Heather Slayton
Heather Slayton is the 10th Tennessee State Forester and Assistant Commissioner for the Forestry Division. She is responsible for directing the activities of the division in state forest management, wildland fire prevention and suppression, reforestation, landowner assistance programs, forest health initiatives, urban forestry programs, and forest inventory.
Slayton joined the department in 2012 as a forest health specialist and soon transitioned to the role of Forest Health and Sustainability Unit leader where she administered all forest health, water quality, and rural and urban forest management programs. In 2018, Slayton was promoted to Assistant State Forester where she oversaw the major administrative functions of the division and provided executive leadership to the State Forest Unit, Reforestation Unit, Forest Health and Sustainability Unit, and the Forest Data and Analysis Unit.
Prior to her state service, Slayton worked as a consulting forester in Virginia, North Carolina, and in East Tennessee.
Slayton was raised in Danville, Va. and earned a B.S. in Forestry from Virginia Tech and a M.S. in Forestry from University of Tennessee. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing, boxing, road biking, hanging with her pups, and working on her 10-acre farm in Rutherford County.