Council Members

Appointed by Governor Bill Lee; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Dr. Stephen Loyd is an Internal Medicine/Addiction Medicine physician who graduated medical school and residency from the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. He currently serves as the Vice-President of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Loyd was the Assistant Commissioner (Opioid Czar) for Substance Abuse Services in the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Governor Bill Haslam’s administration. He has served as an expert witness in more than twenty federal and state cases against physicians who were improperly prescribing controlled substances. Dr. Loyd was named an Advocate for Action by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), an office of the President of the United States. He has delivered more than 100 educational lectures on addiction and treatment of opioid use disorder and proper prescribing of controlled substances. Dr. Loyd was an original member (still active) of the Treatment of Chronic Pain Guidelines Committee which defined pain treatment for providers in the state of Tennessee. He has worked as an Addiction Medicine Physician in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, specializing in the treatment of opioid dependent pregnant women. Dr. Loyd has served on multiple drug courts in Tennessee and remains an active participant in drug court in the 4th Judicial District under Judge Duane Slone. He has worked with multiple community level anti-drug coalitions from Johnson County to Shelby County and has worked with all levels of state law enforcement, mainly the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for Cedar Recovery in Middle Tennessee and he has been in recovery from opioid and benzodiazepine addiction since July 8, 2004.

Appointed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally; to a first term of 4 years ending June 30, 2029.

Dr. Tyler W. Barrett is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Compliance at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He previously served as the Executive Medical Director, Medical Director, Quality & Patient Safety Director, and Director of the Clinical Operations Division for the Department of Emergency Medicine. His clinical goals focus on optimizing efficient and appropriate patient care, patient safety and quality improvement, opioid stewardship, multidisciplinary patient care pathways, and reimbursement-related issues. Dr. Barrett has been actively engaged in research throughout his career and has authored more than a hundred peer-reviewed original research investigations and reviews. He received a Vanderbilt Physician Scientist Development award and successfully transitioned to an NIH/NHLBI K23 award. His research goals are to improve the emergency department (ED) treatment of patients with opioid use disorder, increase the use of non-opioid analgesia, and risk stratification of ED patients with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Barrett’s contributions have been recognized with selection as a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Dr. Barrett was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor majoring in Psychology as a Natural Science. He matriculated to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine followed by a transitional year internship and emergency medicine residency at the Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and UCLA/Olive View-UCLA Emergency Medicine Residency programs, respectively. Dr. Barrett was named Chief Resident and awarded the Nurses’ Choice Award among the graduating residents. In 2005, he was recruited back to Vanderbilt as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine. He continued his education earning a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt University and a Certification in Healthcare Change Management from the Tennessee Medical Association John Ingram Institute for Physician Leadership Lab.

Dr. Barrett participates in several professional activities that support education and mentoring, faculty governance, and community outreach. He has benefited from outstanding mentorship and has committed to paying it forward as a mentor to over 40 student, resident, and faculty mentees. His dedication to medical student education was recognized with induction into the Vanderbilt Alpha Omega Alpha chapter. He is a Senior Associate Editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine and chairs the ACEP Reimbursement Committee. His extramural activities include serving as Chair of the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate, representative on the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate Student Athletics Committee, and an Emergency Medicine Team Physician for the Nashville Predators professional hockey team. He volunteered on the Nashville Youth Hockey League Board of Directors from 2014-22 and currently serves on the Nashville Academy of Medicine Board of Directors. He is actively involved in promoting education about the dangers of opioids among adolescents and young adults. He authored the USA Hockey Player Safety Program “Opioid” and “E-cigarette/Vaping” educational materials and recently developed two opioid education continuing education programs for teachers, coaches, and school leaders.  

Appointed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Brian Buuck is Chief Executive Officer at Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services. Buuck joined Ridgeview in 2001, was appointed CEO in 2013, and since has dedicated his efforts toward ensuring that Ridgeview is responsive to the rapidly changing Behavioral Health Care environment and expanding services to meet the needs of the communities that Ridgeview serves.  Under his leadership, the organization has developed Same Day Access walk-in clinics, grown its continuum of substance abuse treatment services, and co-founded the ET Crisis Intervention Team.

