This is the professional biography of Jody A. Lassiter, who serves as President/CEO of the Danville/Boyle County Economic Development Partnership.

1. Profile
JODY A. LASSITER, JD
A 42-year-old native of Almo in Calloway County, Kentucky, Jody Lassiter is an
attorney serving as the President/CEO of the Danville/Boyle County Economic
Development Partnership (EDP) since December 2007. The EDP is a
collaborative community alliance unifying and coordinating the economic
development missions, resources, and initiatives of its partners, including the
Danville-Boyle County Chamber Commerce, the Boyle County Industrial
Foundation, the Danville-Boyle County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Heart
of Danville Main Street Program, Main Street Perryville, as well as the local
governments of Boyle County, Kentucky, and the Cities of Danville, Junction City,
and Perryville, serving a total population of 29,263 citizens. In his official capacity,
Lassiter also acts as President of the Boyle County Industrial Foundation, a private
non-profit corporation strategically focused upon real estate development and
financing for industrial recruitment, as well as retention and expansion services to
existing industries. A firm believer in regional collaboration, he leads Boyle County’s active engagement as a founding
partner of the eight-county Bluegrass South Regional Economic Development Coalition.
Lassiter supports the advancement of the economic development profession and policy as the Chairman of the
Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED) for 2010, and as a member of the Southern Economic
Development Council (SEDC) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). In 2009, he was named
KAED’s James J. Coleman Community Professional of the Year. Presented by East Kentucky Power, this award
recognizes community economic developers who have made significant and innovative contributions to the field and
their service area.
Lassiter previously served as the Executive Director of the Logan Economic Alliance for Development (LEAD), where
he directed community and economic development initiatives in Logan County, Kentucky, and the Cities of Adairville,
Auburn, Lewisburg, and Russellville. During his tenure, Lassiter established and administered the Logan Industrial
Development Authority, a joint local government agency for property financing and development.
Lassiter continues a distinguished public career focused upon community and economic development through his past
service at the highest levels of state government. From 2000 to 2003, he served as Commissioner of the Kentucky
Department for Local Government (DLG), the state’s chief community development agency. He holds the distinction
of being appointed at 31 years of age the youngest Commissioner in DLG’s history as well as the youngest agency head
in the Governor’s Executive Cabinet. With a maximum annual budget of $245 million during Lassiter’s leadership,
DLG administered Kentucky’s federal and state funding to improve low-income housing, recreational facilities, public
infrastructure, economic development, downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and public safety. As
Commissioner, he also engaged in the Delta Regional Authority as the Governor’s Alternate; the Kentucky
Infrastructure Authority as its Vice-Chairman; the Kentucky Housing Corporation; the Renaissance Kentucky Alliance;
the Kentucky Appalachian Commission, and Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc.
Before his appointment as Commissioner, Lassiter served four years in the Governor’s Office of Constituent Services,
first as the Western Kentucky Liaison and then as its Director. As Western Kentucky Liaison, he was the Governor’s
primary advisor on issues affecting Kentucky’s 27 western counties. As Director, he coordinated the efforts of the
Governor's field representatives to all 120 counties in Kentucky and public liaisons to the Governor's Executive
Cabinet agencies in Frankfort. Prior to his service in the Governor’s Office, Lassiter was Staff Attorney for Kentucky
Court of Appeals Judge Rick Johnson in Mayfield, then General Counsel/Hearing Officer for the Kentucky Board of
Tax Appeals in Frankfort.
Lassiter earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in a double major of political science and history from the University of
Mississippi in 1991, graduating magna cum laude, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Louisville
School of Law in 1994. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute in 2008.
Lassiter and his wife Kelley reside near Lake Herrington in Boyle County with their two children, Jacob (age 10) and
Alana (age 8).