Jenni first encountered the child welfare system in 1995 when her foster brother entered their family as a toddler. His story and five-year adoptive journey had a profound impact, and she has had a desire for systemic transformation since. After several years in the business sector, the road for professional advocacy opened up in 2008 when she had an idea of how to help children who needed loving and safe families. Subsequently, she founded Chosen.

Jenni has a background in Communications, Psychology, and Counseling. She has extended her professional training with a Nonprofit Management Certification, along with certifications in Leadership and Fundraising. Part of her role is advocating for systemic policy reform, and she is active in both federal and state affairs.

Chosen‘s mission has evolved with her at the helm to fulfill a unique need in the childcare welfare continuum. Jenni recognized that there is a real deficiency in long-term support of families impacted by the grief and loss associated with foster care and adoption. She is extremely passionate about children healing from the trauma of abuse, neglect, and abandonment, which is the agency’s primary focus today. Equally, she is dedicated to strengthening families as agents of healing for their children.

In 2017, Jenni led the organization through self-implementation of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) from Traction to break through to a next level for Chosen. She is intentional about leading a culture of empowerment and accountability to most effectively serve the vulnerable. She has regularly been summoned to teach others about EOS’s impact on growth and organizational change.

Jenni has served in multiple board and leadership roles locally and nationally, including most recently as Texas Chair of the national Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA). She is a founding member of the Family Coalition’s church movement for More than Enough in New Braunfels, TX, and is intimately involved in Unicity’s Decade of Family in San Antonio.

As a fierce advocate, Jenni frequently speaks at events and conferences to both challenge and inspire colleagues, business, and church leaders. Specialty topics include systemic transformation, trauma’s impact on the brain and mental health, foster/adoption in the church, nonprofit leadership, and thriving culture. She is available for speaking engagements by request.

She also enjoys coaching and mentoring others, particularly in nonprofit management, board service, and business culture. In her spare time, she loves to read, exercise, and spend time outdoors with her family. Jenni and her husband, Rob, previously served as foster parents. They have been married since 2005 and have four children.