| Jenn Hill is an infrastructure advocate and community leader focused on building a more resilient Michigan. Growing up in the Midwest, Jenn learned the importance of hard work, integrity, and service above self from her close-knit family who has come up to the UP to fish for generations.
Jenn's family moved four times before she was 9, chasing economic certainty as her dad worked in a factory and later as a journalist while her mom worked as a teacher's aide and church volunteer. Her parents settled in Utica, IN renovating a 150-year-old farmhouse, building a barn and clearing the overgrown fields to run a plant nursery in their retirement. Throughout her childhood, Jenn was active in 4-H, an experience that helped her develop practical skills -including that time she won a blue ribbon at the state fair for her dinner rolls- and grow as a leader, organizing county-wide events and serving as camp counselor at statewide natural resources camp.
Jenn worked hard in and out of the classroom, defying the low expectations of a working-class girl. She heard stories growing up how her grandfathers had left school to work in farms and factories while her mother's mother never went beyond eighth-grade, working as a waitress for decades. In high school, Jenn excelled, graduating #2 in her class while earning nine letters in three sports. After a season-ending knee injury junior year, she came back her senior year and was voted Female Athlete of the Year. Jenn's first paycheck was for minimum wage at the local Bob Evans restaurant. She worked her way through college and graduate school with the help of multiple jobs, scholarships, and financial aid. It took her 17 years to pay off school loans.
Thanks to the power of education and encouraging teachers, Jenn pursued her interest in building sustainable communities and earned her Masters in City Planning at MIT. Her thesis looked at how citizens gathered their own information, so they could make the best case about stopping pollution in the rivers and lakes important to them. For the last 25 years, she has led in the nonprofit sector nationally, building and scaling community-focused environmental, public health, arts and youth mentorship programs. She has worked on both sides- writing grants to ask for support, and analyzing applications to advise a foundation how to distribute its funds. Running through all her work is the drive to connect people and resources, to open doors and overcome challenges, so no one is left behind in our rapidly-changing economy.
As Vice President of the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, Jenn leverages her experience to advocate for consumer-first energy policies and keep more money in Michiganders' pockets. Taking on the UP's high electric rates, Jenn facilitated workshops where County Commissioners from every one of the Upper Peninsula's 15 counties sought common ground to deal with the region's aging infrastructure. She currently works at 5 Lakes Energy to bring the benefits of electric vehicles and green building to the UP.
Elected to the Marquette City Commission in 2018, Jenn is a proven problem solver who works with others to get results. People from all walks of life recognize her as someone who shows up, listens, and respects different points of view. From proposing innovative climate resiliency measures, to helping residents navigate bureaucratic red tape, Jenn never loses sight of the bigger picture and who she's fighting for- the people.
A lifelong hiker and canoer, Jenn enjoys gardening alongside her husband, Andrew, and seeing Lake Superior shining on the horizon as she shovels snow from her driveway. Jenn's love of the outdoors extends to her years of civic involvement on the boards of Groundwork USA and Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.
Just as she's dedicated her life to creating healthier, safer communities, Jenn is running for State Representative to be our voice in Lansing, so that every UP family, worker, small business, student, and community can not just survive, but thrive. |