Jenna Herr (MBA ’19) coordinates insurance purchases and implements risk management policies for Equity Residential, one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of apartments. Since joining the company in 2021, she’s worked on projects like revamping the company’s crisis response program.
“When you’re responsible for people in their homes, you want everybody to feel safe and secure and to have a plan,” she says.
A first-generation college student, Jenna studied business at the University of Iowa, where she was first introduced to the field of risk and insurance. “I really appreciated the role of risk and how it underlies our economy,” she says. “Strategic risk management can add value to a firm. You’re helping them take educated risks or using risk treatment tools in a way that leads to better financial outcomes.”
When it came time to choose an MBA program, Jenna wanted a program that offered a strong combination of technical and leadership skills that would prepare her for an executive-level position. She found that at WSB, as well as the specialization in risk management and insurance.
In addition to learning from professors like Joan Schmit and Tyler Leverty, Jenna says working alongside other professionals in her MBA program helped develop leadership skills and had direct applications in the working world.
“Every room you’re in, you have an opportunity to learn from somebody and an opportunity to teach people,” she says.