Mark Henry
Ex Officio Director, MWCC Commissioner

A seventh generation Mississippian, Mark Henry grew up in Louisville. He graduated from Mississippi State University, where he was named to the Hall of Fame, and from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award in Future Interests. He then clerked for the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and former Governor J. P. Coleman.

In 1983 Commissioner Henry joined the Reagan Administration. In Washington he worked at the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy, where he was nominated by the Secretary of Energy for the Outstanding Young Federal Attorney Award. Commissioner Henry also volunteered to prosecute drug cases as a Special Assistant U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Returning home to Mississippi in 1987, Commissioner Henry practiced law in Columbia. In 1996 State Auditor Phil Bryant appointed Commissioner Henry the Deputy State Auditor. Later he worked as Governor Kirk Fordice’s Chief Legal Counsel and then as Governor Fordice’s Chief of Staff.

In 2000 Governor Fordice appointed Commissioner Henry an Administrative Judge at the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. While serving as an Administrative Judge, Commissioner Henry graduated from the National Judicial College. Eight years later in 2008 Commissioner Henry became Lt. Governor Phil Bryant’s Chief of Staff.

Then in 2012 Governor Phil Bryant appointed Commissioner Henry the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. At the Department of Employment Security, Commissioner Henry reduced the agency budget and the number of employees by more than a third and at the same time improved efficiency through the use of innovative technology. During Commissioner Henry’s service at the Department of Employment Security, unemployment in Mississippi fell to historic lows and the number of jobs in our state increased to historic highs.

While at the Department of Employment Security, Commissioner Henry also served as the Chairman of the State Workforce Investment Board and of the State Longitudinal Data System Governing Board, and as a member of the Gulf Coast Restore Council. In addition, he was elected the President of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, where he fought for greater flexibility for the states in workforce development.

In 2019 Governor Bryant appointed Commissioner Henry as the Attorney Commissioner on the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. After being unanimously confirmed by the Mississippi Senate, Mark Henry took the office of office as a Commissioner on April 2, 2019.

Commissioner Henry and his wife, Kathy, attend the First Baptist Church of Jackson. He is also a member of the First Families of Mississippi, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Mississippi Opera Board of Directors.