Enginuity Employee Spotlight: Jen Brown, Art Director

Welcome to the Enginuity Employee Spotlight series! This series shares employee stories, focusing on their achievements, personality, successes, challenges, and more to get to know them in and outside of work. The series builds connections among employees and boosts belonging and inclusion in our larger community.  

Today's employee spotlight features Jen Brown, our Art Director based in Rhode Island. Jen has been with us for almost 7 years and spends most of her week wearing a dozen creative hats. She works with the Adobe Creative Suite, designs sales collateral for our sales teams, continuously maintains brand guidelines for 15 station partners, updates station sponsorship sites, and dresses up proposals and presentations to make them shine. We're excited for you to get to know the "amazing Jen Brown."  

Tell us about one of your favorite work stories

This question really stumped me! In all my years with Market Enginuity, so much has changed but one thing has stayed the same — our product, public media, is so inspiring. It is a thoughtful and creative space for learning and fact-finding. I am so very proud and fortunate to support public media through my work. I have so many projects under my belt that it wouldn't be fair to call out one as a favorite — they all are! 

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love going to the beach with my husband and two children. We try to visit the beach every weekend in the summer. 

We also have a lot of sporting events we go to for our kids. They are currently heavy into basketball and soccer. We often have two games at one time, so my husband and I have to divide and conquer. It is a lot to juggle but so much fun supporting my kids. If you’re ever in my house, you’ll see a lot of sticky notes everywhere to remind me where I am supposed to be that day. 

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years? 

Patience — in work, home, and the pandemic.   

I learned patience from being a mom. Patience is needed to support the continuous learning and growth of the kids, and of us parents learning to parent.

I also definitely learned patience at work, especially since we all work from home. I have learned that everybody has a lot on their plate, and is juggling a lot at the moment. We are a very lean and mean company, and we have to be patient with each other.  

The third thing that gave me patience was the pandemic. From that time, we couldn't leave the house and I had to learn how to be a teacher to my kids. Going through all of that, you have to take a big breath and know that nothing is so critical that it has to be addressed right this second.   

Overall, I learned that not everyone moves at the same pace. I tend to rush and move on to the next thing without appreciating the now. I think everything being canceled in 2020 really made me appreciate all things big and small.

What would people never guess you do in your role? 

Advocate for other artists! This comes down to ensuring credit is given where credit is due on photography and illustration rights but also staying away from things like logo contests or interview projects for which the participant does not get paid. Choosing a profession in the arts can be a financially challenging choice, especially in the early years when one is just building a portfolio. I want to support artists and help them to obtain the level of professionalism and success they deserve.

Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? 

We've been dreaming of a family trip to the Bahamas. I'd like to drop all of my housekeeping, cooking, chauffeuring, organizing, and event-planning mom duties at an all-inclusive resort with sunshine, pools, beaches, waterslides, and entertainment for the whole family. For me, the Bahamas is a random location that I think would have fun things to do for the kids. I want the beautiful weather and to be able to sit by the pool and get a drink with lots of fruit, straws, and umbrellas in it.  As a family, we tend to go on a lot of mini-vacations to a waterpark or visit my parents, but now I want to actually go on a grown-up vacation for like 5-7 days where we can just relax.

A fun fact about Jen, via her historian Aunt, is that her family is related to Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. She is also related to Elizabeth Winthrop, a rare female landowner in New England in the 1600s. Clearly, strong women run in the family. We hope you enjoyed getting to know the "amazing Jen Brown," a fitting moniker for our master designer.