Gov. Matt Bevin has shuffled his leadership team again, tapping Labor Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey to be the new leader of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
As the cabinet’s new secretary, Ramsey will oversee several worker training and education programs, including agencies like the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Educational Television and Unemployment Insurance Commission.
KY Labor Cabinet
Derrick Ramsey
In a statement, Bevin praised Ramsey’s revival of Kentucky’s apprenticeship program while leading the Labor Cabinet.
“He has devoted himself to ensuring that Kentucky is the best place in the country to work, and he understands the unique challenges that are before us as we educate and prepare our next generation of workers,” Bevin said.
Ramsey’s new role is the latest in a series of leadership changes in the Bevin administration.
In April, Bevin moved the previous Education and Workforce Development secretary, Hal Heiner, to the Kentucky Board of Education as part of a shakeup of the board’s leadership.
And last week, Bevin named his deputy chief of staff Adam Meier to serve as the secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Meier’s predecessor, Vickie Yates Brown Glisson, resigned her position as secretary to run for Congress.
Ramsey served in former Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration as deputy secretary of the Commerce Cabinet, which is now called the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet.
To some, he’s best known as the star quarterback for the University of Kentucky football team from 1975 to 1977 — the first African-American starting quarterback in the school’s history.
Ramsey also played in the NFL for nine years, winning a Super Bowl ring with the Oakland Raiders.
After Ramsey’s departure from the Labor Cabinet, deputy secretary Mike Nemes will serve as acting secretary of the agency.
