We knew our blog would have a different POV because of our age. As much as we do not think there is anything about our styles that says, “40 Something,” our real-life experiences, both personally and professionally, do bring a certain “40 Something” perspective to our posts. Between the two of us, we have been working for around 40 years and have been raising kids for almost 20. This is not to say younger women don’t have a lot to offer, but by the very fact that we have been on this earth longer means we have had more time to experience life – and all its successes, failures, lessons, and losses.
Negotiate a raise? Annually. Without fail. For decades. Dealt with office politics and/or the mom wars? Sadly, yes. And sometimes on the same day. Started a new business? Multiple times. We have said it before, that between the two of us, we have worn the following hats: single career woman, DINK, single working mom, SAHM, and married career mom.” In this post, we even state that,” Between the two of us, we have been “branded” as the following: single, married, divorced, partner, wife, mom, working mom, stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom, classroom mom, volunteer, board member, employee, manager, director, boss, entrepreneur, and CEO.”
All of this to say that starting next month, we are excited to announce that Jennifer will be combining two of her passions in Pivot Points – sharing life lessons she’s gleaned from her work world and parlayed into real life. She’ll cover things like dressing for tv and how it translates IRL; Chief of Staff vs Chief of a Tiny Human; public speaking tips to command an audience – whether that’s at the office or at home; nonprofit tips from working to one to volunteering for one; and difficult conversations at work and home; among other topics.
At the end of the day, we write what we know, and Jennifer is an organizational strategist, specializing in development, communications and marketing, advocacy, and management. With a background in state government and nonprofit organizations, she works with organizations (or her family) to build capacity (all hands on deck), foster strategic planning (I love a good family calendar), and maximize messaging (let’s get on the same page) to audiences across all sectors to promote a mission (what are we doing today?!). She has led statewide nonprofit advocacy organizations through times of growth in size, scope, impact, and reach; and fostered relationships between organizations, corporate partners, and other stakeholders. Her background in communications allows her to distill a message into a clear and concise point of view, drilling down to the heart of a matter and positioning highly technical information into mainstream messaging. Her management experience centers around collaboration, best practices, and building teams of highly skilled individuals working toward a common goal.
Does this sound like some skills you might want to employ at home?
We know that most of our followers have years of experience in their own fields and family life and are killing it on days when we are barely hanging on. But the only way we get through this thing called life, is to share our stories and lean into what we know. Jennifer has tapped her leadership training and problem-solving abilities to run her home ship; and though there are days where the seas are rocky, she hasn’t capsized it (yet). She has unique experience in state and local government, statewide advocacy campaigns, community building and engagement, and charitable endeavors both personally and professionally. She utilizes this experience and commitment to giving back in the way she parents her son Charles, taking him along for Meals on Wheels deliveries, family night at the Central Texas Food Bank, and delivering food to the homeless through Mobile Loaves & Fishes.
But enough about us… We know a whole bunch of kick ass women with experience in everything from building diversity within companies to running for political office, from raising kids with special needs to figuring out how to dress your body after cancer. We look forward to not only sharing Jennifer’s Pivot Points but sharing these stories and many more. If there are any topics you would like for us to cover, please let us know. If you have an interesting career, expertise, life experience, hobby, parent perspective, please let us know that too. We would love to use our small platform to share your gifts with our community.
Images by Breezy Ritter