Group of six individuals posing for a picture.

RiverValley Behavioral Health’s Vice President of Operations Cate Gaddis was presented with the Kentucky Board of Education’s (KBE) 2026 Kelly Award for Business and Partnership at its Oct. 8 meeting. At the presentation were, from left, KBE Awards Committee Chair Julia Pile, KBE Board Chair Lu S. Young, Cate Gaddis, and RiverValley Behavioral Health’s CEO Wanda Figueroa, Owensboro Independent’s Director of Special Education Carrie Wedding, and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher. Photo by Myles Young, Kentucky Department of Education, Oct. 8. 2026

(FRANKFORT, KY) – The RiverValley Behavioral Health’s Vice President of Operations Cate Gaddis was presented with the Kentucky Board of Education’s (KBE’s) 2026 Kelly Award for Business and Partnership at its Oct. 8 meeting.

“What means the most to me about this recognition is that it shines a light on ASCEND (Advancing Student Career Exploration through Network Development) and the inclusive opportunities it creates for high school students receiving special education services through the Community Work Transition Program,” said Gaddis. “ASCEND gives students a chance to explore careers, build confidence and see the strengths they can bring to a workplace. One parent shared that their child became more independent at home after participating, and that says so much about the program’s impact.

“Over the past several years, RiverValley has worked to become a stronger community partner,” she said. “To me, this award reflects that commitment and what is possible when organizations work together. I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our students and our partnership with Owensboro Public Schools.”

The Kelly Award honors Joseph W. Kelly, who served as a member of KBE from 1989 until 1998 and provided exceptional leadership as its chair for seven years. Kelly’s expertise was instrumental in the fundamental early years of implementing Kentucky’s nationally recognized school improvement efforts.

“We are pleased to present this award to recognize the importance of business and education working together,” said Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher. “These partnerships show that business leaders like Ms. Gaddis and RiverValley Behavioral Health are ‘All In’ on supporting our students and helping move education forward in the Commonwealth.”

Gaddis was nominated for the award by Carrie Wedding, director of special education for the Owensboro Independent School District, who wrote in her nomination letter that Gaddis is the one to call on to “move the needle for young adults.”

In the spring of 2025, Owensboro’s special education department approached Gaddis about creating a job shadow program for students with disabilities.

“We had been taking students into the community for experiences, but I knew we wanted one place where students could go and learn multiple departments and real-life work skills,” said Wedding. “Cate pulled her leadership team together and the partnership blossomed from there.”

Gaddis went into action, working with the RiverValley president and department heads to get all the players in place. In September 2025, 14 students began an orientation session similar to one held for employees. Students received badges and work placements and were placed in jobs from administration to marketing to maintenance to child development.

Wedding said RiverValley did not want to “pigeonhole our students,” but rather wanted them to work in areas where they had an interest.

In December, those 14 students graduated from the orientation session. Some of them continued the program, along with new students. One student became a student intern, working a few days a week with the hope of getting hired after graduation.

In the spring, Gaddis and her team took the venture a step further by giving the program a name – Advancing Student Career Exploration through Network Development – or ASCEND. They also developed an in-house mentor program for their employees to strengthen their ability to work with people with disabilities and decided to share their model with the community. Nine community businesses that were interested in the program attended two community breakfast meetings. Multiple meetings followed resulting in additional ASCEND opportunities on schedule to open this fall.

“Cate believes that all students deserve dignity, respect and opportunity,” Wedding wrote in her nomination letter. “The ASCEND program does just that. Watching our students …  exit the program as confident family members of the RiverValley team shows that our students have amazing assets that can be strengthened with support in the workforce. OPS Speed Devils are better because of Cate and her team at RiverValley.”

The Kelly Award is given by the KBE in the fall of each year to a Kentucky businessperson or business who has partnered with a public school or district to provide outstanding leadership that promotes school improvement and student success.

Criteria for the award includes:

  • Creating or sustaining strategic partnership between a business and school or district that leads to improved student outcomes, including but not limited to, postsecondary success and workforce outcomes; and
  • Significant contribution to a school or a district that leads or will likely lead to increased or improved educational opportunities or improved educational, postsecondary or workforce outcomes for students.

“As Awards Committee chair, I’m proud to recognize Cate Gaddis, vice president of operations at RiverValley Behavioral Health, with the Kelly Award for Business and Education Partnership,” said Julia Pile, Kentucky Board of Education Awards Committee. “Through the ASCEND program, Cate has created meaningful opportunities for students with disabilities to explore careers, build confidence and develop real-world skills.

“Her leadership demonstrates what is possible when businesses and schools work together to help every student see a future filled with dignity, purpose and opportunity.”

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