Leadership Alabama

Born and raised in Montgomery, Ashley Kaplan graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Arts in communications. She began her career serving in roles at the Auburn University Foundation in Major Gifts Development and Huntingdon College in the Office of Admissions in Montgomery. Ashley joined the Leadership Alabama team in December 2007 and has been instrumental in every aspect of our organization, including leading the growth, expansion, and success of Leadership Alabama’s ALI (Alabama Leadership Initiative) young professional program in 2017. She ultimately achieved her current role as Executive Director in July 2023.

Ashley currently serves on the board of directors for the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. She is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, where she has served on the Connect Committee and is currently on the Programs Committee. Ashley was named one of BBJ’s “Emerging Influencers of 2023” and selected for Leadership Birmingham’s 2024-2025 Class 41.

Ashley lives in Birmingham with her husband Kent and children, Tripp and Lexie. They are active members of St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church. She enjoys volunteering at her children’s schools, running, watching football and live music, and spending time at Lake Martin.

Lydia Barnett joined the Leadership Alabama team in March of 2024.  She comes to LA from The Hope Institute, where she served as Program Coordinator, supporting, planning and executing the Hope Leadership Academy sessions as well as other Hope Institute events. She also facilitated and coached two cohorts of educational leaders in that role. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Lydia served in various roles in public education for 13 years, including as a classroom teacher at every elementary grade level and as a dean of instruction. She has taught in traditional public schools and charter schools alike, and her career has taken her to four different states in the South and Midwest, beginning in Memphis, TN. As an Alabama native, it was only a matter of time before she returned to her home state.

She earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Auburn University and her M.Ed. in administration at Samford University. She is also an alumnus of Teach For America, and she is a member of the Phoenician Club of Birmingham. Additionally, Lydia serves as a volunteer director at Camp Winnataska, and she is a PTO volunteer at Oak Mountain Elementary School, where her children go to school. Finally, Lydia and her family are active members of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Birmingham.

Lydia is married to Tyler Barnett, CEO of New Schools for Alabama, and they are parents of two young daughters, AJ and Lois, as well as their two Great Pyrenees dogs, Odie and Buttercup. She enjoys running, reading, and watching her girls play soccer.

Kate Cotton joined Leadership Alabama as the Executive Director in January 2018 following a long career at Protective Life Corporation.  She was a member of LA Class XVII and was serving as a LA board member when chosen for this role.  During her tenure, the Leadership Alabama team achieved some incredible milestones relative to growth and organizational & financial efficiencies.  As of July 1, 2023, Kate stepped down as ED and enthusiastically assumed the role of Operations and Development Director in support of Ashley’s leadership and the LA team.

She has served on various boards of directors, including PARCA, Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Birmingham Education Foundation, the Woodlawn Foundation, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, and the YWCA Central Alabama. Additionally, she is a member of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Birmingham, UAB’s Leadership Cabinet, UAB’s Educational Foundation Board and PreSchool Partners’ Advisory Council. She was named one of the BBJ’s “Top Birmingham Women for 2020,” in addition to being named one of Birmingham’s “Women Who Make a Difference” in 2014 and being honored as a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts.

Kate, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business, is married to John, and they have three grown sons. She enjoys spending time at Lake Martin, reading, walking, and silently cheering for the Oklahoma Sooners amidst the sea of Alabama and Auburn Fans.