Chris Allen was raised in central Kentucky. He earned a law degree at the University of Louisville and maintains a license to practice law in Kentucky. He is also a registered/licensed private investigator in Kentucky and Virginia. Chris earned 3 master’s degrees in military strategy, military operational art and science, and security studies.

Chris is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with over 22 years of leadership and operational experience, including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, and sub-Saharan Africa. His decorated military service spanned several functional areas including 13 years as an Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent and supervisory agent driving numerous federal criminal and fraud cases, counterintelligence and counterterrorism activities, and protective service details (including for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of the Air Force, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force), and 7 years leading cyberspace operations (including service as a squadron commander). He is a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Criminal Investigator Training Program graduate, where he earned Academic and Driver Training Awards. He is an Air Force Special Investigations Academy Distinguished Graduate of the Basic Special Investigations Course.

Prior to his current role as the Director of the Kentucky Intelligence Fusion Center, Chris served briefly as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky. He worked as a private investigator for Capital Security & Investigations, LLC, in Lexington, Kentucky. He previously taught an undergraduate counterintelligence course as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. For his final military tour of duty, he served as a professional military education instructor at the Command and Staff College, United States Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia.

Lieutenant Tyson S. Carroll has served with the Lexington Police Department for 15 years, bringing broad investigative and supervisory experience across multiple specialized units. He has worked as an Internet Crimes Against Children Detective, a Homicide Detective in the Personal Crimes Unit, a Personal Crimes Sergeant, an Intelligence Sergeant, and now serves as Lieutenant over the Technology Section in the Bureau of Administration.

Lieutenant Carroll is a recognized subject matter expert on cellular device–based investigations, with over a decade of experience testifying in criminal cases and training officers at the Lexington Police Academy. He has completed advanced training in mobile device forensics, peer-to-peer network investigations, undercover online investigations, and cellular record analysis through the National White Collar Crime Center, FBI, and National Computer Forensics Institute.

Beyond his police work, Lieutenant Carroll holds a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology from the University of Kentucky and is a graduate of the Lexington Police Academy. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard, gaining valuable leadership and operational experience.

At this conference, Lieutenant Carroll will share insights into the dynamics of dating violence and stalking, examine the role of technology in these offenses, and offer practical guidance for effective investigation and victim-centered response.

Justice Michelle M. Keller was appointed to the Kentucky Supreme Court in April 2013. She was subsequently elected in both 2014 and 2022 for two full terms on the Court. Prior to her service on the Supreme Court, Justice Keller was elected as a Judge to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006. Justice Keller has served on the Judicial Conduct Commission, was Chairperson of the Court of Justice’s Technology Governance Committee and is currently Chairperson of the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission and Criminal Rules Committee.

Prior to her service on the bench, Justice Keller practiced law for 17 years. She served as an Assistant County Attorney for her home county of Kenton. Her private practice concentrated in the areas of medical negligence and product liability defense, personal injury, family law and criminal defense. Justice Keller also practiced administrative law, representing numerous clients before state regulatory and licensure boards. She is Chairwoman Emeritus of the Kentucky Personnel Board and has served as a hearing officer and member of that Board. Justice Keller is licensed to practice law in Kentucky, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Honorary Order of Kentucky Colonels and has twice been commended by the Kentucky House of Representatives for her service to the Commonwealth.

Justice Keller attended Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law while working as a licensed registered nurse in critical care. At Chase, Justice Keller was an IOLTA Scholar, earning her Juris Doctor in 1990. Chase presented Justice Keller with both the Chase Excellence and Chase Exceptional Service Awards in 2007 and 2011, respectively.

Additionally, Justice Keller was named a 2012 Outstanding Woman of Northern Kentucky honoree. In 2013 she received the Richard D. Lawrence Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Northern Kentucky Bar Association (“NKBA”). Justice Keller was honored in 2014 with the Liberty Bell Award for her service to the Court of Justice, and in 2016 she was inducted into the Lloyd Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame. In December 2017, Justice Keller was the first woman presented with the Distinguished Lawyer of the Year Award by the NKBA. The Kentucky Bar Association (“KBA”) honored Justice Keller with the 2020 Distinguished Judge Award. She was presented the 2024 Justice For All Award by the Northern Kentucky Volunteer Lawyers, was honored as a 2024 Phenomenal Woman by the New Beginning Community Church Women’s Ministry and received the 2024 Fair Administration of Justice Award from the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In 2025, Justice Keller was presented with the Seeds of Hope Award from Mentoring Plus.

