Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, former director of the Tennessee Sentencing Commission, has been named by the state Supreme Court to serve as interim director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Sykes, of Clarksville, also will continue her duties as the AOC’s director of statistical services, Chief Justice Riley Anderson said Tuesday.
The interim director is a 1982 graduate of Memphis State University School of Law. She was in the private practice of law for four years before becoming a staff attorney for the state Department of Health and later the Department of Corrections. She was executive director of the Sentencing Commission from 1993- 95 when she joined the AOC which provides support services to the state court system.
The court also appointed Harlan Goan to serve as acting deputy director while continuing his duties as human resources manager at the AOC and director of the judicial performance and evaluation program. Goan is a fourth generation Tennessean and was a judge and court administrator in Montana before joining the AOC staff.
“Ms. Sykes and Mr. Goan will serve as the management team until a new administrative director is chosen,” Anderson said. “The court anticipates making a selection as quickly as possible.”
Former AOC Director Charles Ferrell resigned in January.