She is the former chief executive officer of the WHAS Crusade for Children, a local charity that operates a large annual telethon.
[1][2] Jackson first won elected office in 1989, upsetting long-time Democratic incumbent Jefferson County clerk Jim Malone.
She represented the United States in Bulgaria as one of two specialists on how to establish a primary election for the many factions of the pro-democracy movement.
Jackson ran for governor in 2003, losing in the primary election to Ernie Fletcher, who eventually won the seat.
Jackson joined the WHAS Crusade for Children in 2005, the first person from outside the WHAS-TV corporate structure to hold the post.
[5] She was instrumental in establishing an endowment for the telethon, funded by bequests from people who left donations to the Crusade in their wills.
On the web site of her gubernatorial campaign, Jackson listed her "first home" as Short Creek, Kentucky.