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Contact RRSC Council Members
The council consists of up to 20 members representing people across the Tennessee Valley who are interested in TVA’s management of the region’s natural resources.
The council’s purpose is to increase public participation in TVA’s decision-making process by providing advice from many diverse perspectives so that TVA can respond in a responsible way to the needs of people across the region. The council invites public input into its deliberations.
TVA has appointed Amy Edge as the designated federal officer to facilitate the planning of the council’s meetings and reporting of its activities to the public.
14th Term Council Members
Cline Jones - Chair of the RRSC
Jones is a resident of Athens, AL, and a native of north Alabama, where he has spent his entire life on, in, and around the Tennessee River.
In addition to being the Executive Director of the Tennessee River Valley Association and the Tennessee-Cumberland Waterways Council, he is the Executive Director of Energy Fairness.org, serves on the Alabama Water Resources Commission, is Board Chair of the Coalition of Alabama Waterway Associations, and is an active associate of the Waterways Council, Inc.
He is a former Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the National Waterways Conference, a former member of the Board of Directors of Inland Rivers Ports and Terminals, is the former Board Chair of Energy Fairness.org, he served as a participating alternate member of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan Working Group and served on the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group’s Focus Panel on Certificates of Use, Permitting, and Inter-basin Transfers.
Ronné Adkins
Adkins became Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Environment (BOE) in September 2024, bringing 20 years of experience in public service and the environmental field, including 10 years with the department. He served as Director of the Division of Stakeholder Engagement, overseeing the Office of External Affairs, Office of Sustainable Practices, and the Small Business Environmental Assistance Program from May 2022 until his appointment as Deputy Commissioner for BOE. He also served as director of the Office of External Affairs from 2021 to 2022, where he was the primary point of contact for the public and stakeholders in the region that covers Shelby, Fayette, and Tipton counties. Previously, he was director of the Small Business Environmental Assistance Program, which provides free environmental consulting services to Tennessee small businesses.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Memphis, where he was also a National Science Foundation Fellow. He is a native Tennessean, husband, and father of two boys and enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting, biking, coaching baseball, and a wide variety of outdoor activities.
Ryan Brown
Brown is the Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. An avid hunter, angler, and outdoorsman, he grew up on a family farm in central Virginia, and his career has kept him close to his roots in Virginia’s natural resources and open spaces. Over the course of his career, he has also represented Virginia’s natural resource agencies with the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, as well as working directly with other Virginia natural resource agencies. During his tenure, he has led the renaming of the agency to enhance marketing and public outreach efforts, directed and overseen significant improvements in the agency’s law enforcement division, established the first office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office, assisted with efforts to conserve Virginia’s largest migratory seabird colony, and assisted with the development of Virginia’s first elk hunting regulations, among other efforts. He currently serves as Co-chair of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ International Relations Committee and is Secretary/Treasurer of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
He graduated magna cum laude from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, where he was a John Marshall Scholar and a Robert Merhige Fellow of Environmental Law, and received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia.
Michael Butler
Butler is a native Tennessean who grew up in Jackson and has since lived in each of the state's grand divisions. His enthusiasm for Tennessee’s wildlife and the great outdoors, fostered by his early outdoor experiences, prompted him to study wildlife and fisheries science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and then to obtain a master's degree in fish and wildlife management from Montana State University.
In 2002, he was promoted to chief executive officer, a position he currently holds at the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, formerly known as the Conservation League. Over the years with the Federation, his work has allowed him to engage with and solve some of Tennessee’s most critical wildlife and conservation concerns.
He has served on several conservation and community-oriented boards and was a presidential appointee to the board of trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation from 2006 until 2012.
He and his family live outside of Franklin.
Brad Collett
Collett is a Professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences and the School of Landscape Architecture. Prior to becoming Director in 2016, his teaching, research, and creative activity centered on regional water resource stewardship through landscape planning and performance. He was a 2016 U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Slovenia, and is a licensed landscape architect. Under his leadership, a consortium of organizations, agencies, and community partners collaborates with UT Knoxville and TVA to realize the vision for North America’s next great regional trail system and the economic development, public health, resource stewardship, and equitable access benefits it promises. He and his wife, Nicki, and two children, Ben and Lucie, live in Knoxville, TN. They love traveling, playing soccer and volleyball, spending time with family in Ohio and North Carolina, and, of course, paddling the Tennessee RiverLine!
Alan Gates
Gates has served as President & CEO of Pennyrile Electric since 2018. Prior to his current position at the Cooperative, he served as V.P. of Operations and Technical Services and has over 30 years of experience working within the local power company.
He is actively involved in his community and currently serves on several local boards and committees. He and his wife, Ashley, live in Hopkinsville, KY and have three children.
