Spotlight on Powerhouse’s AJ Bengoa

This month we’re shining the spotlight on one of our talented graphic designers and grant writers, AJ Bengoa. AJ, short for Anne Jeanene (she’s named after her mom), will celebrate her first year with Powerhouse in August. While she works on graphic design and grant-writing projects for Powerhouse, AJ prefers to identify what she does as “making other people, and companies, look and sound better. And I love research and data!” That last bit is probably why she’s so good at what she does.

AJ’s favorite thing about working at Powerhouse is “the camaraderie and positivity of all the people! At first, I thought, this cannot be real all the time, but it so is . . . Everyone is so kind and supportive. It warms my soul just thinking about it!” This atmosphere, unique for in-office companies and virtually unheard of in fully remote companies, is why AJ believes the sky is the limit for Powerhouse. “[Powerhouse President and Founder] Jess has created the perfect environment for thriving employees, and the only limit is what the employees are willing to pursue. With this team, the possibilities really do end with what we can dream up,” she says.

As someone who prefers to focus (and talk about) anyone other than herself, it was hard to pin AJ down to any self-description, but she finally said, “I believe I’m a generally positive person, and my kids say I don’t ever give up and I always finish what I start even if it kills me. Though clearly nothing has yet!” Speaking of her children, AJ was quick to brag on hers. Son Akiva is a trombone and piano player who composes music and participates in competitive fencing. He’s also, according to AJ, “one of the best fiction writers I know. He’s just so good, and he’s placed top in the state for his storytelling two years in a row, so it’s not just my biased opinion.” Daughter Ainara is also a musician (percussion being her instrument of choice), a poet, and an accomplished dancer. “She spends at least nine hours a week in the dance studio both taking and assisting classes of all kinds,” AJ adds.

Married to her husband, Alex, since 2004, AJ loves that their family spends time camping, hiking, and participating in all kinds of water sports. Her priority is family time, so the whole family will load up the beach buggy and head for the beach (a whole two blocks from the house) or toss the appropriate toys from the garage into the camper to head out for destinations a little farther from home. When not playing out on the water or going camping, she and Alex hang out in a home office that would make many of us envious. With a Cricut, two 3D printers, an engraving machine, a laser cutter, welding tools, jewelry-making tools, and a heat press, they’re pretty set up to tackle any of the creative outlets they enjoy.

AJ is proud of her extended family, too. While happy to point out that she is descended from the McCoy side of the famous Hatfields and McCoys (she has great stories to tell to anyone who is interested), she’s most proud of her father, Clyde McCoy, and his part in the Civil Rights movement. “He gave up his position as a minister because he came down on the opposite side of the Civil Rights movement from his congregation. Instead, he spent his time sponsoring the black students’ council at the University of Cincinnati when they needed a sponsor and working as the campaign manager for the first elected black mayor of Cincinnati,” she states. Her mom was the first person in the state of Kentucky, and one of the first in the country, to learn to use computers when they were first developed by IBM. “She was the only professor in the business department in the late 1960s willing to learn,” AJ says, “so she learned and then taught others how to use and program computers for the next 40 years. She taught me a few things over the years, too,” she adds with a smile.

That computer savviness must run in her blood because AJ does great things for Powerhouse in the graphic design department and is always willing to lend her creative mind to developing ideas for other projects. Her creative talent combines seamlessly with her computer knowledge, but she still says her favorite Powerhouse projects are “all the amazing products my fellow designers create. It amazes me how many other things and what a variety of talents are accumulated under the Powerhouse umbrella.” She’s hoping to continue to be under that umbrella for a long time. “I’ll be transitioning to an empty nester in five years and Alex will retire a few years after that, but I’m hoping to still keep on with Powerhouse as we travel the Americas in our camper,” she says.

