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Trey Grayson is known as a problem solver and collaborative leader who works with his clients at the local, state and national levels to successfully navigate their government, legal, political, and regulatory challenges. In addition to his work at Frost Brown Todd (FBT), Trey is also managing director of the firm’s government relations affiliate, CivicPoint.

Before joining FBT, Trey served two terms as Kentucky’s Secretary of State. The youngest secretary of state in the country at the time of his election, he served as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the Chair of the Republican Secretaries of State Association.

After leaving the Secretary of State’s office, Trey served as the Director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics from 2011-2014, becoming deeply engaged on campus, including service as a freshman academic adviser and faculty fellow of the men’s basketball team.

Nationally, Trey serves as a trusted expert on election administration for corporations, associations, legislators, news media, voters, and election administrators at all levels.

He has served on the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration, was a founding board member of two national non-profits, Democracy Works and the Center for Election Innovation and Research, and works with several additional organizations, including the Secure Elections Project, the National Task Force on Election Crises and National Council on Election Integrity.

In addition, Trey has:

  • Helped clients navigate state and federal government agencies to address challenges in areas such as broadband, criminal justice, education, elections, entertainment, finance, health care, hemp, insurance, taxation, trade, and transportation;
  • Engaged with state and local government officials to assist clients with a wide variety of economic development projects including health care, energy, real estate, riverports, taxation, and public-private partnerships (P3);
  • Helped clients, as a member of the FBT Coronavirus Response Team, understand and navigate government reopening guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
  • Served as key member of FBT’s Kentucky CivicPoint team which has successfully represented dozens of clients before the Kentucky General Assembly and Executive Branch.

More information about Trey’s CivicPoint work can be found on the CivicPoint website.

Immediately, prior to joining FBT, Trey served as the president and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for three years. At the Chamber, he was a recognized leader in workforce and regional collaboration.

Before entering politics, Trey practiced with the law firms of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald and Keating, Muething & Klekamp, focusing on estate planning and administration, real estate, small businesses and taxation.

Trey has strong ties to the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati region and is very active in civic and charitable organizations. He resides in Boone County, Kentucky, with his wife, Nancy, and their daughters, Alex and Kate.

Trey is admitted to practice law in Kentucky and Ohio only, and he will practice under the supervision of D.C. Bar members.

Other Info About Trey

Education

Law School

University of Kentucky, J.D., M.B.A., 1998, magna cum laude
Order of the Coif

Undergraduate School

Harvard College, A.B., 1994, cum laude

Bar Memberships

Trey is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

Kentucky, 1999

Ohio, 1998

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

C-Suite Award, Venue Magazine, 2016

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Eastern Kentucky University, 2014

Outstanding Young Professional Award, University of Kentucky College of Law, 2008

Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, Aspen Institute, 2005 (inaugural class)

40 Under 40, Cincinnati Business Courier, 2005

Toll Fellow, Council of State Governments, 2004

Leadership Kentucky Class of 2002

Leadership Northern Kentucky Class of 2000

Kentucky Association for Academic Competition Hall of Fame, 2000

Civic Activities

Civic & Charitable Organizations

ArtsWave, Board member, 2015-present; Member, Sustaining Impact Grant Program Committee, 2016-present; Chair, Sustaining Impact Small Regional Committee, 2018-2019; Chair, Sustaining Impact Midsize Committee, 2020-present; Governance Committee, 2020-present; Co-Chair, 2020 Northern Kentucky campaign

Aviatra Accelerators, Board member, 2017-present; Vice-Chair, 2017-2019; Chair, 2020-present

Center for Election Innovation & Research, Founding Board Member, 2017-present

Democracy Works, Inc., Founding Board Member, 2011-2019; Program and Product Committee member, 2019-present

Harvard Alumni Association, Class of 1994 Reunion Committee, Member, 1994-present; Co-Chair, Schools Committee of Harvard Club of Cincinnati, 2015-2017, 2019-2020

Issue One, Advisory Committee, 2021-present

Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, Board Member, 1999-present; Vice-Chair, 2015-2018; Chair, 2018-present

Leadership Kentucky, Board Member, 2005-10 and 2015-present; Executive Committee member, 2018-present; Secretary, 2021-present

