Keturah Joy Herron is a Democratic state senator representing District 35 in the Kentucky Senate, assuming office on January 1, 2025. A trailblazing figure, she made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ member elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2022 and the first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to the Kentucky Senate in 2024. Raised by a single mother in Richmond, Kentucky, in a family impacted by the opioid crisis and criminal justice system, Herron is a Black, Christian youth and justice advocate from Louisville with over 15 years of experience supporting justice-involved youth and families.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Bachelor of Arts in Sports Administration from the University of Louisville; Master of Arts in Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies from Eastern Kentucky University.
• Early Career: Worked as a court-designated worker for the Administrative Office of the Courts , managed educational programs for kids in foster care and juvenile justice facilities, served as a case manager for justice-impacted families, and developed culturally responsive curriculum for justice-involved youth. Later served as a policy strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky, focusing on ending the school-to-prison pipeline, race equity policy, and groups like Kentuckians For the Commonwealth, Black Lives Matter Louisville, and Louisville Family Justice Advocates.
• Political Experience: In the House, passed HR 644 to establish an office of gun violence prevention and advocated for voting rights restoration, teacher pay raises, criminal justice reform, minimum wage increases, education, and child abuse prevention. Key role in passing "Breonna’s Law" banning no-knock warrants in Louisville and statewide. In the Senate, prioritizes an Office of Community Safety, full voting rights restoration, a statewide fairness law, public education investments , and gun violence prevention.

Notable Achievements and Positions

• First openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Kentucky House ; second openly LGBTQ+ in the General Assembly after Ernesto Scorsone; first openly LGBTQ+ woman in the Senate ; only Black woman in the Senate since 1989.
• Awards: Tammy Baldwin Breakthrough Award ; USA Today’s Women of the Year .