In celebration of Women’s History Month, Henderson’s Rotary Club welcomed Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jaqueline Coleman to speak at its weekly meeting on Thursday.
Coleman, a former teacher and basketball coach from Mercer County, spoke to the group about issues facing working women, including pay equity and the lack of accessible, affordable childcare.
“And yet, women do what we’ve done for centuries – we soldier on. Because our families and our communities and this Commonwealth need us now more than ever,” she said at the meeting.
Coleman said she and KeGov. Andy Beshear will soon announce plans to grow the availability of high-speed internet in rural Kentucky.
Coleman is the founder of the nonprofit Lead Kentucky, which prepares college women in the Bluegrass State for leadership positions. She earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of Louisville and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Kentucky.
She lives with her husband Chris and their three children in Frankfort.

Coleman spoke with The Gleaner about her background in education and the importance of women in politics.
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How and when did you know that you wanted to be in a leadership position, specifically in politics?
Coleman: I don’t know that I can exactly pinpoint a time, but I will say that it was…a bit of a natural evolution, because I started teaching high school government and dual credit political science. I was in the classroom and taught high school for about 13 – 14 years, and in that time (I) really started to become an unintentional advocate for students in public schools. It evolved into a position where I decided that I wanted a seat at the table where the decisions were made for the kids in our schools. So, long story short, that’s essentially how that happened.
You’re an advocate for education, you started a nonprofit for college women, and you’re working on your doctorate in Educational Leadership. Why is education so important to you?
I’ve spent my life in the classroom, and what I know to be true about education is that it is the economic engine of the Commonwealth, and teachers are the original job creators. While lots of elected officials like to jump right to economic development and workforce development, the reality is, that’s the last chapter.
The first chapter certainly begins in our schools, so…every investment that we make in our schools and in our kids is a long-term investment for workforce development and economic development. I always say that’s the future of Kentucky’s economies and our classrooms today and not enough people recognize it that way.
But I do believe that if we continue to lift up the voices of the folks that are doing the work every day and the kids that they care for, we’ll get the message across.

How do you think your background in education has prepared you for politics?
Every kid that walks through the doors of our schools we take in and we teach and we wrap our arms around them. Schools do so much more now than they ever have, in terms of wraparound services providing resources that are above and beyond what schools normally do.
So, by working with the kids and the families that need us the most, every single day, I think I have a unique perspective for someone to be in the lieutenant governor’s office or the governor’s office, to be able to speak to the challenges that our families are facing every day and that our kids are facing every day.
That’s really the reason that you should go into public service. It’s to make life better and to support the people who need it the most.
There are several CRT-inspired education bills making their way through Congress right now like House Bill 487 and House Bill 14. What are your thoughts on these bills and the direction in which education is headed in Kentucky?
In terms of specific legislation, this is what I would say: Education should be a nonpartisan issue.
This should be an issue that both sides of the aisle, every branch and level of government can come together and talk about the best ways to invest time, money and resources into our most precious assets – our kids.
So, until we tackle the issues like Kentucky leading the nation in child abuse and neglect, Kentucky leading the nation in kids in foster care and kinship care, the lack of adequate and equitable resources in our schools, then all the rest of the stuff is noise. We really have to focus in on these tough things.
It’s easy to fall victim to political talking points. The hard work and the powerful work is in lifting up those kids in those schools and the people that care for them every day. That is what we are called to do to public service. To me, nothing else matters.
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What do you think are some of the biggest issues facing women in Kentucky today?
I think they’re the same … as the bigger issues that (women were facing) in Kentucky generations ago, unfortunately, which (are) things like pay equity and affordable childcare and early childhood education. And certainly workforce and job training, that’s very difficult, certainly for mothers who are caring for young children.

