Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was elected by her peer lieutenant governors as national chair of the 2026-2027 Executive Committee of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) at the organization’s 2026 annual meeting.

As chair, Coleman will provide leadership on NLGA’s strategic efforts, guiding the association’s work to foster bipartisan partnerships across state lines, champion the role of lieutenant governors and enhance the effectiveness of state and territorial governments.

“NLGA provides a trusted forum for the nation’s lieutenant governors to come together, exchange ideas and best practices, and learn from one another,” Coleman said. “I’m honored that my peers have elected me to serve as chair of this distinguished organization. As chair of NLGA, I look forward to bringing my style of Kentucky leadership to this national association, working with lieutenant governors from across the country to bring practical, people-focused solutions to state government.”

NLGA is the professional, nonpartisan, nonprofit association for lieutenant governors and officials first in line of succession in the states and U.S. territories.

Since the organization’s formation in 1962, Lt. Gov. Coleman is the fourth NLGA Chair to hail from Kentucky. Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins, the state’s only female governor, also served as NLGA chair and was the first woman to serve in the role.

Under the bylaws of the NLGA, Coleman will serve as chair until the next annual meeting in June 2027.

A former educator and basketball coach, she began her career as a high school civics teacher in her hometown at Burgin High School. Coleman also taught at East Jessamine High School and, most recently, served as an assistant principal at Nelson County High School. She is currently completing a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Kentucky.

Coleman’s term as Lt. Governor ends in December 2027, although she and Gov. Andy Beshear’s former senior advisor Rocky Adkins are seeking the Democratic nomination next year to succeed Beshear, who is term-limited under the Kentucky Constitution.