11/01/2026
Shae Hopkins
November 15, 1956 - October 29, 2026
Lexington, Kentucky - Shae Hopkins, Executive Director and CEO of Kentucky Educational Television, passed away on October 29, 2026. Born November 15, 1956, in Murray, Kentucky, she was the firstborn child of Mary Carolyn Pennebaker Hopkins and Larry Jones Hopkins. Following her father’s near-fatal car accident in 1958, the family moved to Lexington, where Shae attended Cardinal Valley Elementary, Beaumont Junior High School, Lafayette High School, and the University of Kentucky.
Adventurous, bright, and athletic, Shae rode her horse all over the Gardenside neighborhood with her Parkers Mill Road pals, excelled at ballet en pointe at Sanborne Ballet Company, was a cheerleader at Beaumont, and earned her varsity letter as a member of the Lafayette girls basketball team. Once, she even completed a week-long camping and portaging trip to Canada, hiking into the woods with a canoe on her back on one of Mr. Tom Grunwald’s infamous trips. (As she would later emphasize — “once.”) At Lafayette, she became a sports reporter for WVLK radio and a prolific photographer, and she somewhat legendarily won a sock hop contest dancing the jitterbug with her best friend, Rusty Cheuvront. Dynamic and outgoing, Shae formed many close friendships in her junior high and high school years that would last the rest of her life.
In 1978 at age 22, Shae married fellow Lexingtonian James H. (“Jim”) Martin. Together they had three children: Hannah, Haley, and Ross. Although their marriage ended in 1996, they remained close friends, and when Jim remarried, Shae also developed a warm and lasting friendship with his wife, Lori.
Throughout her 20s and 30s, Shae was an enthusiastic supporter of her father Larry’s campaigns and political career. He was so proud to have her accompany him on several Congressional trips, including to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, China, France, and Great Britain, as well as to national conventions and events at the White House. Shae impressed state, national, and global leaders with her easy sophistication, magnetic charm, and of course with her signature Hopkins humor.
Shae’s life took a pivotal turn in January of 1986, when she answered an ad in the newspaper for a temporary position at Kentucky Educational Television (KET). What began as a three-month assignment in pledge production would become something far more meaningful. Impressed by her dedication and work ethic, KET founder O. Leonard Press personally asked Shae to stay on. Humble and hardworking, Shae would later say of her early days at KET, “I didn’t have ambition. I didn’t have ideas about where I was trying to go. What I had was initiative. If I saw something that needed to be done, I did it.”
This attitude became the through-line to Shae’s 40-year career at KET, during which she served in progressive management positions, culminating in a 17-year tenure as Executive Director and CEO. Shae was also a prominent national public media advocate, serving on the PBS Board of Directors for three terms and being a member of the Organization of State Broadcast Executives (Chair 2018/19), National Educational Telecommunications Association (Chair 2013/14), and the Public Television Major Market Group.
She was part of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 2006, which gave her the opportunity to visit places of interest throughout the state and deepened her knowledge and love for Kentucky. She was appointed in 2011 by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a founding director of the national Digital Promise Board, and served on several other boards, including the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.
Among her most notable achievements, Shae expanded KET’s reach by guiding the launch of The Kentucky Channel and the establishment of the Louisville Production Center and KET Kentucky Capitol Production Center, which have enhanced connections between the people of Kentucky and their local history, culture, issues of public concern, civic leaders, and neighbors.
She was recognized with various industry awards, including three regional Emmy Awards and three Telly Awards, the National Advocacy Award from America’s Public Television Stations, and the Kentucky Daughters of the American Revolution Media Award. In 2025, she received the Daniel K. Miller Station Leadership Award, PBS’s highest honor recognizing public media leaders whose vision, courage, and commitment have inspired colleagues and created a lasting impact, both locally and nationally.
Under her leadership, the use of KET’s programs and services doubled, steadily growing to more than two million viewers and users each week. During that time, KET was recognized with 41 regional Emmy awards and 144 nominations, 82 national and state awards, and other accolades.
Shae made wonderful friendships through her work at KET. Throughout her illness, she was deeply touched by all the cards, messages, and well wishes she received from her KET coworkers at every level and from PBS colleagues throughout the country. Even into her final days, Shae talked enthusiastically about her ideas for transitioning KET into its next chapter. She genuinely loved her work and felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve Kentuckians through educational media for four decades.
Although Shae’s light shone brightly at KET, when it came to her family, she was the sun itself. She was blessed with the most loving parents and grandparents, whom she adored and who were immensely proud of the person she was, inside and out. She was a loyal and devoted big sister, and made several visits to her younger brother, Josh Hopkins, on set.
But of all the roles she filled, none came more naturally to her than being a mother. Her three children looked to her as both their soft landing and their solid ground. She modeled generosity, kindness, and hard work and, in their minds, will always be the pinnacle of grace. Shae-Shae, as her grandchildren knew her, was a fountain of generosity. She was a world-class gift giver — always able to find the elusive coveted item somebody wanted, always knowing just how to personalize a gift to its recipient, always surprising others with her thoughtful largesse. She carried the spirit of Christmas in her heart all year long, quietly spreading kindness and generosity through thoughtful gestures and anonymous gifts, especially to those who were easily overlooked.
It is insufficient to say that Shae will be deeply missed. She leaves an immeasurable void but also an inspiring legacy of leadership, compassion, and altruism, all punctuated by her unmistakable wit and signature sense of humor. No words capture the essence of Shae more simply or beautifully than those of her 91-year-old mother, Carolyn, who recently reflected, “She was perfect.”
Shae was preceded in death by her father, former Congressman Larry J. Hopkins, and is survived by her mother, Carolyn Pennebaker Hopkins, brother Josh Hopkins, sister Tara Hopkins West, children Hannah (Mike) Duffy, Haley (Dan) Dickerson, and Ross Martin and his fiancée Ana Dwyer, niece Kate (Barrett) Meyer, grandchildren Eleanora and Charlotte Duffy and Cooper, Tucker, and Lucy Delle Dickerson, as well as longtime companion Bud McSpadden.
A funeral service will be held at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on Monday, November 9 at 10:30 am. Family and friends are invited to a reception at Kentucky Educational Television (KET) from 3:00-6:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, Shae’s family requests memorial contributions be made to the Endowment for Kentucky Productions to help carry forward her vision of expanding the impact of public media for the people of Kentucky.
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