Jennifer Garcia

Jennifer "Jen" Garcia is a Research Program Officer III for SPeCS, IES, and EMPOWER STEM with  20+ years of event and project management experience. Specializing in Government Meeting Management, she serves as 1st Vice President of the Arizona Chapter of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals and provides educational training for members to obtain CEUs for CGMP certification. Jen also has a certification in Digital Event Strategy through the Professional Convention Management Association. Employed at the University of Arizona since 2010, Jen has served on multiple committees championing DEIJ efforts to elevate the status of women, creating inclusive gender-neutral spaces, and fundraising for the creation of lactation rooms across campus. Jen received her Master of Public Administration from the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona in 2022.

In her downtime, her passion for civic engagement keeps her busy. She is the board Secretary for the Tucson Pops Orchestra, the parade chair for the Tucson St. Patrick's Day Parade, the parade coordinator for Tucson Pride, and recently served on the City of Tucson Citizen's Commission on Public Service and Compensation. When she is not organizing "all the things", she enjoys spending time with her family and trail running with friends.