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Beshear names Acena Beck to Kenton Family Court vacancy; she was head of Children’s Law Center


Acena Johnson Beck of Ft. Mitchell has been appointed to fill a vacancy in Kenton Family Court.

Gov. Andy Beshear made the announcement Friday.

Acena Beck

The Judicial Nominating Commission named three nominees for the vacancy created when Dawn Gentry was removed from the bench in 2020. Those three nominees were presented to Gov. Beshear.

Kenton makes up the 16th Judicial Circuit and the vacancy was in the circuit’s Division 5, Family Court.

Beck has served as the executive director of the Children’s Law Center for nearly four years and was previously the center’s deputy director and, before that, its managing attorney.

Beck, a native of Morehead, has extensive experience in family and juvenile law, representing clients in private practice and in the non-profit sector. She is licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in Kentucky. She is a long-time advocate for children and youth.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University, then received her law degree from Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law where she has been an adjunct professor of juvenile law since January 2020. She is active in the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and the Kentucky Bar Association, and currently serves on the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission.

Family Court is a division of Circuit Court and has primary jurisdiction in cases involving family issues, including divorces, adoption, child support, domestic violence and juvenile status offenses.



The Judicial Nominating Commission helps fill judicial vacancies by appointment when a vacancy occurs outside of the election cycle.


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