With a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, he brings more than 30 years of experience in public mental health to the Ridgeview team. Buuck is an active member of the Tennessee Association of Mental Health Organizations, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ Regional Planning Council, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, and the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

Appointed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally; to a first term of 4 years ending June 30, 2029.

Dr. Ronald L. Cowan completed his PhD at the University of Tennessee (UT) Health Science Center in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the Neuroscience Graduate Program.  Dr. Cowan earned his MD from the Weill Cornell Medical School. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and residency in Psychiatry at the McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He is board-certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and by the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Cowan is board-certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. During residency training, Dr. Cowan received the Dupont Warren and Livingston awards from Harvard Medical School to support his research in brain imaging. He received a research career development award from the Drug Abuse Research Scholars Program that was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Cowan led a program in substance use and related neuroimaging research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University prior to his current role before joining the UT Health Science Center Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Cowan is the Harrison Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the College of Medicine, and Professor in the Department of Health Promotions and Disease Prevention in the College of Nursing at UT Health Science Center. Dr. Cowan serves as the co-director of the Center for Addiction Science in the College of Medicine at UT Health Science Center, and as Medical Director for the UT University Clinical Health Addiction Medicine Clinic. Dr. Cowan is a member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Scientific Council, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the Society for Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), and the Society for Neuroscience (SFN). He is the president-elect of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association and an Advisory Council member of the Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee (SMART) Initiative through the UT Institute of Public Health.  Dr. Cowan’s research has used a multimodal methodological approach, including sensory psychophysics, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) to understand brain function in addiction, obesity, and pain. His addiction-related patient care efforts focus on patients with opioid use disorder and methamphetamine use disorder.

Appointed by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Thomas Farmer is a Special Agent in Charge with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and is the State Director of the Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force (formerly named the Methamphetamine & Pharmaceutical Task Force). He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice and has over 33 years of law enforcement experience of which over 23 years has been in the field of drug enforcement.  Tommy has received extensive specialized training and certifications from various accredited federal, state, local and private training programs such as DEA, FBI, Department of Justice, Homeland Security, TBI, etc., in the areas of advanced investigation, drug enforcement, chemical and pharmaceutical diversion, clandestine laboratory, special weapons and tactics.     

He has been a major participant in the Task Force since its inception in 1999 and through the phenomenal growth to become the State Dangerous Drugs Task Force. He served as an advisor to the Tennessee Governors Methamphetamine Drug Task Force responsible for the Meth-Free Tennessee Act and is currently the Director of the Governor’s Task Force over Marijuana Eradication.  

Appointed by Governor Bill Lee; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Mike Flynn received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee in 1976, graduating with Highest Honors.  He did a graduate study in Finance and Financial Investments from 1976 to 1977, and in 1980, from the University of Tennessee College of Law.  From 1980 to 1990, he was in private practice in Blount County, Tennessee and in 1990, was elected District Attorney General for the Fifth Judicial District of Tennessee. He is retiring August 31, 2022 after 32 years of service.

He is a member of the Blount County Drug Court Team, and has served on the team since its inception in 1997.  He is the past President of the Tennessee Association of Drug Court Professionals and  served on the Drug Court Advisory Committee for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration for a number of years.

Mike is a member of Maryville First United Methodist Church.  He is married and has two children and four grandchildren.  He has served on the board of many community groups including in numerous community groups including Haven House and A Secret Safe Place for Infants.

Appointed by Governor Bill Lee; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Sheriff Armando Fontes and his wife, Jackie, have been married for 25 years and have four children. He has been with the Cocke County Sheriff’s Department since 1997, serving as Sheriff for the past 12 years. He will be retiring in August after many years of dedication as Sheriff to serve his community in a different capacity as a School Resource Officer for Lake Way Christian Academy working under the jurisdiction of the White Pine Police Department. During his time of service, he has received many awards including Sheriff of the Year by the Tennessee Constable Association in 2018 and Best of the Best County Law Enforcement Officer in both 2018 and 2019, just to name a few. Sheriff Fontes assists with the yearly in-service training that is required by the Tennessee Peace Officers Training Commissioner. Throughout his long and decorated career, Sheriff Fontes has lived by the philosophy of leadership by example.

