Jen was born and raised along the Country Music Highway in Flatwoods, KY where she may or may not have been neighbors and BEST BUDS with Billy Ray Cyrus!!!! After graduating from Russell High School, she attended and received a degree from Eastern Kentucky University where she received a FULL academic scholarship and graduated with High Distinction in Health Sciences. Jen’s first job was at the University of Kentucky Hospital where she managed the food service operations for all patients in the 790-bed hospital and Markey Cancer Center. In this position, she managed over 50 employees in the day-to-day operations of the business. While there, she raised patient satisfaction scores to highly satisfied, which was the first time in over 20 years of conducting patient surveys. Jen left UK and went to the Frankfort Regional Medical Center as the Clinical Nutrition Manager. There she managed the clinical nutrition needs of the patient population, from the intensive care unit to the outpatient surgery center. She never knew she was working just a few feet away from the hospital gift shop that was owned and operated by her future husband, Kyle. She left FRMC and became the clinical dietitian with the Commonwealth of Kentucky at the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs. In this rewarding position, Jen was able to work with special needs population clients to meet their individual nutritional situations. Her specialty area was feeding infants born with cleft lip and palate and was asked to train others throughout the state on the skills and techniques developed.  She stayed with the Commonwealth of KY but became the Manager of the Child and Adult Care Food Program. This program, with its budget of $3 million per year, provides funds to daycares based on their compliance with federal meal plans. This program’s funds are distributed to daycares per meal, per income level, per student, monthly, and Jen’s team would educate and audit these daycares who participated in the program. In 2015, Jen began working in her current position on the management team for the Commissioner of Employee Insurance. In this role, her focus is the wellness benefits for the members of the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan. Jen manages the vendor relationships of various contracts, including the implementation of new vendors for the health plan. She is the point person for providing information to other Cabinets and to the Governor’s office as requested. Jen has 2 children of her own, and 3 additional bonus kids with her husband. She loves being outside and in the sunshine in any capacity! Her favorite place is on a beach somewhere!