Jan Compton is the Deputy Director for External Affairs in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) Office of Stakeholder Engagement. She is housed in the Johnson City office, which serves the upper-eastern eight counties. With over 25 years of experience with the Department, she seeks to promote, acknowledge, and publicize environmental excellence and State Park advancement in Tennessee. She serves as the commissioner’s regional liaison, increasing the department's customer focus by aiding external customers as they navigate the state's vast resources and public participation opportunities.
Jan is currently Chair of the Executive Planning Committee for the Tennessee Environmental Conference, which recently merged to form the Tennessee Sustainability Conference, hosted annually in Gatlinburg. Prior to her work as regional director, Jan served as a program manager for the Office of Policy and Sustainable Practices where she was instrumental in the vision and implementation of Get Food Smart TN and was actively involved in other successful initiatives such as the TN Materials Marketplace, State Parks Go Green initiative, and management of the TN Radon Program. Jan serves on the board for the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. She is an East Tennessee State University alumnus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health and a Master of Science degree in the same program. Jan currently lives in Kingsport and enjoys golf, hiking state parks, supporting her favorite sports teams, church activities, and farmers market shenanigans with her golden doodle, Annie.