Jennifer Austin is the Managing Director of Development and Communications. In this role, she oversees all fundraising strategy for the organization as well as all external communications initiatives. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Jennifer is a weekly Meals on Wheels volunteer, and you’ll find her and her husband, Eric, delivering to their Meals on Wheels clients every Thursday.
The “heart of a servant” describes Jennifer best. She began her nonprofit career in the membership and marketing department at The Center for Nonprofit Management, helping to start the online Nonprofit Organization Classifieds and rebranding the organization. As a young mother she saw a need to create a ministry for Title 1 school children and their families to encourage a better life through The Bright Zone program. After several years as a stay-at-home mom and director of ministry, she came to work at VNA as the Development Manager in 2013. She’s celebrating her 10th anniversary with VNA and says, “it’s an honor to work here.”
During her tenure, Jennifer has seen and managed a host of initiatives that have helped VNA become what it is today: the leading senior resource in North Texas. “Our industry changes rapidly and our services, including home-based palliative care, our technology—including our Meals on Wheels app, and our fundraising strategy have all pivoted seamlessly to be able to provide our clients, patients, volunteers and donors with the best possible version of this organization,” she says.
Jennifer truly lives the VNA mission of helping people age with dignity and respect at home and believes it’s the people at VNA who make it happen. “I love our mission and I love the people at this job—it’s a family,” Jennifer says. “Our staff connects people to their passions and resources to those who need it most and allows us to deliver on our mission every single day.”
Jennifer and her husband Eric are oenophiles—people who appreciate and collect wines from around the globe—and frequently travel to taste wine and food from different cultures and cuisines. You’ll also find her cheering on her two daughters in their current endeavors, volunteering for other worthy causes and cuddling with her black lab, Charlie.