Office of the Secretary

​

Rebecca Goodman was appointed Transportation Secretary in April 2026 by Gov. Andy Beshear, after serving for more than six years in his administration as the state’s top environmental officer in the role of Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary.

Secretary Goodman has spent more than four decades in service to the Commonwealth, including at the Transportation Cabinet as legal counsel. She advocated on behalf of Kentucky utility ratepayers as the executive director of the Office of Rate Intervention within the Office of the Attorney General. Through her work on both state and federal cases, Secretary Goodman regularly dealt with social and environmental justice issues that frequently involved low income, disadvantaged and residential customer needs. She has served as general counsel for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission and the Kentucky Electric Generation and Transmission Siting Board. Secretary Goodman also has served as the executive director of the Office of Legal Services at the Transportation Cabinet after beginning her career as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Secretary Goodman earned her Juris Doctor from Salmon P. Chase College of Law, and holds a Business Administration degree from Kentucky State University.

​

​

Mike Hancock, a native of Princeton, enjoyed a 40-year career at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, where his responsibilities included the preparation of the cabinet’s biennial road plan from 1990 to 2016. His background is in rural and urban transportation planning and transportation program management, and he held multiple executive and leadership roles during his previous tenure with the Transportation Cabinet. Hancock graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in civil engineering.

Jamie is a proud Kentuckian, born in Lexington and raised in London. He brought considerable leadership experience to KYTC when he joined Team Kentucky in January 2020 and has been in the thick of some of the Administration's major initiatives.

He was part of a task force that built a statewide COVID vaccine distribution system. More recently, he has been instrumental in a long-term project to build quality, affordable, “high ground" housing for survivors of the Eastern Kentucky flood disaster of 2022. He is also a member of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA) implementation team, which has administered increased levels of programmatic funding and successfully sought critical discretionary grant awards.

At KYTC, Jamie works closely with the Secretary's office, State Highway Engineer's office, and other members of Cabinet leadership on a myriad of projects and issues.

Prior to joining Team Kentucky, Jamie held leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, including six years as Chief of Staff in former Secretary Jim Gray's two terms as Mayor of Lexington. The team's many accomplishments included financial and management reforms, value-added initiatives, and bricks-and-mortar projects such as the downtown Town Branch Commons bicycle and pedestrian corridor, redevelopment of Rupp Arena and the Lexington Center, renovation of the Historic Courthouse, and the 21c Hotel and Museum development.

Jamie is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in Agricultural Economics, a Business minor, and a specialization in Public Policy and Leadership.​

​Sarah, a Frankfort attorney, is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law. She also received a B.A. in English at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1982, she was appointed an assistant attorney general, providing legal counsel to various boards and agencies and to the Governor on criminal extradition matters. She represented the Commonwealth in criminal and civil litigation before state and federal trial and appellate courts. 

Jackson had a post at the private law firm of McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie, and Kirkland in the Frankfort office from 1986-1994. She has held high-level positions in state government, including director of the Division of Charitable Gaming in the Kentucky Justice Cabinet, general counsel for Kentucky’s Cabinet for Workforce Development, and executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. While at the Registry, Jackson was elected President of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws. 

After 15 years of service with the Registry, she received the COGEL Outstanding Service Award. She was selected by the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy & Administration and the United States Department of State to participate in a three-week exchange program in Indonesia in 2013.  Jackson is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and has been admitted to practice before all federal and state trial and appellate courts in Kentucky. She’s also a proud graduate of Leadership Kentucky.

​Kenny grew up in Richmond but has lived in Lexington for the past 20 years. Before his career in government, he was a professional singer/songwriter and record producer. He is also a successful event producer. His government career started in 2003 as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor's Mansion, followed by eight years at the Legislative Research Commission. He spent four years in the Lexington Mayor's office as Deputy Communications Director, Council Liaison, and LGBTQ Community Liaison before serving as Legislative Aide to Lexington Councilmember Susan Lamb. He studied Biblical Studies & Christian Theology, Old/New Testament Studies, and Pastoral Care at Lee College and Seminary in Cleveland, TN. He's the proud father of two and grandfather of four. He and his husband, Mason, live in a historic neighborhood on Lexington's west side.