College Columns December 2025 | Page 17

Jenny spent ten years away from full-time work to raise her three sons-- Sean, Ryan, and Dylan-- and she and James recently welcomed their first grandson, Harrison, who is now nine months old. She finds her role as a grandmother especially rewarding.
Jenny continues to find fulfillment in volunteering for her family’ s church community. Her culinary prowess is celebrated among friends and family, and she is influenced by her international travels. Jenny’ s love of family and tradition likewise inspires her fervor for holiday decorating and entertaining.
Jenny’ s professional path began in a different but connected space. She spent many years serving as Program Director for several large and diverse congregations of churches, each with a strong commitment to social justice. Those experiences shaped her values and leadership skills and her belief that meaningful change comes from both compassion and structure. Over time, that work evolved into leading nonprofits— often alongside her husband— through strategic planning initiatives, which she treasured most when they dovetailed with her passion for advancing equity and justice.
In 2018, Jenny began working for Shari Bedker, the principal of Armstrong Associates, which had been the executive director of the College and other professional associations for many years. Jenny divided her time among III, IWIRC, and the College. Over the years, however, her role became more focused on the College and its charitable arm, the Foundation. There Jenny found a natural intersection between her background in mission-driven leadership and her enthusiasm for organized, purpose-driven program development. Shari recalls that, while Jenny’ s initial tasks were administrative,“ her personality and eagerness to learn new things quickly evolved into the main support
for the Foundation and Pro Bono Committee which were a perfect fit. Jenny’ s compassion for others knows no bounds, and she always works tirelessly, going over and above her assigned duties.”
Jenny wears many hats in the College in operations and administration; but her title of Program Director does not tell even a small part of the story of her dynamic and mission-oriented duties. Jenny is primarily responsible for event management, membership, and administering fundraising for the College’ s operations. She serves as the main point of contact for circuit events and the annual conference— managing logistics, registration, and coordination with the conference committee. As to the membership itself, she oversees the integration of new Fellows, shepherding them through the induction process, and manages membership data and updates.
Jenny also coordinates the Patrons and Sponsors Committee, partnering with the College President and Chair to lead a team of 15 Fellows who engage law firms and organizations to sponsor the College’ s work. Trish Redmond, President of the College, offered the following praise:“ For leadership, Jenny is our rock. She makes magic happen for us and nothing is too difficult to achieve.”
Jenny makes significant contributions to many committees, including the DEI Committee and the Freshmen Fellows Committee. She attends every meeting of the DEI Committee and Subcommittees and consistently weighs in with her substantive perspectives and ideas. She also implements the internal decisions of the Committee; for example, Jenny has substantial knowledge and experience in crafting data-collection polls and surveys and was instrumental in formulating the questions for the DEI
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