ACLU OF KENTUCKY - Key Persons
Amber Duke is a mother and trusted civil rights leader. Inspired by true American hero John Lewis at a young age, Amber has spent her entire professional career finding ways to get into "good trouble," by shining a light on systemic inequalities that disproportionality impact Black and other marginalized people.
Amber has been with the ACLU of Kentucky for nearly 10 years serving as a key leader in the organization's growth and visibility. During her tenure, she has worked as the organization's first Communications Director, first Deputy Director, and is the first Black woman to lead the ACLU of Kentucky in its 67-year history in her current role as Interim Executive Director. In each of these positions, she has worked to bring ACLU values to life through clear communication, transparent decision-making, and partnership with community stakeholders.
Within a week of assuming the Interim Executive Director role, Amber spearheaded the creation of Community Stakeholders to End Deaths at LMDC, a coalition campaign to address the ongoing jail death crisis among incarcerated people at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. She is currently directing the ACLU of Kentucky's work within the Protect Kentucky Access coalition to defeat anti-abortion Amendment 2.
Recognizing the need to operationalize equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) inside the ACLU of Kentucky, Amber launched a new employee handbook and EDIB Vendor Survey. She also serves as Healthy at Work Officer, researching and authoring the organization's COVID-19 safety procedures and protocols.
Prior to joining the ACLU of Kentucky in 2012, Amber worked as program director for the University of Louisville's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research and as a news producer at WLKY-TV. She earned a Master of Arts from the University of Louisville's Pan African Studies Department, where she focused on the history of Black, female journalists. She also earned a Graduate Certificate in Public History from the University of Louisville's History Department. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from New York University.
Amber is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her work including inclusion in the inaugural class of the Kentucky Gazette's Notable Women in Kentucky Politics in 2019. She serves on the board of directors for the Louisville Story Program and is a founding member of Impact 100 Southern Indiana.
Angela Cooper joined the ACLU of Kentucky as the communications director in October 2020. Angela's focus is on planning, supervising and executing the ACLU of Kentucky's communications strategies. She works to determine messaging and strategy to promote the ACLU of Kentucky's brand, litigation, and advocacy work.
Before joining the ACLU of Kentucky, Angela was the State Outreach and Education Director at Kentucky Voices for Health. Prior to that, she worked with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky as a grants manager and communications associate. Angela earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wright State University, with a minor in women's studies.
Angela lives in Old Louisville with her husband and dogs. She is passionate about making our beautiful city and state a better place for her adult son to live by protecting civil liberties.
Brittany Harris is a full-time student in Spalding University's Social Work Program and works as an Advocacy Intern with the ACLU. She is also employed by Wild Eggs and has been waiting tables for 6 years. During her time waitressing, she also held positions as assistant staff at The Healing Place, a maintenance position at The Healing Place, and as an office manager at The Kidz Club. These two places both serve populations that are directly impacted by issues the ACLU works to fight against.
She became interested in policy and advocacy work after volunteering with Smart Justice Advocates and The Smart on Crime coalition. Since she is a directly impacted person, she was motivated to tell her story and break stigma surrounding substance abuse and incarceration. While volunteering, she experienced what it meant to fight for freedom, and has had a passion for it ever since. The wins and the losses Brittany has seen while watching the ACLU, she has gained hope that equity for all is achievable, and wants to be a part of the work.
Brittany resides in Louisville, but her roots reach back to Versailles, Kentucky. Outside of her professional life she loves exploring Kentucky on day trips and playing guitar.
Job Titles:
- Development Director
- in 2018 As a Major Gifts Officer
Charlene joined the ACLU of Kentucky in 2018 as a major gifts officer and is now the development director. As a first-generation immigrant, Charlene is passionate about the ACLU of Kentucky's immigration work, as well as education reform, LGBTQ equality, and justice reform.
Chloe Treat is a University of Louisville student who came to the ACLU of Kentucky to be able to work towards real and measurable change within her community. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, reading, and hanging out with her dog, Hazel.
Corey Shapiro joined the ACLU of Kentucky in 2018. He has long had a passion for social justice and civil liberties issues, and found a home at the ACLU.
Corey is very involved in the Louisville community. Before joining the ACLU of Kentucky, he served on its Committee on Litigation and Legal Priorities. He is also active with the Louisville Jewish Community Relations Council and received the Jewish Community of Louisville Julie Linker Community Relations Young Leadership Award.
Corey earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. He then worked in Washington, D.C., for several years as a political organizer for the civil rights organization People For the American Way.
