Name: Jennifer Ward
Age: 37
Title: Arizona President of Employers Council
Married/Single: I’m about to celebrate our 10 year anniversary with my ASU college sweetheart Jay, the world’s most handsome, charming, patient and easy-going man.
Kids: Bobby is 6 and Everett is 3. I always compare them to a pair of golden retriever puppies – the main commonalities are goofiness, chaos and cuddles.
City you live in: Chandler
A typical day in my life includes…
the hectic school-to-work shuttle that many two working parent families know well! I feel like I do a full day’s work before I even arrive at the office. Once I’m there, I love how my days are usually never the same. I present regularly on employment law and workplace topics, meet with current and prospective members, participate in strategy sessions with our company’s leadership and planning sessions with our team, work on our sales and marketing efforts… all of the things! I always try to include some reading in my day, even if it just audiobooks during my commute. I love fiction but have been reading and listening to a lot of personal development content lately.
I was born…
in San Bernardino, California, the birthplace of fast food where the first McDonalds started.
My favorite thing about Arizona…
I’m so impressed by the strength of nonprofit organizations in Arizona and how individuals pull together to help address challenges the community is facing. I serve on the Board of Directors of Arizona Helping Hands, which provides basic essential needs to boys and girls in foster care. It started as an organization based on our founder’s promise to her dying sister to do one good deed a day without expecting anything in return, but when the leaders realized the extent of the challenges in the foster care system in Arizona it evolved into supporting and serving foster families.
I’m listening to…
I have been loving Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast series with Eckhart Tolle about his book A New Earth.
My family…
is my everything – my support system, my motivation, my safe place. I’m so incredibly grateful for them.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…
my mom. We lost her in 2013 and I would always choose more time with her if given this option.
One thing I cannot live without…
books. I took 6 or 7 books with me on our honeymoon in 2009… we’re going on a second honeymoon in a few months to celebrate our anniversary and I’m glad to be able to have a Kindle now so I don’t have to lug so many books.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
an attorney. When I was really little I remember wanting to be a teacher, so it’s nice that I have combined those jobs with my unique position!
I’m inspired by…
people who prioritize service to others and their community.
The one person who motivates me is…
my husband. I can be pretty self-critical (something I’m working on!) but he always gives me perspective and encouragement when I’m feeling like I’m not measuring up.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be…
increasing everyone’s kindness to others and sense of empathy. Everyone in the world has their own unique challenges and struggles and I think things would be better if we could all try to remember that and give each other some grace.
The perfect day would be…
a mix of time alone and time with my family. A morning yoga class (I love Gilbert Yoga!), followed by a massage at the Camelback Inn with my husband and time sitting in the sun with a book by the pool at their spa, then dinner as a family and bedtime cuddles with my babies.
My first job was…
the summer after high school, spent in a dusty file room destroying files past the retention period in a room at my dad’s law firm.
My favorite escape…
I know you’re shocked to hear that it’s a book! Yes, I am a huge book nerd.
My life…
is what I’ve always hoped for and more than I dreamed! I love my family, my home, my job and the friends I have made in this community.
I’m currently working on…
gearing up to be the campaign manager for my friend Devin Del Palacio’s campaign for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year! Devin and I were Valley Leadership Class 39 classmates and found that our strengths really complemented each other well so we work great together. We unfortunately lost one of our fellow members of Class 39, Andrea Borg, to leukemia in December 2018, which makes this cause even more meaningful to us. We are part of Team BeePositive, which honors Brandi Hunt, another friend who passed away in 2018 from leukemia. We are excited to help support the campaign.
Always…
have big goals but work for incremental growth.
Never…
miss the lesson in a mistake – it’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it!
Favorite Quote…
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Biggest Dream…
that my boys grow up to be their own definition of successful, are kind to others and are content with their lives.
My Pet Peeve(s)…
when people misspell HIPAA as HIPPA.
