Liz on Council

Councilmember swearing in ceremony, Jan 4, 2021

Serving as the 5th District Councilmember since January of 2021, Councilmember Liz Sheehan has established herself as a fierce advocate for her constituents. Working side-by-side with neighborhoods across the district, Liz has helped to solve problems and bring your voice to the table where decisions are made. Together, we will continue to preserve the uniqueness of Lexington while pursuing future opportunities.

During her first term (2021-2022) facing historic challenges, Liz has maintained her focus on helping to improve the lives of all Lexingtonians. She has helped secure robust funding for affordable housing and reducing homelessness, supported a $5 million local grant program for small businesses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our residents in their jobs, and never lost sight of the day-to-day issues surrounding government services like public safety, road repair, traffic issues, and stormwater concerns. With her passion for public education and engagement, she has spearheaded civic education initiatives like the Civic Connections column in the Chevy Chaser-Southsider and kept residents informed about their community with a regular newsletter and by organizing neighborhood meetings. Liz has also continued to take a bold stand for our tree canopy and environment by leading the efforts to bring Kentucky Utilities to the negotiating table, and by being the decisive vote to secure funding for Lexington’s first Sustainability Coordinator position.

After her re-election in 2022, Liz has continued this work in her second term (2023-2024) on council. She addressed housing insecurity by supporting a change in our Affordable Housing Fund ordinance to secure dedicated revenue and by leading on increasing staff members and funding for our Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Office. To advocate for neighborhoods, she worked on policy to regulate Short-Term rentals in our community, regularly attends neighborhood meetings, and prioritizes constituent services, such as paving streets, sewer upgrades, and responding to safety concerns.

Councilmember Sheehan serves on:

Environmental Quality and Public Works Council Committee, Chair
General Government and Planning Council Committee
Senior Services Commission
Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Link (i.e. subcommittee) for the Council Budget Process, Chair of the Link for this fiscal year
Access Lexington (formerly Commission for People with Disabilities)
Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Board, Chair of the Program Performance and Evaluation Committee
Municipal Equality Index Work Group
Commission on Veterans’ Affairs
Emergency Medical Advisory Board

Liz’s Background

Photo by Kremena Todorova and Kurt Gohde for their “Lexington in the Time of COVID-19” Project. See more of their artwork at http://kurtandkremena.com/

In addition to serving as your 5th District Councilmember, Dr. Liz Sheehan is also a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky with nearly 20 years of experience in education, community advocacy, and leadership. Her husband, Dr. Dan Sheehan, is a tenured professor in the Gatton College of Business at UK, and their daughter, Ash, is a student in the Fayette County Public School system. The Sheehan family adopted their “pandemic puppy” Jaja (Ya-Ya) in 2020.

Like many Lexingtonians, Liz and her family chose to make Lexington their forever home because of the wonderful community, natural resources, and robust healthcare and education systems here.

Born in Midlothian, Virginia, Liz understood from an early age the importance of education and knew that it could provide a pathway to her future. This spirit of hard work and determination drove her to become a first-generation college student, and that same fighting spirit helped her to earn her doctorate degree. After graduating with her undergrad degree and a few moves in between, Liz and Dan located in Atlanta where Liz earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in psychology from Emory University. After graduating, she accepted a faculty position at Georgia State University while Dan went back to school to earn a Ph.D. in business from Georgia Tech.

Liz at Preston’s Cave Springs Restoration in April 2018.

Since moving to Lexington Liz has committed herself to improving our community. She formerly served as Chair of Lexington Fairness, where she led their work to increase justice and equity in Central Kentucky. She was also the Vice Chair of the Environmental Commission for the city before stepping down after assuming her role on Council and remains a member of the Junior League of Lexington, a volunteer organization, where she received the “Volunteer of the Year” award in 2019 and serves on the Board for the Junior League’s annual Lexington Charity Horse Show. Liz serves as the Secretary of Compassionate Lexington, a non-profit that she co-founded in 2019.

In addition to her formal education, Liz is also a graduate of the following community programs: Leadership Lexington (2018), Emerge Kentucky (2018), Fayette Alliance Planning Academy (2019), Community Environmental Academy (2020), and the Citizens’ Police Academy (2021).

She has also served in a volunteer capacity with the Girl Scouts of Wilderness Road Council, League of Women Voters of Lexington, the Fayette County Branch of the Women’s Network, the Hope Center, Kids Cancer Alliance, and an LFUCG Planning Advisory Group. Liz served as a past board member for CivicLex, the Ashland Neighborhood Board, and the Lexington Fair Housing Board.

With your support of her re-election, Councilmember Liz Sheehan will continue working with you to shape Lexington’s future. She has demonstrated the power of connection and community building in order to get results for the 5th District and all of Lexington. She has the experience and knowledge to help ensure that every Lexingtonian can thrive, regardless of their zip code or identity.