Corey earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. After law school, Corey spent over ten years as a litigator with two large international law firms. While primarily maintaining a commercial litigation practice, he worked on a significant number of civil liberties cases pro bono. In 2012, he received a "Lead On!" Award from Access Living for his work successfully representing adults with disabilities in Illinois in a class action civil rights litigation working closely with the ACLU of Illinois and other civil liberties groups. In 2015, Corey and his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where Corey continued his commercial practice at a local law firm as Counsel.
Outside of work, Corey serves on several boards of directors, including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish Family and Career Services agency in Louisville, and the Washington University Library Council. He enjoys baking with his children and traveling.
Crystal Fryman joined the ACLU of Kentucky in 2023 as a staff attorney and is proud to be a recent addition to the ACLU of Kentucky's legal team. Crystal earned her bachelor's degree from Tulane University, her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, and her LL.M. in tax from NYU School of Law. At UCLA she received a Masin Family Academic Excellence Award in Constitutional Law.
Before joining the ACLU of Kentucky, Crystal worked in private practice at McKool Smith in Dallas, TX and at Michelman & Robinson in Los Angeles, CA. Her prior experience includes volunteering at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles' self-help center in Santa Monica, the Homeless Advocacy Project in San Francisco and serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children in Los Angeles County. She moved to Kentucky in 2018 to clerk for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Lindsay and then subsequently clerked for the Honorable Judge Beaton and the Honorable Judge Jennings.
Job Titles:
- National Board Representative
Job Titles:
- a Campaign Coordinator
- Campaign Coordinator
Heather Ayer joined the ACLU of Kentucky as a campaign coordinator in July 2020. She helped manage the ACLU of Kentucky's Get Out The Vote campaign in 2020 to encourage the 175,000 Kentuckians who had their voting rights restored to register and vote. She is building on that work to expand the organization's volunteer base by training volunteers to phonebank, text-bank, and use their collective power to make the change they want to see in their communities.
Before joining the ACLU of Kentucky, Heather worked as a field organizer and deputy finance director for various campaigns in Kentucky, as well as a presidential campaign in Iowa. Before that, she taught preschool in Houston, Texas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in French and Political Science from Furman University in South Carolina.
Heather was born and raised in Frankfort. She is very excited to be in her home state and working to make the commonwealth a more equitable and just place for every Kentuckian. When Heather is not training volunteers or scheduling phonebanks, she is chasing her dog, Tony, at a local farmer's market, or reading a few different books at any given time.
Jackie McGranahan joined the ACLU of Kentucky as the organization's first Reproductive Freedom Project Field Organizer in June 2019. She is now a senior policy strategist primarily focused on protecting and expanding reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ equality. Jackie works with people from communities throughout the commonwealth to build a statewide network of grassroots power.
Jackie's advocacy work is informed by her experiences as a Black woman from Appalachia. Before joining the ACLU of Kentucky, Jackie was an ACLU of Kentucky Smart Justice Advocate, volunteering her time to push for justice reforms and voting rights restoration for Kentuckians who were barred from voting because of a past felony conviction. She also participated in organizing training with the national ACLU's Rights for All Campaign. She is a board member of the Louisville Coalition for Black Maternal Health, the Fairness Campaign, and Granny's Girls Birth Initiative. She is the founding member of Breaking Barriers Council, a BIPOC-led group of advocates from around Kentucky working on educating Kentucky on issues relating to Black maternal health and reproductive freedom through a reproductive justice lens. In her professional capacity, Jackie served on the staff of The Healing Place.
Jackie has been successful in passing legislation out of the Kentucky General assembly and she believes our personal stories are important and sharing them gives us power. Working in a bi-partisan manner and through radical compromise, she has laid the groundwork for change for pregnant people who are incarcerated and maternal health outcomes in Kentucky. She is a native of Ashland, Kentucky, she now lives with her husband in Louisville, and loves her four children and three grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Development Assistant
- Development Officer
Jay Todd Richey joined the ACLU of Kentucky as a development assistant in 2019 and is now a development officer. Jay Todd helps secure the funding necessary to keep lawmakers and governments accountable to the people.
Jay Todd grew up in Glasgow, Kentucky, and is the Vice Chair of the Associate Board of the Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville.
He earned a Master of Science in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science where he focused on the language used by far-right groups opposed to LGBTQ equality and reproductive freedom. He earned his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University where he majored in political science and Asian religions and cultures, with a minor in legal studies. At WKU, he served as Student Body President and Student Regent on the Board of Regents; received the Mahurin Honors College Scholar of the Year Award; and co-founded the WKU Student Coalition for Renters' Rights.
