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Louisville, KY
Change City

Meet Our New Executive Council Volunteers

Posted on 01/03/25 by Scott Wegenast

New Volunteer Leaders Join AARP Kentucky Executive Council
AARP Kentucky is excited to welcome our new 2025 volunteer executive council members. These volunteer leaders will be at the forefront of supporting our local and statewide community outreach efforts and our advocacy work shaping public policy and legislation impacting Kentuckians 50-plus.

“Our community is the place where we can be most effective,” wrote our founder and first AARP volunteer, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. Collectively, these new leaders bring deep community connections, diverse and wide range of educational and professional experience, and a passion to serve their communities.

“We’re excited about the coming years and the many contributions this new team of volunteer leaders will bring to our community outreach and advocacy efforts in their communities,” Gary W. Adkins, AARP Kentucky’s volunteer state president.

Our Executive Council volunteers work collaboratively with our state president, state director, local volunteer teams, and staff to serve 434,000 AARP members across our Commonwealth. Additionally, the Executive Council now includes two past council members serving in an Emeritus role to retain their energy, experience, and expertise.

Meet Our Executive Council Members
Tim Abrams (Eminence)
Tim Abrams holds degrees from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University. He began his education career in 1988 as a mathematics teacher at Henry County High School. Tim retired in 2017 after 29 years in the Henry County School District, including 15 years as superintendent. He led improving academic performance and facilities and helped establish the iLead Academy STEM program.

He’s a longtime advocate for public education and has served as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association (KRTA) since 2017. He presently serves as President of the Association of State Retired Teachers Executives.

Tim and his wife, Jan, have twin daughters (Shelby and Sydney) and three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way.
Reverend Darryl Baker (Lexington)
Reverend Darryl Baker holds degrees from Carroll University, Princeton Seminary, and Presbyterian School of Christian Education. For 35 years, he served the Presbyterian Church USA in various pastoral roles across five states and chaired the Committee on Ministry in three Presbyteries. Darryl volunteers with several community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and AARP Lexington Community Team leading its Lexington Advocacy Team.

Darryl and his wife, Ginny, have two adult daughters and one grandchild with a second on the way. He enjoys tennis, hiking, music, reading, and lifelong learning.
Ralph de Chabert (Louisville)
Ralph de Chabert holds numerous degrees and certificates from Spalding University, University of San Francisco, Middlebury College, John Carroll University, Saint Francis College (University of New England). He is a passionate self-starter and results-oriented Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner, with a proven ability to collaborate, influence, and build strategic relationships to achieve business results.

Ralph has served in several corporate executive level leadership positions with an emphasis on bringing diversity into corporate governance and executive discussions, including Brown-Forman Corporation, McKesson Corporation, and the American President Companies.

Ralph presently teaches English to 7th and 8th grade students at the Liberty School in Louisville.
Dudley Cooper (Harrodsburg)
Dudley Cooper holds degrees from Brescia College and Western Kentucky University. His dedication to public service includes leadership roles in local and county governing, public health and economic development.
He has served in elected roles with the City of Fordsville Council as a Council Member, Ohio County Fiscal Court as Judge Executive, and the Green River Area Development District.
Dudley has shared and applied his professional experience and skills consulting as a Board member and advisor supporting numerous nonprofit organizations, state, and regional government taskforces. Dudley and his wife, Susan, are the proud parents of one adult daughter.
Paul Guffey (Somerset)
Paul Guffey holds degrees from Western Kentucky University. His career involved services for persons with developmental disabilities providing direct services to individuals, organizational development, and administration. He enjoyed developing and overseeing programs as director with 800-plus employees. He actively served as president of numerous related professional associations at local, state, and national levels. 
After finishing his first career, Paul and his wife developed, owned and operated two private companies. Today, he continues as an executive leader with Guffey Enterprises, LLC which owns and operates homes as residential rentals in the Somerset area.  He shares his volunteer time with church, Somerset Rotary Club, and other community groups.  
Paul and his wife, Sue, are longtime residents of Somerset and enjoy traveling both in the United States and internationally.
Milton Littles (La Grange)
Milton Donnell Littles holds degrees in Electrical Engineering Technologies from South Carolina State University and is a Six Sigma Black Belt Champion. He is a seasoned professional with over three decades of experience in management and production operations within the automotive manufacturing sector. Milton dedicated 34.5 years at Ford Motor Company holding various leadership positions, including Quality Manager and Area Manager. He played a key role in launching the 2017 Super Duty model and achieving best-ever warranty levels for the 2013 model year.
He currently serves as a board member at Edgewater Resorts and has held significant roles on the Kentucky Truck Plant OCM and YMCA boards. He is actively involved in community service and development with a passion for enhancing organizational effectiveness and community well-being.
Carla Wallace (Hartford)
Carla Wallace holds degrees in Nursing from Western Kentucky University and a Master’s in Education from Murray State University.
She began her career as a Registered Nurse serving in various roles including charge nurse and chief nursing officer. For the last 27 years, she has educated and mentored aspiring healthcare professionals. Carla has served on the Board of Trustees at the Ohio County Hospital for 20 years. She is presently serving as Board Chair and an active member of the hospital auxiliary.
Since joining AARP in 2010, Carla served in several leadership positions with the AARP Ohio County Chapter #4019 in Hartford. Her dedication has helped lead the growth of the chapter to more than 230 members offering local diverse educational and social opportunities. Carla is the proud mother of two adult children.
Merrylyn Moran-Smith (Emeritus)
Dr. Merrylyn Moran-Smith, Ed.D. holds numerous degrees and certificates with a concentration on public education from the University of Pittsburgh, Georgetown College, University of Kentucky, and Dillard University in New Orleans. Merrylyn’s extensive career in public education includes classroom, professional development, researcher and executive level leadership roles at Fayette County Public Schools and Kentucky State University.

She applied her experience, and skill sets as a consultant with numerous boards and commissions including, Kentucky Department of Education Equity Commission, Kentucky Council on Higher Education, Southern Association of Colleges, Fayette County Government, and Kentucky State University.

Merrylyn has served the AARP Kentucky Executive Council and led the Lexington Community volunteer team since 2018. She continues providing volunteer leadership with a shared vision for making aging easier in Fayette County.
Charlotte Whittaker (Emeritus)
Charlotte Whittaker has served as the AARP Kentucky volunteer state president since 2018. She led AARP Kentucky’s Executive Council and local volunteers for seven years through challenges and uncertainty.

Her countless hours of volunteering have changed aging in Kentucky for the better. She has friends and colleagues across all parts of Kentucky. The scope of her volunteer work is impressive; from leading outreach and education volunteers, mobilizing and organizing grassroots advocates to her overall commitment to community service changing aging across the Commonwealth. Charlotte is highly regarded by both elected officials and community organizations for her service and leadership with AARP Kentucky.

She is an exceptional example of how older Kentuckians can use a lifetime of experience to improve the quality of life in their community.

Making Your Voice Heard
Our volunteer leaders will be at the forefront of our advocacy efforts working to shape public policy and legislation that impacts Kentuckians 50-plus. AARP Kentucky makes your voice heard by advocating for what is important to our members and giving you a voice at the state and federal levels. We work with local organizations, town and city officials to make our communities more livable and greater places to age with dignity and purpose.

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More About Volunteering with AARP Kentucky
To learn more or to get involved in our advocacy or community service outreach, please contact AARP Kentucky at kyaarp@aarp.org
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