From West Point to Florence: Jason Lewis’ path of public service

Florence Finance Director Jason Lewis can trace his public-service career back to the intense call to duty he felt in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Reflecting on the recent 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Lewis recalled feeling compelled to serve by an overwhelming sense of duty. A native of Fort Thomas, he was in third grade at the time. As he grew older, the feeling only solidified.

“I’m old enough to remember 9/11,” Lewis said. “I was in third grade at the time, and I didn’t know it back then, but as I went on through high school in the 2000s and saw everything going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, I really felt the call to serve. I felt it as more of a duty than anything.”

Today, Lewis serves as the Florence Finance Director, where he leads the development and management of the city’s $89 million budget. His work directly supports city operations, including police, fire, water and sewer services, and major capital projects. Lewis said his experience in the U.S. Army helped prepare him for his current role with the city.

During his senior year of high school, Lewis applied to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He drew on his experience as captain of the Highlands High School soccer team to demonstrate his leadership capabilities to the admissions officers. Ultimately, Lewis was accepted into West Point, becoming the first person in his family to do so.

“I actually didn’t apply to any of the other service academies, just West Point. I got in. No one in my family had really served. I just felt that sort of an obligation. I felt it deep inside of me,” he told LINK nky.

Lewis graduated from West Point in 2014, kickstarting his active-duty career by spending six months as a graduate assistant with the Army men’s soccer team. Later, he trained in field artillery at Fort Sill, Okla., before serving at Fort Carson, Colo., as a platoon leader and fire support officer. 

After being promoted to captain in 2018, Lewis returned to Fort Sill for additional training before spending his final year of active duty at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Overall, he served five years of active duty in the United States.

Upon leaving the military, Lewis enrolled at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, where he began his formal training in finance. Lewis did not study finance at West Point, instead focusing on German and International Relations. He graduated from Notre Dame in 2021, returning to Northern Kentucky after accepting a position with Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble.

Lewis said that although his time at Proctor & Gamble was worthwhile, he still felt an urge to return to the public sector.

“As I got more ingrained in the Kenton County, Northern Kentucky community, I felt like, ‘okay, what opportunities are there for me to actually work — whether it’s local government or a public agency — in Northern Kentucky,” he said.

Lewis was hired as Florence’s finance director in September 2024, following the retirement of longtime director Linda Chapman.

Lewis said the most rewarding part of his job is seeing the tangible impact of his work, whether that is through tax cuts or by meeting the city’s financial obligations to its employees.

“I think the most rewarding parts are when you can get things passed that affect people’s lives,” he said.

Besides his career, Lewis remains involved in another one of his passions: soccer. Currently, Lewis serves as an assistant coach on the Covington Catholic High School soccer team, describing the role as another form of public service. He said coaching gives him an opportunity to pass down the wisdom he has gained through his own athletic career, the military, and his professional career.