New Renaissance Covington Director returns to hometown with vision

Renaissance Covington Director Katie Meyer came back to her hometown from Frankfort after leaving the region seven years ago. Just as she'd planned.

"I was really looking to get back to Covington, and specifically downtown. In the past I'd looked for public administration jobs here and what I wanted wasn't available. But this job opened up and it was a great opportunity," she said.  "There is a uniqueness about Covington; there is character here you can't find elsewhere. There's a lot of civic participation that makes is a great place to live. Your neighbors care about what's going on in the city."

Meyer started the job Feb. 17, replacing former Director Kathie Hickey. Renaissance Covington is a non-profit initiative aimed at revitalizing the city's urban core.

Among Meyer's plans are expanding green and public spaces, making the city more bike and pedestrian friendly and working closely with the city's emerging Arts District.

"I'm working on building a strong partnership with the arts district, really developing our local arts. We have so much potential here for a great arts community," she said.

Meyer grew up in the Old Seminary Square neighborhood and attended Covington Latin School. She has a bachelor's from the University of Kentucky in political science and journalism and a Master's from The New School in New York City in urban policy analysis and management.

She also held public administration jobs in New Delhi, India and Vancouver, B.C. before working at the Kentucky Housing Corporation in Frankfort as Performance Analyst.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Katie Meyer, Renaissance Covington Director
Enjoy this story? Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.