Here at Powerhouse Planning, we love to highlight the superheroes on our team—the amazing individuals who tell the stories, in words and images, of the people and businesses we’re so honored to support. And in this edition, we’re extra excited to shine a light on the team member who tells the stories of our storytellers (and so much more)!

Heatherlynn, aka H. (don’t you dare call her Heather), has been with Powerhouse for three years. She’s a technical writer and Powerhouse’s newsletter coordinator whose work with clients has included Cape Henry Associates, MILLIE/Agent Intel, and Operation: Job Ready Veterans, just to name a few. She’s also a contributor extraordinaire to Powerhouse’s own content, including our team member spotlight pieces.

And right now, at this very moment, Heatherlynn is asking herself why she came up with the questions that inform this story—probably because she was hoping that spotlight would stay far far away from her. She’s much more content to be the one cheering for others (e.g., her work colleagues, children’s sports teams, and such) and happy to do so from somewhere less, let’s just say, front and center. And while we love that about her, sometimes you have to let your self shine (or at least let someone else shout out to the universe how remarkable you are).

With over 25 years under her belt as an Air Force military spouse (her husband Ben is a retired full-bird colonel), Heatherlynn is a staunch supporter of military families. She is credited with creating and implementing several programs designed to support military families that were adapted for use by the greater Air Force. If you’ve spent more than two minutes connected to the military community in any way whatsoever, you know what a phenomenal accomplishment that is. It’s difficult enough to build a program, let alone get buy-in from the military to implement and scale it!

Heatherlynn and Ben are proud parents to two teenagers of their own and four honorary children—exchange students from Spain, Italy, Japan, and Germany. The couple can proudly boast of having visited all 50 states and several countries as well. Their current traveling goal? A complete list of our nation’s national parks and quirkier landmarks. Not sure what constitutes a quirky landmark, but we’re envisioning the world’s largest ball of yarn and such. We demand photos.

In her free time—when she’s not working, or advocating for military families, or being a wife and mom, or jet-setting to glamourous locations like those states you always forget when you’re challenged to name all 50 U.S. states—Heatherlynn loves to read, binge-watch TV, and putter around the kitchen experimenting with how to make food that still tastes delicious for folks with food allergies. She’s also inclined to experiment with new recipes when company’s coming to eat, which is either the craziest or bravest thing we’ve ever heard of. Rumor has it she’s got the pizza delivery number on speed dial for emergencies.

Heatherlynn, like all of us who work for Powerhouse, loves getting to work for a company that feels like family and that is committed to giving back to the community (10% of Powerhouse’s revenue goes to charitable causes). Her only regret working with Powerhouse? She wishes she knew about it when she was an active-duty spouse!

As for us, we think Heatherlynn is a rock star. And we’re so glad she’s part of our family!

We love anniversaries here at Powerhouse, and we’re thrilled to be celebrating Julie Clark’s one-year Powerhouse anniversary. Julie is one of our extremely talented social media specialists or, if you’d like, strategists. In her first year here she’s already served clients such as Cape Henry Associates, Jacey Eckhart, and Agent Intel/MILLIE. As Powerhouse President Jess Bertsch is fond of saying, “She’s seriously talented, y’all!”

We asked Julie to reflect on what she loves about Powerhouse, and she said, “From my first phone interview, which was on a weekend or weeknight, I knew Powerhouse would be a great fit for me. Jess understands that freelance work involves unusual hours and unusual work environments.” Very true. She also loves that even though we’re all working from diverse locations and time zones, Powerhouse still makes her feel like she’s part of a real team. Almost as if our virtual office were a real office setting. No matter what project she’s working on, Julie never feels as if she’s alone on a task. That collaborative feel is there, no matter that we might have some unconventional remote offices.

Julie is a fantastically creative thinker who has had a passion for entrepreneurship from a very young age. We’re pretty sure she was hustling a slew of lemonade stands and was a top sales earner in any fundraising efforts she participated in growing up. Julie’s confidence, common sense, and drive have helped her create and sell several businesses over the years. And she always has new business ideas percolating.

While Julie is not a military veteran or spouse, she is the daughter of an Army veteran and the wife of a fireman. She and her husband eloped in 2002 and were married on top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Today, they are the proud parents of three children, a sixteen-year-old daughter and twelve-year-old identical twin boys. They love experiencing the outdoors together and can be found doing anything from kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, hiking, camping, or exploring new nature preserves and beaches. They live on Florida’s Space Coast, which means they can indulge in their outdoor passions year-round. Julie, especially, has really taken to kayaking in recent years. She even takes strangers on guided kayaking tours, which stretches her introverted ways but has been infinitely rewarding.

