Jenny Howard

Deputy Commissioner

General Counsel
Environment & Conservation

Jenny Howard serves as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and leads TDEC as a member of its 5-person executive team.  Before being named Deputy Commissioner, Howard served TDEC as general counsel, deputy general counsel and senior counsel for legislative affairs.

Prior to joining TDEC, Howard served as an assistant metropolitan attorney for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County representing the Metropolitan Sports Authority, Finance, Assessor, Trustee, Water Services, Solid Waste Regional Planning Board, and other local departments and boards. Before entering public service, Howard worked in private practice with a large law firm representing clients in both litigation and transactions.

Howard has been named “40 under 40” and voted “Best of the Bar” by the Nashville Business Journal.”  She earned her law degree and certificate in Law and Business from Vanderbilt Law School.  She studied horticulture and business at the University of Florida and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She is a mentor in the tnAchieves program and a Children’s Ministry volunteer at West End Community Church.  Howard lives in Nashville with her husband and two daughters.