Jenna Bentley. Program Director. Summerhill.

Bmeaningful Editor — September 9, 2014

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What does your job entail?

As the Program Director, I coordinate retail programs for the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). We support both the retailers and the OPA in executing energy programs in stores. For example if Toronto Hydro wants to have representatives in stores to engage customers on energy conservation, I’ll help coordinate that.

What is a typical day like?

A typical day is working on my program and helping others with theirs. It mainly includes answering emails from the OPA and retailers, developing materials, and coordinating with manufacturers.

How did you get your job?

I started as a representative working on weekends. Prior to working at Summerhill, I was working at an advertising company which was kind of sucking my soul. I went home every night feeling unfulfilled because the majority of my work was a moral conflict for me- advertising to teenagers trying to get them to buy things. I saw Summerhill needed representatives for their weekend programs and applied. After doing that for a while, an opportunity came up to work at head office in a call centre role and I got that contract and have stayed on ever since.

When did you know you wanted a more meaningful job?

I think I’ve always known I wanted to do something that made an impact, but it was just hard to know exactly what- especially coming out of university there’s a feeling that you need to take any job to start paying off your student loan.

How would you describe the culture at Summerhill?
I think everyone is here for the same reasons- wanting to make a difference- so it’s easy to relate to people and have fun. Since everyone generally feels good about what they’re doing, they’re more positive and excited to come to work, creating a great culture.

Any parting words of advice for job seekers looking for a meaningful career?

I think it’s important to feel good about what you’re doing and pursue that as much as possible because there ARE opportunities and you WILL find something. At the end of the day you spend so much time at work, if you’re not feeling good about it, the only person you are hurting is yourself.

Interested in learning more about the culture and meeting more of the the people who work here?