homeMenu
Become A Member Login
Member Tools

2023 40 Under 40 Winners

 
 

Manager of Special Events and Volunteers

Norton Healthcare Foundation and Norton Children's Hospital Foundation

Jennifer has been an outstanding member of the Norton Healthcare Foundation and Norton Children's Hospital Foundation team over the past eight years. Her dedication and passion truly set her apart from others in the nonprofit community. 

Since the beginning of her professional career, Jennifer has been dedicated to the advancement of philanthropy. Jennifer began her career in animal welfare serving the Humane Society of Kentucky for more than six years. She then served at the Found Animals Foundation in Los Angeles, California for more than two years. At both of these organizations, Jennifer elevated the volunteer programs including the development and implementation of recruitment strategies, orientation, and training for volunteers.  She also helped to steward volunteers into donors and created opportunities to expand support for these organizations.

Upon returning to Louisville, Kentucky, Jennifer's career turned to a focus from animals to healthcare philanthropy. After serving as the manager of volunteer services at the American Red Cross, Jennifer joined the team at the Norton Healthcare Foundation and Norton Children's Hospital Foundation.
Jennifer immediately jumped into her role and brought a breadth of expertise and leadership to her role. 

She served as a liaison with our newly formed Norton Neuroscience Institute Resource Center and oversaw the planning and execution of annual event to help support the work of the center. She led the event through rebranding and expanded upon the success of the event. 

Jennifer also began to completely revamp and lead the foundations' volunteer program. She centralized all volunteer operations under her leadership and transitioned more than 1,800 volunteers into a new volunteer database for the Foundations. This monumental undertaking led to a more successful volunteer program with easier access for volunteers to sign up and manage their schedules, expanded recruitment, and an increase in the number of volunteers supporting the foundation. Jennifer not only helped to lead this effort for the foundations, but she also worked with teams across the Norton Healthcare system to train and support hospital volunteer managers and other leaders.

In addition, Jennifer helped to establish a volunteer to donor program. Jennifer works with our major gift officers to help connect them to committed volunteers. Together, Jennifer and the major gift team are working to provide specific opportunities for volunteers to not only give their time, but financially as well. 

In 2017, Jennifer began leading the Norton Healthcare's Foundation's largest fundraising event, the Bike to Beat Cancer. Through this event, Jennifer manages more than 1,000 registered cyclists and 1,000 volunteers, in addition to all aspect of this major event including all logistics, sponsorships, and marketing for the event. Jennifer has done fantastic work in fostering relationships with riders and teams, in addition to strengthening and growing relationships with more than 35 sponsors. Jennifer brings an incomparable passion to the event, and it shows in the results. She has grown the event from netting $480,000 to netting more than $679,000 each year in support of the Norton Cancer Institute.

In college, I had the privilege of interning for the Kentucky Humane Society (KHS) where my passion for nonprofit work began to develop. I worked at the KHS for six years before moving to Los Angeles where I continued my work in animal welfare for three more years. When moving back to Louisville, a former co-worker from the KHS shared an opening with me at the Norton Healthcare Foundation and Norton Children's Hospital Foundation. I was introduced to the foundations' important work throughout the community, and I was excited for the opportunity to grow my skills to help others in need.

Throughout my career, I have always had a strong desire to help those in need. Working for the foundations has given me the opportunity to see firsthand the impact that the community’s support has in ensuring the highest quality care for patients. Norton Healthcare has provided life-saving care to my mom, a two-time cancer survivor, my husband and sister-in-law, both cancer survivors, and my brother-in-law, a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor. I am forever grateful for the donors and supporters who allowed access to the technology and equipment needed to care for those most dear to me. Every day I am inspired by healthcare innovations that philanthropy makes possible, and I am honored to work for an organization the prides itself on setting the standard for quality care.

Switching paths from animal welfare to healthcare philanthropy was a pivot point in my career journey. Joining the Norton Healthcare Foundation and Norton Children's Hospital Foundation team has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge and to work alongside the best fundraising professionals and mentors in the field. I have been privileged to have the opportunity to build relationships with donors, sponsors, supporters, and volunteers who feel equally as passionate about furthering the mission of the foundations and the programs and initiatives that we support.

My greatest passion is building and maintaining relationships, both professionally and personally.  Whether it’s hosting large scale events for the foundations or dinner parties at my home, I love bringing people together to share experiences and to strengthen bonds. Professionally, I love hosting events that bring supporters together for one cause. The energy of a thousand people coming together with one goal is like nothing else you can experience.

Give yourself time. It takes time to learn the basic skills to perform your job, and it takes even longer to build the relationships to support your work. Establish a mentor that can provide you with feedback and guidance to attain your goals. And never stop learning!

Fun Fact

One of my favorite hobbies is snowboarding. Growing up in the Midwest, I had limited access to winter sports activities; however, I learned to snowboard while working at a small ski resort on the weekends when I was in college. I have visited resorts across the US and Canada, and I hope to visit the Swiss Alps one day.

Sponsored by

PM Banner-1
Borns-NonProfitSolutions-Logo-01