Gena Boyle has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services since May 2024. In this position, she is spearheading the development and implementation of the agency’s three-year strategic plan and is working to establish stronger connections between economic support programs and the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Additionally, she is dedicated to supporting the agency’s workforce by promoting policies and practices that enhance mental health and well-being in the workplace. Gena has extensive experience in public sector leadership roles and human services policy. She served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services, where she was part of a leadership team overseeing a social services system with 11,700 employees and a multibillion-dollar budget. In this capacity, she provided strategic oversight and guidance for the Divisions of Finance and General Services, as well as the Offices of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs and Trauma and Resilience Policy. Previously, Gena held the position of Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources in Virginia. Her primary focuses in this role included implementing Medicaid expansion, improving maternal health outcomes, promoting trauma-informed care and practices among child and family-serving agencies, and preventing youth from entering the foster care and juvenile justice systems.
Gena is a proud 2004 graduate of Morehead State University in the eastern Kentucky mountains, with a Bachelor’s degree in government and minor in legal studies. She holds a Master’s degree in public administration and public policy from Virginia Tech University. Her personal and professional passions include improving care and response for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and promoting greater understanding of the intersection of trauma and adverse physical and behavioral health outcomes, especially substance use disorder.
