New Powerhouse Team Member

Jena is excited to join the Powerhouse team and share her skills as a grant writer. She is new to the military spouse life, only marrying her high school sweetheart in January of 2024. They are at their first duty station, Fort Liberty, and are eager to start this new journey together.

Jena earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at The University of Akron, where she also served her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, through multiple leadership roles, including chapter president. Currently, she is studying for her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

When Jena is not working or studying, you can find her spending time with loved ones, reading, crafting, hiking, and traveling to national and local parks.

Shining a Spotlight on Powerhouse’s Jessica Yost

Jessica has held several titles in those four years. She has worked as a strategic marketing consultant, social media specialist, ghost writer, and copywriter. “I’d also add, after explaining what I do to a friend of mine who is a marketing specialist, that what I do is 360 marketing. I never would have known that, but she’s an expert, so she would know!” says Jessica. That type of flexibility is part of her “Semper Gumby” attitude toward life and work. “Just know things can change on you in a second and be prepared to go with it,” she says.

It’s advice that has served her well at Powerhouse. “My work here has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone at times,” Jessica says. “It’s a case of you don’t know what you don’t know until you know you don’t know it. But what I’ve learned from working outside my comfort zone is that I love that feeling of knowing you’ve successfully completed a task that is new to you and that I have learned so much from embracing the challenge.”

And that’s not all she appreciates about her time at Powerhouse. “I did remote work before the pandemic. I felt like I worked a lot harder in remote work than I would have in a traditional office—and I’ve worked in those too—but it seemed like people never took what I did seriously. When they found out I worked remotely, it was almost like, ‘Oh, you have a cute part-time job,’” she recounts. “The pandemic changed all that.” Post-pandemic, many people realized the importance of remote work and that you could still be productive and successful even though you weren’t in a physical office space. Jessica says, “Powerhouse has always worked in the remote sector. So, when the pandemic hit, I felt like one of our strengths—and a real bonus we could offer clients—is showing them how to make that transition successfully.”

It does take strong time management skills to work remotely, Jessica cautions. “Time is the most precious commodity we have. We can’t buy it back. So, organizing your day as a remote worker is critical. I’ve had to learn that it is okay to be flexible in how I do things in my day. Just because I’ve always done a task in the morning doesn’t mean I can’t do it in the afternoon. And I need to remember that I have to mentally set my brain for work. For me, that means I ignore household tasks during my work hours. If I was in a traditional office, I wouldn’t be able to take care of the dirty dishes. So, I wait until I’m done working to tackle those things.”

Remote work can be rewarding, especially when you are working in an environment like Powerhouse’s. “Everything about Powerhouse is unique,” says Jessica. “It’s awesome. While we’re there to work and to produce deliverables for our clients that exceed their expectations, we are all aware and supportive of the fact that we’re humans first. We’ll make mistakes and we will rapidly correct them when they happen, but we give each other grace because we all understand that mistakes will happen. The only thing we can control is how we handle them.” She adds that because most of the freelancers at Powerhouse are military veterans or spouses, we understand that life can be brutal and gut wrenching at times but that it breeds grit and understanding of what is important in life.

Speaking of what is important in Jessica’s life outside of work, she’s very much focused on her husband and their adorable beagles, Clark and Kent. “They just turned 12 years old,” she says of her “super” beagles. “Clark just started on arthritis medication, but they’re still up for going on hikes or walks and love to eat!” She also enjoys being closer to family now that Adam has officially retired from the Navy. “We’re about an hour from family now. It helps that we’re both from the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and are settled relatively close to home, so we can see the family fairly easily,” she says.

Jessica also loves music and can be found at various musical concerts throughout the year. “I just got back from New York where I saw my favorite band of all time, Hanson, in concert four times,” she says. It’s true that Hanson is her go-to choice. At Powerhouse, we periodically ask team members to provide favorite songs based on a certain theme that are then compiled into a playlist and shared.

Jessica constantly has a Hanson song at the ready, and her choices are always spot on. In addition to enjoying music, she loves baking. “I’m a STEM girl,” she says with a laugh, referencing a school science fair project she did about the effects of baking soda and what it does on baked goods. “I won my high school science fair and took 3rd at County with that project. Now, I have perfected my cookie recipe after years of experimentation.”