Appointed by House Speaker Camerson Sexton; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2028

Dr. Timothy Fournet is a board certified cardiologist in practice for 26 years. He has served as Chief of Staff at Cookeville Regional Medical Center and as Managing Partner for Tennessee Heart PLLC. Dr. Fournet is also a proud board member for Volunteer Behavorial Health. 

Appointed by Governor Bill Lee; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2027

Dr. Jackson is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee, where he maintains a private practice in family medicine, and directs the palliative medicine program at the West Cancer Center. Dr. Jackson also serves as the Associate Fellowship Director for Palliative Medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.  From this professional platform, he leads multiple teams of dedicated clinicians who have helped to transform the experience of seriously ill patients in the Mid-South.

Dr. Jackson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, and his Diploma in Theology at Oxford University in England, where he was awarded the Samuel Cox prize for New Testament Studies. He served as the President of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, is board certified in Pain Medicine, holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Dr. Jackson has been the recipient of numerous clinical and teaching awards, and has published his research in numerous journals, including Family Medicine, Journal of Affective Disorders, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.  He has also served as Editor in Chief of The Pain Practitioner, and has co-authored a book on family dynamics.  A frequently invited speaker at national and international professional meetings, he has also been featured in several multimedia projects concerning the treatment of affective disorders and chronic pain, as well as the history and philosophy of medicine.

Outside medicine, his interests include an active outdoor lifestyle, literature, music, and theology.  His most fulfilling role, without a doubt, is being a dad and a husband.  He and his wife Jana are thrilled to have planted a new church in the Memphis area in 2019.

Dr. Jackson believes in Memphis as a place where grit meets grace.

Appointed by Tennessee Municipal League; to a first term of 5 years ending June 30, 2026

Dr. Ken Moore, Mayor of Franklin is the 31st Mayor and second physician to head the City of Franklin. Ken practiced orthopaedic surgery for more than twenty-eight years and gained recognition on a state and national level as a leader. He was elected as an Alderman at Large in 2007 and assumed the role of Mayor in January 2011 and was reelected in October 2011, 2015 and 2019. 

Mayor Moore is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. After medical school, he served in the United States Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as a general medical officer.  He received his orthopaedic training at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee.  Upon leaving the Campbell Clinic, Ken and a medical school classmate started a practice in Columbia, Tennessee where he practiced until retirement in March 2004. 

He currently serves as Chair of the Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus and is a member of the Executive Committees of both the Greater Nashville Regional Council, the Transportation Policy Board, and the Regional Transit Authority. Governor Haslam appointed him to the Pollution Control Board. He also currently serves as the President of the Tennessee Municipal League. 

Mayor Moore maintains a passion for delivering healthcare to the underserved and is medical director for the Shalom Foundation which provides free surgery to poor Guatemalan Children and was highly involved in the opening of a new Out-patient Surgery Center for the Foundation in Guatemala City.   

Sustainability was one of his initial focuses and resulted in Franklin receiving a Platinum Level Award for Sustainability by the TVA, He has been a constant advocate for education involving Columbia State Community College and their new campus. Transportation has been an interest which he continues to work on a regional basis. As a physician, he has also promoted community health with a focus on tobacco cessation, obesity, activity, and mental health issues. In 2017, the City was recognized by Healthier Tennessee as one of nine communities in the State to achieve this designation. During his tenure, the City has continued to receive many top designations. 

Ken is married to Linda Crowell, a Franklin original, and they have five children and six grandchildren. They both enjoy travel and home life. Linda is a passionate pet owner and Ken enjoys golf. 

Appointed by Tennessee County Services Association; to a first term of 5 years ending June 30, 2026. 

E. Shayne Sexton has served as Criminal Court Judge for the Eighth Judicial District (Campbell, Claiborne, Fentress, Scott and Union Counties) since 1998. In 2005, he established the Drug Recovery Court for the district and currently serves as presiding judge. During his tenure, he served on the Community Health of East Tennessee (CHET) Board of Directors and the State of Tennessee Drug Court Advisory Board.

