Keith Jackson, Secretary
In February 2024, Keith Jackson was appointed Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Immediately prior to stepping into this leadership role, Jackson served as the cabinet's deputy secretary. He understands the cabinet's critical role in creating safer communities for all and works to ensure the safety and security of Kentucky communities through an approach centered on protecting citizens, restoring victims, and reforming wrongdoers – all in a focused environment where everything is measured for accountability and performance.
Prior to joining the cabinet, Secretary Jackson served as the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs where he was the Governor's representative and advisor on all veterans-related matters and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Department's Benefits Branch, four Veteran Nursing Homes, five State Veteran Cemeteries, Employment Services Program, Homeless Veterans Program and Women Veterans Program.
During his 27-year career in the U.S. Army Reserves, Secretary Jackson served in numerous capacities ranging from platoon leader up to Battalion Command. He is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses at Ft Knox, KY; Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, KS; and the Multifunctional Logistics Course at Ft Lee, VA. He served in Iraq in 2006 as the Operations Officer of the 352nd Combat Service Battalion, which conducted combat logistic patrols. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Combat Action Badge. In 2008, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and selected as Battalion Commander of the 373rd Quartermaster Battalion.
In addition to his military service, he began his municipal and public service career in January 1991 with the Lexington Fire Department. His first assignment was as a Firefighter with Engine Company 9. In 1993, he was certified as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic and assigned to Emergency Care 6. Jackson was promoted to Lieutenant in 2000, Captain in 2002, and Major in 2010 when he became the Hazardous Material Team leader for the Department. In 2011, he was appointed Assistant Chief of Administration, and then Interim Chief that same year. In June 2012, Chief Jackson made history by becoming the first African American appointed Chief of the Lexington Division of Fire and Emergency Services. In this capacity, he managed a 56-million-dollar budget, 540 Firefighters and 23 stations.
Secretary Jackson earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications and received his commission from the University of Kentucky in 1987.
Mona Womack, Deputy Secretary 
Mona Womack was appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet on February 2024. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary, she served as the Cabinet's Chief of Staff for two and a half years, where she provided direction and guidance to former Secretary Kerry Harvey while ensuring the Cabinet worked as efficiently and effectively as possible and helping to move the Governor's priorities forward to create a better Kentucky.
Deputy Secretary Womack has an accomplished history working in Kentucky state government. Before joining the Cabinet, she served as Executive Advisor to the Public Protection Cabinet, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Housing, Buildings & Construction and Acting Executive Director of the Office of Claims & Appeals.
Prior to joining the Public Protection Cabinet, Deputy Secretary Womack served for 26 years as an attorney for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). She began her time at CHFS as a staff attorney in the Office of Legal Services and was promoted to Division Director and then Deputy General Counsel. At CHFS she supervised a team of twenty seven attorneys and five support staff and focused on litigation, employment law and fighting for Kentucky's most vulnerable population – our children.
Deputy Secretary Womack is a 1986 graduate of Morehead State University, where she received her Bachelor's degree in biology, and a 1990 graduate of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University.
Leah Boggs, Executive Director
Office of Legal Services
Leah Cooper Boggs was appointed the acting General Counsel and Executive Director of the Office of Legal Services for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in May of 2022. In this role, she oversees the office which provides legal advice and legal services to the Cabinet and all of its agencies, including state and federal civil litigation, Personnel Board appeals, Claims Commission cases, open records appeals and the drafting of regulations. She is a graduate of Centre College and the University of Kentucky College of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Kentucky and in the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky and United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Prior to joining the Cabinet, she was General Counsel to the Department of Professional Licensing, and an Executive Advisor with the Office of Legal Services in the Public Protection Cabinet. She has previously served as an assistant attorney general with the Office of Consumer Protection with the Kentucky Attorney General. Her areas of focus included charitable registration and solicitation, for-profit colleges, and automobile dealers. She has served on the board of National Association for State Charity Officials (NASCO) and the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA).
Natalie Burikhanov, Legislative Director
Natalie Burikhanov is the Legislative Director for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. As a Frankfort native, Natalie grew up in government and public service, and she believes in the power of innovative, cross-sector solutions to pressing social policy issues.
Prior to her work with the Cabinet, Natalie worked with the Judiciary Committee at the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission and as a Policy Analyst for The Council of State Governments. Natalie has held multiple roles with the Cabinet, including Grant Administrator, Director of the Kentucky Victim Assistance Academy, and, most recently, Policy Advisor to the Secretary. She has also worked with the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Catholic Charities of Louisville's Human Trafficking Program, the University of Kentucky's Center for English as a Second Language, and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Natalie's professional portfolio has included issues pertaining to criminal justice, victims of crime, the future of work, language access, human trafficking, cannabis policy, mental health and suicide prevention, sexual violence, smart government, and preventive health policy. Her academic background is in diplomacy, international development, comparative foreign policy, and human rights issues, and her thesis focused on the adverse impacts of forced migration on girls and sexual violence in conflict.
