EKU Board of Regents member Lewis Diaz, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, was elected chair of the Board of Directors of the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) on Oct. 26.
As chair of the NKADD Board of Directors, Diaz is the executive officer of the board and will preside at all meetings. He will have general and active management of board business and will see that all orders, policies and resolutions are carried into effect. The board has 38 members, including eight county judges, various mayors and citizen members.
Diaz earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s of public administration degree from EKU, where he was also an all-conference lineman for the Colonel football team.
The NKADD is one of 15 districts committed to educating and empowering communities by implementing quality services, solutions and partnerships that achieve sustainable economic growth and improve the overall quality of life for the residents of Kentucky. The NKADD serves residents in the counties of Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton.
As a member of his law firm’s Public Finance Group, Diaz concentrates his practice on affordable housing and traditional government finance. He represents governmental issuers (both as bond counsel and issuer counsel), LIHTC syndicators, developers (for profit and non-profit), underwriters, banks, trustees, lenders and credit providers. Diaz previously served as general counsel to the Kentucky Housing Corporation, the state’s housing finance agency. He also serves as the vice chair of the board of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission and was appointed in 2016 by Gov. Matt Bevin to the EKU Board of Regents for a term expiring June 30, 2022. Along with Juan Castro of Lexington, the Cuba native is one of two Latinos to serve on the EKU board.
Dinsmore & Shohl is comprised of more than 650 attorneys with locations in 21 cities throughout California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.