Meet Senate Leadership

Senate President Robert Stivers was elected to the Senate in 1997. He represents the 25th District, which encompasses Clay, Jackson, Knox, Lee, McCreary, Owsley, and Whitley counties. 

President Stivers was elected by his colleagues to serve as Senate Majority Floor Leader in 2008, a position he held until being elected as Senate President in 2013.  As the Senate President, Senator Stivers represents the entire body of the Kentucky State Senate in any official state business. 

In 2015, President Stivers was honored by Governing Magazine as a Public Official of the Year for his work in the General Assembly. In 2016, he was named the Chair of the Southern Legislative Conference and in 2018 served as the Chair of the Council of State Governments, a national organization. The President currently serves as Chair of the Senate President’s Forum. 

President Stivers serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Committees and Rules Committee and the co-chairman of the Legislative Research Commission. Additionally, President Stivers is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Education Committee and was most recently appointed as co-chair to the Bourbon Barrel Taxation Task Force during the 2022 Interim. 

President Stivers was the Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney from 1989 to 1993.  He has served as a member of the Kentucky Appalachian Council, the Kentucky Appalachian Commission, the Early Childhood Development Council, the Governor's Council on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, the OxyContin Task Force, the Evidence Committee (University of Louisville Law School), the Corrections & Public Safety Task Force of the Council of State Government, the Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee of Southern Legislative Conference, the Southern States Energy Board.

President Stivers was born on December 24, 1961.  He graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in industrial management and a minor in economics. He earned his law degree from The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law and is a practicing attorney in Manchester.  He is married to Regina Crawford Stivers and between the two of them, has seven children and 10 grandchildren. 

Senator David Givens (R-Greensburg) was elected to the Kentucky State Senate in 2008 and represents the 9th District comprising Allen, Barren, Green, Metcalfe, Monroe, and Simpson counties.

He serves as the Senate President Pro Tempore and is co-chair of the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity as well as the Emergency Medical Services Task Force.  Senator Givens is a member of the Senate Standing Committees on Appropriations and Revenue, Agriculture, Education, and Health and Welfare. Additionally, Senator Givens is a member of the Legislative Research Commission, the Rules Committee, and the Committee on Committees.

Senator Givens is a managing partner of Central Farmers Supply in Greensburg.  He and his family raise corn and soybeans on their 150-acre farm in Green County. He also is an Elder at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church.

Senator Givens was born in December, 1966 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture and a Master of Arts in Communication from Western Kentucky University. 

Senator Givens is married to Laurie Kidd Givens, the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts.  Their combined family of five children is the source of their greatest pride.  Hannah Givens coaches volleyball at Lynchburg University (Va.).  Kathleen Dudgeon is a law school student at the University of Kentucky.  Matthew Givens recently completed his undergraduate degree at Western Kentucky University.  Tate Dudgeon is progressing on his undergraduate studies at William and Mary (Va.). Michael Givens is working on his undergraduate degree at Georgetown University (Washington, DC).  Laurie and David make their home in Frankfort and Greensburg.

Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown) is Kentucky’s longest-serving Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader. Elected to that position by his Republican colleagues in January 2013, he is the third Republican to serve as Majority Leader of the Kentucky State Senate. The first was Senator Dan Kelly in 2000 when the Senate initially flipped to Republican control. The second was Senator Robert Stivers, who now serves as the Kentucky Senate President.

Among several awards during his time as a Kentucky legislator, Senator Thayer is a seven-time recipient of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s MVP Award; a two-time recipient of the Big Hitter Award, presented by the Kentucky League of Cities; and was selected as 23rd on a list of the 40 most influential people in the debate to decide the future of U.S. Pensions by Institutional Investor Magazine for his sponsorship of Senate Bill 2, which reformed the Kentucky Employee Pension System in 2013. In 2019, the National Rifle Association presented him with its highest legislative accolade, the Defender of Freedom Award, for his work protecting the 2nd Amendment. He recently became a three-time recipient of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association 100 Proof Award for his continued support of the bourbon industry. Senator Thayer holds a lifetime rating of 90 percent from the American Conservative Union Foundation.

