Fayette Alliance names new executive director

The former chief lawyer for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has been hired as the next executive director for the Fayette Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for farmland preservation and sustainable development.

Susan B. Speckert will begin May 23, officials said.

Speckert was hired to replace longtime director Knox van Nagell, who left the organization in December to take a position with the University of Kentucky.

In addition to working for the horse racing commission, Speckert has worked for the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s office and for Stoll Keenon Ogden. Before coming to Kentucky, she was executive director of the Women’s Center at the University of New Orleans. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Loyola School of Law.

Speckert will be only the second director in the nonprofit’s history. Van Nagell was the founding executive director of the nonprofit, which began in 2006.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Fayette Alliance names new executive director."