Meet Our Speakers

The Inside Track: 2026 PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter Conference

November 4: Pre-Conference Reception | November 5: Conference

The best reason to attend The Inside Track Conference? Our incredible lineup of speakers from across industries whose unique perspectives will keep you intrigued and in the know.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

SAMANTHA HUGHEY: Senior Manager for Sports Marketing Brand Strategy, Abercrombie & Fitch

Meet Samantha — Sam for short. Sam is a sports marketing and brand strategy leader with over a decade of experience building culturally relevant partnerships where sport, product, and storytelling collide.

Currently, she is at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., leading the strategy and execution of sports partnerships, athlete collaborations, and integrated campaigns. Her work focuses on turning brand and merchant priorities into customer-first marketing that earns trust, builds brand love, and actually moves the needle.

Sam earned a BFA from Western Kentucky University and a Master’s in Communication from the University of Louisville, where she cut her teeth in college athletics — working in social and marketing, teaching in the College of Communication, and eventually stepping in as Interim Director of Social Media for UofL Athletics.

After grad school, Sam joined the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, helping drive digital engagement for the #RoadToRio and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From there, she landed at adidas, working across U.S. Sports on everything from Super Bowls and World Series to the Olympics, NHL All-Star, and the US Open — before moving to Germany to join the global team on adidas TERREX.

Along the way, Sam has consulted on marketing, branding, social, and content strategy for small businesses and publications across the U.S., because she doesn't really know how to turn her brain off.

She's known for a collaborative leadership style, strong strategic instincts, and a healthy impatience for anything that feels inauthentic. She believes sport is one of the most powerful cultural platforms we have — and she's always asking “why?” (Still is. Always will.)

Sam loves PBR, bourbon, great stories, her cat Catrick, her dog Crunchwrap Supreme, and the Buffalo Bills — Bills by a billion.

MARTINA BARKSDALE: Director of Communications, VisitLEX

Martina Barksdale is a dynamic creative strategist and storyteller dedicated to amplifying community voices. Currently, she serves as the Director of Communications for VisitLEX, where she shapes the narrative of Lexington, KY, the Horse Capital of the World. Her versatility extends to the sidelines and the screen; she is the Gameday Host for Lexington Sporting Club, a Digital Host for Women in Radio, and the Sponsorships Manager for the Black Travel Summit.

A graduate of the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Martina’s career began in the heart of the entertainment industry. Her New York tenure included hosting for Big Review TV and appearing in various off-Broadway plays and films, including a feature that premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (now streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi).

Since returning to her roots, Martina has become a pillar of the Lexington culinary and cultural scene. She is the co-founder of SoulFeast Week, a celebrated 10-day festival highlighting Black culinary excellence.

A foodie and community advocate, Martina continues to leverage her media expertise to drive positive change and celebrate the vibrant culture the community and beyond.

CLARK BRADSHAW: Communications Lead, Lexington Fayette County Health Department

Clark is the Communications Lead of the entire communications department at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. After a 30-year career in television, he moved into public health PR in August 2025. He found his footing with help from the PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter, where mentors and peers showed him that no communicator has to go it alone. He still can’t watch a newscast without critiquing the graphics.

SHERMAN A. BROWN: Political Advisor, McCarthy Strategic Solutions

Sherman A. Brown is an experienced and knowledgeable political advisor who has held senior roles in campaigns ranging from local municipal elections to statewide gubernatorial and US Senate campaigns. Brown has been a trusted resource to Governor Andy Beshear since Beshear first ran for Attorney General. Brown served on the “Team Kentucky Inauguration Team” for Beshear-Coleman.

Starting his career as an intern on US Congressman Ken Lucas’ 2002 reelection campaign, Brown’s last campaign role was Deputy Campaign Manager on the 2011 reelection slate of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Jerry Abramson. He worked on the finance staff of the 2007 Beshear-Mongiardo where he was part of a team that raised over $12 million for Governor Steve Beshear’s successful campaign, the most ever raised for a KY gubernatorial campaign at that time.

Sherman currently serves on the University of Louisville President’s Council, and Boys and Girls Club of Kentucky.

Born and raised in Louisville, Sherman Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Xavier University in Cincinnati, and completed his Masters of Public Administration from Western Kentucky University.