In his free time, Jay Todd loves attending concerts and watching films.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate
- Advocacy Director
Kate Miller joined the ACLU of Kentucky as a program associate in 2008 and currently serves as the advocacy director. She oversees the organization's lobbying strategies in the Kentucky General Assembly and manages the organization's non-partisan electoral work.
Kate works in a number of issue areas and is always seeking common ground with other organizations and lawmakers. For instance, Kate was instrumental in creating Kentucky Smart on Crime, a broad-based coalition advocating for common sense justice reforms that includes the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, and others.
Kate earned a bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Science in Social Work from the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. She lives in Louisville with her husband, daughter, and two dogs, Susie and Bo.
Kungu Njuguna is a first generation American of Kenyan descent and a lifelong resident of Louisville, Kentucky.
He is the "Smart on Crime" Policy Strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky, where he advocates in the Kentucky General Assembly for the decriminalization of cannabis and for an end to the ‘war on drugs.' He is a justice-involved person and an individual in long-term recovery who seeks to end the stigma associated with substance use disorder. His article, I'll Never Be an IV Drug User: A Lawyer's Unexpected Path to Heroin Addiction (KBA Bench & Bar, Sept/Oct. 2017) recounts his road to sobriety.
He served as a prosecutor for the Jefferson County Attorney's Office and as a city attorney for Louisville Metro Government. He currently serves on the Board of the Louisville Recovery Community Connection and is a former Vice-President of the Board of the ACLU of Kentucky. He received his JD from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law.
Job Titles:
- Smart Justice Advocates Co - Leader
Job Titles:
- President of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Advocacy Administrative Assistant
- the Advocacy Administrative Assistant
Richelle Harris joined the ACLU of Kentucky as the advocacy administrative assistant in 2021. Before joining as a full-time member of the team, she was an intern during the 2021 legislative session.
Richelle is passionate about advancing social justice to improve lives and communities. She became drawn to advocacy when she took her first public policy class. Richelle earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a Master of Science in Social Work from the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville.
When she is not working, Richelle enjoys salsa dancing.
Savanah Taylor joined the ACLU of Kentucky in 2020 and is a proud Affrilachian who has spent years advocating for underrepresented voices in southern communities. She recently started an advocacy group in her hometown in Virginia that aims to educate and support rural communities embattled in the ongoing fight for justice and equity.
Savanah is directly impacted by some of the issues at the core of the ACLU's mission. There was a time when she thought she would not be able to reach further, aim higher, and achieve her goals. However, other advocates' success stories inspired her to set lofty career goals and refuse to settle. Savanah is grateful for the opportunity to bring her skills to the ACLU of Kentucky's team.
Savanah has lived throughout the United States and Europe. Her travels have instilled in her the importance of multifaceted ideas and experiences. In September 2021, Savanah earned a Bachelor of Science in Leadership from Old Dominion University, with a minor in management, and a Master's of Public Administration from Cornell University in 2024.
When Savanah is not working, she likes to spend her time creating fire makeup looks, reading books, and spending time with her husband and children.
Job Titles:
- Smart Justice Advocates Co - Leader
As an Smart Justice Advocates member, she recalls one of the first times she went to Frankfort to lobby for better justice policies, when a lawmaker proposed cutting fingers off people with addiction to keep them from reoffending. That's when she knew she had to be in Frankfort every session and to bring as many directly affected people as she could. Together with her SJA co-leader, LaTonya McNeal, she's focused on building comradery among the group's members, providing more opportunities for them to learn more about the policymaking process, and ensuring they feel comfortable providing input at all stages in the process.
Job Titles:
- Immediate past President, Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Communications Manager
- Reporter, Writer
Taylor Killough is a reporter, writer, and producer based in Louisville. Originally from Illinois, she is proud to call Kentucky her chosen home and is dedicated to making it a more equitable place for all Kentuckians. Prior to joining the ACLU, she held a number of roles as a communicator: as a literacy coordinator for Jefferson County Public Schools, an English teacher in China, a national parks intern in Utah, a production intern with national non-profit StoryCorps, and as a reporter with an NPR affiliate. She written and reported for Louisville Magazine, the Daily Beast, and the Washington Post. Most recently she worked as a creative agency producer, coordinating multimedia production for an array of clients, from Big Tech to local non-profits. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to utilize those skills and experiences to support the ACLU of Kentucky's mission. She is also on the steering committee of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange, and the organizations' communications co-chair. Her experience with the Rural-Urban Exchange has deepened her connection to Kentucky's beauty and complexity, and connected her with other Kentuckians committed to bridging divides to move our state forward. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from the University of Illinois and a Master of Science in journalism from Indiana University. In her spare time, she loves to travel, read, tend her garden, and love on her two rescue pups.