Grow Smart Academy
2024 Grow Smart Academy
Register for Grow Smart Academy: Session Three
Program Overview:
Grow Smart Academy is a free, five-session program designed to educate Lexingtonians on land-use planning and its relationship to our community’s economic development, environment, and quality of life.
If you’re interested in learning more about how land use impacts your daily life — from public transit, walkability, housing affordability, greenspaces, climate, and livelihood — join us at Grow Smart Academy to learn more about these local issues from community experts.
- Important: This program changes yearly — so alumni are encouraged to register again.
Watch Jeff Speck’s 2023 Keynote Presentation
Watch Galina Tachieva’s 2024 Keynote Presentation
Disclaimer: If you are interested in only attending Grow Smart Academy: Session One for Galina Tachieva’s presentation, there is space to indicate so on the registration form below.
Accessibility: If you have any language or accessibility needs or a need for transportation support to attend each session, please contact info@fayettealliance.com.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Galina Tachieva, DPZ CoDESIGN, award-winning author, urban planner
Galina Tachieva is the managing partner of DPZ CoDESIGN, directing the work of the firm in the US and around the world. With more than 25 years of expertise in sustainable planning, urban redevelopment and form-based codes, Galina is the author of the “Sprawl Repair Manual”, an award-winning publication by Island Press, which focuses on the retrofit of auto-centric suburban places into complete walkable communities.
Multilingual, Galina has experience with projects across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Russia, including downtowns and urban revitalizations, regional plans, environmental conservation, new communities, and resort towns. Managing complex projects and teams, she has led charrettes and other public processes, from project initiation through implementation.
Galina maintains an active civic engagement. A Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) she has been leading its national Sprawl Retrofit Initiative. She is a founding member of the Council for European Urbanism (CEU), and she has lectured throughout the world. She has been a visiting lecturer and design critic at Harvard University, the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), and at the University of Miami, among others.
Born and raised in Bulgaria, she received her architectural education at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Later, Galina received her Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Miami School of Architecture. Galina is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a LEED-Accredited Professional.
Book Contributions
Articles
Session Details:
Session One: Intro to Smart Growth
Tuesday, May 7, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Kentucky Theatre, 214 E. Main St. Lexington, KY 40507
Session One Smart Growth Guidebook
View the photos from Session One
Session One will serve as our kick-off event to Grow Smart Academy where we will provide basic concepts and examples of smart growth, which will be expanded upon in the following three sessions.
Author and Urban Planner Galina Tachieva will be our keynote speaker for Session One. She will discuss her book, “Sprawl Repair Manual,” and provide examples of how we can retrofit Lexington to be a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly city.
Speakers:
Galina Tachieva, DPZ CoDESIGN, award-winning author, urban planner
Galina Tachieva is the managing partner of DPZ CoDESIGN, directing the work of the firm in the US and around the world. With more than 25 years of expertise in sustainable planning, urban redevelopment and form-based codes, Galina is the author of the “Sprawl Repair Manual”, an award-winning publication by Island Press, which focuses on the retrofit of auto-centric suburban places into complete walkable communities.
Multilingual, Galina has experience with projects across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Russia, including downtowns and urban revitalizations, regional plans, environmental conservation, new communities, and resort towns. Managing complex projects and teams, she has led charrettes and other public processes, from project initiation through implementation.
Galina maintains an active civic engagement. A Fellow of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) she has been leading its national Sprawl Retrofit Initiative. She is a founding member of the Council for European Urbanism (CEU), and she has lectured throughout the world. She has been a visiting lecturer and design critic at Harvard University, the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), and at the University of Miami, among others.
Born and raised in Bulgaria, she received her architectural education at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Later, Galina received her Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Miami School of Architecture. Galina is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a LEED-Accredited Professional.
