Meet Jennifer Perkins, President’s Award Winner

Written by Noemi Ortiz. 

Jennifer Perkins of Cogent Public Affairs has served in various volunteer roles with Women Communicators of Austin, but it is her willingness to go above and beyond that has won her WCA’s President’s Award.  One of the ways WCA members have benefitted from Jennifer’s efforts is in the monthly WCA@Lunch and WCA@Night events, as she tries to focus on topics that will be interesting to attendees and will help them meet their professional goals.

As WCA President Lisa Elmore notes, “Jennifer has taken every volunteer role (as the registration chair for Banner Brunch, to the VP of Programming) with the seriousness of a paid position, raising the bar for all volunteers around her. Her impact on WCA has been intangible, but significant.”

In addition, Jennifer’s experience in managing and volunteering for non-profit organizations has brought “a wealth of experience and understanding to WCA, as well as a unique vision that has helped grow the organization even further,” adds Lisa.

We asked Jennifer to share insights about her professional and volunteer experiences, which will hopefully inspire us in the work that we do as well.

Please share about the various volunteer roles you have held with WCA.
I started volunteering for Banner 2014 as registration chair because I’m a little OCD-type A and like to see registration done a certain way. I know, I need better hobbies! Stephanie Elsea contacted me later in 2014 about volunteering for Programs and the monthly luncheons. Not sure how she found me but I’m glad she did as I’ve enjoyed working with her and the Programs component of WCA. I was nominated for the board in early 2015 and have continued volunteering for WCA as the VP of Programs for the last year. Next year, I’ll serve on the board again as Treasurer. I pretend that mixed in there I’m an unofficial mentor as well, at least on an ad hoc basis as people reach out to me.

What have you/do you find most rewarding in serving at WCA?
The people, unquestionably. I like seeing people learn something new, or realize they have a skill set they were convinced they didn’t have. I like seeing people’s growing faith in their own abilities manifest in their success.

What aspect(s) do you find most challenging?
Being an all-volunteer organization is a challenge because people have so many demands on their time. The old adage, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it” rings true. But it’s a great group of women (and men) working diligently and valiantly to advance the profession and its practitioners. The other challenging aspect is the fact that it’s almost entirely women, who have their own style of communicating, which can occasionally cause mis-speaking, mis-hearing, misinterpreting, and the fallout from those human tendencies. I think we ultimately get it right and move on to the next opportunity for improvement.

How has your experience with other non-profits transferred over in your work with WCA?
I’ve had the good fortune to work with and serve numerous non-profits – the good, the bad, and the ugly. What I mean by that is there are some boards I’ve been recruited to serve on for organizations in complete disarray and tumult and as a board we rebuilt and relaunched the organization, in a manner of speaking. So I’ve learned some tough lessons alongside some incredibly talented and resourceful people. I think those experiences have served me well with WCA from the perspective of “I’ve seen it all… almost.”

What is the best professional advice you have been given?
To me it’s situational, as I tend to think of pieces of advice when they fit the moment. The list is long, but I think pretty solid even if wide-ranging: Fake it ’til you make it. Never let them see you sweat. Laugh more. Be kind. It’s amazing what you can get accomplished when it doesn’t matter who gets credit. Stand up straight. Think for yourself. Keep your chin up. Smile. Believe in yourself.

What would be some words of professional/personal advice that you would give?
I would reiterate what I’ve been told over the years. Be resourceful. Be curious. Be kind. Be honest. Be open-minded and willing to compromise but don’t abandon what you believe in.

Who are your mentors/people whom you admire and why?
I admire the folks who struggle and keep pressing on, who overcome whatever life chooses to throw at them. The folks who innately know they should always be learning and developing, who ‘get’ that they don’t have all the answers but seek to discover them. Those folks inspire me to continually work to better myself. And I thank them for that.

Noemi Ortiz is a copywriter and editor with more than five years of experience in various industries, including fashion.