Jenn Baker

I attribute my success to finally finding my passion after 25 years in corporate America. Writing my book 'Ella O'Malley and the Great Green Scare' took me about four years, and when I finished that, I was like 'I can do anything. If I can make myself sit here and do this, I can do anything.' That was the kickstart I needed. I worked in corporate America for 25 years at companies like CBRE and other Fortune 500 companies doing operations, and I was really good at my job and learned a lot about myself, but I never really had that passion about any of those roles. I just knew that I was missing something and needed to be doing something different that was helping people. I'm a huge advocate of just trying to help people, help them feel like they belong, help them connect with themselves, figure out what their own personal strengths are, and guide them to become a better version of themselves. The evolution of the past 25 years has been about trying it and seeing what I can do. Also, being the first person in my family to ever graduate college was really important to me - it took me a solid 15 years to finish college, taking one or two classes at a time, whatever I could do to try to finish, but I never quit.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is that you can build a successful career in a field you genuinely love while also making a meaningful difference in the world around you. That perspective shifted how I think about success it doesn’t have to come at the expense of purpose or personal fulfillment. For me, it starts close to home, with my community and family, and extends outward into the work I do every day. When you align your career with your values and focus on positively impacting the people directly around you, that impact naturally grows into something much larger.

My advice to young women entering this field is to trust that you have the ability to bring people together in meaningful ways and to lead with authenticity, empathy, and purpose. Don’t underestimate the power of creating spaces whether physical or emotional where people feel seen, valued, and supported. When you approach your work with genuine care for others, you naturally build trust and community, and that becomes your greatest strength. I would also encourage you to live and lead freely, without fear of not fitting a traditional mold. There is real impact in choosing collaboration over competition, and in building environments rooted in love, support, and inclusivity. When you stay grounded in your values and remain open to growth, you not only succeed professionally, but you also create lasting positive change in the lives of others.

One of the biggest challenges I’m facing right now is building visibility and awareness for Blank Space Community Center while we are still in a growth and establishment phase. As a newer, grassroots organization, the most important opportunity in front of me is getting the name Blank Space Community out into the broader community in a meaningful and authentic way so people understand who we are and what we offer. While we have strong engagement from those who walk through our doors, expanding that reach beyond word of mouth and creating consistent recognition in the community requires intentional outreach, storytelling, and relationship-building. At the same time, this challenge represents a significant opportunity to grow organically, deepen local partnerships, and establish Blank Space as a trusted, recognizable space for connection, creativity, and belonging in Lower Bucks County.

The most important values to me are helping people and creating authentic community connections. I'm a huge advocate of just trying to help people, help them feel like they belong, help them connect with themselves, figure out what their own personal strengths are, and guide them to become a better version of themselves. I feel like there's so much chaos going on in the world right now, so when people come in the door of my community center, they say 'oh my god, it feels so good in here.' I wanted to create something really organic and homegrown, a real grassroots initiative, not gray walls and gray floors and super corporate commercial real estate style building. The women's networking group I started here reflects this too - I had joined other women's networking groups in this area and they were really superficial to me, more of a business card swap kind of thing. But the group of women we have created here is unbelievable - we all support each other, we all recommend each other. It's been really cool to see a really neat network of women come out of that project. My two kids are definitely the driving force behind everything, or they started the driving force for sure.