Jenny Derry on the job at Glenview School Renovation Project .
Recently I had the opportunity to spend the morning with Jenny Midtgaard Derry , learn about her multi-faceted career , and shadow her at work . Derry is a Construction Manager with the Gilroy Unified School District ( GUSD ), and it ’ s as interesting to see how she tackles the job as it is to understand the career journey that prepared her for it .
Derry grew up in a country house along Pacheco Pass Highway . Her father emigrated from Denmark , worked as a tractor mechanic and built his own business . Her mother was a school teacher , then a principal , and is now a board member with the Gilroy Unified School District . The eldest of three daughters , Derry credits her parents with instilling in her a strong work ethic and the desire to get a good education .
“ My parents were both hard workers , and they expected the same from us ,” Derry said .
As a young girl , Derry and her sisters learned to raise cattle and sheep and grow hay . She attended San Ysidro Elementary , South Valley Junior High and Gilroy High School , and was involved in the 4-H Club and Future Farmers of America . They were formative years that would benefit Derry greatly in her professional career .
After high school Derry attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and earned a journalism degree in 1990 . She returned home from college and found work as a substitute teacher and volunteer at the Gilroy Visitor ’ s Bureau . Eager to find a job in her chosen field , she called one of her college professors . For Derry , it was a fortuitous decision for career and personal reasons .
“ My professor connected me with the Gilroy Dispatch ,” Derry said . “ I arrived with some writing samples and met with the paper ’ s Editor-in-Chief . There was no job opening at the time , but he invited me to come in as an intern and get my feet wet . I began covering county and education news . Hard work and persistence paid off , landing me a job on staff . Within six months I was promoted to City Editor .”
The Editor-in-Chief who had offered the opportunity that kick-started her career was Mark Derry , the man who would become her husband .
Five years later she joined the Monterey Herald as Lifestyles Editor . But when the Dispatch decided to partner with the Morgan Hill and Hollister newspapers to publish a special Lifestyles news magazine , Derry knew she wanted to manage it , so she came back .
Jenny and Mark Derry tied the knot in 1998 aboard the Balclutha , an historic three-masted ship moored in the San Francisco Bay and made famous in Mutiny on the Bounty . Officiating at their wedding ceremony were Don Gage , who was a Santa Clara County Supervisor at the time , and Mike Gilroy , who was serving as Gilroy ’ s mayor .
Derry first met Don Gage when she was a young girl and he was her hunter safety instructor . That personal connection , along with Gage ’ s awareness of Derry ’ s affinity for agriculture and her journalism background led him to offer her a job as a Land Use Advisor for Santa Clara County when he took office as District 1 Supervisor in 1999 .
“ Jenny had to get up to speed quickly on the complex land issues of our district , which has 50 percent of all the open space in the County . For example , she brought calm to a community of concerned horse owners by helping establish access to trails where they could ride . She has a talent for working through difficult situations so everybody wins .”
As Land Use Advisor , Derry focused on doing what was best to protect lands and natural resources while addressing demands of a growing population .
“ That job taught me a lot about negotiation , large-scale project management and collaboration ,” Derry said .
In 2004 , Derry became Executive Director with the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau ; a role she said was “ tailormade ” for her background . Having a local job also meant less time commuting to work and more time with her family .
“ At the time , the Farm Bureau was supporting an effort to defeat Measure A , which would have restricted landowner rights . There was quite a public debate , and I was involved in every aspect of the outreach , from newspaper stories to radio and TV appearances . During the campaign I experienced first-hand how hardworking , honest and straightforward the ag community is . Our efforts were rewarded when Measure A was defeated .”
The next chapter of Derry ’ s career came , in her own words , “ through the back door .” She and husband Mark had purchased a fixer-upper near Gilroy Gardens and she ended up taking a very proactive role in the remodeling of their new home .
“ I really enjoyed the design and construction process . The remodel turned
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