Candlelight Ranch Welcomes Executive Director Jenn Hartner!

February 2, 2017

Candlelight Ranch would like to welcome Executive Director Jenn Hartner! Jenn has a strong history with Candlelight Ranch, and first developed a passion for the mission and people served in 2010 when she became the Candlelight Ranch Program Director. After moving to Malaysia for four years, Jenn rejoined the Candlelight Ranch staff in April 2016 as the Volunteer Coordinator and transitioned into the Ranch’s Interim Executive Director in December 2016. Jenn now looks forward to extending this role as the Candlelight Ranch Executive Director. In this role she is looking forward to “growing the organization in new ways and increasing our impact on the children and families we serve.”

Jenn brings with her a passion for helping children while engaging the community to support programs. She has a successful history of nonprofit expertise and capacity building. During her time at Candlelight Ranch, Jenn increased programming, volunteers, and aided in Candlelight Ranch’s growth. She is very excited to be continuing her work at the ranch in this new leadership role and sharing the magic of our mission with staff, donors, the community, volunteers, and most importantly the children we serve.

Prior to her time at Candlelight Ranch, Jenn also served as the Program Director for Spirit Reins, where she helped improve the emotional and behavioral health of children with the help of horses through group and individual therapy and summer camps. In addition, Jenn has worked with several Central Texas nonprofits including, Breakthrough Austin, Greenlights and People’s Community Clinic. She attended the University of Texas at Austin for her Master’s in Social Work and attended the University of Michigan for her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. She is a 2009 OneStar Foundation Emerging Leader in the Texas nonprofit sector.

When she is not at work Jenn loves to spend time with her husband, Eric, their two children and travel the world.