The Prichard Committee team believes that education is the path to a larger life for all Kentuckians. We work to help citizens become informed and engaged advocates for excellence in our state’s educational endeavors. Insight forged from our diverse experiences, our collaboration and commitment to education’s role in creating successful people and communities propel everything we do.

Brigitte Blom
Before joining the Prichard Committee, Brigitte was director of public policy for United Way of Greater Cincinnati with a specific focus on early childhood policy. Ms. Blom spent a decade as an elected member of the Board of Education in rural Pendleton County and is the former vice-chair of the Kentucky Board of Education where she served from 2008-2014. Ms. Blom has worked in policy, research, and advocacy on issues related to education, poverty, and state taxes and budgets – including work for universities in Ohio and Kentucky and for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She holds undergraduate degrees in economics and international studies and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Kentucky Martin School.
In 2022, Brigitte received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pikeville and the Karem Award for Excellence in Education Policy from the Kentucky Board of Education. In 2019, Brigitte was recognized as one of 50 Notable Women in Kentucky Politics and Government, by the Kentucky Gazette, and in 2018, under Brigitte’s leadership, the Prichard Committee received the 24th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award from the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Fun fact about Brigitte: Her high school diploma was handed to her by an elephant!

Brooke Gill
Fun fact about Brooke: She has two miniature long-haired dachshunds named Snickers and Shadow and is obsessed with Disney World and Christmas.

Melody Brooks
Fun fact about Melody: She has a goal of traveling to all 50 before she turns 50!

Suzetta Creech
Fun Fact about Suzetta: She has a dog named Dolly Parton that also serves as support and confidant to Prichard Committee staff.

Laura Beard
Fun Fact about Laura: She has a mini farm with multiple species of livestock

Benjamin M. Gies
Fun Fact: At 24 years of age, Ben became the youngest citizen to serve on the Jefferson County Board of Education (JCBE).

Susan Perkins Weston
Her Kentucky work focuses on student achievement, testing policies, teaching quality, and education funding, including projects for the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, the Council for Better Education, the Kentucky Education Action Team, the Kentucky Association of School Councils, and others. With Stephen Clements, she authored “A Glass Half Empty or Half Full? An Overview of the State School Funding Landscape in Kentucky, 1990-2008,” published by the Prichard Committee, and in 2009, Ms. Weston and Robert F. Sexton’s report, “Substantial and Yet Not Sufficient: Kentucky’s Effort to Build Proficiency for Each and Every Child,” was released by the Campaign for Educational Equity.
Since 2010, Ms. Weston has also works with the Literacy Design Collaborative, building out a framework for developing students’ reading, writing and thinking skills in science, history and other subjects, designed to equip teachers to prepare students with the capacities required by the Common Core State Standards.
Ms. Weston was Executive Director of the Kentucky Association of School Councils from 1992 to 2006. She also served as a research analyst at the United States Department of Education and an assistant consumer advocate in the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
Susan Weston graduated from Swarthmore College (with Highest Honors) and from the Yale Law School. She is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the Kentucky League of Women Voters. Her spouse, Beau Weston, teaches at Centre College, and their children are all graduates of the Danville public school system.