Brittany M. Roethemeier, Executive Director, Fayette Alliance
Session Two: Growing Our City
Tuesday, June 4, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | The Cornerstone, 401 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40508
Lexington’s planning and land use policies, set out in our Comprehensive Plan, outline the vision for how we live, work, and play. This session connects land use policy to our everyday quality of life. Grow Smart Academy: Session Two will educate attendees on infill and redevelopment, the preliminary plans for the proposed expansion areas, and the 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
Join us as we hear from:
- Stan Harvey of Lord Aeck Sargent as he presents Fayette Alliance’s newest research, analyzing land use in Lexington-Fayette County,
- Sam Castro of TSW as she discusses the Urban Growth Plan — the plan guiding how the proposed expansion areas will be developed,
- and LFUCG’s Division of Planning staff about the 2045 Comprehensive Plan Implementation Plan, the Urban Growth Plan, and how they are working to address the challenges facing our city.
Speakers:
Stan Harvey, Director of Urban Design and Planning – Lord Aeck Sargent
Stan Harvey is a Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS) principal in the firm’s Urban Design & Planning practice area and director of the Lexington, Kentucky office. With a background in both architecture and city planning, his specialties are conceptualizing planning processes, facilitating community participation, directing facilities/infrastructure programs, and developing implementation strategies.
Harvey earned his master’s degrees in city planning and architecture, both degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His bachelor’s degree in architecture was awarded by the University of Michigan.
Harvey is currently a member of the APA’s Kentucky chapter; the Fayette Alliance, where he serves on the board; the American Institute of Certified Planners; the American Planning Association; and Downtown Lexington Corporation, a community and business advocacy group that encourages responsible economic development in the downtown business core and in the various neighborhoods surrounding this central area. Before moving in 2006 from Atlanta to his hometown Lexington to establish the Urban Collage office there, he was a member of the APA’s Georgia chapter, and served for two years as its vice president of chapter services; The Carter Center, where he served on the board of councilors; and Central Atlanta Progress.
Sam Castro, AICP, LEED ND, Senior Associate, TSW
Sam is a Certified Planner and a LEED Accredited Professional for Neighborhood Development, and earned a Masters of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Her background includes large-scale master planning and transportation planning in the private sector, as well as experience in all phases of urban design, city planning, landscape architecture, and public engagement. Most recently, she served as a senior long range planner with the City of Lexington’s Division of Planning, and is a guest professor/lecturer at the University of Kentucky’s College of Design and Department of Landscape Architecture. She is a member of the Kentucky Chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Planning Association (APA), and currently serves as co-chair of the Kentucky APA’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. Sam has called Lexington home for more than a decade, and when not at the office she can often be found with her husband cheering on their two kids at a soccer match or baseball game, or enjoying a local park.
Chris Taylor, Administrative Officer, Long Range Planning, LFUCG
Chris Taylor is an Administrative Officer with the City of Lexington’s Long-Range Planning section. He has a degree in Economics from the University of Kentucky. Chris has been with Lexington’s Planning Division for 14 years. In his most recent role, he was instrumental in the completion of the City’s newest comprehensive plan, Imagine Lexington, which provides for creative infill & redevelopment within the nation’s first urban service boundary. Currently, he’s working to revise Lexington’s zoning ordinance to provide considerably more housing opportunities.
Hal Baillie, AICP, Planner Principal, Division of Planning 
Hal Baillie is the City of Lexington’s Principal Planner of Long-Range Planning and a certified planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners. He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans and a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Hal has been working in historic preservation, cultural resource management, and urban planning for over 15 years. He has worked in both the public and private sectors, throughout the US Southwest and Southeast before starting his work for the City of Lexington. He has held multiple positions within the Division of Planning. Most recently, Hal’s work has focused on completion of Imagine Lexington 2045, Lexington’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan. His primary goal as an urban planner and resident of Lexington is to support and promote the development of sustainable and equitable communities.
Session Three: Sustainability and Transportation
Tuesday, July 9, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | The Cornerstone, 401 S Limestone, Lexington, KY 40508
Register for Grow Smart Academy: Session Three
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- Photo by Jeff Rogers
Grow Smart Academy: Session Three will focus on sustainability and transportation in Lexington-Fayette County.
Participants will learn from local experts about the principles and practices that our city employs to help Lexingtonians get to where they live, work, and play, as well as what steps the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government is taking to empower Lexington to build a more resilient and sustainable city.
