Staff
Elisabeth Jensen, President and Executive Director
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President and Executive Director Elisabeth Jensen established The Race For Education with the support of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Casner of WinStar Farm. She went to Aiglon College in Villars, Switzerland, and attended F.I.T. City University of New York, Mrs. Jensen has served in an executive management capacity for several Fortune 500 companies, including The Walt Disney Company, where she received a leadership award in 1998. She is a graduate of the 2011 Emerge program and has been appointed by Governor Steve Beshear to State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children. Her home base is in Lexington, KY, with son, Will.
Melanie Hopkins, Controller
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Mandy Otis, Student Programs Manager
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Mandy has a varied background which includes experience in both the public and private sectors. Most recently in her career she performed constituent services for Congressman Ben Chandler and outreach for the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. She is a graduate of Georgetown College as well as The Patterson School at the University of Kentucky. She has extensive experience in grant writing, research, and federal funds administration. She lives in Lexington with her husband Jason and her sons Isaac and Landon.
Mandy Roberts, Communications Coordinator
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Mandy has a B.S. in Animal Sciences and has worked for several years in the equine industry. As the Student Programs Coordinator at the American Association of Equine Practitioners for 10 years, Mandy has worked closely with college veterinary students to find scholarship funding and further their professional career. She also has an extensive background in print work, editing and program development. Mandy is in the final stages of completing her Master’s in Community and Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky. She lives in Lexington with her husband and twin daughters.
Barbara Wilcox, Starting Gate Program Coordinator, New York
Ms. Wilcox has her Master's of Education in Personnel Services in Higher Education as well as professional development in Educational Administration in Supervision and Marriage and Family Counseling. She has served since 1998 as the Sewanhaka High School ESL Guidanc Counselor for grades 7-12 and been involved in the local community through various capacities including the New York Board of Education, Sewanhaka Central High School District and the Far Rockaway School-Based Family Therapy Program. She lives in Baldwin, NY.
Jacqueline McNaughton, Starting Gate Program Coordinator, Kentucky
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Jacqueline is originally from Chile and lived in Venezuela for five years. She is bilingual and moved to the United States in 1980. She has lived in Lexington since 1996 and worked as a paraeducator for six years at Maxwell Elementary School’s Spanish Immersion Program. Jacqueline fell in love with the teaching profession and returned to school to earn her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky and continue working with Fayette County Public Schools. She has two sons, both high school graduates living in Lexington.
Board of Directors
Chairman
David Ingordo
Secretary
Georgia Lockridge
Treasurer
Paul Saylor
Selection Committee Chairman
John Ward, Vice President Emeritus and Professor of English Emeritus, Centre College
Board Members
Gail Peters Beitz
Sharon Bird
Bill Casner
Maegan Ford
Kirsten Johnson
Johnny T.L. Jones III
Michele MacDonald
Mac McCauley
Joseph Miller
Tandy Patrick
Jack Wolf
Laurie Wolf
Chris Young
