Barber previously served as a high school science teacher in Oldham County and Jefferson County, assistant principal and principal in Jefferson County, and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Louisville, Bellarmine University, and University of the Cumberlands. Most recently, as superintendent of Frankfort Independent Schools, Barber established highly qualified, cross-functional teams in order to streamline district operations and foster greater communication and connection between stakeholders.

Barber has served as president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents and as co-chair of the Board of Managers for Kentucky’s Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute for School Principals. He also has taught and mentored new superintendents with the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

Barber holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and teaching from Marquette University, a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration, and a doctoral degree in educational leadership and organizational change from the University of Louisville.

A Lexington native, Williams began her career in education as a Spanish teacher at her alma mater, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She has since served in leadership positions across the Commonwealth, including college and career coach, District Instructional Rounds member, Freshman Academy principal, principal, and most recently, assistant superintendent of Student Learning and chief academic officer for Scott County Schools.

Williams earned her Superintendent Certification and master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Eastern Kentucky University, a master’s in Education from Georgetown College, and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of Louisville. She is working on a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership.

Marshall joined FCPS as an elementary chief in July 2021 with 21 years of experience in education, having served most recently as the principal of Jefferson County Traditional Middle School. Her career working with students in grades kindergarten through eight also includes service as principal of Audubon Traditional Elementary, assistant principal of Klondike Lane Elementary, principal intern at Sanders and Roosevelt-Perry Elementary, school counselor at Shacklette Elementary and Highland Middle, and teacher at Shelby Elementary. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Western Kentucky University, a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Louisville, a Rank I in education administration from Western Kentucky University, and a doctoral degree in education and social change from Bellarmine University.

Richburg joined the Office of School Leadership in July 2022 with 21 years of experience, having served most recently as the principal of Yates Elementary. His career working with K-8 students includes service as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal. As a campus leader, Richburg successfully turned around a low-performing school, elevated a mid-performing school, and sustained the continuous improvement and growth of one of the highest performing comprehensive middle schools in North Carolina while closing achievement and opportunity gaps. 

Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Richburg received his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Shaw University and his master's degree in education leadership from George Mason University. He is completing a superintendent certification program at Western Kentucky University.

Smith holds an Education Specialist degree in Instructional Leadership, a master’s in Reading and Writing from the University of Kentucky, and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Kentucky University. She began her career in public education as a fourth-grade teacher in Fayette County Public Schools in 1998. Before accepting the position of chief of elementary schools, she was a principal at Ashland Elementary from 2013-17. Smith also served as a principal in Clark County for three years, from 2010-13.  Other experience includes serving as a classroom teacher, Reading Recovery specialist, and instructional coach.  Before working in the public school system, Smith was a childcare teacher and center director for 13 years in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.

Hutchison joined the Office of School Leadership in July 2021 with 22 years of experience in education, having served most recently as principal of Picadome Elementary. There, she collaborated to establish a community outreach program, produced high academic achievement with a diverse student population, and created an embedded cohort program for future educators in cooperation with University of Kentucky's College of Education. Hutchison has served as a special education teacher, curriculum coach, assistant principal, and principal -- all at the elementary level. She has also served as a presidential appointee on the board of directors for the Reading Recovery Council of North America, a facilitator for the National Institute for School Leadership, and a member of the Kentucky Commissioner of Education's Principal Advisory Council.

Hutchison holds a bachelor’s degree in special education and elementary education from the University of Kentucky, where she also completed a fifth-year program of study in learning and behavior disorders. In addition, she earned a master’s degree in educational leadership studies and Rank I with principal certification from UK. She is pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership and organizational development from the University of Louisville, where she attained certification as a school superintendent.

