Monty Burks currently serves as Director of the Center For Faith at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C., where he leads efforts to partner with faith-based and community organizations to better serve the nation’s most vulnerable. Drawing from his personal lived experience, Burks provides leadership and insight in developing second-chance employment pathways for individuals returning to the workforce after incarceration and in building recovery-ready, hope-centered communities.
Previously, Burks served as Deputy Director of the Tennessee Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, where he focused on uniting the nonprofit and faith-based sectors to better serve Tennesseans. Before that, he was Director of Faith-Based Initiatives for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where he engaged and connected Tennessee’s faith communities to the behavioral health care system to expand access to addiction and mental health support services. In that role, he oversaw the Tennessee Lifeline Peer Project, the Faith-Based Community Coordinators, and Collegiate Recovery Initiatives—programs designed to reduce stigma, strengthen capacity, and promote recovery-friendly environments across higher education and local communities.
Dr. Burks has more than 22 years of experience working within the criminal justice system in various roles, including adjunct criminal justice professor at Motlow State Community College, criminal justice research analyst at Middle Tennessee State University, and program coordinator at Tennessee State University. Earlier in his career, he served as a program coordinator, job placement specialist with Middle Tennessee Rural Reentry, earning national recognition as the Outstanding Professional of the Year from the Southern Criminal Justice Association for his work helping justice-involved individuals overcome employment barriers.
Recently, Dr. Burks served as a delegate at the National Convening of State Courts alongside Tennessee’s Chief Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts.