Because we’re focusing on giving back this month, we asked Julie (who also has a passion for giving back) what ways she gives back to her community. She told us that she routinely supports several fundraisers related to her husband’s work at the fire department, the annual Rockledge Professional Firefighter’s Toy Drive and Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirt Drive. The proceeds support local families in need over the holidays and local breast cancer survivors.

Julie and her husband are constantly looking for ways to help their community and are committed to instilling a passion for volunteerism in their three children. As Julie says, “It’s important to remember not to take anything for granted, whether health or financially, and to look for opportunities to help others who are less fortunate.” Giving back doesn’t have to be done on a grand scale either. “Don’t overthink it,” she states, “It can be as simple as reaching for that item on the top shelf of a grocery store you see someone struggling to reach, or picking up a few items of trash after a day at the beach.” Giving back doesn’t require money or even a lot of time. The little things add up and are just as significant.

Julie’s passion for work, life, and her community mean she’ll be a part of the Powerhouse team just as long as she wants. Well, that and the fact that she is amazing at what she does. She sees Powerhouse experiencing tons of client growth in the next few years. She’s learned a lot in her year here and thinks Powerhouse will continue to impress with our dedication to our clients and the quality of work we produce.

As we always do, we asked Julie for a fun fact about herself. She told us she’s a bit of a nerd about looking for fossils and treasure. In another life, she would have been an archaeologist or paleontologist. Recently, she took a solo trip to the Peace River in the middle of nowhere to look for ancient treasures with a sifter her husband built her. While she hasn’t found evidence of a never-before-seen dinosaur yet, she has collected fossilized bones and shark teeth. She also dreams of finding treasure in one of the many shipwrecks off the Florida coast.

Julie left us with a challenge that we’re going to pass along to you: This week, make a small gesture to give back to your community. If you accept this challenge, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Even if you simply bring a smile to someone’s face, you’ve impacted your community for the better.

We are extremely excited to introduce you to our “oldest” Powerhouse freelancer, Jennifer McKee. It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to say we’ve been waiting ALL YEAR for this feature! Jen has been with Powerhouse for over six years and is still our number one fan, as well as one of our indispensable, go-to talents. She works as one of our quality assurance geniuses, but she has been known to take on the occasional writing assignment if we beg enough. Jen ensures that the products we turn out are error free and fantastic. Currently, you’ll see her hand in products for clients such as Nomadés and Cape Henry Associates, but given how long she’s been with us, her invisible touch is almost everywhere.

Jen has two favorite things about Powerhouse. Well, we limited her to two or, given her status as a super fan, we’d be here all day. She loves the flexibility that comes with our virtual workplace, but she truly loves “how encouraging, supportive, and just KIND the team is to one another.” We couldn’t agree more. It’s a work environment that founder Jessica Bertsch has purposefully fostered since day one—and Jen should know because she’s been here nearly as long. These are also traits Jen’s taken to heart as she is almost always one of the first to offer an encouraging word or congratulations.

Jen describes herself as “a hot mess,” to borrow a phrase from our founder. A typical day finds her juggling her life, working at figuring herself out, and just trying to be happy. It’s a quest she’s aided in by her husband of seven years, Alan (a sixth-grade science teacher which, we think, automatically makes him a hero), and her daughters, Alex and Maya. Alex is 21 and has just started veterinary technology school while she works full time at a veterinary hospital. Maya, almost 18, is in her senior year of high school and a proud fourth-year color guard member of the Hickory Marching Hawks. Jen isn’t a proud band mom or anything (wink). Her domestic bliss is rounded out by her 3-year-old pit bull, 8-year-old boxer, and her 18-year-old, 4-and-a-half-foot long ball python. Hey, we all have different ideas of what makes a good pet, but we think she might win the most cool pet owner points in our “office”!

When asked about her hobbies and interests, Jen said she enjoys kickboxing, hanging with friends, and SLEEPING. We can get behind those, too! She loves to travel, though she doesn’t think she does enough of it. She also doesn’t think she relaxes enough, which we’re willing to bet is a failing a lot of us have.

