Attorney General Appoints Five Members to Anti-Opioid Advisory Commission

Attorney General Russell Coleman announced the appointment and reappointment of five members of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. The commission is a mechanism designed by the Kentucky General Assembly to distribute the commonwealth’s share of nearly $900 million recovered in opioid settlements.

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

The Attorney General announced the following appointments:

• Jason Roop, Ph.D., of Campbellsvilleappointed by the Attorney General to represent victims of the opioid crisis. Dr. Roop is an adjunct professor of business and theology at Campbellsville University and was first appointed in June 2022. His new term expires in 2026;

• Van Ingram from FrankfurtAppointed by the Attorney General to represent the drug treatment and prevention community. Ingram is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and was first appointed in 2022. His new term expires in 2026;

• Patricia Freeman of Lexington, Appointed by the University of Kentucky from the HEALing Communities research group. Dr. Freeman is a professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky and was first appointed in July 2023. Her new term expires in 2026;

• State Representative Chris Fugateof Chavies, appointed by Speaker of the House of Representatives David Osborne as a non-voting member; and

• Karen Kelly, Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Hal Rogers (KY-05) from Somerset, appointed as a non-voting member by Senate President Robert Stivers.

Last month, Attorney General Coleman announced that the commission had awarded grants totaling more than $12 million to 51 organizations across Kentucky that will go toward improving treatment, prevention, and law enforcement across Kentucky.

In addition to the above-mentioned persons, the Commission includes:

• Chris Evans of Louisville, executive director of the Commission;
• 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 development and community engagement at Simmons College; and
• Darren “Foot” Allen of Mount Vernon, representing the law enforcement community.

Office of the Attorney General