CLAUDIA COFFEY: Host & Founder, The Best Bet Podcast & Executive Media Strategist

Claudia Coffey is an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, frequent Fox News contributor, and creator and host of The Best Bet Podcast, distributed nationally across the iHeart Podcast Network, regional television, and digital platforms. Serving as the lifestyle spokesperson for Churchill Downs for the 152nd Kentucky Derby, Claudia brings over two decades of experience
in high-stakes broadcast journalism, live event hosting, and strategic media partnerships. An alumna of both Indiana University and Georgetown University, she specializes in building multi-platform media integrations with top-tier brands and moderating prominent industry discussions—including panels at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and Kentucky Derby Museum.

Through her production work and show hosting, Claudia is a leading voice on the power of authentic storytelling, podcast growth,

TOA GREEN: Owner/Operator, Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream

Toa Green is the Owner Operator of Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream, a beloved premium ice cream company in Lexington, Kentucky. Having grown up in Frankfort, Kentucky, she bleeds Kentucky Blue through and through despite graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations.

In 2011, Toa began crafting a simple coconut ice cream option to add to her family restaurant’s menu. Soon enough, guests came lining up to taste the delicious treat. In 2013, Toa and her husband, Mike Green, officially launched Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream to create ice cream prioritizing local, seasonal ingredients with the mission to create joy, ignite laughter, and inspire
compassion with every scoop. Now, Crank & Boom has two brick-and-mortar locations, is offered at Whole Foods Market- Lexington and other local retail partners, and ships nationwide on Goldbelly. Crank & Boom has been featured, most recently, on The Today Show, Food & Wine and has also been featured on the Cooking Channel, in the New York Times, PEOPLE
Magazine, Garden & Gun, The Local Palate, and Southern Living.

Outside of work, Toa’s passion is community building. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Commerce Lexington, is a member of the Governor’s Commission of Small Business Innovation and Advocacy, and serves as Vice Chair of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Tourist and Convention Commission. She is also a board member of North American Ice
Cream Association. She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in India, Thailand, Honduras, and various parts of the US. Currently residing in Lexington, Kentucky, Toa enjoys pending time with her husband, Mike, and two kiddos, Bodhi and Bindi.

BENJY HAMM: Director, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

Benjy Hamm is director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Journalism and Media. He previously served as editorial director for Landmark Community Newspapers, which published more than 70 newspapers, online news sites and college sports publications across the United States. He also worked as an editor at The Virginian-Pilot, The Associated Press and the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group.

MCKENNA HORSLEY: Reporter, The Kentucky Lantern

McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.

KATHY STEWART O'NAN: Mayor, City of Mayfield, Kentucky

Kathy Stewart O’Nan has served as the Mayor of the City of Mayfield since January 2019, and until the night of December 10, 2021, the most difficult issue that she had faced was guiding the City through the CoVid 19 pandemic. But on that evening an EF-4 tornado swept through the city leaving hundreds of citizens homeless, demolishing the entirety of the downtown central business district including every city government building, and claiming the lives of twenty-four within Graves County. Although no training exists to prepare one to lead a city through a crisis such as this, Mayor O’Nan is confident that, with time and the extraordinary efforts by the strong people of Mayfield, her city will not only recover, but will emerge a better place in which to live, work, and raise a family.'

She currently serves on the Kentucky League of Cities Executive Board of Directors, the Graves County Economic Development Board of Directors, and the Purchase Area Development District Board of Directors. In 2022 she was recognized as a Notable Woman in Kentucky Politics and Government. She has received the following awards: 2022 Mayfield – Graves County Chamber of Commerce Mary Propes Outstanding Woman in Business; 2023 Small Business Administration Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contribution to Disaster Recovery for a Public Official; 2023 Kentucky League of Cities RISE Award; 2024 Tommy Longo Disaster Leadership Award, LeadersLink; and 2025 Lambuth University Outstanding Alumni.

TOM L. PRESTON: Founder/CEO, Preston Global & Award-Winning PR Practitioner in Crisis Communications

Before his 9th birthday he was earning a few coins working in a hay field. That began 24 years of multiple jobs, most requiring heavy lifting. Other interests kicked off a career in journalism, PR, and business management. All before age 25. Also, his love of sports found time to play varsity football and basketball, the latter up to semi-pro level.

He began learning terrible effects of crises and emergencies before getting a driver’s license. Lessons came as a news and sports reporter, editor, owner of newspapers, national magazine editor, even prior to founding what now is Preston Global, an internationally acclaimed firm almost 60 years old.

Our speaker’s military career brought officer Preston into world-wide conflicts, particularly when, as a counterterrorist, carried out secret missions against Red Chinese agents and Soviet assassins. In 2008 he was selected to attend the U.S. Army war College national security program.