Because we’re entering that time of year when we all start to look toward next year, we asked Jen a little bit about what planning looks like in her life. Once she stopped laughing at the very idea of planning, she told us that the best planning advice she can give is this: Plan to have things interrupt your plans. She’s an olympic-level list maker, but life always seems to get in the way. She’s spent a lifetime learning not to be flummoxed by the hiccups that come, but to be flexible and that while the best-laid plans may not go to plan, a general outline is helpful.

We’re pretty sure her ability to change as needed is part of what has made her so successful at Powerhouse. We know she has faith that Powerhouse will only continue to grow and blow clients away with our quality products. We’re just relieved that as far as she’s concerned she’ll be a member of the team for as long as Jess will have her. Which means we’ll see you again in about 20 years when we’re celebrating her quarter-century here!

As always, we asked Jen for some fun, little-known facts about herself. She offered three, though she said none were very exciting. The first is that she has been enamored with military jets since she was 12 years old and her Air Force dad took her to her first air show. She actually loves jet noise! The second is that one summer during college she waited on Stephen King. The third is that, having grown up on Cape Cod and coastal Maine, she can get every bit of meat out of a lobster even though she won’t eat any of it (she’s NOT a seafood lover).

Well, Jen might not find herself overly exciting, but we’re excited to have her talented self as part of the Powerhouse family. Here’s to six-plus years together and many more to come!

Here at Powerhouse Planning we are surrounded by amazing talent. We really should spell that with a capital “T” because the talent is just that good. So is it any wonder that sometimes we just feel a need to throw a spotlight on some of that talent? Yeah, we don’t think so either.

This month we are pleased to celebrate the Powerhouse talent that is Ariana Detrez. Coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, Ariana is celebrating her first Powerhouse anniversary, and we could not be happier that she’s a part of our team. Ariana is one of our graphic designers, though she hasn’t always followed that career path. Ariana began her professional career as an art educator, but when life threw her a few curveballs, as it is wont to do, Ariana didn’t hesitate to turn her incredible talents to the equally artistic field of graphic design. You can currently see her artistic endeavors with Powerhouse clients like Jacey Eckhart, PayNet, and Gromelski & Associates, but we’re certain this is only the beginning.

As many of you know, Powerhouse is almost exclusively a military spouse and veteran organization. From our founder and president, Jessica Bertsch, to the array of freelancers we have on contract, Powerhouse is proud of our military ties. Ariana is no exception, though her military experience has turned out to be much shorter than she or her former Air Force husband ever anticipated. Though his military career didn’t turn out the way they planned through no fault of their own, Ariana credits their time with the Air Force with helping to shape who she is today. If nothing else, the adaptability required by the military has helped her deal with all the changes in her life this last year.

Since Powerhouse is also comprised of a virtual workforce, we asked Ariana what professional work relationships should look like in a virtual work space. She answered, “Effective communication is key here.” She went on to point out that it is especially important to have a connection to others when you work virtually. “Relationships are key when you’re living out your passion. You want to have a connection with the people you’re working with!” She adds that how you approach virtual work relationships is just as important. “Be authentic and, have I stressed this enough? Communicate effectively. It’s easy to misinterpret or not understand something through virtual chat—never hesitate to ask questions or for clarification,” she says.

She credits effective communication and the time spent building virtual relationships with helping her when her life was upended earlier this year and a cross-country move became necessary. Because she had built strong, clear relationships with Powerhouse’s Jessica Bertsch and Jennifer Kirkpatrick, Ariana says her move went much more smoothly than she expected it would. “Jess and Jen contacted me throughout to make sure I was okay and were open to providing any resources I needed,” she says. That kind of professional relationship, the kind that you know will survive whatever life throws your way, is why Ariana feels so blessed to be a part of Powerhouse and the virtual workforce. It’s why she’s so excited to continue to learn and improve her chosen profession and why she’s confident she’ll still be with Powerhouse in five years.

Ariana and her husband are dog parents to the adorable Professor, a nine-year-old Terrier mix, and Atlas, a one-year-old Australian Shepherd. While they currently call North Carolina home, they are eager to return to their home state of Florida next year, where they will be surrounded by family, friends, and all things Disney, which is a good thing because Ariana loves Disney!

We asked Ariana for a tidbit not many people know about her. Ariana shared that she was heavily into the art of paper crafting and has a YouTube channel with over 1,000 followers. While it may have started as a place to showcase her paper crafting expertise, it is now geared more toward design and art education. Is it any wonder that someone that involved with the arts has found a successful career as a graphic designer? We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty sure that on our lunch break here we’ll be heading over to YouTube and checking out a certain fabulous Powerhouse talent.

