literacy learning. She previously served five years on the Friends Board of the LFPL. For the past thirty-plus years, she has collected books by, for, and about African Americans and continues to support best practices for the integration of culturally responsive practices in literacy instruction across the curriculum.
Keith L. Runyon
Board Member
Keith L. Runyon is a journalist and attorney. He retired in 2012 after 43 years as a writer and editor with The Courier-Journal. For most of his career, he was involved in the opinion functions of the newspaper as opinion pages editor. He graduated from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 1982 and was admitted to the Kentucky Bar that year. He attended the University of London in 1971 as an English-Speaking Union Scholar. In 2022-23, he has served as a consulting attorney for the City of Louisville. He currently is chairman of the Louisville Free Public Library Commission. He is a former member of the board and executive committee of Louisville Public Radio, and the boards of the National Conference of Editorial Writers and the English-Speaking Union of the United States. In 1986-90, he was president of the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. He lives in the Cherokee Triangle and has two adult children, Amelia Brown Runyon Williamson and Keith L. Runyon, Jr.
Allison Strickland
Board Member
Allison Strickland is the senior manager of internal communications for Papa John’s International, one of the largest global pizza companies. Prior to Papa John’s, Allison spent the last decade in the health insurance space, most recently as the director of Medicaid and Medicare internal communications for WellCare. Before that, she was with Humana in a variety of communications-related roles, where she was responsible for planning, developing, and implementing internal communications strategies and tactics such as all-associate town halls, board of directors meetings, and other key events.
With more than 15 years’ experience in internal and external communications, Allison has held roles in both non-profit and corporate settings, including positions with Zale Corporation, the Kentucky Humane Society, and Yum! Brands.
Allison received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville and a master’s degree from Northwestern University, both in communications.