As Majority Floor Leader, Senator Thayer helps guide bills through the legislative process on the Senate floor and acts as a key contributor in setting the policy agenda. Leader Thayer acts on behalf of his party during the proceedings on the Senate floor. As a member of Senate Leadership, Senator Thayer serves on the Committee on Committees, the Rules Committee and the Legislative Research Commission. Additionally, he serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee; Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee; and the Senate State and Local Government Committee. He is also a member of the Equine Issues Subcommittee and recently served as co-chair of the 2021 Pari-Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force.

Before being elected to his Leadership post, Senator Thayer chaired the Senate State and Local Government Committee from 2005-2012. As chairman, he played a pivotal role in significant issues such as pension reform, redistricting, election law, special districts, government ethics and transparency.

First elected to the Kentucky State Senate in a 2003 special election, Senator Thayer represents the citizens of the 17th District, which encompasses Grant, Scott and southern Kenton Counties and 11 precincts in northwest Fayette County.

Born September 16, 1967, Senator Thayer graduated from Michigan State University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. He is the President of Thayer Communications and Consulting LLC, a marketing communications firm in Georgetown, owner of Half Century Equine Ventures LLC, which participates in racehorse partnerships and is co-founder of Kentucky Senator Spirits LLC. Senator Thayer is a member of the Scott and Grant Counties Chambers of Commerce, the National Rifle Association, Kentucky Right to Life, the Scott County Farm Bureau, and is a Kentucky Colonel.

Senator Thayer is the former Vice Chairman (1999-2004) of the Republican Party of Kentucky. The Grant County Republican Party honored him for outstanding community service in 2004, and the Scott County Republican Party presented him the Ira & Constance Gray Award for his dedication to Republican Party principles in 2007.

He has two children, Daniel and Katie. Daniel is a 2019 graduate of Northern Kentucky University and Katie is majoring in aviation at Middle Tennessee State University.

Senator Julie Raque Adams has served in the Kentucky General Assembly since 2011. She currently represents the 36th Senatorial District, which encompasses a portion of Jefferson County.

After serving four years in the Kentucky House of Representatives, Adams was elected to the Senate in 2014 and began her term in 2015.

Senator Adams currently serves as Senate Majority Caucus Chair. She was first elected to this leadership position in 2018 and was recently reelected in 2022. Adams serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Families and Children Committee, and is a member of the Senate Banking and Insurance, Health Services, and Licensing and Occupations committees. Additionally, she is a Member of the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee and the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee.

Adams is also active in her task force endeavors serving as Co-Chair of the 1915c Home & Community-Based Services Waiver Redesign and is a member of the Pari-Mutual Wagering Taxation group. 

As a member of the House of Representatives, business, tax and health initiatives were a primary focus for Adams as she represented the Commonwealth’s largest city, Louisville.

Adams also was elected to serve on the first Louisville Metro Council in November 2002 and won re-election in 2004. While on the Council, Adams was involved in many planning, land design and economic development initiatives.

Senator Adams brought a tremendous amount of governmental experience to City Hall and the Kentucky General Assembly, having served as a staff member for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), as a federal lobbyist for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and as Press Secretary and Campaign Manager for Congresswoman Anne Northup (R-KY). 

Born and raised in Louisville, Senator Adams graduated from St. Margaret Mary Catholic School, Sacred Heart Academy, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN, and a Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 

When in Louisville, Senator Adams is a small business owner.

Active in the community, Senator Adams attends St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and serves as a board member for the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, Twisted Pink – a research-based non-profit for metastatic breast cancer and Louisville non-profit, Family Scholar House. She also serves on the board of Opal’s Dream Foundation, an organization serving thousands of senior citizens in nursing homes across Kentucky.

Julie is married to Jim Adams and is the proud mother of two sons, James and Joseph.

