Jennifer joined the Festival staff in April 2015. Prior to that, she served almost 15 years as the Executive Director of ClearWater Conservancy, a well-respected land trust and natural resource conservation organization in central Pennsylvania. Jennifer grew up in the small village of Hublersburg in the Bellefonte area and earned a B.S. of Landscape Architecture from Penn State.
Since about 2005, Jen has been exploring her artistic side. She is a pastel painter whose work focuses mainly on landscapes of central Pennsylvania. Jennifer is a Signature Member of the Central Pennsylvania Pastel Society, a juried member of the Farmland Preservation Artists of Central Pennsylvania, and a member of the Artists Registry of the Bellefonte Art Museum and the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania.
Jen remains committed to conservation and connecting people to nature. She serves as President of the Centre County Farmland Trust, on the Board of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and as a trustee of the Hamer Foundation.
Jen lives with her high school sweetheart husband Chris in Pleasant Gap, with their two kitties, Hammie and Moe. The cats – and their names – came from Hameau Farm, in the Big Valley, where Jen first picked up a pastel at an artists’ retreat.
As CPFA’s Director of Development, Jennifer helps the Festival’s past, current, and future supporters find the best ways to make a difference in the community as part of the Festival family.
You can see some of Jen’s art on her website. A selection of Jen’s pastels is also available at Art a la Carte at 107 South Allegheny Street in Victorian Bellefonte.