Transformative leadership which creates, reforms, and improves human systems to accelerate the achievement of progress for all.
W. Bryan Hubbard is a dedicated leader and advocate with a diverse background in law, public policy, and community engagement.
From his inaugural leadership of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to his involvement with reforms of disability policy, child support enforcement, Medicaid systems, and judicial responses to individuals affected by mental health and substance use issues, Bryan has been at the forefront of addressing critical challenges facing our society. His passion for creating positive change is evident in his extensive experience managing complex organizations and projects, forging diverse stakeholder relationships, organizing impactful events, and driving policy solutions.
He is the former Chairman and Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. He concurrently served as Special Counsel to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control and was its prior Executive Director. He served on the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines Commission, Mine Safety Review Board, and the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy’s Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council.
He previously served as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Income Support wherein he led the Commonwealth’s Social Security Disability and Child Support Enforcement programs. In this role, he led a multi-disciplinary research team of policy experts in drafting "Social Security Disability in Kentucky: The Evolution of Dependence, 1980-2015," which yielded the creation of a comprehensive Social Security Disability reform proposal which he presented to the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (read the study). He practiced workers’ compensation law representing Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Tennessee Valley Authority for sixteen years. During his practice years, he observed the predacious onset of Kentucky’s Opioid Epidemic amid generational joblessness, poverty, disability, and substance use. He was raised in Virginia’s coalfields and is the proud grandson of two grade-school educated coal miners.
Professional Experience
Chairman and Executive Director
Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission
Special Counsel
Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control
Executive Director
Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse
Commissioner
Kentucky Department for Income Support
Deputy Commissioner
Kentucky Department for Income Support
Commissioner
Mine Safety Review Commission
Attorney at Law
Private Practice
Appointments & Presentations
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Board member
www.ccffky.org -
Member
May 2023 - December 2023
Received an appointment to serve on the commission by the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court. The Commission is charged with exploring, recommending, and implementing transformational changes to improve system wide responses to justice-involved individuals experiencing mental health conditions, substance use issues, and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Commission will take into consideration the vision, values, and goals of a multiyear assessment to enhance the process, quality, and timeliness of the judicial response to cases involving these needs. Appointed to serve on the Commission’s Treatment Access Committee. -
Member
July 2019 - December 2023Initially Appointed by the Governor and subsequently reappointed by the Attorney General to serve on the twelve-person panel responsible for reviewing and setting standards for state child support guidelines.
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Member
May 2019 - December 2019Appointed by the Governor to serve as a member of a multi-disciplinary council charged with increasing opportunities for integrated and competitive employment for all Kentuckians with disabilities, identifying and addressing state policies that create disincentives and barriers to the employment of people with disabilities, recommending effective practices to providers and employers leading to community employment for people with disabilities, and establishing measures to assess the progress of these efforts.
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Member
May 2017 - May 2019Appointed by the Governor to serve on the Kentucky Work Matters Task Force, which brought together members of the private sector and every department of Kentucky state government with a hand in workforce development. The mission of the Task Force was to identify obstacles to employment for five populations (veterans, foster youth, individuals with criminal records, individuals with substance use disorders, and individuals with disabilities) and propose policy solutions to remove those barriers.
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Organizer, Host
Plenary Speaker and Facilitator
October 2023 -
Organizer, Host, Plenary Speaker, and Co-Facilitator
October 2019 -
Plenary Speaker
October 2019 -
Panel Presenter
September 2019 -
Plenary Speaker
February 2019
Latest Work
Empowering Healing Through Ibogaine
Bryan Hubbard is a pioneering advocate for ibogaine research and development so that its potential as a breakthrough therapeutic for opioid dependence may be fully realized. He has made groundbreaking contributions to the creation of broad-based public knowledge and understanding of ibogaine's profound neurorestorative properties while galvanizing grassroots support among diverse communities to hasten its safe and expeditious development as an FDA-approved treatment for all who can benefit from its power.
Hubbard's work has illuminated the alkaloid's profound impact on addiction interruption, neuroplasticity, and neural restoration. Through rigorous scientific inquiry and compassionate advocacy, Hubbard's service to this field demonstrates his commitment to exploring bold and innovative approaches to addressing some of society's most difficult challenges.
Featured Video
In the Media
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The Ibogaine Crusader Brings the Fight to the Buckeye State
April 2, 2024
Bryan Hubbard is preaching fire and brimstone. The topic of his sermon: ibogaine.
“There is evidence a mountain high and a mile wide that has been collected through observational-study data now for decades” affirming ibogaine’s efficacy as “a significant disruptor of opioid dependence.” Hubbard says it with conviction… -
Psychonaut POV
March 24, 2024
Q&A with Bryan Hubbard, Lawyer & Policymaker
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A Psychedelics Reporter With a Changing Perspective
March 20, 2024
Can an experimental drug cure opioid addiction? Andrew Jacobs, who writes about psychedelic medicine for The Times, explored the “promise and peril” of ibogaine…
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Ibogaine treatment for opioid use disorder
March 15, 2024
The last decade has seen an explosion of opioid addiction and overdose deaths, a public health crisis fueling demand for medical and governmental intervention. This brief is a comprehensive overview of the reported results of studies investigating the potential of ibogaine, a psychoactive compound derived from the Tabernanthe iboga plant, in treating opioid addiction…
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Psychedelic drug ibogaine hailed as healing. U.S. patients ask why it’s illegal
March 14, 2024
After three decades and five combat deployments in Navy Special Operations, Stephen Jones’s life spiraled into blackouts, bouts of angry confusion and alcohol-fueled benders. Doctors diagnosed him with traumatic brain injuries inflicted by years of sea dives, parachute jumps, firefights and bomb blasts…
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Could a psychedelic help solve Ohio’s opioid crisis? Ohio Treasurer just hired one of its biggest backers
March 11, 2024
State Treasurer Robert Sprague hired a lawyer who recently led the state of Kentucky’s aborted effort to steer a $42 million investment into research into medicinal or therapeutic use of ibogaine, a powerful hallucinogen…