Arboretum Assistant
jjb28@psu.edu
Jennifer joined the Arboretum team as their administrative assistant in 2025. She has worked in positions throughout Penn State: at WPSU public broadcasting, as part of the Advancement team for Penn State Outreach, and for Smeal College of Business.
Jen has worked as a professional ballerina, performing with the Joffrey Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio. She resigned from professional dancing to raise her children and joined Penn State’s dance faculty as an adjunct instructor. She taught ballet at Penn State for three years and created, choreographed, and directed the Ballet Theatre of Penn State. She served as the artistic/executive director of the Allegheny Ballet Company of Altoona for two years and acted as its staff coordinator and ballet mistress another six years. Starting in 2019, she has been a permanent faculty member and the leveling coordinator of Nittany Ballet (the dance division of the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania), teaching students ages ten through adult the joyful art of dance.
She holds a liberal arts degree specializing in health and science with a Certified Nurse Assistant certification, a bachelor’s degree in business administration specializing in human resource management from Mount Aloysius College, and a master’s degree in human resources and employee relations from Penn State. She has two children, Connor and Katie, a loving husband, Travis, and a dog named Rami.