It all begins with your origin story.
At Bestola, that goes back to Bess and Bartola, Jen’s grandmothers.
Bess spent most of her working years supporting small family-run businesses in Chicago. (And helping to raise Jen.)
Bartola supported her husband, Victoriano, with his business selling gavanes in their small town of Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacan, Mexico.
From their lessons and their heritage, they’ve woven into Jen a deep-seated drive to serve others, lead authentically and simply do good.
And, hence, the Bestola vision was born.
Bestola Collective serves as a hub of authenticity, leading real, human conversations meant to inspire, teach and advance the mission of bringing humanity back to business. By women and for women, the Bestola Collective marketplace curates diverse voices and perspectives to give high performing women a safe space to learn from one another’s vulnerabilities, successes, failures and lessons.
A beautiful, well-lived life is one that is messy. Here, we believe that’s something to be celebrated. At Bestola Collective, we go beyond highlight reels and surface-level success. Because real success isn’t about doing it all. When we strip away the pressure to be perfect, we might just find that it’s about simply thriving in our own light.
Jen is a thoughtful leader in Chicago’s business community, known for her exceptional track record of driving transformative growth and developing thriving workplace cultures. With more than 20 years of experience in human resources and client/employee experience, Jen is deeply committed to harmonizing operations and personnel to help organizations do right by those they lead and serve. As Partner and Vice President of Experience at EmPower HR, Jen spearheaded initiatives that grew the client base from 150 to 500, expanded the team from 45 to 150 employees, and doubled worksite employees from 10,000 to 20,000 — ultimately preparing the firm for a successful sale in 2022.
Jen founded Bestola Consulting in 2022 to help organizations align their purpose with their output, streamline operations, and enhance people experiences to drive both satisfaction and performance. She also leads Rise Chicago, a non-partisan coalition of community leaders committed to restoring Chicago’s status as a world-class city where people want to live, work and visit.
Through Bestola Collective, Jen’s focus is to bring humanity back to business and give high-performing women the tools and confidence to do so in their own lives, too. Her experiences and expertise have made her a sought-after thought leader with appearances on various local and national outlets.
Jen’s Non-Profit Work
We’ve gathered our tried, true and favorite partners to help you in all areas of life and work.
