My name is Jen and I’m a San Diego-based marketer and content strategist.

I didn’t always want to be a marketer. In fact, I avoided even being seen hanging out around the business school. I believed in journalism, and I felt that marketing didn’t align with that belief.

While I still deeply love journalism, I’ve found my place in marketing.

What really got me into marketing was social media. I’d already been using Facebook since it opened to University of Colorado students in 2004, and Twitter accelerated my ascent into the world of the at-mentions, tags, followers, likes, and so on. I’ve watched these features come and go, some trends sticking around surprisingly longer than others.

But what makes me a marketer isn’t just social media, nor is it the (greatly-exaggerated) decline of journalism. It’s my love for a key element of journalism – one that it shares with marketing: storytelling.

While my ambitions have changed – well, it would still be cool to get a byline in the Chicago Tribune – I am still obsessed with storytelling. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novella or an epic; I love how subtle details can tell a story – like typography in a pamphlet or saturation in photos – just as much as I love a long, detailed narrative arc.

So yes, I’m a marketer. And a storyteller. And even a journalist, because I did gather a few bylines over the years. It just makes me a more well-rounded marketer looking for the next great story to tell.

 

I’m also a mom, stepmom, Cubs fan, concert goer, and crazy dog person. I live in San Diego with my husband, son + two bonus kids, and our rescue pup Ellie. I currently run marketing for a B2B SaaS startup where we help businesses that drive to their customers schedule and route jobs more efficiently. I volunteer for my alma mater’s alumni group, Forever Buffs, reviewing scholarships applications, organizing events for local alumni, and championing our digital social platform. When I’m not being a homebody, you can usually find me at a café, the local Target, or the next Spoon concert.

In the past, I have been a board member on the North Park Community Association. I also spent nearly 16 years facilitating and organizing events with Techstars Startup Weekend.