Senator Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green) represents the 32nd District which includes Warren, Logan, Simpson and Todd Counties. He was elected as the Senate Majority Caucus Whip in September of 2017 and was just recently reelected in 2022.  

As a Senate majority leadership member, Wilson serves on the Legislative Research Commission, the Committee on Committees, and the Rules Committee. He is a member of the Senate Agriculture; Economic Development, Tourism and Labor; Education; Transportation; and Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection committees. He also serves as Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee and Public Pension Oversight Board member. Wilson recently served as a 2022 Interim Early Childhood Education Task Force member.

Mike was born in New Albany, Mississippi and grew up in Memphis, TN. In December of 1972, he joined the United States Marine Corps serving his country for 8 ½ years. Upon his honorable discharge from the Marines in July of 1981 he attended college at California State University at Fullerton and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. During his college years, Mike served with Campus Crusade for Christ as a volunteer leader and was an Associate Staff Member for their Student Venture High School Ministry at Anaheim High School and Magnolia High School Campuses in Anaheim, California. He served as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Magnolia High School Football Team as well as the Team Chaplain. 

Upon graduation, Mike worked for the largest personal lines insurance broker in Southern California starting his career as a sales agent and working his way up to branch manager for the company’s office in the San Fernando Valley. His leadership and management of over 45 employees within 5 departments helped turn an unprofitable office into one of the top earning branches in the company

Mike served as the Director of High School Ministries in his church as well as the Director of the Singles Ministry. In December of 1989 Mike was invited to join the staff of Calvary Chapel of South Bay in Carson, California where he served as the Administrator and As Executive Minister. There he managed a staff of 13 people and oversaw all ministries within the church. He was also responsible fora million dollar annual budget and oversight of all financial expenditures and accounting. While at the church he helped establish a Community Crisis Hotline and a Volunteer Clergy Ride-Along Program under the Police Chaplain of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department at the Carson station.

Senator Wilson moved his family to Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1993 where he helped establish a small church and worked with the local Christian Radio Station to start a community wide event known as Harvest Festival. In October of 1994 Mike began working for Bowling Green Community Broadcasting, Christian Family Radio, as the Promotions Director and Business Partnership Director. In September of 1997 He was selected by the Board of Directors to become the next General Manager of the radio station. Under Mike's leadership the station grew from one full-power radio station in Bowling Green to 3 full-power stations to include Owensboro and Glasgow, Kentucky as well.  Mike increased the community outreach and sponsorship of many community events such as the Community Impact Awards and Faith and Family Nights with the Bowling Green Hot Rods Baseball Team.  

Mike is happily married to his wife Cammie and they have six children, Michael Jr., Dawn, Sam, Grace, Jessie and Mary Catherine. Mike and Cammie attend Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green.

Mike owns a consulting company, The Wilson Group, LLC. He provides consulting services to businesses in the areas of management, marketing, and work force solutions. Mike is also very involved in the community as a member of The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Ambassador's Club.  With the Chamber he has served on the Agri-Business Committee and the Government Relations Committee. He has also helped develop a Police Chaplain Program for the Bowling Green Police Department and served as a Police Chaplain for a period of time. He has served on various boards in the community such as the Barren River Area District FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Bowling Green Area Prayer Breakfast.  Mike has served as President, Vice President and Secretary of the Greenwood High School Quarterback Club. Mike is very supportive and active in the arts and has appeared in numerous plays at The Public Theatre of Kentucky and with Fountain Square Players. Mike also serves on the Board of Advisers for Western Kentucky University.  He is a board member of The Fund for Transforming Education, a Commissioner on the Education Commission of the States, and a Legislative Advisory Board member on the Southern Region Education Board, SREB

Mike will tell you that the most important decision he ever made was in November of 1979 when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.  “It changed the whole direction of my life and my belief system about life.”   Today he realizes his life is about serving others, and that is what drives him on a daily basis.  He believes he is here to make a difference and wants to do that for his family, his friends, and his community.