Roxanne Jenson

I attribute my success to my parents, especially my dad. I come from immigrants - I'm second generation - and they came here with nothing. My dad worked at Mayo Clinic for 30 years before he retired, and he always instilled in me that I had to be the best. He gave me teaching moments constantly, reminding me that I have a lot to overcome and that I'll face things most people will never encounter in their entire lives, but that can't stop me. I have to believe in myself and know that what I do matters. Growing up, he put me in everything - soccer, gymnastics, dance, baton twirling - because he wanted me to try everything and discover what I was good at. They didn't have money when I was born, they were scraping everything together and maxing out the Discover card, but I always had access to every educational opportunity I could possibly gain. My dad bought me books all the time, which is why I became such a good writer - I learned to read when I was 4. For him, there's nothing in the world more important than education and experience. He was always very good at constructive criticism, always letting me know every step of the way what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong in everything. That consistency, that hard work ethic, and those values of never taking anything for granted and always doing things myself - that all comes from my dad.

The best career advice I've received is that no is never the answer - there's always a way. Even when you know something is going to hurt your career, hurt you politically, or you may even lose your job, you have to speak up if what you're recommending is real and true. You have to make sure you're being heard, and if it's not understood, it's not about convincing somebody, it's about supporting their beliefs with your idea. I've learned that you have to believe in what you're saying and believe that you are an expert, that you are qualified to do the work you're doing, and that what you're saying has basis. It's not some meaningless opinion you're putting forward. The recommendations I make come from my experience, my education, and my certifications. I may not have done a full cost-benefit analysis, but I'm telling you something based on requirements and expertise. You have to believe in yourself and hold to that truth, even when it's uncomfortable.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to never believe that you know everything. Ever, ever, ever. Kids coming out of college think they know everything - I felt the same way. You think, what else is there to learn about business? I learned it in college. But especially in this generation, people go in thinking they know everything they can, and maybe when they're 25 or 27, they start thinking they know enough to be an expert over other people. But you'll never know enough. Ever. You'll never actually be the expert, you'll never actually know everything about your industry. You'll always be learning, and if you're not embracing that opportunity, you're gonna fail. Stay humble, stay curious, and keep learning throughout your entire career.

The biggest challenges I face are being a female and being part of a minority in this field. I'm a very small person - I'm 5'1" - I'm of Asian descent, and I'm a woman. It is literally everything against me. I find myself in these huge corporations as the only one represented by any of my features - minority and a woman. In Minnesota, we have the most Fortune 500 companies in the country, and every single corporation I've been to, I'm usually the only minority, and definitely among maybe a dozen minority women at most. It's very, very underrepresented, and it's 2026. The biggest thing about project management is that people don't realize you have to learn how to lead without authority. You have no power whatsoever, and being a very small person with a big voice, I've had to prove myself over and over again. Sometimes people see it as too much, as bitchy, or controlling. I've intimidated a lot of bosses. At GN ReSound, my direct supervisor wanted no attention whatsoever brought to my efforts in online marketing, even though I went from last place to first. If it was a white male, he'd now be VP of Marketing with a huge promotion and way more money. But because of who I am, nobody recognized it. I've learned not to expect credit. Right now, even trying to get a full-time position or contract is impossible. I've had so many interviews where I'm always the runner-up, always the second candidate. I would almost bet my qualifications are equal or better, but it doesn't matter. It's who they think their customers are going to be more attuned to and have a relationship with from an appearance standpoint. That's not fair to me, because I have great relationships with all the clients I've ever encountered.

The values most important to me are trust, transparency, leading by example, confidence, and believing in yourself. Trust is always first - I'm not going to ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Back in my restaurant days, if there was a clogged toilet, I wasn't going to ask the buser to do it because they aren't paid enough. I'm going to do it myself. Leading by example is the value I most definitely believe in. As a restaurant manager, I wasn't the type to just stand around and host - I was cleaning tables, serving tables if needed. I have to be the expert. Transparency is huge for me. There are a lot of companies that are compartmentalized, where people hold certain knowledge to themselves because they know without their knowledge, the company can't do certain things. I'm not like that. I have complete transparency in all my processes. I document everything I've done as far as changes or even how I came to that thought. I don't hide what I'm doing day-to-day. When I'm consulting, I'll give a daily report of what I've done, what my accomplishments are, and what my goal is for the next day. Complete transparency is important and valuable, especially when it comes to consulting. And you have to believe in yourself - believe that you're there for a reason, that you're there because you earned it. That confidence and self-belief is essential.