Meet some of our staff who work directly with our students. Be sure to check back often to meet more of our extraordinarily talented staff.

Jenny Smallwood

Jenny Smallwood recently was promoted to Residential Director at the Germaine Lawrence Diagnostic Center. She previously worked at Germaine Lawrence as a teacher and teaching assistant. According to Jenny, the most important part of her job is to nurture our students and help them to learn the skills that they will need to be successful in the world. She says, “I love that I am able to see the results of my work every day. When a student is having a hard time and I can help her problem solve and make good choices, I know that I am having an impact. I also really enjoy the staff that I work with at the Diagnostic Center. They are brilliant, competent and always willing to help out.”

When asked about her fondest memory of working at Germaine Lawrence, Jenny recounts a story from when she was a teacher. “Last year we had an assembly to remember the 9/11 World Trade Center bombing and my class sang the song “Imagine” by John Lennon in front of all the other students. They each held a flag of their own heritage and then at the end of the song held up an American flag to show that they were united. The girls were so supportive of one another when we were learning the song and so proud of themselves after the assembly.”

Jenny added, “I am so excited about starting in the Residential Director role and hope to do that for several years. I would eventually like to be a Program Director. I am so proud to work for Germaine Lawrence and have to much respect for the program that I work in. My hope is that we can continue to provide a therapeutic and safe environment for girls needing our support.”