Attendees will learn about:
- improvements and ongoing roadway and transportation projects,
- the results of the 2021 community-wide GreenHouse Gas Emissions Inventory results and what our city is doing to become a greener, more sustainable city,
- and how Edelen Renewables and American Farmland Trust are combating climate change through Farmers Powering Communities–a project that aims to protect America’s most productive farmland and ranchland while expanding equitable access to renewable energy.
Speakers:
Adam Edelen, Founder & CEO, Edelen Renewables
Adam is the founder of Edelen Renewables, which has garnered significant attention for structuring innovative partnerships between coal interests in Appalachia and global renewable energy giants.
As a chief of staff to former Kentucky governor, Steve Beshear, and later as the State Auditor of Kentucky, Adam earned a reputation as a modernizer and reformer in government. His efforts resulted in prison terms for corrupt politicians and school administrators, uncovered fraud and abuse in Kentucky’s nearly $3 billion system of “Ghost Government” (special taxing districts), and the testing of more than 3,000 previously unaccounted for rape kits.
Adam has been described in the media as “a man on a mission” and “a refreshing example of leadership,” and his record of accomplishments has garnered state and national recognition. He has been named the Outstanding Young Kentuckian and one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, an honor previously bestowed upon presidents Kennedy, Ford, Nixon, and Clinton. More recently he has been honored by the Aspen Institute, the German Marshall Fund, and the Kentucky Rural Health Association.
Adam is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and currently sits on its Board of Public Health. He is an avid sportsman, a proud father of twin sons, a student of history, and a University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball and football fan.
Jada Walker Griggs, City of Lexington, Division of Environmental Services
Jada Walker Griggs is a Program Manager Senior with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Jada has over two decades of experience in municipal government, of which, 14 years were spent in Risk, Safety and Loss Control Management and 9 years in the Division of Environmental Service. Her regulatory background led her to an Environmental Initiatives Specialist position which poised her for her current position, leading sustainability efforts for the City of Lexington-Fayette County. Jada works as a liaison across divisions, while also being the outward-facing community connector for initiatives she helps organize, develop, and implement. She has experience administering various federal and state grants during her time at LFUCG, including the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, the EPA Brownfield Program Assessment and Clean-up Grants, and most recently the Lexington-Fayette MSA Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant. Jada facilitated efforts to update the community-wide sustainability plan, Empower Lexington: A Plan for a Resilient Community, was selected as a cohort with the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Cities, and is on the President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee for the University of Kentucky (UK)
Jada is a former sworn City Commissioner in Cynthiana, KY where she served as Commissioner for the Department of Public Works and Maintenance for 7 ½ years.
She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and a mother of two.
Abby Terry, PE, LEED Green Assoc. | Environmental Engineer
Mrs. Terry is a professional engineer at Tetra Tech with diverse experience in environmental compliance, permitting, and sustainability. She has extensive experience working with the Lexington-Fayette County Urban Government (LFUCG). She provides day-to-day support to the Division of Water Quality’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program, and recently completed a community-wide and municipal greenhouse gas inventory for the Division of Environmental Services. Her current work involves assisting with the development of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Comprehensive Climate Action Plan under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program.
David Filiatreau, PE, PTOE | Traffic Engineer Manager, Division of Traffic Engineering
David is native to Central Kentucky having grown up about an hour west of Lexington in Washington County. David has worked in a variety of different settings within the transportation industry starting out with KYTC in construction and highway maintenance. After 4.5 years in the Winchester Section office David took a position in Lexington working in Traffic Engineering in the signalized traffic signal section. David became the Traffic Signal Manager in 2016 and led a variety of projects including one which modernized all traffic hardware and software. In 2019 David and his family moved to Summerville, South Carolina to work with the consultant Stantec focused primarily on transportation design as well as traffic and safety studies. After nearly 3.5 years in South Carolina, David moved back to Kentucky and rejoined LFUCG as the Traffic Manager in New Development serving as the Division of Traffic Engineering’s representative to the Planning Commission. David has been married to his wife Victoria (another native Kentuckian) since 2014, and they have two children, Clive 6, and Vera 4. David enjoys sports, cooking, and time with his family.
