The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education welcomed Jai Bokey, Dennis Repenning and Michael Wheeler at its meeting in Owensboro last week.
Bokey, of Prospect, currently serves as vice president of operations at V-Soft Consulting Group, an IT staffing and digital transformation company headquartered in Louisville. Bokey also serves as board chair of the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC), a part of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Repenning, from Boone County, brings more than 45 years of legal experience to the Council. In 2013, he was appointed as a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. He has also served for twelve years on the Board of Regents at Northern Kentucky University, where he held several leadership positions, including board chair and chair of the Presidential Evaluation Committee.
Wheeler, a University of Kentucky student triple majoring in economics, finance and management, will serve as student representative. Wheeler currently serves as chief of staff for the Student Government Association at UK, and anticipates to graduate next summer. In 2022, he was named a Wall Street Scholar and is a presidential fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.
In addition to new appointments, Dr. Kellie Ellis, associate professor and chair of the Department of Clinical Therapeutic Programs at Eastern Kentucky University, was reappointed to serve as faculty representative for four more years.
In other business, the council chair made the following committee appointments:
• 2026 Nominating Committee: Kevin Weaver, chair, Jacob Brown and LaDonna Rogers
• Academic and Strategic Initiatives Committee: Jai Bokey, Michael Wheeler and Dennis Repenning
• Finance Committee: Michael Wheeler and Dennis Repenning
• Kentucky Authority for Educational Television: Reappointed Kevin Weaver and Karyn Hoover
As part of implementing the AERO Act (Aerospace Education Reinvestment Opportunity), the Council chair appointed the following to the Kentucky AERO Advisory Committee:
• Dr. Aaron Thompson, president, Council on Postsecondary Education. Under KRS 164.7011, Thompson will serve as committee chair
• Council member Lindsey Case, aviation instructor, Lawrence County High School
• Tristan Durbin, airport director, Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport
• Martin Fryer, vice president of operations, FEAM Aero
• Laura Jones, vice president, National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA)
• Luke McCowan, business operation manager, Middletown Composites
• Brad Schwandt, Interim Commissioner of Aviation, Kentucky Department of Transportation
• Bradley Simms, business development manager for the aerospace division, Adams Communication and Engineering Technology (ACET)
• James Smith, director of new business development, Marshall Aviation, Marshall University
• Todd Smith, director of aviation programs, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Madisonville Campus
• David Springer, senior director of engineering, UPS Airlines
• Curtis Wilson, senior director of emergent missions, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education