Get to Know Jenny Sanford, Homeowner Engagement Manager

Meet Jenny Sanford, Twin Cities Habitat’s new Homeowner Engagement Manager! Jenny's role is to help current Habitat homeowners stay connected to our ongoing work. The homeowner-Habitat relationship doesn't end when we hand over the keys; homeowners remain an important part of the Habitat community after they've closed on their new home. 

Jenny is originally from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and has always had a passion for teaching and education. She taught in the South Washington school district for several years before transitioning to being a full time stay-at-home mom. Before re-entering the work force, Jenny taught a financial class at her local church and found the work very fulfilling. Working in the nonprofit sector seemed a great intersection of professional skills and a desire to help improve the financial well-being of her community. “When you line up your values with your money, worlds can change,” Jenny says.

She became an accredited financial counselor through The Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE). She worked for Neighbors Inc. where she started as a temp receptionist, become the volunteer manager, and eventually stepped into a new role to help build and manage the organization's Financial Empowerment Program. She has helped clients with budgeting, connecting with community resources, applying for assistance, facing wage garnishment, and much more. One financial strategy Jenny has used to help others with budgeting is aligning values with spending. “You gotta figure out what are your values and what are you spending on right now,” she says.

“Take your salary, multiply by ten, and that's how much money is going in and out of your hands within a decade. It doesn't feel like a lot in one paycheck, but over ten years, you're managing tens of thousands of dollars, and that should have a structure.”

Jenny brings empathy and understanding to her new role with Twin Cities Habitat. She is forthcoming about her own financial struggles raising kids on a single income and also dealing with a bad mortgage. She says there is often an unfair stigma that comes with financial messiness. “It's not that people are always doing something wrong, it’s that we are not taught to manage money,” she explains. For many of us, it’s uncomfortable to step back and look at our finances, but even taking that first step is admirable.

Jenny, Site Supervisor Katie, and a Habitat Homeowner at the Volunteer and Learn event in February.

Jenny looks forward to developing a new homeowner engagement program with many resources and classes around finances and budgeting, home maintenance, how to shop for insurance, how to create a will, how to work with a homeowner’s association, and much more. She appreciates working with Habitat homeowners and providing them the resources they need to thrive in their homes.

 “This is like a dream job; it's combining a lot of things I've done in my career and connecting people with resources. I get to do what I'm really good at,” she says. 

“I'm excited to reimagine how we work with homeowners. I don't mind talking on the phone, setting up a meeting, or having a chat. I want to know how we (Habitat) can best support our homeowners. If you have a phone number in our system, you'll be getting a call from me,” she says with a smile.

Jenny especially looks forward to meeting homeowners in person at various events throughout the year, including Habitat’s new Volunteer and Learn series for homeowners. When she's not at Habitat, Jenny raises her three kids in South St. Paul with her husband of 21 years. She loves reading, hiking, and going for walks with her dog Oreo.