UK Alumni Association announces new leaders

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 1, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Alumni Association recently announced its 2024-25 board of directors at its annual summer workshop held June 20-22.

This year’s officers are Robert “Rob” Crady III, president; Thomas K. Mathews, president-elect; Kelly Sullivan Holland, treasurer; and Jill H. Smith, secretary. All positions are effective today and officers will remain in office until June 30, 2025.

Robert “Rob” L. Crady IIIof Louisville, Kentucky, was elected president of the UK Alumni Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UK in 1993. While studying at UK, he was a member of the Freshman Representative Council and held various other positions within the Student Government Association. He was also a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. To further his financial knowledge, Crady studied and earned the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor designation from the American Bankers Association.

After graduation, he began his career in the trust department of Fifth Third Bank in Lexington, before moving to Louisville to work in the trust departments of Stock Yards Bank and National City Bank, before returning to Lexington to manage the trust department of National City in Lexington.

Crady is a principal at RW Baird (formerly Hilliard Lyons) and a founding member of the Wealth & Family Office Group. He has served on the board of directors of the Bingham Child Guidance Center, serving as president and treasurer, and currently serves on the board of directors of Cabbage Patch Settlement House and Nativity Academy in St. Boniface. Crady serves on the planned giving committee of the Center for Women and Families. He is married to Holly Harris Crady (’97 BE) and has two children, Robbie and Abby Crady.

Thomas K. Mathewswho resides in Cypress, Texas, was elected president-elect of the UK Alumni Association. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in the United Kingdom in 1993, after receiving a Commonwealth scholarship. A native of Louisville, he is president of Industrial Solvents Corporation, a member of the Houston Chemical Association and previously worked as a compliance manager for Blue Grass Chemical Specialties.

Mathews is a life member of the UK Alumni Association, has served as secretary and president of the Greater Houston UK Alumni Club, and has organized fundraisers for DanceBlue and the club’s local scholarship fund. At UK, he has served as a resident advisor and hall director at Holmes Hall, a member of Collegians for Academic Excellence, and a representative on the RHA board.

Mathews earned a master’s degree in liberal studies from Bellarmine University in 1999 before moving to Texas in 2001. He worked as a community volunteer at Career Gear Houston and regularly donates blood at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. He also volunteered as a youth coach with the Cy-Fair Sports Association and helped collect and sort donations at the Houston Food Bank. He is married to Tonya Williams Mathews and they have two children, Shelby and Pierce.

Kelly Sullivan Holland of Lexington was elected treasurer of the UK Alumni Association. A native of Danville, Kentucky, she earned two degrees in the UK: a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1993 and a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion in 1998. While studying in the UK, she received the Otis Singletary Senior Award, Phi Beta Kappa and Homecoming Queen. She was president of Chi Omega sorority and secretary of Omicron Delta Kappa. In 2005, she was inducted into the UK Greek Alumni Hall of Fame.

After graduation, Holland represented UK as an admissions counselor, then as director of recruitment and assistant director of undergraduate admissions. She served on the board of directors of the Kentucky Association of Secondary and College Admission Counselors, where she received the Most Outstanding Admissions Professional Award in 2000. She is the first alumna to receive the Joseph Burch Young Alumni Award, which she received in 2004, and in 2010, she received the UK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award. She began her work with the Alumni Association as president of the Fayette County Young Alumni and then as president of the Fayette County UK Alumni Club. Her service continued on the Alumni Association’s board of directors.

In 2012, Holland was appointed Alumni Trustee of the University of Kentucky for a 6-year term. She served as committee chair and board secretary during her tenure. She was selected for Leadership Kentucky’s 2021 class and led Women & Philanthropy UK as network co-chair in 2023. She volunteers as a trustee for the Central Kentucky American Heart Association. For 22 years, she has been employed by Merck & Co. Inc. in sales and account management positions, where she received the prestigious Hall of Fame honor. She is the associate director of national pharmacy accounts. She is married to Darin Holland (’93 AS) and they have one son, Jacob.

Jill H. Smithof Lexington, Kentucky, has been elected Secretary of the UK Alumni Association. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Management from UK in 2005 and a Master of Arts in Career, Technical Education and Leadership from the University of Kentucky in 2011. She began working at the UK Alumni Association in 2006 as a Program Coordinator and held four other positions within the association before becoming Executive Director in February 2020. She also serves as Associate Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement at UK.

Smith has been an active volunteer with the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education at the state and district level. She is an advisor to the Delta Rho chapter of Delta Delta Delta and a 2022 graduate of Leadership Kentucky. She is a life member of the UK Alumni Association, UK Fellow, Women & Philanthropy Member and serves on several university committees. She and her husband, Ryan, a graduate of the United Kingdom’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, have two children, Tanner and Emmy.