Register for Grow Smart Academy: Session Three
Session Four: Promoting Our Farms
Tuesday, August 6, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Location TBD
Session Five: Land Use and Economic Development
Tuesday, September 17, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Location TBD
Policy and Pints: A Networking Happy Hour
Tuesday, May 28, 5:30-7 p.m. | West Sixth Brewery, 501 W. Sixth St., Ste. 100, Lexington, KY 40508
Policy, Pedals, and Pints is a networking happy hour hosted by the Fayette Alliance team. Attendees are encouraged to meet new, like-minded smart growth advocates while chatting about Grow Smart Academy, land use policy, and all things Lexington.
Happy hour starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends around 7:30 p.m. Appetizers and the first round of drinks will be provided. Please feel free to bring a friend.
West Sixth Brewery is located at 501 W 6th St #100, Lexington, KY 40508. Happy Hour will be in the Barrel Room.
Sponsors:
Press and Media
Previous Sessions
2023 Grow Smart Academy Details
Key Takeaways From Our 2023 Grow Smart Academy Programming
Keynote Speaker: Jeff Speck
- Bio:Jeff Speck is a city planner and author who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates, an award-winning private design consultancy serving mainly American cities. With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Mr. Speck is the co-author of Suburban Nation, which the Wall Street Journal calls “the urbanist’s bible.” His 2012 book Walkable City was the best-selling city-planning title of the past decade and has been translated into eight languages. He is also the principal author of The Smart Growth Manual and Walkable City Rules. Jeff Speck has been named a fellow of both the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for New Urbanism. He was the 2022 recipient of the Seaside Prize, whose former awardees include Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander. His TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than six million times.
Session Details
Session One: Intro to Smart Growth
Monday, May 8, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Transylvania University
Session One will serve as our kick-off event to Grow Smart Academy where we will provide basic concepts and examples of smart growth, which will be expanded upon in the following three sessions.
We will feature Jeff Speck, a city planner and author who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. He has been named a fellow of both the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for New Urbanism. He was the 2022 recipient of the Seaside Prize, whose former awardees include Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander. His TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than six million times.
Disclaimer: Everyone is welcome to attend Jeff Speck’s keynote presentation at Session One, even those who cannot participate in all four weeks of Grow Smart Academy. Please register in advance here and indicate that you will only be attending this session so we can accommodate all guests.
Speakers:
Jeff Speck, city planner, and author
Jeff Speck is a city planner and author who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates, an award-winning private design consultancy serving mainly American cities.
Brittany M. Roethemeier, Executive Director, Fayette Alliance
Session Two: Growing Our City
Tuesday, June 13, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Red Mile Gaming & Racing
Lexington’s planning and land use policies, set out in our Comprehensive Plan, outline the vision for how we live, work, and play. This session connects land use policy to our everyday quality of life.
Join us as we hear from LFUCG’s Division of Planning staff about the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, how the plan works to address challenges facing our city, and the Goals and Objectives of the updated plan.
Chris Woodall, Manager of Long-Range Planning, City of Lexington
Chris Woodall is the City of Lexington’s Manager of Long-Range Planning, and a certified planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners. He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Urban & Regional Planning from Florida State University with a concentration in growth management. Chris has been planning for the future of central Kentucky for over a decade, having served as the Planning Director in Jessamine County prior to taking his current position.
With the input of over 11,000 citizens, he oversaw the creation of “Imagine Lexington” the City’s 2018 Comprehensive Plan that sets out a vision for how we can grow in a responsible way while preserving and maintaining what sets us apart. Now, five years later, Chris and the City are again asking thousands more residents how they “Imagine Lexington,” this time planning for the year 2045. “Imagine Lexington 2045” is scheduled to be adopted in 2023.
