Originally published Welcome Jen! on Medium.
Happy International Workers’ Day! Today is We Are Open Co-op’s 4th birthday. Two years ago, Grainné joined the co-op and penned this post — thus beginning the tradition of welcome and profiling new members on May 1st.
It is a wonderful birthday present to be able to announce that Jen Kelchner is our newest member! Currently based in the US, Jen’s greatest skill sets lie in coaching/advising, strategy, seeing what others cannot see, and organisational transformation.
She is a self-made, self-educated individual. Jen’s life did not go the traditional route of career building and higher education; instead, she sharpened her innate talents and learned by doing every step of the way.
An introduction to Deloitte led to three merit promotions within 24 months that landed Jen in a management role with 50 direct reports. However, she left full-time, corporate employment behind in 2010 to pursue whatever was out there for her— which led to management consulting.
Why Jen wanted to join the Co-Op
In her own words:
- I want to do good work with good people.
- I want to do big things and work with people who believe as big as I do.
- I want to collaborate with a team of peers who bring other aspects to the work than I do so we are all contributing in a meaningful way.
- I want to challenge everything I have known as an entrepreneur in the Western world to elevate my understanding through co-operative work models.
So you know that I love both of you dearly, but my under-caffeinated brain read “Jen’s greatest skills lie” and “Jen’s greatest skill is lying” and I was just like “yeah, I can see that”.