As always, we asked AJ to tell us something not many others know about her, and we just had to laugh at her response, given her avowal that she is a water sports addict. “I’m scared of ducks!” she says. A bad early childhood experience was compounded by having to cross a bridge surrounded by “quacking, pecking, sharp-beaked, feathered swarms” every day in college. Ironically, her son’s first word was “duck” and he still has a soft spot for them—“Mainly the rubber duckie variety, which I don’t place in the scary category, but still!” she laughs. Luckily for AJ, there aren’t any real ducks associated with Powerhouse (that we know of), but the next time we all get together via Zoom, we may just have to bring out any rubber duckies we have floating around our home offices. All in the name of continuing that positive camaraderie we all enjoy so much, of course.

Spotlight on Powerhouse’s Emily Anderson

Emily Anderson, one of the newer freelancers to join team Powerhouse, has been with us for the last nine months. As one of our marketing specialists and grant writers, Emily is currently working on behalf of two of our clients. In the short time she’s been with Powerhouse, she has impressed all of us with her support, exceptional work ethic, and talent.

That feeling is mutual, according to Emily: “My favorite thing about Powerhouse? The people most definitely! I work with an amazing group of people that I have come to admire and look up to so much.” She goes on to say that she learns so much from everyone at Powerhouse and feels privileged to work “with such a kind, driven, caring, and intelligent group of people.” What can we say? Emily fits right into that definition!

When she’s not working on behalf of her Powerhouse clients, Emily loves to challenge herself or find a new adventure. For example, her first job in high school was working in a tobacco field. “I was challenged to go into the tobacco fields and work,” she explains, “so I accepted the challenge and technically that was my first job.” Emily is all about the adventure, the challenge, and the discovery of new things about herself and the world around her. “I love having fun,” she says. But even more than having fun, Emily loves spending time with her friends and family. “They’re the most important things in my life,” she says. That connection to others, and deep desire to see others happy, is what sparks her enjoyment in helping others. “I just enjoy watching them grow and succeed,” she says.

Emily and her new husband got married just the two of them at the courthouse in 2019 (“Yes, we’re COVID people,” she says with a laugh) and then had the big family wedding in 2021. (We’re not kidding when we say she’s a family person.) This outdoors-loving couple lives in the city but right next to a park they take full advantage of along with their dog. When not outdoors, they enjoy cooking and trying new things. “You might find us playing real-life food ninjas in the kitchen when it comes to cutting fruit and vegetables,” she says by way of explaining that while they have no children themselves, they act enough like children to feel like the family is complete.

Emily is passionate about the work/life balance that Powerhouse strives so hard to achieve. She believes that when you work remotely it’s important to create boundaries. “One thing I do,” she explains when asked about maintaining a positive work/life balance, “is I have my ‘work hours’ and my ‘no-work hours.’ I make time to sit at my computer and work, and I schedule time to spend with friends and family. Create boundaries and don’t feel guilty for not always being readily available to work.” She points to some fantastic free resources one of our clients, HelloHealth, provides designed to help achieve positive work/life balance as well as the free resources Powerhouse has created.

Another work passion project Emily has discovered is working with nonprofit clients. In her time with Powerhouse so far, Emily cites working on grants for Camp Cranium as her favorite: “Being able to find grants for such a great cause really makes it worth every moment we work on the project. Being able to make an impact and help really means a lot to me.” Which may be why she says that one of her favorite things about Powerhouse is our grant library, a resource those who work for our nonprofit clients have access to in order to save on research time and streamline the grant-writing process. “Powerhouse sets you up for success at every turn,” Emily states. Still, her absolute favorite resource at Powerhouse is the people. “The women at Powerhouse are a great resource for any project and bring their past experiences and current to the table,” she says. Emily just adds to that collective knowledge.

As we always do, we asked Emily if there was anything others might not know about her that she could share. Most often, we get fun trivia or unbelievable personal history anecdotes, but Emily shared that she’s lived with a chronic condition for over 20 years, which can be extremely challenging. But after only a short time with Powerhouse, she has felt comfortable sharing her journey with us, which, she says, “has meant a lot to me.” That, right there, is exactly the kind of work culture we strive to cultivate every day, and we’re honored Emily is a part of it.

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