Chris Taylor, Principal Planner in Long-Range Planning, City of Lexington
Chris Taylor has been with the City of Lexington’s Division of Planning for nearly twenty years, and has been a Principal Planner in Long-Range Planning since 2017. He was instrumental in the creation of “Imagine Lexington” the City’s 2018 Comprehensive Plan, and has been committed to implementing that plan and ensuring it doesn’t just sit on the shelf. Mr. Taylor is devoted to addressing Lexington’s housing supply issues through creative solutions, partnerships, and regulatory reform, and is a fierce advocate for acknowledging and working to correct inequities of historic planning practices and policies.
Session Three: Sustainability and Transportation
Tuesday, July 11, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Red Mile Gaming & Racing
The integration of green infrastructure within our urban core provides an opportunity to mitigate the impacts of climate change while improving the quality of life for citizens and the vibrancy of our city.
Lexington-Fayette County’s productive rural landscape is green infrastructure, and farmland provides the opportunity to sequester carbon to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Limiting urban sprawl is critical to sustainable and equitable growth for all Lexingtonians.
Attendees will learn about improvements to public transit, ongoing projects like Imagine New Circle Road and Imagine Nicholasville Road, as well as how the city is looking at a Complete Streets initiative and utilizing large amounts of federal funding for infrastructure. Additionally, gain insight into three alternative future scenarios projected through 2040 and what they mean for the future of agriculture.
Speakers:
Scott Thompson, Senior Transportation Planner, Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator, Lexington Fayette Urban County Government
Scott is a native of Louisville and came to Lexington in 1997 to pursue a degree from the University of Kentucky in Landscape Architecture. Since graduating in 2001, he has worked in the public and private sectors as a Designer, Project manager, and Resident inspector for projects ranging from residential site design; park designing and master planning; storm and wastewater management; trails, roads, highway design, and planning; and community design and planning. He has always had an interest in public health and how the built environment is directly tied to daily physical activity.
Scott is the Senior Transportation Planner, Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government and the Lexington Area MPO. My current work involves working to increase bicycle and pedestrian transportation system access, developing safe, high-quality, interconnected facilities for bicycling and walking, and promoting the increase of their use.
Fred Combs, Director of Planning, Technology, and Community Relations, Lextran
Fred Combs joined Lextran in 2016 and is currently the Director of Planning, Technology, and Community Relations. In his role at Lextran, Fred oversees a team dedicated to the agency’s technology, building relationships with the community, implementing capital projects, marketing, and long-range planning, among other functions.
In the past year, Fred helped secure roughly $10 million in competitive federal grant awards to incorporate additional compressed natural gas, hybrid electric, and battery electric vehicles into Lextran’s fleet. With Fred’s leadership, Lextran completed a Comprehensive Operations Analysis in 2022 that evaluated the alignment of resources and mobility needs in Lexington and is currently planning the implementation of recommended service improvements in 2023.
Fred also serves as Lextran’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Liaison Officer, the Chair of the Lexington Area MPO’s Transportation Technical Coordination Committee, and on the advisory board of Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s Architectural Technology program. Fred is a certified planner as designated by the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Session Four: Promoting Our Farms
Tuesday, August 15, 5:30-8:00 p.m. | Spy Coast Farm
Promoting our beautiful and productive Bluegrass farmland is a key part of Fayette Alliance’s mission. Our unique farms contribute to our identity, economic development, and quality of life. Fayette Alliance advocates for sustainable, responsible, and innovative growth because we know that balancing our irreplaceable Bluegrass farmland and growing an equitable city for all is what makes Lexington-Fayette County extraordinary.
This session will expose our attendees to the significant ways our farmland impacts our community and why smart growth and farmland preservation are important partners in Lexington’s thriving community. Our rural land acts as the factory floor of our signature agricultural industries, providing a wide range of diverse employment opportunities (a $2B annual county economic impact and providing 1 out of 12 jobs), and supporting a growing local food movement that connects more people to the land every day.
Speakers:
Dr. Alison Davis, Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky
Dr. Alison Davis is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky and the Executive Director of the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK). CEDIK is an integrated engagement/research center housed within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky. CEDIK’s mission is to build engaged communities and vibrant economies. Dr. Davis leads a team of fourteen engagement and research staff to support for CEDIK’s four priority areas: economic development, leadership development, community health, and community design.