Among honors bestowed: University of KY Hall of Distinguished Alumni. PRSA accredited, Tom quickly was voted into that organization’s first elected Counselor in Public Relations class. Along with various lifetime achievement awards the Thoroughbred Chapter PRSA recently established an honors program under his name.

Eclectic career? Adjunct or visiting professor at three universities and four colleges. High School football coach; On more than a dozen state or national boards; Tom, a pilot, was named Sen, Wendell Ford’s deputy for congressional activities involving NASA.

OUITA MICHEL: Chef and 8-Time James Beard Semifinalist for Best Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur

Ouita Michel is the founder of a culinary group that includes six restaurants — from the fine-dining flagship Holly Hill Inn to a country deli on Kentucky’s only national scenic byway — in addition to a bakery, an events business, and a cooking studio.
A native of Wyoming, Michel majored in political science at the University of Kentucky before attending the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., where she graduated in 1991 at the top of her class. She returned to Lexington in 1993 and opened Holly Hill Inn in 2001 with her husband Chris.

Michel is an executive producer of You Belong Here, a cinematic journey through food, memory,and the meaning of home. She’s an author, a food activist, and a former Culinary Ambassador in the U.S. State Department Culinary Corps. She was inducted into the University of Kentucky Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2025, and honored as the sole inductee of the Kentucky Women Remembered Hall of Fame the same year.

She is an eight-times-over James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur, and her Holly Hill Inn was a 2025 semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality. Michel’s popular cookbook, Just a Few Miles South: Timeless Recipes from Our Favorite Places, was released in 2021 by the University Press of Kentucky.

Michel and her restaurants are regularly featured in local and national media, such as the New York Times, Southern Living, Wine Spectator, Garden & Gun, and the Food Network; and she was a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef Kentucky. She is a recognized authority on Kentucky food and the culture of agriculture, and has won numerous awards for her advocacy work. Since 2001, her Holly Hill restaurants have purchased more than $10 million in Kentucky Proud products and have been accorded lifetime achievement status.

Michel co-founded Lexington’s FoodChain to fight for food access and opened Smithtown Seafood as its window to the outside world. Her Holly Hill website tells the stories of Kentucky’s people, places and ingredients. She brings those people, places and ingredients to life at the Holly Hill Cooking Studio, a space designed for learning about the culture of food.

ANA MUSE: Student, University of the Cumberlands

Ana Muse is a senior at the University of the Cumberlands, pursuing a dual major in Marketing and Communications. While completing her undergraduate degree, Ana has gained hands-on experience in public relations, strategic communications, and digital marketing through her work with several organizations in the Lake Cumberland region.

She currently manages social media and develops creative content for See Somerset Tourism, the Lake Cumberland Tourist Commission, The Virginia, and Somerset Candle Co. A former Kentucky DECA State President, Ana is passionate about storytelling, community engagement, and building meaningful connections between organizations and the people they serve.

Through balancing her education with professional experience, Ana has developed a unique perspective on entering the communications industry while still in the classroom.

KATIE NEAL: Certified Executive Coach, Katie Neal Consulting

Katie Neal, PCC, is a certified executive coach, an award-winning communications leader, and a sought-after speaker and facilitator. As the CEO and principal of Katie Neal Coaching & Consulting, she coaches high-performing professionals at organizations like Amazon, Deloitte, Harvard, Mercy Health, Microsoft, and the University of Kentucky to lead with intention and advance their careers.

Katie brings 20 years of experience delivering high-impact results in senior strategic communications roles at Wake Forest University, TimelyCare, and as an independent consultant. A former TV journalist, she also worked at PR agencies in Sacramento, San Francisco, Singapore, and Winston-Salem, N.C.

Katie earned her B.A. in communication from Wake Forest University and her certificate in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance at American University. She holds an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential, is an active member of the ICF Ohio Valley Chapter, and serves on the board of the PRSA Thoroughbred Chapter as past president.

SCOTT NEIL: President, Horse Soldier Bourbon

Scott Neil is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and the President of American Freedom Distillery, home to Horse Soldier Bourbon. As a member of some of the first Special Forces teams deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11—later known as the “Horse Soldiers”—Scott co-founded the bourbon brand to honor service, sacrifice, and American craftsmanship.

Under his leadership, Horse Soldier Bourbon has become an award-winning, nationally recognized brand, with a destination distillery underway in Somerset, Kentucky. A leading advocate for veterans, Scott works closely with organizations like the Green Beret Foundation and the George W. Bush Veterans Initiative, while advising on veteran entrepreneurship and policy. His story continues to inspire audiences and whiskey lovers across the country.

