Jen works at SPA as the Director of Grants & Contracts and as a lecturer for the MPA and MCJ programs. She received her BA in criminal justice and political science from the University of Delaware in 1998, her JD from the George Washington University Law School in 2001, and her MPA from Norwich University in 2005 (via an executive online program). While in law school, Jen served as the Senior Managing Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal and the student director of the Domestic Violence Advocacy Clinic. Although most law schools don’t permit specialization, Jen was able to focus on procurement law. She then worked with military and civilian contractors for many years, first at a large law firm in Washington, DC, and then as General Counsel at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, where she was responsible for negotiating and administering the Cassini Mission’s visual imaging contract. Jen has practiced before the US Court of Federal Claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the DC Superior Court. She also worked for the US Sentencing Commission, where she advised judges and prepared teaching documents about the drug sentencing guidelines and briefed the Director of Legislative Affairs on congressional hearings regarding money laundering and drug trafficking.
In addition to working as a government contracts attorney for over 10 years, Jen developed and taught several graduate-level classes for both Norwich University and SPA: Administrative Law, Criminal Justice Policy & Planning, Government Contract Management, Negotiations & Conflict Resolution, and Courts & the Judicial Process.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Jen is a rabid Ravens fan and has subjected her fiancée to countless hours of football. When she’s not thinking about football, Jen enjoys hiking, cooking, and – thanks to watching too much HGTV – home renovation. Jen is owned by an extremely cute Australian cattle dog mix, Dodger.