Justice Keller has served in various positions for the NKBA, KBA and the American Bar Association. In 2009, she received the KBA’s Donated Legal Services Award for her commitment to Pro Bono service and support of Kentucky’s legal services organizations. She is a Master in the Salmon P. Chase Inn of Court and served as President of the Inn from 2012-13. Justice Keller is also a Fellow of both the American and Kentucky Bar Foundations.

A lifelong Northern Kentuckian, Justice Keller and her husband, Jim, a physician, are the proud parents of two adult daughters. One serves as a public health practitioner and the other is a practicing attorney.

L. Scott Miller represents police officers across Kentucky and Tennessee in state and federal courts, with a focus on representing them during investigations of officer-involved shootings and other critical incidents.

A former Kentucky State Police Trooper and Lt. Colonel and a Sheriff’s Deputy in Tennessee, Scott brings more than 20 years of experience defending police officers and helping create preventative department policies. He is distinctively credentialed to represent officers during critical incidents and officer-involved shootings and to defend the expanding area of lawsuits filed against police officers, such as malicious prosecution, illegal search and seizure, false arrest, and excessive force. He also provides expert review of police policies and makes recommendations for best practices.

His career with the Kentucky State Police began as a trooper and expanded to include legal work as he earned his law degree while maintaining full-time employment as an officer. He oversaw litigation and has represented the Kentucky State Police and troopers in a variety of matters including civil rights cases and employment law cases. Prior to joining the Kentucky State Police in 1998, Scott was a Sheriff’s Deputy in Tennessee for five years. During college, he completed an externship with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and with the District Attorney for Tennessee’s 8th Judicial District.

Scott currently provides representation to Kentucky State Police Troopers and is panel counsel for the Kentucky Association of Counties, the Kentucky League of Cities, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Tennessee Local Government Insurance Pool, PLEA (Professional Law Enforcement Association), and the Southern States Police Benevolent Association.

Kathy Phillips is the Kentucky Domestic Violence Resource Prosecutor (DVRP) for the Office of the Attorney General. In this role, she provides training and support to enhance the capability of Kentucky prosecutors and police to effectively prosecute domestic violence cases and to protect victims of intimate violence and abuse. As DVRP, Kathy works with PAC on ongoing training programs for Kentucky prosecutors.

Prior to joining the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, Kathy was an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Fayette County where she served as the Director of the Special Victim’s Unit (SVU). There, Kathy prosecuted all types of serious felony offenses, worked numerous high-profile cases, and had expansive jury trial experience. She has always embraced the importance of working with and providing training and support for police and prosecutors and has trained on a variety of issues involving investigation, evidence collection, testifying in court and legal presentations. During her prosecutorial career, Kathy served on numerous community boards and worked with other local and state-wide organizations and multi-disciplinary groups as a prosecution liaison, providing training and guidance on many subjects. In her role as DVRP, Kathy continues to serve as a prosecution liaison on state-wide committees to improve collaboration and systemic responses to issues related to Interpersonal Violence.

Kathy also advocated and worked with groups for the enactment of important legislation, the Kentucky Felony Strangulation law, and she continues to lead training and educational efforts on strangulation-related prosecutions. She is a contributor to the Responding to Strangulation in Kentucky Manual, released by the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General in 2025, and to the Domestic and Interpersonal Violence Prosecution Policy Procedure Manual, both being resources designed to assist prosecutors, law enforcement, victim advocates, and multi-disciplinary partners in handling these critical cases by equipping them with the necessary resources and information to address interpersonal violence more thoroughly and effectively.

Kathy originally began her career at the Department of Public Advocacy which she found an invaluable learning experience. After serving as a prosecutor for over 24 years, she retired from that position but returned to prosecution in her part-time role as the newly created position of the Kentucky DVRP.

