ACLU of Kentucky members who have paid their dues within the past 15 months are eligible to vote for the organization’s Board of Directors. As a current member of the ACLU of Kentucky, you are eligible to vote for candidates in this year’s election for Statewide Board of Directors. Candidates are running for three-year terms ending in 2022. You may vote either online using this ballot or in person at the Annual Meeting and Open House on April 18, 2019 in Louisville, KY (325 W. Main Street, Suite 2210). Online votes must be cast no later than noon on April 15, 2019.
Click here for your online ballot. You will need your 8-digit membership number located on the mailing label of the election postcard that was mailed to you. If you do not have the postcard or do not know your membership number, please call Africa at 502-581-9746.
Please select up to five (5) candidates for election to the ACLU of Kentucky Board of Directors. Each elected representative will serve a three-year term.
If you have questions about voting in the board election, please contact the ACLU of Kentucky at info@aclu-ky.org or call Africa at 502-581-9746.
When I am asked who I am I always start with what I am: I am Omar Salinas Chacón, a Salvadorian-born American, Latino, Immigrant, Dreamer, Southerner, Kentuckian, and a gay man. I am one of the estimated 800,000 DACA recipients so I have understood from a young age the importance of advocacy. I have supported immigrants, like myself, at my university by serving in advisory boards and on student government. I’ve presented on immigrants in higher education at national conferences focusing on best practices to recruit and retain said students. I have been awarded the 2017 National Honors Student of the Year award by the National Collegiate Honors Conference for my research and advocacy in those fields. Because of my efforts in immigration, I was asked to speak at the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Round-Table in 2015 and was invited to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House that same year.
I have learned through advocacy that the one problem when it comes to political discussions is that we forget behind every number, statistic, and graph thee are people. Whether it is talking about poverty, crime, or any other issue we speak of numbers as if behind each number there is not a life. I have especially seen this when I speak about LGBTQ+ and immigrant issues. I want to bring those experiences and my passion to the ACLU. I passionately believe in the ACLU of Kentucky’s mission: to preserve liberty. I want to protect the liberty of not just individuals as myself but for all those in the Commonwealth and the across America. Our destinies are intertwined in this American family. As long as that is true in America, if one of us cannot pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, no one can. I hope to serve you and ultimately earn your trust, confidence, and respect.
A native of Louisville, Tim Heine received his M.D. from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and completed his residency in anesthesiology at the Duke University Medical Center. After spending several additional years on the medical faculty at Duke, Tim and his family returned home. An anesthesiologist in a bustling, tertiary-referral community hospital setting for many years, Tim recently began the transition away from full-time private practice.
Previous experience has included service on the Board of Directors of The Clifton Center, the Peterson-Dumesnil House Foundation and multiple professional clinical and management entities. While Tim is excited to invest his energies on the entire breadth of issues advocated by the ACLU-KY, he is especially so in regard to the areas of the separation of church and state, women’s reproductive health rights, and LGBTQ equality. Beyond his work, Tim has had a life-long fascination with the human species, especially the processes of natural selection and broad, ancient human migrational patterns. In this light, he returned to the classroom several years ago and will complete his M.A. – Anthropology at the University of Louisville in late 2019. Tim’s thesis focus is on the foundational elements of human wall-building behavior. Tim and his wife, Caroline, are enthusiastic travelers – some of their favorite destinations are New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, our exceptional National Parks system, Amsterdam, Paris, Florence and Cape Town. They plan to keep exploring the world.
Kungu Njuguna is first generation American of Kenyan descent, and is life-long resident of Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from DuPont Manual High School in 1996, and from the University of Kentucky in 2003 with a J.D. and a degree in Political Science. He interned in the 2000 General Assembly and clerked for the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Kungu was an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney from 2003-2009, where he represented Metro Government in various §1983 actions, and was the attorney for the Human Relations Commission, which is charged with enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Currently, Kungu has been volunteering with the Kentucky ACLU Smart Justice Advocates and criminal justice reform. Kungu also attended the ACLU membership conference in Washington, D.C.in 2018. Kungu has a strong and deep desire to ensure to the civil rights of all Americans and working toward educated the public on their constitutional rights.
Dominique Olbert spends much of her time advocating for people from underserved groups with special needs. She is the Program Director for the Community Response Coalition, a nonprofit program that helps the families of people who have been arrested or detained for immigration reasons. Dominique joined the Board of Lexington Fairness this past November and is working on launching a new program which will rate Fayette County private and public middle and high schools on how LGBTQ+ friendly they are. As Co-Chair for Ohavay Zion
Synagogue’s (OZS) Social Action Committee, she coordinates congregant participation in political advocacy events and organized the synagogue’s sponsorship of several refugee families. A member of the Gifted Accelerated Program Parent Association Board and newly appointed member of the Fayette County Public School Equity Council, she advocates for specialized immersion programs to address the complex and unique needs of gifted children. Dominique is also on the Finance and Program Committees of Pass It On Inc., a nonprofit that offers financial education and couponology classes to people with limited means.
Dominique is the mother of two teenage girls. She received her B.A. in English from Barnard College, her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University, and her Alcoholism Counseling degree from The New School. As a real estate executive, she manages several properties. In her free time, she likes to travel, walk her dogs, garden, cook, and participate in local progressive group events.
Kelsie Smithson joined the James Graham Brown Foundation as a Program Officer in January 2019 after spending six years managing Kelsie Smithson Consulting. In that time, her work included project management, marketing, fund development and community outreach on behalf of the missions of Louisville Girls Leadership, Greater Louisville Project, The Wheelhouse Project, Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Center for Healthy Air, Water, and Soil. Kelsie acts as an advisor to Louisville Girls Leadership, serves on the WE Day Kentucky Steering Committee, and sits on the Community Advisory Board for Junior League of Louisville. She is a Louisville native and obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work in 2012. In 2016 she was named a New Face of Philanthropy by nFocus magazine and was recognized on Business First’s 40 Under Forty list in 2018.