Rebecca Jackson is a former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. She previously served as the

Jefferson County Judge/Executive The Jefferson County Judge/Executive is the nominal chief executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky. On January 3, 2003, the county government merged with that of its largest city, Louisville, to create the Louisville Metro Government. The former p ...

and also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican party nomination for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. She is the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of the WHAS Crusade for Children, a local

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

that operates a large annual

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

. She is retired from CEO of Mastery Mavens, an internet-based professional development tool for teaching professionals.

Early life

Jackson was born in Short Creek in Grayson County. She graduated from Southern High School in Louisville and earned bachelor's and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. She served as a teacher, first for first grade and later serving

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

students, and administrator in the Jefferson County Public Schools system. In 1987, Jackson founded JobCenter, an employment agency serving the disabled.

Political career

Jackson first won elected office in 1989, upsetting long-time Democratic

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Jefferson County

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Jim Malone. She was re-elected in 1993. In 1998, Jackson ran for and won the race for Judge/Executive; she was sworn in on January 1, 1999, and served one term. She was the last person to serve in that office before city and county governments merged in 2002; the office was largely replaced by the Mayor of Louisville Metro, though technically the office still exists in a largely ceremonial capacity. Jackson had been a staunch proponent of a consolidated city-county government. Jackson represented the United States as an observer to the December 1993 elections in Russia, after the country adopted a new constitution and elected the first persons to the re-established State Duma. She represented the United States in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

as one of two specialists on how to establish a primary election for the many factions of the pro-democracy movement. In the following election, the pro-democracy movement unseated the communist parliament and took back the office of Prime Minister. Jackson also traveled to China on a National Association of Counties trade mission.

Activism career

Jackson ran for governor in 2003, losing in the primary election to

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th ...

, who eventually won the seat. After the defeat, she started working in Romanian schools in Constanta to develop methods of teaching children with special needs in regular classrooms, after these children were mainstreamed from special schools to local schools by government legislation. She also visited and worked with the Franciscan Sisters who founded the Fundatia Surorile Clarise, an orphanage in Bralia. Jackson joined the WHAS Crusade for Children in 2005, the first person from outside the

WHAS-TV WHAS-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on West Chestnut Street in Downtown Louisville, and its transmitter is located in ru ...

corporate structure to hold the post. She was instrumental in establishing an endowment for the telethon, funded by

bequest A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably. The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the act ...

s from people who left donations to the Crusade in their wills. The endowment is designed to fund the day-to-day operating expenses of the organization, allowing 100 percent of the donations collected from the general public to go directly to agencies providing direct services to children with special needs. Jackson is the author of the children's book ''Mackenzie And The Baby Robin''. Released in 2004, the book has a religious message and features her oldest grandchild, Mackenzie. The book was illustrated by her cousin, Richard Wayne Thompson.

Personal

On the web site of her gubernatorial campaign, Jackson listed her "first home" as Short Creek, Kentucky. Jackson has been married to Ralph W. Jackson since 1969. The couple has three sons, three granddaughters, a grandson, two step-granddaughters and a foster daughter. Jackson is also active in her church, Highview Baptist Church. In 1980, she founded Kentucky's New Horizons, a ministry of Highview Baptist that is a social-recreation program for adults with handicaps. She has directed it ever since. In 2006, she was appointed by Governor Fletcher to the Board of

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

s for the

.Press release from Gov. Ernie Fletcher: "Governor Fletcher Appoints Members to the University of Louisville Board of Trustees," July 20, 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Rebecca County judges in Kentucky Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky University of Louisville people Kentucky Republicans Women in Kentucky politics Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Southern High School (Kentucky) alumni Kentucky women in politics 21st-century American women