Dreaming & Creating Big! | Jen Henderson P.E.

Jen was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas. She is the youngest of two children, both of whom are now Professional Engineers practicing in the civil discipline. With an outgoing personality and always with a smile, Jen will usually be the first person in the group to speak up and break the ice for everyone else. She is a proud wife and mother of two wonderful children. Jen loves to play slow pitch softball, is an avid runner, and can usually be found shepherding her children to and from the softball/baseball fields.

She graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX and was immediately drawn to the Capital Metro area. For the past 15 years, she has excelled in both government and private sides of the industry. Ultimately, Jen found a niche in land development engineering. Her forte in the industry is within the annexation, zooning, planning and site development plans for small to medium sites, 0 to 300 acres in size. For Jen, it’s important to work efficiently as part of a team to bring the clients vision to fruition.  She fosters an environment conducive to innovation, inspiring people at all levels. She also enjoys that everyone can see the impacts of her efforts on the community around her. If you ask Jen, she will tell you that engineering is not just a job, it’s a passion and an exciting career.

Jen loves that her profession allows her to work on projects throughout Texas and that she is part of a team that takes a project from an idea and makes it into something physical, grand and lasting.

Jen is very involved in the community, and she is currently on: the Brazos River Authority Board of Directors, Chair of Planning and Zoning Commission (Round Rock, TX), Unified Development Code Advisory Commission (Georgetown, TX) and Program Administrator for Round Rock Noon Rotary.

A Huge Support

Jen is part of the support system to other female business owners who are out there trying hard to establish their business and to become leaders in the community. She is always willing to be open and honest with other female business owners. Jen is a big part of the Austin area WBE program and is helping to instill the knowledge of what it means to be a woman business owner and why it should be celebrated.  

Jen is inspiring and empowering team members to become great leaders of tomorrow. Within the company, there are no limits as the steadfast leader is willing to listen to her employees and is willing to implement new ways of working just to keep a happy and healthy staff. Jen is always willing to listen to new ideas and is willing to train employees to challenge themselves and each other to be top notch employees and successful. “To me, I don’t feel like I am successful yet, and I strive to be more and more successful.

It took 3 months to have a profitable company and we employ 6 people right now. I think success is still a few years in the making,” elucidates Jen. Talking about the most important leadership lessons, “I learned it in Girl Scouts when I was in elementary school. The lesson is that you should always treat others as you want to be treated, and I always treat others with respect and dignity. I want them to feel welcomed and to know that I will listen. I have to be prepared at every meeting and have to be able to articulate what I do to those who do not possess the history that I do in the industry.”

Building the Company

As a civil engineering firm, Henderson Professional Engineers, make it their mission to provide excellent service, effective communication, integrity and extreme ownership in everything they do, and to fulfill the vision of each and every one of their clients. “Our focus has always been to provide high quality products that help improve the community in which we live, work and play,” says Jen. “We are profitable and we have a satisfaction of our employees that is unparalleled in this industry. We are successful because all of our employees want to succeed and are happy with the environment.”

The company wants to be the premier place to work in this area because of their flexibility. “We work to live and it shows. We are a passion-driven company with a high-performing staff. We want nothing more than to love where we are and what we do,” adds Jen. “We are hiring! Our team is growing at a faster rate than we could have ever imagined. We want to be the engineering firm that is sought after, fun to work at and genuinely cares about the employees and their well-being.” In conclusion, Henderson Professional Engineers is a passion-based company who like to live, work, play and volunteer in a place where they are proud of.