March 12, 2013
Speaker: Magdeline E. Jensen, Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh
Information from YWCA Website
Since its proud beginnings in 1869, the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh has championed social progress for women and children. YW women have advocated for fair and equitable conditions, challenged social and racial injustice, and empowered women and their families. Created by women — for every woman — the YW has forged a trail of leadership, advocacy, and action wherever it has recognized a community need.
Today, we strengthen our community by creating and advancing opportunities for all women to seek equality and self-sufficiency. Building on programs with roots in nineteenth century social reform, we promote housing, employment, education, and civil rights for people of color, women, and children.
About the Speaker: Magdeline (Maggie) Jensen has served as Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh since November 2007. Her selection by the YWCA’s Board of Directors to take on the YW’s CEO responsibilities is a tale of transferable management and leadership skills.
Prior to joining the YWCA, Ms. Jensen performed as Chief Federal Probation Officer in Arizona – and was the first woman selected to hold that position. As Chief Federal Probation Officer, Ms. Jensen managed a $15 million operation of the U.S. Probation Office for nine years across the state. Ms. Jensen worked in Washington, DC as an administrator for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the headquarters of the Federal Courts, helped develop national sentencing policy and functioned as liaison to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. While in Washington, she was an instructor at the Federal Judicial Center and a Professorial Instructor at American University in the Department of Justice, Law and Society, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Thurgood Marshall Child Development Center. She has hands-on experience connecting people in need to community resources from her experiences as a U.S. probation officer in San Diego and as a deputy probation officer in Contra Costa County, CA. She was also a Lecturer at California State University, Hayward in the Department of Criminal Justice for five years.
Ms. Jensen holds a Bachelor of Arts, Criminology and a Master of Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, CA. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, the “Kitchen Cabinet” of the Bayer Center for Non-Profit Management’s 74% Study “Exploring the Lives of Women in Nonprofits”, the Civic Advisory Committee of the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative, and a member of the Board for The Program for Offenders, Inc. She is also on the Advisory Committees for the professional journals Federal Probation and the Federal Sentencing Reporter.
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