National Council on Election Integrity, 2020-present

National Task Force on Election Crises, 2020-present

Secure Elections Project, Chair, Advisory Committee, 2019-present

United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Co-Chair, Public Policy Cabinet, 2018-present; Board of Directors, 2017-2020; Chair, 2019 Northern Kentucky campaign

University of Arizona National Institute of Civil Discourse, National Advisory Board, 2011-present

University of Kentucky Martin School, Board of Visitors, 2013-present

Presentations

Trey was invited to speak at the following events:

Election Administration and Mail-In Voting, Council on Foreign Relations, July 28, 2020

Democracy in the Digital Age, University of Cincinnati, January 15, 2021

Understanding the CARES Federal Stimulus Act, NKY Chamber of Commerce

Elections, Cybersecurity, and COVID-19: Approaches to Managing Challenges, Global Cyber Alliance, June 29, 2020

Is This Normal? A Review of the 2020 Election, ProPublica Electionland, November 6, 2020

Turnout 2020: Reaching America’s Hard-to-Reach Voters in a Pandemic, New York University, May 19, 2020

How State Voting Proposals Could Impact How Millions of Americans Vote, National Council on Election Integrity, April 6, 2021

Ensuring Everyone Can Vote, 92nd Street Y, New York City, September 23, 2020

National Voter Registration Day: Chief Election Officers in a Pandemic, Harvard Kennedy School, Institute of Politics, September 22, 2020

Major Publications

Trey is an author or contributor to the following publications:

“Independent Report Outlines Why the Maricopa County Election Review Results Should Not Be Trusted,” Co-author, United States Democracy Center, June 22, 2021

“Opinion: Ohio should emulate Ky.’s pro-voter election reforms,” Author, Cincinnati.com, June 11, 2021

“Kentucky led with bipartisan election reform. Now Congress should fund infrastructure.” Author, Lexington Herald Leader, June 4, 2021.

“20 small steps to restore faith in American elections,” Co-author, Roll Call, May 3, 2021

“Improving election efficiency takes bipartisan cooperation, not partisan grandstanding,” Co-author, Washington Examiner, December 30, 2020

“It’s time to put country over party. Election officials have shown the way,” Lexington Herald-Leader, December 11, 2020

“Keep counting the votes,” Co-author, Augusta Chronicle, November 18, 2020

“Republicans Should Be Defending Georgia’s Election Process,” New York Times, November 12, 2020

“Trey Grayson on the reliability of the American election system,” The Economist, October 26, 2020

“It’s time to come to terms with ‘Election Week’,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 15, 2020

“Why expanded voting options are critical for the election this year,” Co-author, The Hill, June 22, 2020

“The biggest win in 2020? Getting nonvoters to the polls,” Co-author, The Hill, March 3, 2020

“States should focus attention on ensuring election security,” Austin American-Statesman, December 12, 2019

“We Need a New Strategy to Protect US Elections,” Washington Examiner, June 20, 2019

“How to Avoid More Florida Recounts,” InsideSources.com, November 29, 2018.

“Ohio should adopt Automated Voter Registration Verification,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 9, 2018

“This is No Joke: We Must Restore Civility to Public Discourse, so Anger and Violence Have to Go,” NKY Tribune, March 28, 2018

“Change in Higher Ed Funding Would Help NKU,” Kentucky Enquirer, February 2017

“NKY Taking Wide Angle View of Health,” Co-author, Kentucky Enquirer, September 2016

“Kentucky Academic Standards are Working,” Kentucky Enquirer, November 8, 2015

“The New Epidemic: How One Community Is Leading the Fight Against Heroin,” The Ripon Forum, September 2015

American Voting Experience: the Report of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, Co-author, Presidential Commission on Election Administration, January 2014

“Recipe for Improving Civic Education,” Co-author, The Hill, October 15, 2013

All Together Now: Collaboration and Innovation for Youth Engagement, Co-author, The Report of the Commission on Youth Voting and Civic Knowledge, October 2013

Kentucky Government, Politics, and Public Policy, Author, Foreword, University Press of Kentucky, 2013

Campaign for President: The Managers Look at 2012, Author, Introduction, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013

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