FRANKFORT, KY (February 23, 2026) – On February 20, Public Advocate Damon Preston announced his upcoming retirement to his staff and members of the Kentucky Public Advocacy Commission, following 29 years of service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Preston was appointed to a four-year term as Public Advocate by Governor Bevin on September 16, 2017, and reappointed by Governor Beshear in 2021. In his announcement, Preston said he will continue to serve until Governor Beshear appoints the next Public Advocate.
Public Advocate Preston’s entire legal career has been as a public defender. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1994, he accepted a defender position in New York City. In 1997, he returned home to Kentucky to begin a career with the Department of Public Advocacy as a staff attorney in the Richmond Trial Office. With DPA, he has led defender trial offices in Paducah and Cynthiana, and the Appeals Branch in Frankfort. Before being appointed Public Advocate, he served on DPA’s Leadership Team as Trial Division Director, General Counsel, and Deputy Public Advocate.
In response to Preston’s retirement announcement, Kentucky Public Advocacy Commission Chair Whitney True Lawson said “Damon’s dedication to DPA and the Commonwealth of Kentucky cannot be overstated. His work with the Department of Public Advocacy, beginning as a trial attorney through his time as Public Advocate, has made a lasting impact on our ability as a Commonwealth to provide strong advocacy for those most in need. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Preston says that he is dedicated to doing all he can to improve DPA until his last hour as Public Advocate and expressed appreciation to the Department’s employees: “It has been an honor leading this agency and seeing the dedication and excellence of those who work for DPA.” He closed his statement to the staff with this thought: “The greatness of DPA has nothing to do with who sits at the top of the org chart. Everything good that happens in the public defender system of Kentucky is because one of you makes a difference in someone’s life or in the community. Thank you for everything you do!”
The DPA is the statewide public defender system charged with providing legal representation to indigent Kentuckians facing loss of liberty due to criminal allegations.
For more information, please visit the DPA website.
This release is a communication of the Department of Public Advocacy (“DPA”), which is established in KRS 31.010 “as an independent agency of state government, attached for administrative purposes to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.” The views or assertions herein are those of DPA and, unless stated otherwise, have not been endorsed by the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet or the Governor.