Natalie received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Arabic & Islamic Studies from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in Diplomacy from the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy & International Commerce.
Morgan Hall, Communications Director
Morgan Hall is the Communications Director for the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet.
Morgan brings 10 years of professional experience in communications and marketing to the Cabinet having previously worked in the legal and health care fields at the McBrayer Law Firm and Shriners Hospitals for Children Medical Center - Lexington. In these roles she served as director over internal and external communications, videography, graphic arts, marketing strategies, media relations, event management, social media, branding, website design and management, advertisements and publication production, client engagement and employee relations.
Morgan believes in the power of transparent and honest communication. She works closely with the Cabinet's leadership, agencies, and departments, in addition to the Governor's Communications Office, to ensure one united message is delivered to Kentuckians regarding matters pertaining to justice and public safety. As the Cabinet's Communications Director, she is tasked with exploring innovative strategies and opportunities to build proactive communications. Morgan is committed to collaborating with the media in order to provide timely notifications and keep the public informed as programs and services are implemented which have a direct impact on public safety and the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Morgan received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Kentucky where she graduated magna cum laude. She currently resides in Lexington with her husband and two children.
Amy Hess, Executive Advisor
Ms. Hess was appointed to the position of Executive Advisor to the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in January 2023. Prior to this, she served as Chief of Public Safety and Services for Louisville Metro Government, overseeing the police and fire departments, corrections, emergency services, emergency management, and other components. She played a key role in the city's response to both the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest after the Breonna Taylor shooting in 2020, while leading many of its police reform efforts.
For 29 years before that, Ms. Hess was a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assignments in Kansas City, Louisville, Tucson, Afghanistan, Memphis, Quantico, and Washington, DC. Her FBI career culminated with promotion to Executive Assistant Director—one of the agency's highest positions—on two different occasions. In this capacity, her oversight responsibilities included the FBI's criminal and cyber investigations, science and technology capabilities, and worldwide response to crisis events.
She is a native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and graduated from Purdue University's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics where, as a co-op student, she worked for IBM Space Systems Division supporting NASA's space shuttle program.
Rodney Moore, Human Resources Director
Rodney Moore was appointed as the HR Director for the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet in July of 2022.
After serving in the Navy, Rodney began his Department of Corrections career in April 2003, as a correctional officer at Northpoint Training Center. He was promoted to Sergeant at Northpoint Training Center in January 2007. In September 2007, he was promoted to Lieutenant at Blackburn Correctional Complex. While in these roles, Moore served as a member of the Department's Corrections Emergency Response Team.
Rodney's career in human resources began in 2009, when he assumed the role of Human Resource Administrator - Institutional at the Frankfort Career Development enter (FCDC) where he also served as the Institutional Training Coordinator.
In July 2011, upon the closure of FCDC, Rodney transferred to Human Resource Specialist III in the Division of Personnel Services, Payroll Branch, then was promoted to Human Resource Administrator. In 2013, he was promoted to Human Resources Branch Manager.
In 2016, Rodney was appointed to the Division Director Division of Employee Management.
Rebecca Norton, Budget Director
Rebecca Norton was appointed the Budget Director of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in January of 2022.
Rebecca brings almost a decade of experience in state government budgeting and accounting to the Cabinet. Through personal experience working in agency level programs within the commonwealth, Rebecca understands the importance of empowering those working in agency level financial roles with resources, support, and guidance; and believes that transparency and sharing of knowledge is the best way to foster an environment of fiscal discipline and fair distribution of taxpayer resources. Her role is to provide budgetary guidance to Cabinet leadership, and develop innovative and strategic resource allocations for Cabinet programs that reduce crime and protect public safety.
Rebecca has held previous roles in accounting, procurement, budgeting, and grants management. Prior to her role at Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, Rebecca worked as the Budget Manager for the Department of Military Affairs, managing over $250 million in federal funds, which supported disaster recovery and emergency management throughout the state, as well as the operations of the Kentucky National Guard. Rebecca also responded to all state of emergency declarations and activations of the commonwealth's Emergency Operations Center, and understands the selflessness and dedication of Kentucky's first responders to ensure the safety of all Kentuckians. During her time at Military Affairs, her team won the 2016 Governor's Ambassador Team Award for streamlining the process by which local entities received grant funds, and provided in depth guidance and education to local officials to ensure compliance with uniform guidance requirements. She is passionate about continued grants education and development of strong financial internal controls, to ensure that all federal and state funds available can be maximized and invested in evidence-based programs that further the mission of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet and benefit Kentucky citizens.
As a military spouse, Rebecca understands the personal sacrifices made by those who choose careers in public safety, and is dedicated to ensuring their safety and wellbeing through data-driven allocation of resources and support programs. She resides with her family in Franklin County, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Education – Political Science from the University of Kentucky and holds a certificate in Grants Management.