A mother to three children, Jennie spent some time as a stay at home Mom, taking a hiatus from employment while doing volunteer work. When she went to return to work, however, getting a foot in the door proved to be a greater challenge than she anticipated. “I spent a year sending out resumes and networking and only had 2 interviews and zero offers. I was so discouraged and not sure what my options were going to be.”
When she was considering giving up on finding work again, she met Chad Brandenburg, the owner of Roka Farms. It was a perfect fit for Jennie, and she joined the company in July 2017. “I loved everything about it!” says Jennie. “It felt like the culmination of all my work and education. It combines the food industry that I love with the Industrial side that I spent years working in.”
“My story is really pretty simple; I asked Chad for a job and he hired me. I worked hard and he made me his director of operations. But, I guess the interesting part of it is that in a society that was classifying me as obsolete because I decided to stay home and raise children for a while. Chad gave me a chance to get back into the workforce, doing something I love.”
Jennie Zirkle has been the Director of Operations at Roka Farms LLC since August 1st, 2017. She has a Degree from Purdue University in Restaurant and Hospitality Management.