Knowing she is in a professional space where she can balance work and life in a way that works for her is important. “Our culture is amazing,” she says of Powerhouse. “Everyone pulls their weight, and everyone consistently gives their best, but we also have a healthy understanding that productive workers are those who feel happy and balanced in all aspects of life. When we do fail, and as humans it

happens to all of us sometimes, we aren’t afraid of it. Instead, we see it as an opportunity to learn and grow.” That mindset is key to sustaining success. “I also love our Share the Goodness program. Jess always gives back, and she doesn’t have to. Running a small business is not cheap, but she makes giving back a priority and encourages us to be a part of that. That is just so special and unique to Powerhouse,” she says.

There are a couple of ways Jessica thinks Powerhouse could give back even more. “I’d like to see us develop an executive training program. I envision one that would be tailored for business executives that would be based on the model Jess has created and been so successful with, and one tailored to the military. The transition from active duty is challenging, and I think Powerhouse could do a lot in that space. Creating some leadership programs for military spouses in addition to transitioning from active duty back to the civilian world could be something we’d do well,” she says.

Jessica loves what she does and where she’s landed. And though she brightens every meeting she’s a part of, she sees herself as quite boring. “I don’t have any little-known facts about myself,” she says when asked to share one. “You can figure me out pretty easily, and I’m really so boring. Maybe the fact that I’ve never seen an episode of The Simpsons is interesting? It’s the longest running show on television.”

Don’t let her fool you. Jessica’s joy and sense of humor are truly contagious, making her one of the team members everyonehopes to work with. So throw on some “MMMBop” in her honor. You might just catch a bit of Jessica’s positivity, too.

Shining a Spotlight on Powerhouse’s Maria Mitchell

Welcome back to one of our favorite blog series where we get to shine a spotlight on some of the incredible (and incredibly talented) freelancers who make up our total remote team solutions. This time, we’re turning that spotlight on Maria Mitchell, who in her almost three years with Powerhouse has already worn a few different hats.

Maria first interviewed with Powerhouse back in 2019 when a friend and colleague suggested it would be a great fit for her. Let us pause for a moment to loop you in on the inner workings of Powerhouse. We are always looking for great talent, but we make sure that our current freelancers have all the work they wish to handle before we bring on another talented team member. This means it can sometimes be a bit of a wait between interviewing with Powerhouse and signing your first contract to work with Powerhouse. That’s exactly what happened to Maria.

Eventually, she happily joined her first Powerhouse contract working as a project manager for one of our clients and quickly adding another role as part of one of our grant-writing teams, researching funding opportunities and assisting with grant writing for our nonprofit clients. It was a case of we-never-looked-back! Over the last three years, Maria has served as our operations director, as a project manager, and as a team manager, overseeing the smooth coordination of teams to deliver high-quality results. She excels with every hat she wears for Powerhouse, utilizing her marketing background to expand and develop her skill sets to meet client needs. “I had to adapt to working with a larger organization than I was used to, but I’ve gained invaluable insights into federal grants and contracts along the way,” Maria says. “My time at Powerhouse has shown me the true value of teamwork and collaboration. I’ve learned that when you place people in roles wherethey can thrive and feel fulfilled, it not only creates happier teams but also leads to stronger, more successful outcomes. It’s been rewarding to step away from being a one-person show and embrace the power of working together,” she adds.

Maria is one of the many military spouses who has found a remote career home with Powerhouse. “I’ve been a military spouse for four years this month!” Maria proudly told us. Her husband, Jason, has served in the Air National Guard for almost 12 years and is a full-time firefighter at the military base near their home. She’s also a proud military mom, earning that title when her daughter recently joined the Air National Guard where she is currently participating in student flight while waiting to attend her basic military training. “We’re a family that includes three children, a 10-year-old rescue dog, and a grand dog,” Maria says with a laugh. The grand dog may be her current favorite, even if the almost one-year-old puppy does test the patience of her older, more laid-back dog. When she’s not hard at work for Powerhouse, or spoiling her grand puppy, Maria can most often be found playing family videographer and unofficial pit crew for her husband and son, who are avid BMX and motocross riders. Sometimes she even enjoys the family’s other favorite pastime, bowling. “I’m still working on improving my score!” she tells us with a laugh.

