Meet the Team

Peter Murrey is the Director of the Office of Policy and Planning. Peter coordinates Office activities including overseeing TDEC’s Title VI work, engaging with TDEC Divisions and external stakeholders on environmental policy issues, supporting Department strategic planning efforts, and coordinating special projects. Peter received a JD from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a BA in Environmental Studies and Philosophy from the Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining TDEC, Peter litigated and advised on a wide variety of environmental cases as a Senior Assistant Attorney General within the Environmental Division of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and a Graduate Fellow Attorney at the Conservation Law Center. Peter is a Nashville native who enjoys cooking, music, and gardening with native plants.

Emily Leonard is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Office of Policy and Planning, where she assists TDEC divisions with conservation policy research and analysis, process and operations development, project reports and evaluations, and stakeholder and public engagement. Emily possesses a Master of Public Policy and Management from Australia’s University of Melbourne and a BA in Philosophy with a concentration in Biomedical Ethics from the University of California, San Diego.  Prior to pursuing her career in policy, Emily served 6 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear reactor operator. Before joining TDEC, Emily worked in USDA at the state level for Tennessee’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and at the national level for Rural Development. Emily has an array of experience in agricultural and conservation policy research and analysis, program planning and implementation, and crisis management.  Emily lives in Nashville. She is a Pilates enthusiast who also loves gardening, cooking, and enjoying Nashville’s music scene.

Joy Patton is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Policy and Planning, where she supports Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) divisions. Her work involves leading and managing TDEC's Title VI program, conservation policy research and analysis, process and operations development, project reporting and evaluation, and stakeholder and public engagement. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a Master's degree in International Affairs from Troy State University, in Troy, Alabama, and a Bachelor's degree in History from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Joy also serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve where she is assigned to the Intelligence Directorate at Air Mobility Command Headquarters at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Before TDEC, Joy was a Senior Policy Analyst for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency where she supported the CISA director and policy team. Joy lives in Mt. Juliet with her husband and enjoys studying sound healing and horticulture therapy.

Emma Bartolo is a Policy Analyst with the Office of Policy and Planning. In this role, she supports NEPA/environmental review coordination, policy research and development, and stakeholder and public engagement. Emma comes to TDEC as a recent graduate from Indiana University where she obtained a BA in International Studies and a minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. In addition to her academic studies, she has a background in the food insecurity non-profit realm working with local communities to ensure community members have to necessary resources. Outside of work, Emma enjoys reading, water activities, and cooking.