NASHVILLE (AP) — The administrator of Tennessee's Bureau of Workers' Compensation has been named president of the Southern Association of Workers' Compensation Administrators.

Abbie Hudgens has been administrator of the state agency since 2011. She was appointed to continue by Gov. Bill Haslam after Tennessee reformed its workers' compensation laws in 2013.

The Southern Association of Workers' Compensation Administrators includes 19 states from the South, as far north as Maine and as far west as New Mexico.

Hudgens was chosen during the organization's annual conference in Sandestin, Florida.