He is a graduate of the NRECA Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.
James Haskew
Haskew was elected as vice president of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation in 2021. He and his wife, Shannon, farm more than 1,200 acres of row crops, 300 acres of hay, and have a 120-head commercial cow/calf operation and a value-added feed mill in South Pittsburg. He has served on the Marion County board of directors for over 40 years, serving 22 of those as county president. He and Shannon were the second-place state winners in the Young Farmer of the Year competition in 1996, and then he was first elected to the Tennessee Farm Bureau Board of Directors representing District III in 2008.
Richard M. Holland
Holland is currently the External Affairs Manager for Packaging Corporation of America (PCA). He assumed this position in 2017 after serving as the Environmental Manager for PCA, Counce Mill, since 1990. In the position of Environmental Manager, he managed all environmental activities for the PCA pulp and paper mill. His current position involves regulatory agency coordination and government relations activities.
Prior to 1990, he worked for 17 years for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in various environmental regulatory activities.
He currently serves as a member of the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board, is co-chair of the Air Quality sub-committee for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is vice-president of the Tennessee Paper Council. He is also an active member of the Tennessee Valley Industrial Committee.
In local activities, he is a member of the Henderson County Solid Waste Committee, a member of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is Alderman and Vice-Mayor of the Town of Sardis. In his role as vice-mayor, he serves as manager and certified operator for the Town’s water and wastewater system.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science from the University of Cincinnati and is a registered Professional Engineer.
Kim Klinker
Klinker is the CFO of Klinker Management LLC, which holds a long-term land easement agreement with TVA for the rights to operate and maintain Hornsby Hollow Campground. This campground is a 54-acre peninsula located on Watts Bar Lake, Ten Mile, TN. It has 109 RV campsites, a large boat ramp, boat slips, playground, swim beaches, boat rental area, pavilion, fishing pier, walking trail, and bathhouses. She and her husband have operated Hornsby Hollow Campground since March 2006.
She held a stock brokerage, municipal bonds, and commodities options license, working for a company on the Chicago Board of Trade and for a large bank institution in Indianapolis, IN. She was also a Senior Finance Associate for Subaru Isuzu Automotive Manufacturing plant, where she oversaw its cash flow activities and forecasts.
Prior to taking over the operations of Hornsby Hollow Campground, she worked as an independent consultant for Professional Bank Services, providing analysis and audit to banks located in eastern Tennessee.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Ball State University in 1988.
Whitney Lipscomb
Lipscomb works in the Mississippi Attorney General’s office. She was formerly Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to Governor Phil Bryant. In that role, she coordinated with the Governor and Chief of Staff daily on policy, legal, cabinet, communications, and administrative issues. She also served as the principal policy advisor to the Governor on environmental, energy, emergency management and marine resource policy.
She previously practiced law at Balch & Bingham LLP in Gulfport, Miss., where she regularly represented business entities, community and economic development organizations, public agencies, and a utility company in litigation, environmental, real estate and business matters.
She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law, summa cum laude, and her Bachelor of Arts from Mississippi State University, summa cum laude. She is a member of the Mississippi State Records Committee and the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Board.
John McConnell
McConnell is the Executive Director of Boards and Commissions for Governor Beshear of Kentucky. He is a native of western Kentucky and is passionate about the outdoors. He has seen much of the state traveling to watch his daughter play soccer. He and his family are lifelong residents of Murray, Ky., where he is the second-generation owner and president of McConnell Insurance, located in Murray and Paducah, Ky. Additionally, he is a Partner and Co-Founder of Bolding and McConnell in Union City, TN. He is a past board member of the Kentucky Medical Licensure Board and is the current Governor’s proxy to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Independence Bank.
Sean M. McGrath
McGrath is the Chief Executive Officer of Alcorn County Electric Power Association (ACE) and ACE Fiber, bringing expertise in leadership and financial management to both organizations.
His career reflects progressive leadership in the utility sector, beginning with roles at Alcorn County Electric Power Association. His responsibilities grew from Staff Accountant, where he focused on reconciliation of general ledger accounts and work order cost analysis, to Plant Accountant and then Assistant Office Manager. This foundation supported their transition to Chief Financial Officer for both Alcorn County Electric Power Association and ACE Fiber, demonstrating capabilities in financial management and risk assessment.
Building on this experience, he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer at both ACE Fiber and Alcorn County Electric Power Association, providing strategic leadership and operational oversight to both organizations. His leadership guides ACE Fiber's strategic expansion into telecommunications, while also ensuring the continued success of the electric distribution cooperative.
