Jeni Hunniecutt is a veteran, scholar, entrepreneur, and author with extensive experience in Veteran Studies. She served in the Virginia Army National Guard from 2008 to 2014, earning her B.A. and M.A. in Communication. After her service, she completed a Ph.D. in Communication Studies in Denver, Colorado, where she engaged with the Veteran Service Organization community and served as the Outreach Specialist at the University of Denver's Sturm Specialty in Military Psychology.

In 2018, Jeni joined the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Chez Veterans Center, serving as the Assistant Director of Research Engagement & Educational Programming and a Research Assistant Professor. She developed Veteran-centric research initiatives, taught courses on Veteran community health, and organized community-engaged events. She remains an affiliate faculty member at UIUC.

In late 2021, Jeni shifted focus to writing, publishing "Rethinking Reintegration and Veteran Identity: A New Consciousness" in 2022. She became an independent Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute and the Integrated Behavioral Health Research Institute, conducting research funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute on Veteran suicide loss and Military Sexual Trauma.

In 2022, she founded VetREC (Veteran Research and Education Curation LLC), offering research services to organizations serving Veterans. VetREC aims to merge research and practice for Veteran healing, collaborating with service organizations and research institutions.

Now residing in southwest Virginia, Jeni is a homesteader and creative writer, publishing poetry on spirituality, self-healing, and nature. She has traveled to ten countries and continues to explore new destinations. She plans to continue pursuing independent scholarship and advancing the field of Veteran Studies with work that fosters community-engaged, patient-centered approaches.