Rob Sanders has served as Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 16th Judicial Circuit of Kentucky (Kenton County) since 2007. Rob oversees Kentucky’s third largest felony prosecutor office while personally maintaining an active caseload. He previously served as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in the same office from 1999-2000. Prior to election, Rob was a partner with his father, wife, and brother, in The Sanders Law Firm, PSC in Covington, Kentucky where he practiced personal injury, small business, domestic relations, and criminal defense law. From 2004-2006, Rob served as Vice-Mayor in the City of Covington after finishing first in a field of eight candidates for City Commission.

In 2022 Rob was elected by his fellow Commonwealth’s Attorneys to serve on the Prosecutors Advisory Council (PAC) and re-elected in 2024. Rob previously served on PAC, twice, pursuant to appointments from both Republican and Democrat Governors. Rob was also appointed by the Kentucky Attorney General to the Kentucky Multidisciplinary Commission on Child Sexual Abuse, and the Kentucky Search Warrant Task Force. Rob also serves on the Kentucky Supreme Court’s Judicial Workload Assessment Committee and their Criminal Rules Committee. Rob has served in every elected office in the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys Association, including President in 2015-2016. He is now co-legislative chairman for the Association. In 2023, the Association honored Rob with their highest honor, the Carroll M. Redford Award naming him “Outstanding Kentucky Prosecutor.” Also in 2023, the Attorney General named Rob’s office “Outstanding Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.” Rob has achieved the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating of AV-Preeminent, the pinnacle of professional excellence for legal ability and ethics, every year since 2003.

Outside the practice of law, Rob served for twenty years as a volunteer firefighter on the Ft. Mitchell Fire Department where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant before retiring. Rob and his wife live in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky with their daughter. When away from the office, Rob enjoys Cross-fit, hunting, fishing, cooking, and being a girl-dad. He is also an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals.

Judge John Lindsay Tackett was born and raised in Lexington Kentucky. He attended and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1998. He returned to Lexington and worked for the Lexington Fair Housing Council as First Assistant to the Director. Judge Tackett attended and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2003.

Prior to being elected to the Fayette District Court Bench, Judge Tackett worked for multiple law firms including, Ward, Hocker and Thornton PLLC and Phillips, Parker, Orberson & Arnett PLC. In 2013, Judge Tackett started his own general law practice, John L. Tackett, Attorney at Law PLLC, which he ran until his election to the bench in 2018.

As a District Judge, Tackett serves on the Statewide District Judges Educational Committee, Chairs the Bob Heaton Award Subcommittee and is a ranking member of the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health. Judge Tackett also presides over the nationally recognized Fayette Mental Health Treatment Court.

He has also been publicly engaged throughout his life, working with several non-profits, and serving on several organizational boards including but not limited to The American Red Cross (Bluegrass Region), The Makenna Foundation, Lexington Children’s Theater, and the Foundation for Affordable Housing. He is married to Sarah Merlin, who is employed as a Special Education Teacher at STEAM, and they have a daughter, Stella (age 6).

Rewa Zakharia is the Criminal Chief in the Office of Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. She oversees the prosecution, investigation, advocacy and training in the Special Prosecutions Division, Medicaid Fraud Division and the Office of Victim Advocacy. She consults and assists prosecutors in complex cases and manages the investigation and prosecution of felony crimes including election law violations, public corruption cases. Rewa provides continuing professional education programs and assists law enforcement officers and other professionals to improve Kentucky’s ability to investigate and prosecute cases.

Prior to this role, Rewa served as the Executive Director of the Special Prosecutions Division where she specialized in prosecuting cases involving child abuse and sexual assault and provided training on special victim cases, investigations and constitutional law. Rewa previously served as a state felony prosecutor in Lexington, Kentucky in the Special Victim’s Unit where she prosecuted homicide, human trafficking, child abuse, sex crimes and violent offenders.

Some of her more notable prosecutions include trying the first labor human trafficking case in Kentucky, a homicide for the killing and dismemberment of a victim, a sexual assault case from 1981, and receiving the first Kentucky conviction in a bestiality case by zealously advocating for Kentucky’s furry friends.