Dennis P Kavanaugh

Dennis Kavanaugh has been serving as chair of the Industrial Commission of Arizona since April 2023. In this role he also serves on the ICA Special Fund Investment Committee. In January 2024 he was appointed to the Dispute Resolution and Regulatory committees of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC).

Dennis has extensive background in worker compensation law. As an attorney for the Arizona Legislative Council from 1978 to 1984, Dennis was responsible for drafting worker compensation legislation. From 1984 to 1988 Dennis served first as an attorney and then as Chief Counsel of the Industrial Commission. In this position, he supervised Commission staff attorneys and provided representation and defense of the Commission before administrative law judges, the Superior Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court. As ICA Chief Counsel, Dennis drafted worker compensation legislation, rules of procedure, and, on occasion, represented the Industrial Commission before the Arizona Legislature. Dennis worked in private practice from 1988 to 2021 when he retired and closed his law firm. He handled worker compensation and Social Security Disability matters. While Dennis primarily represented applicants in worker compensation claims, for a period of time he also represented several self-insured employers. He was a certified specialist in worker compensation for more than thirty years.

Dennis received his J.D. degree in 1978 from Arizona State University and a B.A. in Political Science (magna cum laude) from St. Louis University in 1975. He was awarded memberships in Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu (National Jesuit Honor Society).

Dennis has been very active in public service. He was elected four times to serve on the Mesa City Council, including two terms as Mesa Vice Mayor. He has served on regional, state and national boards, including time as chair of Valley Metro, chair of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and as a board member of the National League of Cities. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the years and currently serves as president of the Arizona Museum of Natural History Foundation, board chair of Visit Mesa, and president of the Palo Verde Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and as a founding and ongoing board member of the Mesa Preservation Foundation. He is a longtime member of the Mesa Rotary Club and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. Dennis was named Mesa’s Man of the Year in 2015.