Secretary's Office 

Mary Elizabeth Bailey 

Cabinet Secretary
Kentucky Personnel Cabinet

Mary Elizabeth has worked in State Government, specifically in Human Resources, for more than 20 years. Throughout her career she has served on numerous committees and is a member of the National Association for State Personnel Executives, International Personnel Management Association, and Society for Human Resource Management. In her role as Commissioner, she oversees the administration of the Commonwealth's employment application process; state payroll functions; official personnel records for state employees; the state Classification and Compensation system; and the statewide Performance Management Program.  Ms. Bailey attended Kentucky Wesleyan College where she majored in Business Administration. She resides in Frankfort with her husband Todd Bailey and their three children.​​

Department of Employee Insurance

Sharron Burton 
Commissioner

Sharron received her Bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Kentucky in 1989, and in 1993, Sharron received her degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville School of Law. In 1994, Sharron began her career in state government at the Department of Insurance where, over the course of 19 years, she served as legal counsel, chief market conduct examiner, General Counsel, and Director of the Health and Life Division. Sharron joined the Personnel Cabinet Office of Legal Services as the Deputy Executive Director in February 2013. In this position, Sharron served as legal counsel for the Cabinet's branches and departments that provide a variety of employee benefits such as life insurance, Workers’ Compensation, employee assistance, and the Kentucky Employees' Health Plan (KEHP). In addition, Sharron served as the HIPAA Privacy Officer for KEHP. In July 2020, Sharron became the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Employee Insurance at the Personnel Cabinet, furthering her career in managing and administering employee benefits for the Commonwealth.

Chris Chamness
Deputy Commissioner

Chris is a lawyer with regulatory and compliance experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining the Personnel Cabinet, Chris had a diverse law practice in consumer finance, banking, financial technology, online payments, merchant cash advance, and privacy law in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Chris also held a management role supporting the Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, in Lexington, Kentucky. He now provides legal and compliance support to the Department of Employee Insurance on a wide range of issues under state and federal law, including HIPAA compliance, federal health insurance regulations, vendor management, procurement, and contracting. Chris also provides strategic planning, communications, and policy advice to the DEI. He received his Juris Doctor from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a degree in Politics with honors from Whitman College.

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Department of Human Resources Administration

Alaina Myers

Deputy Commissioner

Alaina Myers is a human resources (HR) professional with over 16 years of HR experience, with the last 13 of those years in the Personnel Cabinet’s Department of Human Resources Administration (DHRA). She is a member of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Chapter as Past President. Alaina graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from James Madison University. She is an IPMA Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP), received her Certificate of Supervisory Essentials (CSE) and is a trained mediator with the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program (KEMP). In her role as Deputy Commissioner, Alaina oversees the administration of the statewide Performance Management Program, the DHRA Training Program and the Division of Career Opportunities. Alaina resides in Lexington, KY with her husband and their two daughters.

Kentucky Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Authority

Chris Biddle
Executive Director

Chris is an attorney with twenty years of administrative, regulatory, and civil litigation experience. Chris has been with the Authority for over 10 years and has served as the Authority’s chief legal officer and Executive Director during his tenure. In his current role as Executive Director, Chris oversees the daily business operation and compliance for the accounts of approximately 75,000 individuals with combined assets of $3 billion. 

Office of Administrative Services

​Robbie S. Perkins 
IT Director, Division of Technology Services

Robbie brings more than 25 years of experience in information technology, accounting, and human resources with the last 14 of those years in service at the Personnel Cabinet. Robbie is a member of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the KY Chapter of IPMA-HR and is an past president. A native of Madison County, Robbie attended Eastern Kentucky University where he majored in accounting and received his Certified Public Manager (CPM) certification from GSC and now resides in Frankfort.

Governmental Service Center

 Wes Swarner
 Executive Director

Wes is a graduate of the University of Louisville with a BS in Health Occupations Education. Prior to joining state government, he spent 21 years in the United States Army, retiring in 1999. His last eight years in service was dedicated to training both U.S. and Allied Forces in tactical operations and leadership. Wes has more than 35 years of experience in management training and employee development and has served in multiple positions within state government. Wes received his certification in Lean Production Systems from the University of Kentucky’s Center for Manufacturing. Originally from Beavercreek, Ohio, He resides in Versailles with his wife, Lisa. 

Office of Diversity, Equality and Training

 Vikki Stone
 Executive Director

Vikki Smiley Stone comes to the Personnel Cabinet after having owned a public relations, community engagement, and diversity and inclusion programming company for over 20 years. Throughout her tenure as a business owner, she served as a consultant to local, national and international clients and has worked on a wide variety of projects, the largest of which was the Louisville Metro Housing Authority's $200 million dollar Park DuValle Revitalization HOPE VI project. Vikki has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from the University of Louisville, Master's Degree from Kentucky State University, Diversity and Inclusion for Human Resources Certification from Cornell University and she is a graduate of the Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellows program. 

Office of Employee Relations

​Alan Hurst
Acting Executive Director

Alan is a committed legal professional with extensive experience in administrative and regulatory law. He received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Eastern Kentucky University and his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Before joining the Personnel Cabinet, Alan served as a Staff Attorney for Kentucky Retirement Systems where he assisted with the disability and administrative adjudicative process, drafted administrative regulations, oversaw committee meetings, and handled issues related to HIPAA and the Open Records Act. In his current role with the Office of Employee Relations, Alan provides leadership and support to other state agencies through the coordination of a variety of programs and services including workers’ compensation, the return-to-work program, employee assistance and employee recognition. Alan is married and a proud father of two girls.

Office of Public Affairs

Steeley Shacklette​
Executive Director