Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1477292
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022 33 and knows it's been a long road. "We just need to get more people downtown," she says. "We need to get members back to the Club and reconnected." For Jennifer, that connection goes beyond the membership. "WAC team members are a huge part of the reason I love this place so much," she says. "It's a bright part of my day when I come in and see the same team members who have been here since I first became a member. Some of my fondest memories are from when I was chair of the HR & Benefits Committee. I had the opportunity to attend the team member banquet and celebrate team members and their accomplishments." Back to Gonzaga A few days aer our lunch, Jennifer is chatting on the 9th Floor of the Club- house when she looks through an east-facing window toward Capitol Hill. "at's my old condo right there," she says, pointing to a high-rise with a Cha- teau roofline and overhanging balconies. "I lived in 10 square blocks. I'd go from my condo to work downtown to the WAC. On Saturdays, I'd get produce and flowers from Pike Place Market." Jennifer's brother lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and has "two beautiful and wonderful kids." Jen- nifer's mom still lives in Portland, though she plans to move to Seattle soon. Most years, Jennifer and Margaret visit Pitts- burgh together, where Margaret grew up. Jennifer spent almost 10 years practic- ing civil litigation and had no intention of changing careers when a dream job came along. "I was sitting here, actually," she says, resuming our conversation in Hagerty's. "e Gonzaga folks from the Athletic Department were visiting with me. ey mentioned a job they had open. I said, 'at sounds like a lot of fun.' " She spent the next four years as a Se- attle-based fundraiser for the school. "My position afforded me the opportunity to attend many Gonzaga sporting events, including the Final Four," she says. "I'm still the biggest Zags fan. In March, you'll oen find me traveling with friends to NCAA March Madness games." Although she enjoyed working for her alma mater, the law still tugged at her. "It was hard to leave Gonzaga because I loved the relationships I built there," she says. "But I started missing the law. en, I found this job that was a mix of business and law that suited my skill set. And here I am." A new philosophy Jennifer currently leads two practice management teams for Davis Wright Tremaine LLP law firm and serves as re- lationship manager for some of the firm's top clients. She's responsible for strategic operations and business development for the "Commercial Litigation" and "Media, Entertainment, and IP" practice groups. She's recently recommitted herself to re-engaging with friends, traveling, run- ning, and volunteering with a local land stewardship group, not to mention taking over the top volunteer leadership role at the WAC. "My new philosophy is to say yes more," she says. Jennifer le downtown condo life years ago. ough she still owns her place Jennifer at a reception with late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg following Jennifer being admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. between downtown and Capitol Hill, she now lives in Edmonds with her dog, Bella, and a cat named Kitty—both rescues. She's close friends with her neighbors, who oen watch her animals during long days downtown or weeklong business trips. "Half the time my dog runs into some- body else's house," she says. "Neighbors are coming in and out of my home." Jennifer volunteers as a forest stew- ard at nearby Meadowdale Beach Park. "Basically, I help lead community efforts to clean up," she says. "We recently led a group down there and pulled out ivy and blackberries." She also started playing tennis again and plans to play competitive doubles with a friend. She enjoys in-person yoga and running and plans to complete her first 10K later this year. She is training with WAC Running Coach Yon Yilma. She also regularly participates in Club events and is a member of Women of the WAC and the WAC Wine Club. "I can't imagine my life without the WAC," she says. "Being at the WAC means it has been a good day. I always leave the WAC happier than when I arrived, and it is my hope that every WAC member feels that way. I want every single member to feel like they really belong." —Reach WAC Communications Director Darrick Meneken at dmeneken@wac.net. C O U R T E S Y P H O T O