KATE SHANKS: Executive Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer,  Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Kate Shanks is Executive Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer for the Kentucky Chamber, the state’s largest business association. She oversees the Chamber’s advocacy work, including developing and advocating for the business community’s state and federal legislative agendas, policy research and design, member engagement, voter engagement, and candidate training.

Under her leadership, the Chamber’s advocacy success has led to more than $1 billion in savings each year. She has led the Chamber’s work on child care investment, tax reform including reducing the personal income tax, data privacy regulation, federal alignment of labor and employment laws, and civil litigation reform.

Kate is a lifelong resident of Kentucky and earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation and Management and a Master of Public Administration from the Martin School for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky, where she serves on the Board of Visitors. In 2024, she received the Martin School Distinguished Alumni Award. She is a member of the 2017 Leadership Kentucky class and a recipient of the Kentucky Gazette's 2022 Notable Women in Kentucky Politics and Government award. Before joining the Chamber, Kate spent over a decade working for state agencies in communications, policy analysis, and legislative affairs, predominantly in the energy and environment field.

As the daughter of a small business owner, she understands the importance of small business in Kentucky and started Small Business Day at the Capitol to connect business leaders and local chambers of commerce with policymakers. She lives in Frankfort with her husband, Greg, and two sons, Tyler and Brendan.

BEE TAYLOR: Singer-Songwriter

Bee Taylor is an East Texas–born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whom Kentucky has embraced as one of its own. Known for her powerful voice and magnetic stage presence, Bee’s involvement in the You Belong Here docuseries began when producers discovered her music. What started with one song grew into the series’ theme song and, ultimately, using her complete music catalog for its soundtrack. Bee also appears and performs in an episode. Beyond the music, she is especially grateful for the friendships and creative connections the series has brought into her life.

MARC C. WHITT: Director of Media and Strategic Relations

Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, University of Kentucky

Marc C. Whitt is director of media and strategic relations in the University of Kentucky Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications and a part-time instructor in the UK College of Communication and Information’s Department of Integrated Strategic Communication. Marc is the author of "PR Lessons Learned Along the Way," "When In Doubt, Make Applesauce! Core Habits of the Masterful Public Relations Professional" and "TAKEAWAYS: Ideas, Strategies and Encourage-ment for the Nonprofit Public Relations Professional." He has a bachelor of arts degree in Speech Communication and Human Relations and a master of arts degree in Sociology from Eastern Kentucky University.

AMY WICKLIFFE: Partner, McCarthy Strategic Solutions

Amy brings over 20 years of political and lobbying experience to the McCarthy Strategic Solutions team. She has been lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly since 2005 and previously served as Chief of Staff to First Lady Glenna Fletcher, statewide finance director for Governor Ernie Fletcher and played key roles in various other political campaigns throughout her career. Amy’s greatest strength lies in her ability to keep organizations strategically focused, craft effective messaging and manage coalitions on behalf of clients.

With this expertise combined with her credibility with lawmakers, she has been successful in leading some of the state’s most well-known issue campaigns including the passage of the state’s largest workers’ compensation reform since the 90’s, a constitutional amendment securing rights for victims of crime, and comprehensive energy legislation aimed at ensuring affordable, reliable energy recognizing the essential role that coal plays in our energy mix and local economies. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Transylvania University and a M.B.A. from Midway University.

NANCY WISER: Founder & President, Wiser Strategies

Congratulations to Nancy Wiser for being honored with the Tom L. Preston Lifetime Achievement Award in September 2026. Nancy was the first recipient of this Thoroughbred Chapter award to recognize a career of extraordinary impact, integrity and leadership in the field of public relations.

Nancy is most in her element when analyzing, developing and managing strategic communication programs and counseling top executives. She also thrives on the creative process. Her experience is wide and deep, having provided marketing and public relations counsel and services to businesses for more than 40 years. Nancy has owned and managed marketing firms since 2000, working with a wide range of businesses and institutions. Degrees include a master’s degree in communication from the University of Kentucky and an undergraduate degree from Eastern Kentucky University. Nancy has served on numerous community boards and is currently a member of the Lexington Center Corporation Board of Directors.

KRISTIE WOOLDRIDGE: Communications Director, Kentucky Department of Tourism

Kristie Wooldridge serves as Communications Director for the Kentucky Department of Tourism, a role she has held for the past four years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in psychology from Eastern Kentucky University, where she served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Eastern Progress during her senior year. She began her career working at newspapers across Kentucky before spending eight and a half years in public relations in the bourbon industry. She resides in Frankfort with her husband and their two young daughters.