BOARD & Team
Board of Directors
Alice K. Alt
Executive Director
BOARD emeritus
Porter Watkins - Ambassador
Anne Murray - Ambassador
Terri Bass
Margaret Wendler
Terri Zegart
Shelly Zegart - Founder of KTW
As the founder and driving force behind Kentucky to the World, Shelly Zegart gave Kentucky a national and global stage, elevating the Commonwealth’s voices in arts, culture, education, and innovation. More about Shelly and KTW origins >>
KTW TEAM & CONSULTANTS
Ekaterina Balaban
Website Development and Workspace Management Consultant
Ekaterina is an Information Technology professional with over twenty years of experience in Web development, application programming, network infrastructure, technology integration, and more. She has made her mark in creating software solutions at companies like UPS and Material Handling Systems, as well as a number of companies across industries such as insurance and healthcare that she has consulted for as a Solution Architect. Ekaterina earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies from Spalding University, B.S. in Web Development from Sullivan University, and M.S. in Software Systems Design from Capella University. She enjoys working with the area nonprofits and volunteer for animal welfare causes.
NoRA BRYANT
PR, Marketing & Social Strategy
Nora Bryant is a Henderson, KY, native and a Western Kentucky University graduate. Nora’s love for communications and storytelling ignited in the Kentucky tourism industry, where she has spent the majority of her professional career working in various marketing and communication roles with Visit LEX, Visit BGKY, and the Kentucky Department of Tourism. Nora lives in Bowling Green with her husband and two daughters and is very active in the local community. She serves on the Landmark Association board, participates in Bowling Green Young Professionals, is a member of Bowling Green Magazine’s 2022 40 under 40 class, and is a 2022 graduate of Leadership Bowling Green. Nora recently launched State & Tell, a digital communications business located in Bowling Green, KY. She works with a wide variety of organizations including non-profits, small businesses, and tourism entities, championing a diverse group of Kentucky stories to the world.
Emily Dixon
Project Management Consultant
Emily Dixon is a freelance project manager and multilingual nonprofit professional who is passionate about equitable access to resources, lifelong learning and sustainability. Her successes have ranged from direct program design and policy development to grant support and data management for nonprofit and for-profit companies alike. She is a Louisville, KY native with an MBA and a Project Management certificate from the University of Louisville, as well as a BA in Linguistics from the University of Chicago.
Tommy Johns
Director of Strategic Planning and Documentary Film
Tommy is a digital media producer and content strategist. He works in video direction and production as well as motion design, photography, and graphic design. He has written, directed, and produced digital media assets for a variety of major brands, restaurant groups, and prosocial non-profit organizations and provided brand health and network development guidance for consumer engagement strategies.
Elon Justice
Managing Editor
Elon Justice is a documentary filmmaker and writer from Pikeville, KY. Her upbringing in the heart of Eastern Kentucky allowed her to recognize from a young age the impact of negative stereotypes about her region and state, and she became passionate about doing something to change it. To that end, Elon created The Appalachian Retelling Project, a co-creative online documentary platform, and spent over two years chronicling Kentucky’s most interesting people, places, and events for the show Kentucky Life on KET. Her first feature documentary, Becoming bell hooks, premiered in 2024. She holds a B.A. in TV & Film Production from Western Kentucky University and an M.S. in Comparative Media Studies from MIT.
Vijay Kamineni
CFO / Fractional
Vijay Kamineni is a Founding Partner of InnoEngine and an experienced business leader whose career spans manufacturing, technology, entrepreneurship, financial and strategic planning, and nonprofit economic development. He brings a systems-thinking approach to organizational strategy, business modeling, investment prioritization, resource allocation, and sustainable growth.
As Chief Innovation and Technology Leader at Logan Aluminum, Vijay was responsible for technology strategy and management of the company’s innovation and technology portfolio, including budget oversight, investment decisions, and value creation. His entrepreneurial experience includes helping Malaysian technology company Basis Bay establish operations in the Philippines and bootstrapping Integrated Quality Management Services in India, which expanded into information technology and ultimately exited through an IPO.
Vijay has also played significant leadership roles in Kentucky’s nonprofit and economic development ecosystem. He represented industry in the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, helped establish AccelerateKY, and served as its founding board president. He later helped launch the Metals Innovation Initiative, a 501(c)(3), serving as its founding CEO and currently as Chief Innovation Officer. His leadership was recognized with the 2024 KY Inno Fire Award in the CEO category by Louisville Business First. Vijay holds an MBA in Global Strategic Business with a concentration in Innovation from Temple University and a Mechanical Engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.
August Northcut
Illustrator | Event Coordinator
A talented painter and illustrator, August spent several years in the arts communities of Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA before returning to Louisville. He is experienced as a gallery artist, freelancer and curator. Outside of his own studio, August provides freelance illustration, curation, and event planning support for a variety of local clients.
David thurmond
Consultant for Programs and Education
David has served as Deputy Secretary of the Kentucky Education Arts and Humanities Cabinet, as well as Director of Strategic Planning and Government Relations for the Department of Education. At the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, he served as Director of Statewide Education and Vice President for Programming. He is also founding Director of the Governor’s School for the Arts. A graduate of Bellarmine University, he holds a MEd degree from the University of Louisville; he is also a graduate of Leadership Louisville and the Bingham Fellows.
