Barbara Sutherland has served the Central Kentucky community as researcher for KET and the Urban County Council, administrative aide to Mayor Pam Miller, interim executive director of Partners for Youth, and public librarian. Her work for the Council and the Mayor included research (representative topics: teen service needs, public transportation improvements , land use and zoning, and needs of Latinx newcomers) and management of special programs, including Speak Out Lexington and race relations dialogue. Barbara received her undergraduate and JD degrees from the University of Kentucky and her MLIS degree from the University of Texas.
Barbara now researches residential segregation in Lexington. She and Rona Roberts developed written content for the website segregatedlexington.com and the slide presentation, “Lexington, Kentucky: Segregated by Design.” Barbara is the mother of an adult daughter and helicopter grandparent of two Lexington teenagers. As her contribution to Black Yarn, Barbara brings her analytical skills as a researcher, her deep knowledge of public issues, particularly around housing, her gifts as a writer and as a manager of complex projects.