His background is supported by knowledge of business management, holding a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Alabama, a Bachelor of Accountancy from Mississippi State University, and a degree in Business Management from Delta State University.
Will Nelson
Nelson is the president and CEO of Nelson Tractor Company, a farm equipment dealership headquartered in Blairsville, Ga. Prior to joining the family firm, he was a consultant for Dematteo Moness research and investing firm and was involved with several product development groups, including Deere, Kubota, and New Holland.
He has served on the United Community Bank Customer Advisory Board and the Kubota National Dealer Advisory Council, representing the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. In addition, he is a past president of the Union County Rotary Club and currently serves on the board of the Southern Equipment Dealers Association.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in finance and economics from David Lipscomb University.
George Powell
Powell is the General Manager of Winchester Utility System (WUS) in Winchester, Tennessee, where he has served since 2021. In this role, he leads the municipal utility providing electric, water, and wastewater services to approximately 20,000 customers, with responsibility for utility operations, financial management, regulatory compliance, and long-range planning.
He began his utility career as a water treatment plant operator and has since worked in a variety of roles across the public utility sector, including service with the Tennessee Valley Authority. His professional background also includes service in the United States Navy as an Air Traffic Controller.
He is actively involved in industry, economic development, and community organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Municipal Electric Power Association and the Government Relations Advisory Group of the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association. Locally and regionally, he is engaged with the Winchester Rotary, the Middle Tennessee Economic Development Association, and the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology with a minor in Finance from Middle Tennessee State University. He is deeply committed to public service and community stewardship, bringing a practical, mission-driven approach to leadership.
David “Ron” Robertson
Robertson grew up on a farm in Hardin County, Tennessee. He worked in various positions for International Harvester and the Case Corporation until returning to full-time farming in the Hardin County area. He established Cypress Hill Farm, which he operates today, growing about 3,000 acres of crops and Timber. He is a Director of Hardin Farmer’s Co-op and is a past president of the Co-op. He also is a past president of Tennessee Valley Farmers and is currently serving as its Vice-President.
He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Mechanization.
Danette Scudder
Scudder has served since October 2017 as Executive Vice President for Member Services/Strategic Relations for the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA) and as Vice President for its subsidiary, Distributors Insurance Co. Prior to taking those positions, she served more than two years as TVPPA’s vice president and five years as Member Services manager. She acts as staff liaison to TVPPA’s Government Relations Advisory Group.
She is the chair of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) Board of Directors and serves on the TNCPE Board of Examiners. She was the original chair of the American Public Power Association’s Mutual Aid Working Group, a member of APPA’s Reliable Power Provider review panel and is a master judge for APPA’s Lineworker Rodeo. She has also served as international president of the Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Evansville and a master’s degree in public administration from Texas Tech University.
Sarah Swanner-Medlock
Swanner-Medlock is a Tribal member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) with over 25 years of experience with the Tribe. She currently serves as the Director of the Division of Development and Planning for MBCI, overseeing multiple departments, including Choctaw Public Works, Economic Development, Choctaw Loan and Housing Program, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Tribal Historic Preservation Office. In this leadership role, she provides direction, policy guidance, and programmatic oversight to ensure sustainable development and self-determined growth for the Tribe.
She obtained her PhD from Mississippi State University. She is also a certified participant in leadership and economic development training programs, including the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi’s True South Basic Economic Development Course. She has served on various boards in past, including Alcorn State University Women’s Business Center and the Mississippi Food Justice Collaborative.
Mark Thurman
Thurman serves as The Nature Conservancy's Director of Conservation Collaboration in Tennessee. In this role, he oversees the strategic leadership of conservation, science and stewardship initiatives within the state program and how all of it feeds into TNC's conservation efforts throughout the Southeast U.S. He possesses a wealth of over 30 years of experience in conservation, gained notably through his tenure at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and extensive expertise in managing substantial budgets and leading cohesive, multifaceted teams.
An ardent advocate for nature, he is an adept storyteller dedicated to bridging the connection between nature and people. His commitment is evident in his leadership of educational programs such as immersive snorkeling trips, where both urban youth and members of the conservation community witness firsthand Tennessee’s remarkable freshwater biodiversity.
Randy Wiggins
Wiggins is the county manager for Cherokee County, North Carolina. With 20 years of government experience, he has served as county manager and finance director for Cherokee County. He also served as human resources manager for a division of Emerson Electric, as well as project manager and business development manager for local companies. In addition to his responsibilities as county manager, he serves on numerous local boards and committees, among them, he is a past chair of the board of directors of Industrial Opportunities, Inc. (a homegrown vocational rehabilitation company ranked as one of the largest employers in Cherokee County).
He attended Western Carolina University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, and successfully completed the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government’s Administration Program.