Dr. Davis’ role is to build relationships across campus, Kentucky, and the South with the goal of promoting a stronger sense of community and an improved economic base in rural areas. Her rural economic development program utilizes workshops, trainings, and educational materials to highlight the importance of community engagement, infrastructure development, regionalism, and the impact of changing public policy on rural communities.
Tiffany Michelle Brown, has worked in the legal industry and successfully managed community-based reform efforts in the non-profit industry, Tiffany Michelle has created a reputation as a powerful advocate for equity and racial justice. Her advocacy for the issues for which she advocates is grounded in her personal experiences. Her passion and life’s purpose for this work can’t be replicated. Today, Tiffany Michelle serves as the first Chief Equity and Implementation Officer for the City of Lexington charged with building out and implementing the recommendations on the Mayor’s new Commission on Race, Justice and Equality. Prior to this, she advocated for equity through a lens of racial and social justice at the Center for Social Justice at the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio. As a social justice advocate, she believes that it is imperative for community-based reformers and institutional policymakers to work together to achieve sustainable and meaningful solutions. A true consensus builder and passionate connection maker, she has a talent for communicating to multiple stakeholders and helping synthesize multiple perspectives to come up with a shared vision and set of goals. Her dedication to public service and advocacy, as well as her gift for telling the story and narrative of her experience and life’s work in a connected, authentic way that resonates with audiences, is fueled by her own trials and triumphs and the countless stories of people who continue to be unfairly met with systemic barriers. Her past professional and personal experiences have ignited a passion for being intentional in her work and created an unrelenting desire to be an agent of change. She routinely engages in thought leadership and partnerships surrounding her deep commitment to empowering young people to develop their own voices and be their own agents of change.
Lisa Lourie grew up in New England where she worked as an ICU/CCU nurse before obtaining her Masters in Health Care Management. Other than the occasional trail ride, she had minimal experience with horses until the age of 42 when she began riding lessons with her then 8-year-old daughter. Lisa started Spy Coast Farm (SCF) in 2003 on Long Island, NY and moved the farm to Lexington, Kentucky in 2008. The farm now breeds between 40-50 foals a year, at least half of which are for clients. Lisa Lourie is committed to the advancement of the equine industry here in America. To that end, Spy Coast Farm offers breeding services and trains young horses for their breeding clients. They offer CEM Quarantine and a state-of-the-art Rehabilitation and Fitness Center and recently opened their Equine Education Center to serve the wide variety of equine practitioners here in Lexington and beyond. Spy Coast also has a large internship program that includes hosting numerous veterinary externs, undergraduate students, international students, as well as an annual 12-month veterinary internship. In 2019, Lisa and the SCF Human Resource Manager attended the Blackburn Correctional Facility Farm Day. Impressed by what they saw, they interviewed potential grooms on the spot and have since hired elite grooms from the TRF/Blackburn program, The Lexington Rescue Mission and Stable Recovery. Spy Coast Farm’s most recent efforts have focused on addressing the needs of at-risk and underserved youth here in Lexington. They work with programs such as Black Men Working, Legacy Equine Academy, Locust Trace, Success Academy and Stables (at CKRH) to offer out-of-classroom learning opportunities that might engage future generations in the equine and agricultural industries. Lisa sits on the U.K. Gluck Equine Research Center Board, The Kentucky Horse Park Foundation Board, and the Midway College Equine Advisory Committee. She also sits on a variety of USEF and USHJA committees. She was awarded the USEF “Breeder of the Year Award” in 2018.
Networking Happy Hour: Bikes, Bubbles + Brunch
Saturday, August 19 | 12-2 p.m. | The Grove, 200 W. Main St.
This free event encourages Grow Smart Academy students to network, celebrate the completion of all four Grow Smart Academy programs, and explore our city — all while enjoying delicious small bites from the Luna food truck at The Grove. Registration to the event, and attendance to Session One, get you a free drink ticket at the event. The Fayette Alliance team will be on-site with information on walking and biking the Town Branch Trail through downtown Lexington.
