Heather French Henry BIO

Heather French Henry has been a local, state and national advocate for military veterans and their families for over 20 years.  She has served both Governor Beshear and Governor Bevin as the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, serving over 300,000 veterans in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Her role in the department provided oversight for nearly 900 employees serving in four state veterans nursing centers, five state veterans cemeteries, statewide veterans benefits and programs that served both homeless and female veterans.  Her responsibilities included developing legislative policy for the department and assisting with the overall strategy for the department's budget of nearly $100 million.

Her love of the military came from her admiration for her father, Ronnie French--a disabled Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War.  Heather took her family's experiences with her father's healthcare and military issues nationwide to develop partnerships with federal government agencies and local community service organizations.   During her year of service as Miss America 2000, Heather worked in the halls of Congress, held strategic meetings with the White House, and visited veterans in hospitals, homeless shelters and veteran service organizations across the nation.  

While Heather continued to work nationally, Governor Beshear appointed her Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, a position that allowed her to focus on Kentucky’s veterans.  Under her leadership, the department maintained its budget, fully developed it's women veterans program, restructured the homeless veterans program, and continued with the construction of a new veterans nursing center and a state veterans cemetery.  At the transition of the administration, Governor Matthew Bevin requested that Heather maintain her work with the KDVA as the Deputy Commissioner to continue her work for Kentucky's veterans. As Deputy Commissioner, she oversaw the completion of two facilities and conducted strategic planning for staffing issues with the Personnel Cabinet. In addition, she created a shared database experience with highly sensitive information regarding veteran and military records with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Heather is from Maysville and Augusta, Kentucky. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning. She is married to Dr. Stephen L. Henry––former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.  They have two daughters, Harper Renee and Taylor Augusta. Together, the Henry’s founded the Kentucky Prostate Cancer Coalition, which provide free prostate cancer screenings at the KY State Fair. They established the Rosemary Clooney Museum in Augusta, Kentucky, featuring the famous White Christmas Collection.  In addition, Heather assists with the Future Fund Land Trust in its effort to save Floyd’s Fork in Jefferson and Bullitt Counties. She owns and opersates Rose Hill Boutique and is a contrbutor to La Fille Magazine. The family resides in Louisville, Kentucky.