Jenny Mundell ’11 MA Thinks English Majors will Save the World – and So Can You.

There are two threads that weave together the many experiences of Bloomfield Township’s first female mayor, Jenny Mundell ’11 MA: community and storytelling.

As a high school student, she wrote for a local newspaper in Sewickley, PA. There, she wrote features on zoning meetings and other local government meetings. “I knew the importance of being involved and paying attention to what happens locally,” she says. After high school, she received her bachelor’s in English language and literature from Pennsylvania State University, and eventually moved to New Jersey.

After moving to New Jersey, Mundell became the associate director of University and Community Relations at Montclair State University. Taking advantage of the tuition benefit offered to employees, she worked full-time while earning her master’s in English. Her thesis, Burning Down the House: Reclaiming Homeplace in Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills and Mama Day, examined the influence of geographic places and power structures on the development of individuals and communities.

Her education at Montclair gave her the abilities to become a critical thinker and thoughtful communicator. “Humans understand the world in narratives,” she explains. “So that has helped me along the way, to be able to synthesize what I hear from other people and then turn that back to them to find solutions.”

She used these skills to build a career in relationship building. After working in higher education, Mundell transitioned to the healthcare industry. Mundell advanced at RWJBarnabas Health and is now vice president of development for Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

While growing a career as a development professional, Mundell held community leadership roles in Bloomfield Township. In 2017, she was appointed to the Township Council. The mayor at the time asked her if she would consider running to be the 1st Ward councilwoman. “I gave it some thought, talked to my husband, and it felt like a good thing to do,” she recollects. “My predecessor at the time stepped down from his seat early, so I was appointed to fill his vacancy.”

When the former mayor decided to run for State Assembly, he asked Mundell if she would consider running for the post. “We had made all this progress together,” she says. “And I know for him, it was really important to leave it in good hands…somebody that would keep that momentum moving. And so he asked me to consider running [for mayor]. And again, I went back to my husband,” she says with a chuckle. “We had the conversation, talked about what that would mean for us and decided that, yes, it was something that I was interested in, because I think I was the best choice to continue to move things forward.”

Mundell won the election this past November, but doesn’t see her gender as the main story. “I’m not here because I’m a woman, but that I am a woman could inspire someone else to try something that they didn’t feel like they fit in the space for,” she says. In her short time as mayor, she recruited more than 70 dedicated volunteers to serve on committees in town and created new committees to increase community involvement, demolished the town’s old DPW building (a 20-year eyesore), facilitated repairs to the roof of the adult library, creatively financed the renovations to the township’s much beloved children’s library without the township taking on new debt and launched senior programming for retired community members.

When contemplating how her time as an English graduate student at Montclair has prepared her for roles in development and as mayor, she emphasizes the transferable skills learned. “Education prepares you for anything,” she reflects. “English majors will save the world – our minds are open to different things.”

For current students, Mundell advises to explore and seize opportunities for growth. “Take advantage of all of it. You’ll never have another time in your life where you will explore and learn things at the pace you want,” she urges. Her career trajectory evolved because of her willingness to try new things. “Take every opportunity that presents itself,” she says. “I worked at Montclair and had the opportunity to further my education, so I took that. I was approached for the town council, I said yes. I was approached to run for mayor, I said yes.”

Since graduating, Mundell has stayed connected to Montclair as a guest speaker, neighbor and recently, as a member of the President’s Advisory Board for the Bloomfield College integration. She enjoys speaking to students about how an education from Montclair prepares a student for anything. “I have a graduate degree in English, but I don’t teach, I work in health care. You can study literature, you can study liberal arts, and you could become a mayor.”

She encourages students of any background or major to think about careers in public service and get involved in their local communities. Mundell suggests reaching out to local elected officials to build relationships and attending town meetings and events. By being present, students can get inspired to see how they might contribute, and how they can create their own story.

“I’ve always believed that you have the power to make change where you live.”