Superintendent Selection Staff Bios

Wayne Young joined the KASA staff in 1983 in the position of legal counsel and lobbyist. He became executive director of KASA in 1989, and continues to serve in his original roles as well. During the past 25 years, Wayne has developed a reputation as a valuable resource for Kentucky school leaders. He is in great demand at both state and national conferences as a speaker on a variety of education topics. He conducts frequent workshops for teachers, attorneys, and school administrators on legal issues in education such as general liability, student confidentiality issues, sexual harassment, and school personnel law. He is a nationally certified trainer on the topic of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Wayne has taught school law at the graduate level for the University of Louisville, and has published numerous articles on education law, including in the Kentucky Bar Journal, the official professional publication for Kentucky lawyers. He is also the author of the school law training module that has been used to train all new school superintendents in Kentucky for the past 18 years. Prior to coming to KASA, Wayne was a prosecuting attorney and was engaged in private law practice.

Rhonda Caldwell joined KASA in 2001 as the director of communications, and in 2004, was named deputy director. During her tenure with KASA, Rhonda’s leadership has brought about substantial increases in membership, which currently stands at 3,000, and conference participation which has doubled, bringing event attendance to more than 1,500 educators and business partners annually.  She has also expanded affiliate services, developed the association’s Web site, and expanded numerous membership programs. Earlier this year, Rhonda earned the Certified Association Executive credential, the highest profesessional credential in the association industry. During the past year, Rhonda has presented Evolving Trends and their Profound Impact on Education to administrators across the state, encouraging everyone to consider what we as leaders need to know and do to become a relevant force in creating Kentucky’s future. Prior to KASA, Rhonda served as marketing director for the Heart of Kentucky United Way and held numerous posts with the Danville Ind. Schools, including public relations coordinator, personnel assistant, volunteer coordinator, and even middle school secretary in her early days.

Phil Eason, has served in leadership positions for over thirty years. His experience ranges from head football coach, high school principal, executive director of a cooperative to superintendent of schools. In all the positions that Phil has held he has demonstrated the ability to align people and processes that produce results and a culture that people both enjoyed and took pride in being a member. He has developed and led a variety of workshops and trainings in the area of management and leadership.

Randy Capps, president and founder of Leadership Strategies Group, having held several academic and management positions, is an award-winning researcher and writer, and has held numerous organizational leadership positions. With over twenty years in the consulting and training field, Randy’s expertise is in executive coaching, facilitating organizational redesign, and in implementing employee communication systems. He provides practical experience and a broad range of knowledge to partner with organizations and guide them towards the achievement of their objectives.

Todd Shomo, has assisted clients with organizational assessments, 360-degree assessments (entailing instrument design, survey/interview administration, quantitative and qualitative analysis and report compilation. He has developed, administered and analyzed employee attitude and market surveys.)