Bradford previously served as a Spanish teacher at Lafayette High School, a K-12 instructional support specialist, and a volunteer for the Black Male Working Academy. He came back to FCPS after serving as the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for Fort Thomas Independent Schools. His experience spans many roles across Northern Kentucky, having served as principal in the Kenton County School District and Covington Independent Public Schools, and assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Covington. Bradford has been an active board member with KASC, KAAC, Imagination Library, Franklin Covey Educators Advisory, and NKU School-Based Scholars. He has also served on various KDE task forces and diagnostic reviews, as well as engagement reviews with Cognia. 

He holds a bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature from Transylvania University, a master’s degree in education from Georgetown College, and a master’s degree in instructional leadership from Eastern Kentucky University. He is completing a doctorate in educational leadership at Northern Kentucky University, where he is an adjunct instructor in the College of Education.

Bruno joined the Office of School Leadership in 2020 with 21 years of experience, having served most recently as principal of Woodford County Middle School. He has spent his career serving middle school students as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and executive principal in Nashville, Tennessee, and Woodford County. His experience includes successful school turnaround efforts in urban and suburban schools. In addition, Bruno has served as a board member for the Tennessee Association of Middle Schools and a member of the KDE Quality Curriculum Task Force.

Originally from Georgetown, Bruno holds a bachelor’s degree in History and a master’s degree in Social Studies Secondary Education from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Tennessee State University, and a Superintendent Certification from Eastern Kentucky University. 

McMillin, who became high schools chief in July 2019, started his career as a biology teacher at Henry Clay High School. He served as an associate principal at Woodford County Middle School and Tates Creek Middle School before accepting the principal’s job at Bryan Station High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Kentucky and two master’s degrees – in curriculum and instruction from UK and in school leadership from Eastern Kentucky University. He also holds a doctoral degree in school leadership and organizational management from the University of Louisville.

Matthews has served as an elementary, middle, and high school teacher, and instructional supervisor/principal, college adjunct professor, state schools director with the Kentucky Department of Education, and director of Teaching & Learning and Innovative Programs in FCPS. In her most recent role here, she was director of Grants Programming. Matthews is also author of the mini-book "The Equity Evolution," where she coined the term “equity IQ.” 

A product of the Daviess County Public Schools, Chatfield received her B.A. at Washington University in St. Louis.  Upon graduation, she began work for U.S. Sen. Wendell H. Ford in Washington, D.C. After three years working in the United State Senate, Chatfield returned to Kentucky to attend and graduate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. She served as the first law clerk for the Honorable Jennifer Coffman and then joined the staff of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. She is a member of the Kentucky and Illinois bars. After living in various cities across the globe, including New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Brussels, Belgium, Chatfield returned to Kentucky to join the Bowling Green firm of English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, specializing in education law. In 2013, Chatfield was hired in her current position, as general counsel for Fayette County Public Schools. In 2016, Chatfield received the UK College of Law’s Professional Achievement Award. She is a past president of the Kentucky School Board Association’s Council of School Board Attorneys and was recently elected to the board of the National School Board Association’s Council of School Attorneys. To keep her sanity, she also teaches indoor cycling classes.

Born and raised in Nashville, Morton graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Speech Communications. She earned a master’s in Special Education from Eastern Kentucky University and her administrative certification from Western Kentucky University. More than half her career was spent teaching special education at J.R. Ewan Elementary. Morton has also served as a literacy specialist, professional staff administrator, and as principal at Ashland Elementary. At the district level, her other roles have included interim principal, area director, and principal coach mentor.

Dyar has worked in education in Central Kentucky as a teacher, principal, associate director, and now head of Human Resources in FCPS. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky, a master’s in Education from Georgetown College, and a master’s in School Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. She also earned the Senior Professional Human Resource Certification in 2009. Dyar is an active member of various local, state, and national chapters of school business leaders and HR manager affiliations, and she received the FCPS Outstanding Service Award in 2010.  

Thompson provides leadership, direction, and service to ensure district operations are effective, efficient, compliant, and supportive of schools and programs and adhere to the district’s core values and mission. He and his team plan and maintain schools and other facilities and provide transportation, nutritious meals, and other resources to provide safe and secure learning environments for students.

