Staff Directory
Education Secretary Helen W. Mountjoy
Helen W. Mountjoy’s passion and commitment to education and workforce development in Kentucky is evident through her long career of public service.
Immediately prior to her appointment as Education Secretary, Mountjoy was vice-president of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation, where she worked primarily in the areas of workforce development and education.
Mountjoy is no stranger to the Kentucky Education Cabinet, having served on the Kentucky Board of Education for 15 years (1991-2006) and as chair of the board from 1998 to 2004. Under her leadership, the board established a new statewide assessment system and student performance standards. The board also rewrote the commonwealth’s special education regulations, instituted a single, statewide standardized student and district management system, and increased public outreach and engagement regarding state education decisions.
She served on the Daviess County School Board and was founding chair of the Daviess County Education Foundation.
Secretary Mountjoy also has served on the Kentucky Chamber’s Postsecondary Education Task Force, the Partnership for Successful Schools Board of Directors, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, and the Legislature’s Taskforce on Teacher Quality.
Other positions include that of program specialist for the Hager Educational Foundation; director of alumni and public relations at Brescia University; and executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Labor-Management Committee, all located in Owensboro.
Among many awards Mountjoy has received are a Leadership in Education Award from the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of State Boards of Education, and an honorary doctorate from Kentucky Wesleyan College. In addition, she was the inaugural recipient of the The Prichard Committee Award of Excellence.
A native of Chattanooga, Secretary Mountjoy graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in history and English and has done post-baccalaureate work at the University of Cincinnati and at Kentucky Wesleyan College. She has been married for 38 years to Owensboro attorney Jesse Mountjoy. They have three sons and one grandson.
Education Cabinet Deputy Secretary
Robert McWilliams
Robert McWilliams’ expertise in workforce development comes from 27 years of working with unemployment insurance and employment services issues in Kentucky state government.
McWilliams has provided direction and oversight of five branches of state government including the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, benefit payment system, tax collection system, appellate staff, budget preparation, fraud overpayment detection and recovery and quality control.
As a specialist in unemployment insurance matters, McWilliams has worked with private sector and labor representatives on legislative issues and acted as a liaison with the federal Department of Labor.
During his state government career, the Lawrenceburg native has been involved in all facets of employment services from the frontline as an on-the-job training coordinator to the acting director of unemployment insurance.
McWilliams earned a bachelor’s degree in general business at Eastern Kentucky University in 1975, and has completed courses at Mississippi State University and National Judicial College.
McWilliams and his wife Lynne have been married for 28 years and have two grown children. The couple lives in Frankfort.