The Kentucky Democratic Party has hired a former team leader of Bernie Sanders presidential campaign as its new executive director.

The party announced Mary Nishimuta of Frankfort as the new executive director on Friday. She will serve under state party chairwoman Sannie Overly, a state representative from Paris.

Nishimuta was a national team leader for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and was a delegate for him to the Democratic National Convention. Sanders narrowly lost Kentucky's Democratic presidential primary to eventual nominee Hillary Clinton by less than one-half of 1 percent of the vote.

A graduate of Georgia Tech, Nishimuta has worked for various Fortune 500 companies and is the co-owner of the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe in Frankfort. She said her goal is to build a strong party in all of Kentucky's 120 counties.