Appointed by Tennessee County Services Association; to a first term of 5 years ending June 30, 2026. 

A strong advocate for children and families, substance abuse treatment, and social justice, Lisa Tipton is the Executive Director of Families Free. A lifelong resident of Tennessee, Lisa continues to impact the Northeast Tennessee region where she resides. 

Lisa received her degree in the field of Social Work at East Tennessee State University. Lisa is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (BSW, LADAC II, CAADC, QCS) and she is committed to high quality, clinical interventions.  Her 25 years of experience in the field of Social Work have led to the improved quality of life for system involved individuals in the Northeast Tennessee Region as she has worked with various State agencies and community partners to better the lives of women, children, and families.  

Lisa envisioned the creation of Families Free from a decade of work experience with Omni Vision where she experienced caring for children in therapeutic foster care, engaging families, and navigating the State systems. Lisa founded Families Free in 2009 with the vision of strengthening families, especially those affected by incarceration. She built the foundational values of Families Free on the spiritual principles of justice, faith, and restoration. The belief that a well-resourced, high-capacity group of leaders combining their gifts and competencies for the good of others and the community, can be a great business model while providing an energizing and life-giving work environment.  

Lisa currently serves on the team for the First and Second Judicial District Felony Recovery Courts, as well as the Washington County Misdemeanor Recovery Court. In 2019, Lisa was appointed by Governor Lee to serve on the Criminal Justice Reform Task Force as part of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee. In 2021, Lisa joined the Bright Start TN Committee. 

Lisa is also appointed to the Foster Care Review Board in Johnson and Carter counties in Northeast Tennessee. Lisa also serves on various community committees and work groups seeking to improve the lives of system involved individuals in Northeast Tennessee.  One of Lisa’s most rewarding accomplishments is opening the Storie House, our supportive housing program for women in the Families Free treatment programming and their children. 

Recent Recognition & Awards 

• 2017 Milligan Leader in Christian Service Award Recipient 
• 2019 Recipient of the Calvary Church JOY Conference Award 
• 2022 Distinguished Alumni award from the ETSU College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences. 

Appointed by House Speaker Camerson Sexton; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2028

Wayne Wykoff is a Knoxville attorney focusing in the areas of social security disability, bankruptcy, and domestic law.  He earned his degree in computer science from ETSU in 1980 and his Law Degree from UT in 1992.  Before and during his law school career, Wykoff was an IT consultant.

Wykoff has practiced law since 1993 and has handled many cases in family law touching upon drug use and dependency, ranging from the Marijuana era to the Cocaine era then the crack cocaine era moving to the Meth era and now into the Opioid and Heroin era.  He has represented persons before the Nursing Board and in criminal courts dealing with Opioid overprescribing and distribution of Opioids.

In Wayne’s spare time he has actively pursued racket sports and has the shoulder and knee surgeries to prove it.

Appointed by House Speaker Camerson Sexton; to a second term of 3 years ending June 30, 2028

Dr. Stephanie G. Vanterpool is a Targeted Pain Treatment clinician, researcher and advocate. She is the Director of Comprehensive Pain Services, as well as an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology for the University of Tennessee’s Graduate School of Medicine. She received her MD from Duke University School of Medicine and completed her anesthesiology residency at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and completed pain fellowship at Carolina’s Pain Institute/Wake Forest University. She then entered private practice for several years before returning to Duke’s Fuqua School of Business to obtain her MBA. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and board certified in both anesthesiology and Pain medicine. Dr. Vanterpool serves on the boards of the Tennessee Pain Society and North American Neuromodulation Societies in various leadership capacities. She is recognized as a regional and national leader in pain management education, practice and policy. Most recently, Dr. Vanterpool was appointed to the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council by the state’s Speaker of the House. Her professional passion is to create a paradigm shift in how pain is assessed and treated through awareness, application and advocacy.

Stephanie G. Vanterpool MD, MBA, FASA
Director, Comprehensive Pain Services
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine

Immediate Past President -Tennessee Pain Society

Director at Large - North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS)

Co-Chair - Diversity and Outreach Committee, NANS