Roger Ford
Director's Message
Roger Ford
Roger Ford is a native of Fords Branch, Kentucky. A business executive with a combined 25 years’ experience in business and government, focused on rural energy development and rural public policy. He is past president of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Association and a past partner with the National Hemp Growers Cooperative, as well as a Honorary Kentucky Colonel and Kentucky Admiral.
His work in government focused on agriculture, energy, and rural economic development policy and legislation. He served as a legislative aide for multiple legislators and as Director of Energy and Technology for Pike County Government, overseeing a multi-year comprehensive energy policy and economic study developing strategies and recruiting energy companies to build facilities rural Eastern Kentucky.
His work in the private sector has focused on energy startups in the bioenergy and renewable energy sectors, focusing on research and development of technologies suitable for energy integration, as well as coal and natural gas brokerage and mineral lease and land acquisition for energy development.
Roger is a graduate of the University of Pikeville with a B.A. in History and Political Science and a Master of Arts in National Security with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies from The American Military University. He completed his master’s thesis on “Threats to the National Power Grid”. He hosts “Kentucky Crossroads”, a podcast which focuses on current issues facing rural Kentucky.
