Jennifer Boezwinkle is Rockford’s Executive Vice President. A practicing architect for 20 years, Jennifer chose to step away from the corporate world when she had children. She continued a small architecture consulting business from her basement but admits, “I like working with people. I did not like the isolation of the consultant life.” Jennifer went back to work for two local architecture firms before joining Rockford in 2013.
Jennifer admits that achieving a “work-life balance” can be challenging for women. Recounting her own experience, she says she never struggled with that when she was young and single. “But when you have a family and kids, it’s easy to fall into the stereotypical mom role – taking the kids to the doctor, staying home when they’re sick. That can be tough to balance with a full-time career.”
Jennifer says she has been fortunate to be a part of many businesses that were flexible and understanding of the demands of a growing family. Because of this, Jennifer believes that there in having a flexible work environment. “Technology promotes flexibility which is allowing for there to be more of a forward climb for females. People can work outside of the 8-5 work day,” she says.
Discussing the opportunities at Rockford, Jennifer says, “I think Rockford has not just allowed for more opportunities, but Rockford has encouraged more opportunities. Rockford is a leader in construction, in understanding that we are not as diverse an industry as we could or should be. So, I think Rockford has done a great job of allowing team members to follow their passion regardless of gender. I am a clear example of that.”