Here at Powerhouse we are blessed with a wealth of talent, which is why we love to showcase some of our amazing members from time to time. This time, we’re shining a spotlight on a true “Powerhouse,” Amanda Higgs. Amanda is an incredible video producer who edits our clients’ videos. She takes their ideas and brings them to life by doing everything from creating storyboards to helping our clients figure out how best to feature themselves and their products. She delivers top-notch, quality videos every time.

Amanda has had the privilege of working with some of our favorite clients (okay, okay, they’re all our favorites. I mean have you checked out whom we’ve been partnering with lately? Could you choose a favorite?). In the past she’s worked with Cape Henry Associates, Jacey Eckhart, and HPI. Currently, she’s working with MILLIE to edit social media videos to help them best serve the military community. Amanda has been a Powerhouse video producer for two years, and we really can’t imagine how we functioned without her.

She loves the flexibility her career with Powerhouse brings, both in terms of her position and her ability to flex her creative side. It’s very true that a career with Powerhouse will challenge you to stretch your imagination on what you can do. The success of such creative endeavors is a product of trust and expertise on both sides. At Powerhouse we listen to our team members’ opinions because we trust that they will bring us ideas beyond our wildest dreams, and the fact that we foster such a trust means that our members feel safe to reach for the impossible. We’re pretty sure it’s a win-win. Amanda even told us that working for Powerhouse is her dream job. Well, the fact that she can report to work in her pj’s probably doesn’t hurt!

Amanda is proud to have served 11 years as a military spouse. Her husband retired as an Air Force Master Sergeant after a 21-year career. They have two boys: Ben, who is in sixth grade, and Jake, who is in fourth grade. She and her husband love spending time with them and their rescue dog, Lucky Ducky Applesauce Higgs. We’ll save you the time—Amanda doesn’t know how Lucky came by her name any more than we do. Still, we’re kind of in love with it.

Our intrepid video producer is as optimistic as they come and is truly one of the most resourceful, creative, dependable, and kind people we know. Her philosophy is to leave the world better than she found it, which is sort of our philosophy too, so it’s no wonder we’re happy Amanda is at Powerhouse. It’s not too much to say that Amanda loves her coffee (she only mentioned it a few times), but she also loves reading and watching movie adaptations of the books she reads. Spoiler alert: The book is always better, in her opinion. She also loves to cook, though she does admit that her smoke detector is her biggest fan. We’ll trust her on that one.

Amanda is always looking for ways to learn new techniques and gain new perspective in her work life. She hopes to be with Powerhouse for a long time because Powerhouse allows her the opportunity to constantly discover and grow. She wants to be a part of Powerhouse growing its clientele and contractor base. Even more, though, she wants to be a part of a company that gives so much back to the greater community. As she says, “Powerhouse gives back more than any other company I know.” She’s looking forward to watching, and participating in, Powerhouse growing its “Share the Goodness” campaign. We agree.

So we asked Amanda as a parting question what fun facts we should know about her. She shared that she and her son share the same birthday. She can touch her tongue with her nose (you just tried to do the same, admit it). Also, she’s terrified of frogs and dentists. Fair enough. Of course, she also added that she’s always up for coffee, but we already knew that. Check out some of our clients’ video posts. Amanda and her coffee may have had a hand in producing them.

One of our favorite things to do at PH is brag about our talented freelancers and employees. This month’s star is PH’s Nicole Keeny. Nicole is one of our Quality Assurance Specialists, which she says sounds more impressive than what she actually does. But we say it is no less heroic than ensuring our clients’ messages are “consistent, professional, and polished.” Nicole also describes her job as that of story shaper and detective. She thinks “detective” is stretching it a little, but since she fact checks and combs through documents for misplaced modifiers and such, we think “detective” fits perfectly.

Nicole has been with PH for almost three years, not so coincidentally since about the same time as her son Preston came into her family. She was looking to get out of the classroom where she was a full-time middle school teacher and into a profession where she could create the work/life balance she desired. PH came as a blessing. Not only does Nicole have the flexibility she needs to work and stay at home to homeschool Preston, but she can work in her yoga pants. Yep, we’re totally with Nicole on this one!

