Experience

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

• United States
• Government Administration
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Associate General Counsel

  • Oct 2019 - Present

  Represent the Department of Environment and Conservation in all legal matters, including handling of property and injury claims, review and drafting of contracts, drafting of policies and procedures, giving of general legal guidance, appeals of unemployment and workplace disciplinary actions, and handling of human resources and civil rights matters. Oversight of environmental criminal investigators and preparation of cases for recommendation to local prosecutors. Represent the Department of Environment and Conservation in all legal matters, including handling of property and injury claims, review and drafting of contracts, drafting of policies and procedures, giving of general legal guidance, appeals of unemployment and workplace disciplinary actions, and handling of human resources and civil rights matters. Oversight of environmental criminal investigators and preparation of cases for recommendation to local prosecutors.



Penguin Random House

• United States
• Book Publishing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Author

  • Jun 2014 - Present

  Zentner, Jeff. The Serpent King. New York: Random House, 2016. Winner of the American Library Association’s William C. Morris Award. Winner of the International Literacy Association’s Young Adults’ Book Award. Winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal (UK). Finalist for the Southern Book Prize. A New York Times Notable Book. A Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Southern Living, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon Best Book of the Year. Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. New York: Random House, 2017. Winner of the Keystone State Literacy Association Award. Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness. An Indie Next Pick. Longlisted for the UKLA Award and the Southern Book Prize. Zentner, Jeff. Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee. New York: Random House, 2019. Finalist for the Southern Book Prize Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and BookPage. An Indie Next Pick. A Southern Independent Booksellers Association Okra Pick. Zentner, Jeff. In the Wild Light. New York: Random House, 2021. An Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award winner Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal A Whippoorwill Award winner A Michigan Thumbs Up Award winner An Alexandria Award finalist A New York Times, Boston Globe, Amazon, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2021 Starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal Named to 13 state reading lists



Office of the Tennessee Attorney General

• Assistant Attorney General

  • Nov 2010 - Oct 2019

  Defended criminal convictions on appeal on behalf of the State of Tennessee in Tennessee state appellate courts. Duties included oral argument, drafting of briefs, legal research, and preparation of opinion letters upon request from members of Tennessee’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches. • Briefed and argued seventeen cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court. • Briefed and argued hundreds of cases before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. • Winner of the 2014 Michael E. Moore Legal Writing Award, awarded to the best piece of legal writing produced in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office in 2014.



The Van Winkle Law Firm

• United States
• Law Practice
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Associate Attorney

  • Sep 2006 - Oct 2010

  Involved in all aspects of litigation of civil cases, primarily focused on medical malpractice defense. Duties included drafting of pleadings, motions, briefs, and legal memoranda; taking of depositions; preparation of discovery requests; legal research; preparation of appellate materials; trying of cases; marketing efforts; mentoring summer clerks. • Obtained summary judgment in a medical malpractice case in which plaintiff claimed $5.5 million in damages. • Comprised part of a trial team that successfully defended three doctors alleged to have committed medical malpractice.



University of North Carolina at Asheville

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations

• Adjunct Professor

  • Aug 2008 - Sep 2010

  Taught “The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business,” as an adjunct professor in UNCA’s management program. Responsibilities included lecturing on various aspects of the law and its interaction with the environment of business, administration of examinations and other assignments, responding to student questions, and evaluating student performance. Taught “The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business,” as an adjunct professor in UNCA’s management program. Responsibilities included lecturing on various aspects of the law and its interaction with the environment of business, administration of examinations and other assignments, responding to student questions, and evaluating student performance.



Salt Lake County Substance Abuse Services

• Public Relations Coordinator

  • Jul 2000 - Aug 2003

  Coordinated public relations and legislative outreach activities, organized special programs and events, grant-writing, patient scheduling, communication with Spanish- speaking clients. Coordinated public relations and legislative outreach activities, organized special programs and events, grant-writing, patient scheduling, communication with Spanish- speaking clients.