Jenny Howard

Deputy Commissioner

General Counsel
Environment & Conservation

Jenny L. Howard has served as general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation since 2016. Before being named general counsel, Howard served as deputy general counsel and senior counsel for legislative affairs for the department.

Prior to joining TDEC, Howard served as an assistant metropolitan attorney for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. In this role, she represented Metro Water Services, the Metro Stormwater Management Committee, Metro Public Works, the Solid Waste Regional Planning Board and other 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 voted as a Nashville Business Journal “Best of the Bar” attorney in both the environmental law and corporate counsel categories. And, in 2020, the Nashville Business Journal named Howard to its 40 under 40 class. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida. She currently serves as the Nashville Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section co-chair, as a Class Agent for Vanderbilt Law School’s Alumni Association, and as a Children’s Ministry volunteer at West End Community Church.  Howard lives in Nashville with her husband and two daughters.