Many people around Systems either have worked with or know Jen Simmering. She has been with the agency for a whopping twenty-six years and most recently held the title of COO. Jen recently went back to school to study data analytics and decided to take a position doing quality assurance for Molina. She agreed to take a few moments to reflect on her memories made here at Systems.
“The real standouts have involved people we serve achieving something they worked hard for,” when asked about her happiest time working here. “I also just love how unpredictable and weird this work can be. There’s always something to laugh about and someone to laugh with.”
Jen began in May 1997 and started as a Direct Support Professional at one of our duplexes.
Over the years, she has either worked at or subbed regularly at around thirty homes. She was promoted into the Supported Living position and worked at three different houses in that capacity before moving on to Employment Systems (ES).
While at ES, she worked with the database which led to an IT Project Manager position. In 2012, she switched to
Quality Assurance, eventually combining the two. “The title changed over the years but the job was always to use technology and quality activities to make the lives of the people we serve better,” she stated. She most recently became the COO in March of 2022.
Over the years, Jen has worked with many staff just starting out in the field. Her parting advice to them is to concentrate on getting to know the people they are working with early on. She stated, “The knowledge that people with disabilities are fully-realized individuals with their own hopes, needs, skills and potential will be powerful and humbling if you let it be. Also, take a little time to be silly with the people you serve every day; that’s what makes the hard times worth it.”
Jen will most miss working with the people we serve on a daily basis and had these parting words for them. “Thank you for letting me into your lives and for trusting me with your vulnerabilities and successes. I don’t know who I would have become without all of you, but it certainly would have been someone very different. I owe many of you the best things I have, and I will never forget it.”
Thank you Jen, for all the sacrifices and time that you have put into this agency. You will be missed.
