Alex Otte’s family came to MADD in 2010, when she was 13 years old, after she was severely injured by an intoxicated boat operator.

Otte was on a jet ski on a Kentucky lake near her home when a drunk boat operator slammed into her at nearly 70 mph, causing a severe brain injury, a broken neck and collarbone, a shattered jaw, a lacerated liver, two shattered femurs, and the loss of her right leg below the knee.

As president, Otte serves as national spokesperson and chief advocate for MADD, which grew from a grassroots movement begun by a grieving mother in 1980 to one of the most influential and effective organizations in history.

Otte became involved with MADD as a volunteer, attending annual Walk Like MADD events and connecting with students in high schools in her home state of Kentucky. She worked with MADD Kentucky staff and other dedicated volunteers to pass state legislation requiring the use of ignition interlocks for drunk driving offenders — first in 2015 and again in 2019, making the Kentucky the 34th state with an all-offender ignition interlock law. Alex spoke out again on behalf of Marsy’s Law, a crime victims’ rights bill, in Kentucky in 2018 and 2020, when it was ultimately added as an amendment to the state constitution.

 Janice Way, a graduate of the 1987 Leadership Kentucky program, has served as the president of Leadership Kentucky since 2015. Previously, Janice worked for St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Northern Kentucky where she was assistant vice president of development.

During her 25 years at St. Elizabeth and The St. Luke Hospitals (before the two hospital systems merged), she served as director of public relations and marketing, supervised community and legislative relations and led the St. Luke Community Foundation as vice president.

Janice has served as a member of the board of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. She is a member and former chair of the Northern Kentucky Board for KET.

 Continuing his family’s legacy as an eighth-generation whisky maker, Rob Samuels sees his primary job as upholding the traditions of craft and quality established by his grandparents, who founded Maker’s Mark Distillery on Star Hill Farm in the 1950s. Since taking leadership of the distillery in 2010, Rob has remained true to the purposefully inefficient process that has defined his family’s brand, while also leading thoughtful expansion to share the unique taste of Maker’s Mark with a growing number of fans the world over. And he hasn’t stopped there. Rob is responsible for introducing innovative new whiskies such as Maker’s Mark® Private Selection, the industry’s first custom-barrel program, and for championing the distillery’s relentless exploration into the science of where flavor comes from with its Wood Finishing Series. Rob also introduced Maker’s Mark® Cask Strength, a double gold award-winner at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Beyond the bourbon itself, Rob has always had a passion for creating a distillery homeplace like no other. Under his guidance, the visitor experience at the distillery has been enhanced to include more interactive tour options, the Star Hill Provisions restaurant which was featured on Bravo’s Top Chef, and the work of dozens of visual artists who share the distillery’s commitment to handcrafted excellence, including permanent installations by world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.

With a keen sensitivity to environmental stewardship, Rob has led efforts for the entire distillery property that include a protected watershed, the industry’s only LEED-certified whisky cellar, and innovative research underway into forestry, grains and best practices in land management.

Rob holds an undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, and he is also an alumnus of the University of Chicago (CEI) and the Harvard Business School (GMP).