Staff Directory
Education and Workforce Development
Acting Cabinet Secretary Joseph U. Meyer
In his role as acting secretary of Kentucky’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Joseph U. Meyer also serves as director of the Office of Educational Programs. His commitment to education goes back 26 years to his time as a state senator, local board member and attorney for local school districts.
Prior to his appointment as deputy secretary, Meyer served as senior policy advisor to Governor Steve Beshear. He previously worked in that role for state auditor Crit Luallen, where he played a substantive role in the preparation of “Kentucky Jails, A Financial Overview” and the auditor’s briefing report on the impact of rising college tuition.
Meyer has served as chief of staff for the chair of the House majority caucus and as general counsel and deputy director for the Kentucky Association of Counties. From 1979 to 2003, he practiced law, where he served as city attorney for the City of Bellevue and was general counsel for the Covington Board of Education and the Ludlow Board of Education.
As a state senator, Meyer represented Kentucky’s 23rd Senate District from 1989 to 1996. During that time he served as chair of the Senate Education Committee and Senate State and Local Government Committee. Meyer also represented the commonwealth’s 65th House District as a state representative from 1982 to 1988, where he chaired the House Cities Committee.
Currently a member of the Southern Regional Education Board, Meyer has served on many boards including the Education Commission of the States, the Kentucky Long Term Policy Research Center and the Covington Business Council.
A native of Covington, Meyer received his law degree from Northern Kentucky University, a master’s degree in urban affairs from St. Louis University and a bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine College. He has been married to his wife, Dale since 1974. They have four grown children.
In his “spare” time, Meyer acts as an international election monitor for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He has observed elections in Bosnia, Albania, Georgia and Tajikistan.