Garnett Thurman

Biography

Garnett Thurman, Jr. is a 1992 graduate of Belmont University with a Bachelor’s degree in history and political science. Garnett earned an Associate’s in Liberal Arts from Kentucky State University’s Great Books Program (1990) and a Master’s from the University of the Cumberlands (2015).

After graduating from Belmont, Garnett worked for several years as News Director of a local radio station in Frankfort, Kentucky before accepting a position with the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission where he eventually accepted a larger role as Legislative Analyst for the Kentucky House of Representatives Leadership Office. He remained in that role before accepting a gubernatorial appointment to serve as the Legislative Director for the Kentucky Public Service Commission (the state’s utility regulatory authority) for a brief period before accepting a promotion as Executive Director of the Kentucky Environmental & Public Protection Cabinet’s Office of Legislative & External Affairs. The Cabinet included state agencies that oversaw the environment and natural resources, banking, insurance, horse racing, housing/building/construction, and public utilities.

Currently, Garnett is the Senior Policy Consultant for the Kentucky School Boards Association where he is lead policy staff for federal and state legislative action that impacts Kentucky’s 171 public school districts and their policies and procedures. As such, he tracks legislation, regulations, and case law and drafts resulting changes for all districts.

Garnett is married to Tracey (Turner) Thurman, also a 1992 graduate of Belmont. They have one son, Grayson, who is a 2023 Belmont graduate.