Jenna Swanson

Jenna Swanson is an accomplished accounting professional with 22 years of experience dedicated to driving accuracy, efficiency, and financial clarity across organizations. She currently serves as Senior Accountant at Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), where she ensures the integrity of financial reporting, investment tracking, and general ledger management across multiple entities. Based in Powhatan, Virginia, Jenna has built a strong reputation for her expertise in internal controls, business process improvement, and financial systems such as QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics. Throughout her career, Jenna has developed a passion for working with small businesses and startups, helping entrepreneurs build a strong financial foundation and truly understand their numbers. In her current role within the nonprofit sector, she supports an organization that funds and empowers startups by providing financial backing and connecting founders to critical resources. She oversees the full scope of accounting operations, ensuring accurate reporting and compliance while enabling innovation to thrive. Previously, she served as Accounting Manager for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and held multiple roles at CityParking Inc., where she managed high-volume transactions, implemented process improvements, and strengthened financial operations. Jenna’s philosophy is rooted in empowerment—she believes her role is not to create dependency, but to equip organizations with the knowledge and tools needed to manage their own accounting effectively and sustainably. One of Jenna’s most impactful achievements reflects this philosophy: she invested eight months training QuickBooks to recognize and categorize transactions for a client, ultimately eliminating the need for a full-time accountant and significantly reducing costs. Her work allowed the organization to operate independently with minimal support, a result she considers deeply rewarding. Jenna’s journey is also a testament to resilience and determination—having come from the foster care system, she put herself through school and built her career through perseverance and hard work. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting from Virginia Commonwealth University. While she often works behind the scenes, Jenna’s true fulfillment comes from empowering small businesses to succeed independently and achieve sustainably.