Thompson earned B.S. degrees from Eastern Kentucky University in Fire & Safety Engineering Technology and Insurance & Risk Management, and received his MBA from the University of Kentucky. He started his career as a safety and health compliance officer for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet. He later worked for the state school boards association as director of Risk Management and oversaw workers’ compensation, property and casualty insurance coverage, and business operations for marketing, underwriting, claims, and loss prevention. He has lobbied at the state level on operational issues and worked on policy and procedure development, implementation, and training for school districts. Thompson joined FCPS in 1995 as director of Risk Management & Safety. He has also served as the district’s health and wellness coordinator.  

Rains has over 30 years of experience in education and retired in the summer of 2022 after 12 years as principal at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She started her career as a special education teacher at Covington Holmes High School, and she taught at Scott County and Grant County high schools before joining the faculty of Tates Creek High School in 1997. At Tates Creek, Rains served first as a special education ARC facilitator, and then spent five years as associate principal before she was hired at Dunbar.

Rains earned a bachelor's degree in special education, health, and physical education, a master's degree in education, and a Rank 1 in special education at the University of the Cumberlands. She also holds director of special education certification from the University of Kentucky and Kentucky certification for school principal K-12, level 1 and 2 from Eastern Kentucky University.

Deffendall, the daughter of two retired public school principals, grew up in Hawaii believing that education is the key to changing the world. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, she taught science and math in New Orleans and rural Louisiana for four years as a Teach for America corps member and then went back to school to earn her certification in secondary mathematics.

After inadvertently insulting a local editor about the newspaper’s education coverage, Deffendall was hired to cover public schools in 1996. She spent the next nine years covering K-12 education for newspapers in Houma, Louisiana; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and here in Lexington, and garnered multiple awards for her hard-hitting investigative coverage. In 2004, she joined FCPS with a directive to bring transparency to school district communications. Since then, the district has received state and national accolades for its communication efforts.

Newbern began her career as a special education teacher in Ohio and joined Fayette County Public Schools in 2006 as a special education teacher at Mary Todd Elementary. After eight years in the classroom, she became the behavior specialist at Mary Todd and transitioned to the district office in 2015 to become one of the first-ever districtwide PBIS coaches. In this role, Newbern supported the implementation of PBIS in three dozen elementary schools, and as a member of the MTSS core team, she supported the rollout and implementation of multi-tiered systems of support. Most recently, Newbern served as the district's Safe Schools specialist and PBIS coordinator.

Chi has served as a teacher, administrator, innovator, and consultant. He was the founding program director at The Learning Center (TLC) at Linlee. Most recently, he worked as the chief academic/innovation officer through a collaborative partnership between Kentucky State University and Frankfort Independent Schools, where he facilitated the design of early college technical programs for high school students who have not traditionally pursued post-secondary education opportunities.

Chi has led the design of many innovative education programs and schools in Kentucky, Korea, and China. He leveraged his international innovation work to become the founding director of GlobEdSpace. He has also participated in the KDE/KASA two-year Minority Superintendent Internship program and served on former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's Highly Innovative Principals cohort, as well as the Prichard Committee's Achievement Gap Study Group. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Georgetown College, a master’s degree in math and science education from Columbia University, a master’s degree in educational leadership and superintendent certification from Eastern Kentucky University, and a doctorate in educational policy and instruction from the University of the Cumberlands.

Hayden began his career as a Physics/Physical Science teacher at Lafayette High School. He later served as the dean of students at Lafayette, administrative dean at Carter G. Woodson Academy, IT Academy principal at Bryan Station High School, and principal on special assignment for Fayette County Public Schools. 

He earned a degree in Physics teaching and a minor in Mathematics from Eastern Kentucky University and a master's degree in School Supervision and Administration from the University of Kentucky.