Faculty Profile: Jenny Howard

Jenny L. Howard serves as General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation ("TDEC").  As General Counsel, Jenny has recruited talented staff and developed a culture of excellent customer service among the nineteen attorneys and fourteen other professionals in her office who serve as trusted advisors to TDEC's environmental and conservation programs.

Before being named General Counsel, Jenny served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Counsel for Legislative Affairs for TDEC.  Jenny was selected by TDEC to attend the 2014 Tennessee Government Executive Institute and has remained involved in that organization by serving as the Newsletter Chair, 2014 Class Representative, and a Steering Committee Member-at-Large.  Jenny was a founding member of TDEC's Talent Management Advisory Committee in 2013 and also completed TDEC's Green Leadership series.  Jenny has received recognitions such as being nominated and voted as a 2018 Nashville Business Journal Best of the Bar in Environmental Law and being nominated and named a Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Emerging Leader finalist in the environmental category.

Before joining TDEC, Jenny served the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County as an Assistant Metropolitan Attorney where she represented Metro Water Services, the Metro Stormwater Management Committee, Metro Public Works, Metro Finance, the Metro Investment Committee, the Metropolitan Sports Authority, the Metropolitan Trustee, the Metro Tax Assessor and a number of other departments and boards.  Prior to that, Jenny worked in private practice with Hall, Booth, Smith and Slover, a large law firm, representing clients in both litigation and transactions. 

In addition to being a public servant for over eleven years, Jenny has also worked with many professional and charitable organizations.  Before becoming President of the Tennessee Bar Association's Environmental Section, jenny served the section as the Newsletter Chair and Vice President.  For the past thirteen years, Jenny has served as the 2005 Class Agent for Vanderbilt Law School's Alumni Association and has served as a tnAchieves mentor.  She also teaches Sunday School as part of the Children's Ministry at West End Community Church.  Jenny enjoys living in Nashville with her husband and two daughters.