Since we’re focusing on work/life balance this month at PH, we asked Nicole how she maintains the right balance for her. “With organization, boundaries, and grace (for myself),” she replied. Being more organized makes her less stressed and more effective at both work and home. She sets rules and follows them. For instance, she takes one day a week and doesn’t do any work, including laundry (or making her bed). Instead, she spends the day intentionally resting and restoring her spirit. She finds that by doing this she is a better employee and a better wife and mother. As Nicole says, “Balance requires intentionality.” So creating a good work/life balance means taking some time to reflect on what’s important to you, what your professional and personal goals are, and then working toward them in a way that works best for you. Maybe that’s by creating lists or establishing boundaries, maybe it’s coming up with a mission statement and then shaping your life around it. Nicole even advocates for taking a day and putting your smartphone away. Not just face-down-on-the-table away, but in a different room on silent. It helps you to be present in the moment. She doesn’t recommend letting your toddler hide it, though. Personal experience, perhaps?

As we’ve mentioned, Nicole is mama to Preston. She is also the wife of Jeff, a pastor who founded his own church in the fall of 2016. With Jeff also working from home, the family has the flexibility to spend lots of time together going on adventures, learning together, or just dancing around their kitchen as they prepare their favorite Mexican dishes. This is key to that work/life balance as Nicole also serves as the children’s and women’s ministry coordinator at their church. It doesn’t leave her with a lot of free time, but when she has it she loves nothing more than curling up with her (ever-present) coffee and a good book or a Jane Austen film. To set the mood, add some ’40s music, the luxury of a nap or walk in the woods, or a journal and some colored pencils. Sounds relaxing and uplifting!

Nicole has loved the growth PH has experienced in the last couple of years and sees herself as part of the PH team for years to come. We’re pretty sure we’re not letting her go anywhere! She’s an open book to anyone who asks her a question, but few know that she is the first woman on either side of her family to attend and graduate from college. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to inspire someone, including dyeing her hair purple one year when all of her students passed their state test. She’s also an avid advocate for adoption. She and Jeff adopted Preston when he was 10 days old. She says she had to learn that “motherhood isn’t a given or a right, but a privilege.” She feels privileged to guide Preston through life and hopes that others come to realize that “being a mother is more than blood and genetics.”

Families come in all different shapes and sizes. And we’re so glad Nicole decided to become part of the PH family!

Randi Cairns is one of Powerhouse’s writers extraordinaire. She pretty much handles it all, from content creation, to technical writing, to grant writing. If one of our clients needs a writer of any kind, Randi is one we go to first! Currently, she turns her talents to clients like Operation: Job Ready Veterans (grant writing), MILLIE/Agent Intel (blog and e-newsletter writing), and Powerhouse (content/resource creation, and blogs/newsletter article writing). So, as you can see, we’re not exaggerating when we say she can write anything.

Randi has been with Powerhouse for three years. She loves that we’re all about our team and that our team is family. She is inspired by the incredibly talented people she gets to call co-workers, and she considers Jessica Bertsch to be “one of the most genuine and caring business owner you could ever hope to know and work for/with.” Yep, we concur 100%. Is it any wonder that in five years Randi sees “total world domination in the best possible way for Powerhouse”? Randi hopes she gets to be along for the ride, and we sincerely hope she is because she’ll be one of the reasons for that domination.

Randi’s professional heart belongs to helping businesses succeed, especially nonprofits or those that have a mission to help others. Personally, she describes herself as “the offspring of a fierce, protective mama bear and a tree-hugging do-gooder.” For her it’s all about advocacy for those in need and all-encompassing love. As she says, “Nobody gets to mess with my village, and my village grows daily.” (May we just interject that we love writing pieces about writers? They have the BEST one-liners!)

Referencing that mama bear side of her, Randi is mom to four of the most awesome military “brats” (we’d humbly like to offer that that term should be “mini-heroes”) of all time who are now 25, 23, 15, and 14 years old. They are the best part of her day, each and every day, even if just seeing those ages in writing causes a gray hair to appear. In addition to being an exceptional mother and a national advocate for military families for over two decades, Randi spends what little free time she has with her children, binging on Netflix/Hulu, reading, cooking, or writing for fun. She also likes “piña coladas and getting caught in the rain” (maybe this is a Powerhouse thing?), though she doesn’t have time for most of these activities right now. She’s too busy advocating for those who can’t speak for themselves and raising productive members of the next fierce generation.

