Jen Anderson

Jen Anderson

Co-Founder & COO, The Reset Foundation

At age 12, over spaghetti dinner, Jen learned one word that would spark a lifelong passion: “recidivism.”  After writing in blue marker a letter to her congressman, Jen spent many years searching for a sufficient solution—and wondering why there were 2M people sitting behind bars, seemingly forgotten. When she and Jane discovered their shared vision, Jen abandoned her resolve to “never start something new” and co-founded Reset in 2012.

Jen found her niche in adult education and workforce development while directing an entrepreneurship training and microfinance program for Latino immigrants. She realized the impact that a good job could have on individuals, families, and communities. Later, while working at venture philanthropy fund New Profit Inc., she helped establish the Pathways Fund, a $50M federal fund designed to scale organizations serving disconnected youth. Jen also designed an impact assessment strategy for Next Street, a for-profit social enterprise advising inner-city businesses, and dabbled in corporate finance in two technology and investment firms.

Jen earned a degree in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University, magna cum laude, and later an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a 2013 Open Society Black Male Achievement Fellow and 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur with Jane. She loves jazz singing, eating at tapas restaurants, and listening to James Taylor vinyl records with her husband, Rhett.