TDEC Office of Communications
Eric Ward, Communications Director
Eric.Ward@tn.gov
(615) 289-4516
Eric Ward is the lead communications executive for the department, overseeing external and internal communications. He joined the agency in 2014 and has more than 10 years of experience in government, corporate and nonprofit communications.
Prior to joining TDEC, Ward worked with clients in various industries while at Kentucky-based Peritus Public Relations and leading Tennessee PR agency MP&F Strategic Communications. He also worked with Nashville-based KraftCPAs, helping market the firms’ audit, tax and IT consulting services.
Ward previously served on the Nashville RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) board of directors, where he played an instrumental role in the organization’s recovery from the Nashville floods in May 2010. A native of Owensboro, Ky., Ward graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Strategic Communication.
Jennifer Donnals, Senior Communications Advisor
Jennifer.C.Donnals@tn.gov
(629) 294-0122
Jennifer Donnals is Senior Communications Advisor for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. She has a distinguished record of service in state government, including serving as Director of Communications for Gov. Bill Haslam in 2018. Donnals returned to state government in 2024 after two years as Chief Operating Officer for The Adoption Project, a non-profit organization focused on adoption and foster care policy.
She was Chief of Staff from 2019-2022 for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and briefly served as Director of Communications for the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office. Before serving on Haslam’s communications team from 2015-2018, Donnals was Director of Communications for five years for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
She was previously Director of Communications for the Shelby County District Attorney. Donnals was a producer in television news in Memphis, Montgomery, Ala., and Toledo, Ohio. Gov. Bill Lee in 2023 appointed Donnals to serve a three-year term on the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. She is a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Donnals and her husband have one daughter and live in Nashville.