We asked Randi for some tidbits nobody knows about her, and she provided us with two absolute gems that truly sum up who she is. First, while her husband was deployed, Randi spent two hours cutting a cast off her leg with a steak knife so she could drive her kids places and get to work. She succeeded, but admits that the surgery she had to have to repair the damage she caused may not have been as empowering as the act that made it necessary. Two, she delivered her third child by herself in the bathroom of an Olive Garden about 30 minutes after she saw her OB, who told Randi that she was crazy for thinking she was in labor. The only things she regrets? That her son doesn’t get free Olive Garden for life and that there’s no commemorative plaque in that bathroom stall. Yep, this is why we love her.

So, as Randi says, “If you want the world’s best team of highly skilled and amazingly competent professionals to create magic for your business or nonprofit, led by a business owner with a heart of gold and a commitment to providing the best possible service, and you’re not already putting Powerhouse Planning to work for you, you should ask yourself why not and change that immediately.” If you do, it’s entirely likely that Randi will put her immense talents to work for you, and we’re pretty sure her village will grow just that much bigger. After all, who doesn’t want a mama bear/tree-hugging do-gooder on their side?

At Powerhouse, we are incredibly proud of the amazingly talented people who work here. This year, we’re rolling out a new blog series where we will be sharing some of these powerhouses with you. You’ll get the chance to know a little bit about the fantastic team members who have helped “power” us through to some truly outstanding successes over the last few years. Before we get too carried away with the puns, let us introduce you to Jennifer Kirkpatrick.

Jennifer is Powerhouse’s multi-talented Executive Assistant. Besides keeping all of us in line and on time, Jen has the truly monumental task of keeping up with our president and founder, Jessica Bertsch. If anyone can do that, it’s Jen! Over the past three years that Jen has been with Powerhouse, Jess and Jen have developed one of the warmest and closest professional bonds. So much so that they can practically finish each other’s sentences, especially when brainstorming new, innovative ways for Powerhouse to help our clients. Having Jen as Executive Assistant is really like having a vice president, assistant, creative director, and mom rolled into one, and Powerhouse definitely wouldn’t be the same without her. It’s kind of amazing that this one talented person is a true embodiment of what Powerhouse offers: a team of incredible talent for the price of one employee. Although, if you ask Jen she’s just “blessed to be a member of this dynamic and incredibly talented and inspirational team.” Is there any doubt as to why we hope, along with her, that she never leaves or retires?

As with most of us, one of Jen’s favorite things about Powerhouse is the ability she has to grow into the full potential God has intended for her while still being able to balance family time. Her other favorite thing is getting to work with one of the most talented and inspirational leaders (Jessica) who “is guided by a moral compass unmatched by any other person.” Add in her enjoyment and pride in the work she does and the challenges she’s presented, and is it any wonder she hopes she’s part of the growth and evolution of Powerhouse for a long time to come? She’s already contributed to some of our most successful years yet, so we can’t wait to see how she’ll inspire our future success.

When she’s not devoting her skills and time to Powerhouse, you can find Jen selflessly volunteering in her community or spending time with her retired Coast Guard husband, Mitch, and their two children Michelle, 13, and Joshua, 11. Courtesy of Michelle, who plays violin, they’re treated to some pretty great music while Joshua satisfies their sports-fan hearts by graciously allowing them to cheer him on at his swim meets. Both promise to be wonderfully well-rounded, conscientious people just like their mom.

Jen also loves reading, walking on the Florida beaches, geeking out over space launches, hiking, the art of cooking, and “piña coladas and getting caught in the rain.” Mostly though, she loves to make a positive difference to those around her, which is why she served as the Ombudsman for the USCGC Confidence for two and a half years before her husband’s retirement. She was the recipient of the 2017 Wanda Allen-Yearout Ombudsman of the Year Award, which should tell you exactly how dedicated she is to helping others. You’ll always find a ready ear and a desire to help from the minute you meet her. She lives her life by the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded,” and it shows.

We asked Jen to let us in on something that people might not know about her. After she finished laughing (she’s an open book, after all), she told us that her superpower is thinking in song. Seriously. Maybe it’s because she used to sing karaoke three nights a week and maybe it’s because that’s just the kind of creative, uber-talented powerhouse she is. Whatever the reason, should you happen to meet her, ask her what song she’s thinking in at that moment. And then share it with us. Who knows, maybe we’ll even be able to persuade her to sing it for us.

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