KASS Live with Terry Brooks

KASS Live welcomes Dr. Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates and one of the Commonwealth’s most respected voices on child and family policy.Dr. Brooks spent more than three decades as a public school administrator in Jefferson, Hardin and Oldham Counties, as well as at Anchorage Independent Schools. He later served as a lead qualitative researcher for the Governor’s Center of Excellence for the Advancement of Teaching, sharing a joint faculty appointment at the Universities of Louisville and Kentucky. His national work includes serving as lead senior associate for education at the Community Training and Assistance Center, where he partnered with mayors and governors in cities such as Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, Newark and Cleveland to lead systemic change efforts.Since 2005, Dr. Brooks has led Kentucky Youth Advocates, the Commonwealth’s seminal nonprofit watchdog for children. KYA advances policy across economic well-being, health, child welfare, education, early childhood and juvenile justice, working in both Frankfort and Washington to shape legislation and long-term systems on behalf of Kentucky’s kids.During this conversation, Dr. Brooks reflects on the intersection of child advocacy, public education and state policy, drawing on decades of experience in district leadership and statewide reform. The discussion will explore how education policy connects to broader child well-being, what effective advocacy requires in complex political environments, and how district leaders can navigate policy conversations while maintaining community trust.This KASS Live episode offers superintendents and district leaders the opportunity to hear from a leader who has spent his career bridging schools, policy, and child advocacy—bringing clarity, credibility and a child-centered lens to some of Kentucky’s most consequential education conversations.