“I’ve lived on the Eastside for most of my life, growing up in Clyde Hill close to the corner of 92nd and 24th streets,” says Jennifer Clark. Her parents, Ann and Fred Willey, raised their five children in West Bellevue, and along with her siblings, Jennifer attended Sacred Heart School.

 

“Downtown Bellevue had one major high rise then, the Paccar Building,” Jennifer continues. “And in the 1970s and early 1980s, Bellevue Square was a one-level, open-air shopping center with a few stores including Nordstrom, Frederick and Nelson’s, Newberry’s, and some smaller restaurants, while there was a horse farm close to our home. The town was much less populated back then – but I have watched the city of Bellevue and the West Bellevue neighborhood grow and evolve very quickly.”

 

Jennifer attended the University of Washington in the late 1980s, graduating with a degree in communications. She began her career with McCaw Cellular Communications, a cellular telephone pioneer in the United States selling pagers and cellphones. For 26 years as a director in the telecom industry, she worked for corporate entities including AT&T, Nextel, and Sprint, and was involved with several acquisitions and mergers as the industry evolved. “I led a team of up to 200 people across ten states,” she explains, “selling wireless and wireline technology solutions to corporate customers.”

 

Jennifer met her husband, Jim, while working in the telecom industry. While they were on a trip together to Paris in September 1994, Jim proposed at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The couple married in 1995 and will celebrate thirty years of marriage in June. They bought a home in Medina five months after they were married and raised their two sons, Connor and Brandon. “Both boys attended Sacred Heart School and went on to Bellevue High School where they graduated in 2016 and 2020 respectively,” Jennifer continues. “Then Connor graduated from Gonzaga University in 2020, while Brandon graduated in 2024 from Washington State University.”

 

The family loves to spend time together outdoors enjoying hiking, skiing, and golfing, as well as traveling within the United States and in Europe. “Our favorite destination throughout the years has been Maui, where we love to spend time in Wailea, a great place to relax!” Jennifer enthuses. The family often visits Whidbey Island, an easy place to reach quickly where they feel they are out of the city and on ‘island time.’ As Jennifer explains, “One of the reasons our family has always wanted to stay in the Puget Sound area is the ease of getting to so many great locations and activities within an hour from our home – and we have a large friendship base as well as family members in the area.”

 

Jennifer was offered the role of Director of Corporate and Specialty Sales at Alaska Airlines in 2015, working with a sales organization that focused on corporate travel business, group sales, and private charter flights. While in this position, starting in 2019, she served on the Board of Directors of the Bellevue Chamber. In October of 2023, the Chamber asked Jennifer if she would be interested in the role of Vice President of Sponsorship and Sales. “I was excited by this opportunity since I was born and raised in the Bellevue area,” Jennifer says, “and it felt like the perfect opportunity to focus on my hometown, its local businesses, and the community.  It was like coming home, completing a full circle.”

 

With hundreds of members representing tens of thousands of employees, the Bellevue Chamber is the relationship, policy, and business development hub for organizations throughout the Puget Sound Region. The Chamber works to advance a vibrant economy in Bellevue and the Eastside, attracting and retaining business investments, jobs, and top talent. “I focus my time working with the Chamber team to grow the membership base, and work with major corporations in the Puget Sound Region to sponsor the many events held throughout the year,” Jennifer continues.

 

Jennifer is excited about an event the Chamber has coming up on February 25th at the Meydenbauer Center. This is the Chamber’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference. This year’s theme is “Investing in Yourself,” and the speakers will focus on topics that include investing in yourself financially, physically, and within your social capital, involving the networks of relationships among people you spend time with.

 

The keynote speaker is Chef Kristi Brown from Seattle’s Communion restaurant. The financial panel includes executive speakers from JP Morgan Chase and Verity Credit Union, as well as a local estate planning attorney. Medical professionals and doctors from Fred Hutch and Overlake Medical Center will join a panel and will speak on how to live your best life physically so that you live a full life. Experts, including Tanji Johnson Bridgeman, owner of Bridgeman Health Solutions, will speak about empowering your inner champion. Tanji leads organizations and teams to cultivate a culture of empowered individuals through timeless and effective personal development and wellness strategies.

 

“Please join us for this important and fascinating conference!” Jennifer concludes. For more information, and to register, please go to https://www.bellevuechamber.org/events/chamber-events.