Presenter Bios

Advocacy at the Core:

2025 Kentucky CASA Conference

  • Justice Pamela R. Goodwine
    Justice Pamela R. Goodwine

    Justice Pamela R. Goodwine was the first African American woman to serve on the bench in Lexington and currently serves on the Supreme Court of Kentucky. She is the first woman and fifth justice to serve at all four levels of Kentucky’s judiciary. Prior to being elected to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, Justice Goodwine served six years on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Earlier, she served as a trial judge from 1999 to 2018.

    Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Justice Goodwine moved to Lexington in 1979 to begin her legal career in court stenography. After enduring two family tragedies and overcoming a life-threatening health challenge, she persevered to earn her undergraduate and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Kentucky. She practiced labor and employment law from 1994 until her appointment to the bench. Justice Goodwine earned her LLM from Duke University in 2023.

    Justice Goodwine has earned numerous awards and commendations for dedicated service to her community, most recently receiving the “Justice William A. McAnulty, Jr.” award for her dedicated service and commitment to the legal profession. She was inducted into the UK Gatton College of Business Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000; and, awarded Trial Judge of the Year in 2012. She is a published author of “Fighting Death, A Critique of Kentucky’s Death Penalty System,” 112 Ky.L.J. 511 (2024).

    Justice Goodwine is married to Lee A. Padgett, Jr. They share a large family. She is a certified Jazzercise fitness instructor. She enjoys motivational speaking, fitness classes and sports.

  • Shimaine Holley

    Shimaine Holley is a dedicated advocate for child welfare, systemic reform, and military family support. In this role, she ensures military families have access to essential resources that promote stability, resilience, and well-being. Having aged out of Georgia’s foster care system at 21, Shimaine transformed her lived experiences into a career focused on improving policies and practices for vulnerable populations. Her leadership has been recognized through roles such as the Regional Impact Liaison for the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC), as well as a Texas CPS Investigations, and a seat on The Children's Bureau board for vulnerable populations. She has also collaborated with national organizations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Foster Club, and ICF, where she has traveled the country advocating for data-driven system improvements.

    Beyond her work in direct service, Shimaine is the Founder and CEO of Change Is Inevitable LLC, an organization providing training on adolescent brain development, education-to-workforce transitions, authentic youth engagement, prevention over intervention, and juvenile justice etc. Her contributions have earned her multiple awards, including the Nancy Cannon-O’Connell Outstanding Youth Leadership Award and the Foster Club Outstanding Youth Award. A two-time sociology graduate of Albany State University, she will complete her master’s degree in 2025 and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in 2026, furthering her mission to bridge policy and practice for systemic change. With a lifelong commitment to advocacy, Shimaine continues to influence child welfare, non-foster care systems, and military communities, creating environments where families can thrive.