Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Secretary Mary Noble will retire July 15, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday.

Noble was appointed by Beshear on Dec. 10, 2019, and is the first woman to head the cabinet.

“With her vast experience in criminal justice, Secretary Noble agreed to join the administration and help get us off to a good start but told me she would not serve for a full term,” Beshear said in a news release.

Noble previously spent 10 years on the Kentucky Supreme Court, retiring in 2016.

“Throughout my career, I have been interested in these issues, from being a criminal defense attorney to starting drug courts as a circuit judge and helping pass juvenile justice reforms as a Supreme Court Justice,” Noble said.

The governor’s office said Noble helped steer prisons, juvenile justice centers, state police, law enforcement training academy and public advocacy through the pandemic.

Noble helped open a new state prison in Wheelwright, relocated the juvenile detention center in Louisville to a larger campus facility, launched the state identification project for the justice-involved population and advocated for stronger legislation to combat the opioid epidemic and strengthen criminal justice reform, Beshear’s office said.