Our volunteer spotlight series continues with Kathy Leigh, recipient of the Knowledge Sharing Award. This award recognizes a volunteer who consistently and generously shares expertise, institutional knowledge, and lessons learned to strengthen the people around them — and few embody that better than Kathy.
Kathy has been part of Bluegrass IIBA since the very beginning, volunteering with the chapter since its founding in 2013. Over more than a decade, she has served in a remarkable range of roles: she was the chapter's third President, has held positions in Membership, Sponsorship, and currently serves as Vice President of Administration and Finance.
What sets Kathy apart is her ongoing commitment to passing on what she knows. She's a go-to resource for newer chapter leaders, offering context on the chapter's history so that current volunteers understand not just what to do, but why it's done that way — preserving institutional memory that might otherwise be lost as leadership changes over the years.
Kathy has also shared her expertise more broadly with the business analysis community, presenting at two Bluegrass Business Analysis Conferences and delivering additional presentations to chapter members over the years.
Her impact shows up in the numbers, too. During her time managing the chapter's sponsorship program, sponsorships grew, adding at least five new supporters to the chapter's mission and programs — a direct result of her relationship-building and follow-through.
Kathy says, "I've watched this chapter grow from a small group of people who believed Lexington needed a business analysis community, into what it is today. If I can help someone new to leadership understand where we came from, that's time well spent. This chapter has given me so much over the years — sharing what I know is the least I can do in return."
When talking about Kathy's contributions to the chapter, fellow chapter leader Aaron Whittenberger says, "Kathy has been volunteering with the chapter as long as I have; we are the two remaining members from the original Board. Kathy has been the consistent source of knowledge of where we came from. Her willingness to mentor newer leaders and share what she's learned over more than a decade has shaped how this chapter operates today."
