Jeneva Cotton
New Deputy Director
Jeneva Cotton joins the Gambling Commission with a strong history of proud public service. She comes to us from the King County Dept of Adult and Juvenile Detention where she has been the Juvenile Division Director since July 2023. Prior to that, she worked at the Dept of Social and Health Services as the Director of the Civil Residential Treatment Facilities, where she oversaw the work of transitioning mental health patients from Western State Hospital to smaller, community-based facilities.
Before transferring to DSHS, Jeneva worked for the Department of Corrections for 23 years, where she held a variety of agency leadership roles, including Deputy Director of Prisons. In that role, she had statewide oversight of up to half of the state’s 12 prisons, offender programs, family services, visitation, religious services, and gender responsivity. She also served as statewide Correctional Programs Administrator, Gender Responsive Manager, and as Superintendent at two major prison facilities.
Jeneva holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Services and a Master of Science degree in Psychology. She has also completed her credentials as a Certified Diversity Executive®. Jeneva brings a vast amount of experience implementing programs and collaborating with stakeholders, both internal and external, including but not limited to legislative workgroups, labor relations partners, Disability Rights Washington, and the Governor’s Office.
In her spare time, Jeneva loves to travel and enjoys being outside, especially working in the yard or playing with her dogs. She is an avid fan of Seattle sports, especially the Seahawks and Seawolves, and enjoys going to concerts.
Jeneva will join the Commission on February 1, 2025.
Current Deputy Director Gary Drumheller plans to retire June 2, 2025. Over these four months, Gary plans to impart his over 30 years of experience with the Commission to Jeneva.