Alicia J. Sells

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT ALICIA J. SELLS

In my work, innovation is a means to the end of preparing Kentucky public school students to compete in the global economy. I spearheaded the creation of iLEAD - Kentucky\'s first regional Career Academy - along with the superintendents of Carroll, Gallatin, Henry, Owen, and Trimble Counties. iLEAD provides students from these districts the academic and employability skills for highly competitive advantage in the STEM workforce. By introducing regional workforce projections into K-12 educational strategy, iLEAD’s pathways are targeted to the highest-wage, highest demand occupations in Kentucky’s Golden Triangle region. iLEAD students will be college-ready by the end of their second year in high school, enroll full-time in Community College as juniors and seniors, and graduate with an Associate\'s Degree and high school diploma. While managing my own consulting firm, I worked with the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) to found Kentucky Leads the Nation (KLN). KLN gathers educators, government policy makers, and civic leaders from around the state to learn from Kentucky’s most forward-thinking schools. I also work with 22 Kentucky school districts personalizing learning for students with America\'s largest Race to the Top-District grant. I also have lobbied for the University of Louisville and for the 174 public school districts in Kentucky as the Director of Governmental Relations at the Kentucky School Boards Association. Before working at the state and federal levels, I was the Communications Director for Louisville Mayor and Jefferson County/Judge Executive Dave Armstrong. Armstrong established the nation\'s first automated victim notification system in response to the brutal murder of a domestic violence victim. I worked to make Kentucky the first state in the nation to provide this service on a statewide basis. I am a graduate of Western Kentucky University and live in Shelbyville, Kentucky.