Kentucky Attorney General announces appointments to the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has announced the appointment of new members to the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.

The announcement came earlier this week as two new non-voting members were announced.

State Representative Chris Fugate was appointed by Speaker of the House David Osborne and Karen Kelly, who is the Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Hal Rogers was appointed by President of the Senate Robert Stivers as a non-voting member.

There were also three members re-appointed to the commission.

Jason Roop, of Campbellsville, appointed by the Attorney General to represent victims of the opioid crisis.

Van Ingram, of Frankfort, appointed by the Attorney General to represent the drug treatment and prevention community. Ingram is Executive Director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

Dr. Patricia Freeman, of Lexington, appointed by the University of Kentucky from the HEALing Communities study team.

The Commission is comprised of nine voting and two non-voting members including stakeholders from the prevention and treatment community, law enforcement and victims of the drug crisis.

In addition to these appointments, the Commission’s membership includes:

• Chris Evans, of Louisville, Commission Executive Director;
• Mark Metcalf, of Lancaster, Kentucky State Treasurer;
• Karen Butcher, of Georgetown, representing victims of the opioid crisis;
• Eric Friedlander, of Louisville, Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;
• Von Purdy, of Louisville, Vice President for Advancement and Community Engagement at Simmons College; and
• Darren "Foot" Allen, of Mount Vernon, representing the law enforcement community.

** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.