Jennifer has held leadership positions in several North Carolina and New York City nonprofits over the past 28 years in the areas of prison chaplaincy and reentry, social services, the arts, community development, victim services, human rights, and spiritual activism. Prior organizations include the victim services nonprofit Safe Horizon, where she served in senior leadership roles including Vice President of Human Resources, after directing Joining Forces, a project on Public-Private Partnerships in Victim Assistance funded by the US Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. She also held leadership roles at the social justice nonprofit Stone Circles at The Stone House, the human rights nonprofit WITNESS, the Fund for the City of New York, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and 651 Arts. She has worked as an organizational development consultant, coach, and trainer for nonprofits and groups across the country, and as a speaker, facilitator, and presenter for conferences, panels, and other convenings.
Jennifer believes deeply in the power of forgiveness to transform hearts and minds and is committed to work that creates a more inclusive and just society. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Wake County Local Reentry Council, is an Affiliate Coach for the Rockwood Leadership Institute in Oakland, CA, and is a member of the 2019/2020 national Omega Institute Juno Leadership Collective. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors of Durham’s Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Community Leadership Council, and the Oberlin College Alumni Leadership Council.
Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College, a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, her Master of Arts from Indiana University, coaching certification from Coach U, and was ordained as an Interfaith Minister from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City. She is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher, an RYT-200 certified yoga teacher, and enjoys organizing groups toward collective effort, reading, the arts, and performing in local theater.