John Y. Brown III

John Y. Brown, III was born into a family with a long political legacy in Kentucky. John's grandfather served in the U.S. Congress in 1932 and in Kentucky's legislature as Speaker of the House and Majority Floor Leader. His father served as governor of Kentucky from 1979-1983.

In 1995, John was elected Kentucky's Secretary of State at the age of

32, the second youngest in the nation, and was re-elected in 1999 without opposition. During his two terms, John was recognized as a national expert on election law and election reform and won numerous national awards for innovation in delivering government services online.

Before entering politics, John headed up franchising for Roaster's Inc., developing fast food venues in 37 states and several foreign countries. From 2004-2007, John served as a vice president of ResCare, a Louisville-based human services company with over 40,000 employees in over 40 states, while also teaching as an adjunct professor of business law at Bellarmine University.

In 2007, John ran unsuccessfully as the lieutenant governor running mate with Jody Richards, who was Kentucky's Speaker of the House. Shortly thereafter, John launched the JYB3 Group which quickly became Kentucky's fastest growing public affairs firm and in 2015 was named "Best Very Small Business" in the Greater Louisville region. John also serves as Of Counsel for the law firm Kaplan, Johnson, Abate & Bird where he heads the firm's government relations practice.

John graduated magna cum laude from Bellarmine University where he earned a B.A in History and Philosophy, as well as an M.B.A., and earned his J.D cum laude from the University of Kentucky College of Law.