So, those issues to me, I don’t think have really changed. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. I think it’s imperative that we stay focused on equity of access and opportunity for every single Kentuckian and that’s, to me, what should be focused on…in our message this month.
Who are the women that inspire you?
I would say, in the political arena, so many. Obviously, the iconic ones that stand out are Kentucky’s only female governor, Martha Layne Collins. Senator Georgia Davis Powers, Kentucky’s first black female senator.
They’re very iconic women and I don’t take for granted that I get the opportunity to walk the same halls as them and that means a lot every single day.
… I was(also) a basketball coach before, so, of course the great Pat Summitt was always an inspiration – the work that she did, but also her leadership ability. She inspired a generation of little girls on basketball courts across the country, and I was one of them.
And then of course the women that are closest to me in my life, you know, the village of women that helped raise me. So, there’s no shortage of inspirational women. And I will say that every time I went to…step out of my comfort zone into a leadership position, I was always being nudged by a woman, a leader, a colleague…everybody from the iconic ones to the everyday interactions that you have. I think there’s so much to be celebrated for the women in Kentucky.
What do you think is the most difficult part of being a woman in politics?
I think that there are still ways that women are treated differently than men in the political arena, but it’s not confined to that. Just the little everyday things like…I get asked different questions that maybe the governor wouldn’t be asked (and) the microaggressions that are present in daily behavior that we have to be mindful of and address (as respectfully as) possible.
But just things like that that happen that I don’t think men have to worry about. And it’s certainly difficult to be a woman in elected office and then carry on in your personal life with your family and responsibilities in that way.
Women take on things personally that men don’t normally have to. So…finding balance in it all is also really important.
What do you think is the most important part of being a woman in politics?
I think it’s always important to remember (to look) in two different directions. One, you look back and remember the women that paved the way for you to be where you are. (I) always acknowledge and hold them up because they took on a lot of difficult scenarios that now I don’t have to face because they faced them down.
…But (it’s) also (important to) look ahead to the young women that are coming behind me and (to blaze) the trail even further for them (and to reach) back and help them to get to where they want to be. It’s just multi-generational acknowledgement of the impact that women have in politics.
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You’re from Mercer County and you have a strong connection there. What are some of the biggest issues that you see in rural Kentucky?
Rural Kentucky is so near and dear to my heart. I grew up in a town called Burgin and most people probably (have) never heard of it, but there’s a thousand people and a four-way stop in the town.
I lived in Mercer County until I became lieutenant governor. So, I spent my life in rural Kentucky. The governor and I are both committed in our call to public service to lift up every single one Kentuckian in every region of Kentucky and every neighborhood in Kentucky, especially the ones who are so often left behind.
I can speak to growing up in a small town where sometimes you feel like you’ve been forgotten, like other communities are making progress while you see folks lifting up other communities and you wonder, “Why aren’t we getting the support that other places are getting?”
Our charge is to lift up every Kentuckian and make sure that every community feels the progress and the investment in infrastructure like we’re making with clean water (and) like we’re going to start announcing with high-speed internet in the next few months, which I know is also a really important rural Kentucky issue.
So, just reminding people they matter. Showing up for them and helping them to get the support that they need to continue to build their community.
Do you have any advice for young women aspiring to become politicians, or to assume leadership positions in general?
I have three pieces of advice…that I like to give to young people, and it’s just in leadership in general. We…need lots of good people to run for office and become elected leaders, but we need good leaders everywhere and every sector of our economy and in every corner of the Commonwealth.
But here’s my advice, through lessons learned in my life for people who want young people who want to become leaders.
First, find your passion, no matter what it is. There’s something that you’re passionate about. My passion was education.
The second piece is get involved. Find organizations in your community, on your college campus, in your school, that feed that passion. Get involved with the folks who are doing the work. Don’t sit on the sidelines.
Last but not least, once you find your passion and you get involved, take the lead. Once you become involved and you get your hands dirty and your feet wet, don’t be afraid to step into a leadership role for something that you really care about. That’s really the essence of good leadership – the passion and involvement and obviously not being afraid to lead.
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