What she doesn’t need to work on is finding her professional work home. Maria believes that Powerhouse will continue growing and attracting more large, long-term clients, which means she’ll be able to build out her work schedule to be as robust as she wants it to be. “Powerhouse genuinely cares about both its clients and its freelancers,” she says, “which is refreshing and rare in today’s business environment. I especially love the culture at Powerhouse. Everyone’s unique strengths are celebrated, and freelancers are regularly recognized for their contributions. We come together to celebrate new babies, share moving advice, and genuinely support each other through life’s changes.”

Powerhouse’s team culture is unique, dynamic, and lends itself to incredible flexibility. “That’s the best thing about Powerhouse,” Maria explains. “Its flexibility allows you to build a meaningful career no matter where life—or the military—takes you. Plus, we’re always continuing to strengthen team collaboration and innovation, making sure everyone’s voice is heard.” That lets Powerhouse become even more efficient and better able to serve our clients, which Maria appreciates. Remote work is ideal for military spouses, and the Powerhouse model brings the best of remote work and a supportive community to lean on during moves and deployments, according to Maria. “You can build and maintain a career, but you also have that community you need for the major life milestones. Take moving, for example. Chances are someone on our team has been stationed where you’re headed and can provide inside tips like where to find the best spots,” she says. Or, if you just need to take time to focus on that move or that life event, you can rest easily knowing your Powerhouse community has your back.

For long-time readers of this blog series, you’ll know that we always like to ask our freelancers to share something that not many people know about them. Maria immediately went back to her interview with Powerhouse. Remember how she didn’t get a contract right away? “Over the two-and-a-half years between my interview and my first contract, I jokingly say I casually stalked Powerhouse,” she recalls. “I followed their social media; I shared updates on my certifications and new skills. I basically did everything I could to gain number-one fan status until they finally found the perfect role for me. I really was that person.”

We’d say her “stalking” paid off, and we love having Maria as an integral part of our total remote team solution. Now excuse us as we scamper off to create some Powerhouse’s number-one fan bling for Maria. Because every fan deserves a little love now and then.

As we embark on the time-honored (and oftentimes dreaded) PCS season, I took a moment to reflect on all the “opportunities” my military spouse life gave me. In the 10+ moves we made as an Air Force family, I had the privilege of learning to wear multiple hats, many of which I am sure I would not have worn if we had lived a different life. Mostly, these hats sat on my head because of my role as a military spouse or the people we met at the various places we called home around the globe. Some I cherished, and some I’m happy I survived. One thing these hats all have in common? They’re part of what made our time in the military unique, challenging, rewarding, and life-affirming.

In no particular order, I’ve been . . .

• A plumber
  (Full disclosure, I have an uncle who was a master plumber whom I always consulted to determine if I could handle the job myself or needed to call in a professional.)
• A funeral-home-for-pets director
  (Yes, at one memorable duty station all the neighborhood kids came to me to properly help them eulogize and plan send-offs for everything from traditional pets to spiders they kept in a box.)
• A personal reader and test quizzer (for all the non-confidential material in various Air Force courses my husband took)
  (There were many car rides where I would read from this or that manual while he drove.)
• A pet boarder
• A cultural ambassador
  (We were stationed in Japan where our children attended Japanese schools and I taught English to Japanese citizens.)
• A house finder
  (My friends placed way too much trust in me when they were PCSing back from Germany. I mean, I even signed all their closing paperwork via power of attorney. So, they truly bought and moved to this house sight unseen.)
• A CPR provider
  (Shout-out to every CPR instructor I’ve had since I was 12—you save lives.)
• A locksmith
  (I failed at this and ended up calling housing since we were on post. They came out to rescue my 16-month-old who somehow locked himself in his room.)
• A homeschooler (at certain duty stations)
  (My kids had an eclectic educational experience for sure.)
• A day care provider (for days when school was out but the base was working)
• A Key Spouse (one of my absolute favorite hats the military ever let me wear)
• A DIYer
• A (very unofficial) counselor (when friends have been struggling with a duty station, military-related life events, etc.)
• A travel guide (for visiting friends and family and for those getting ready to PCS to a place we’d been stationed previously)

This is by no means a comprehensive list. One thing I’ve learned from an adulthood spent as a military spouse is that we can be anything we need to be, and we can do things we never thought we were capable of doing. As we enter PCS season, here’s to all military spouses who make it work at each and every duty station. We wear so many hats besides just those of spouse and (for a lot of us) parent. Wear all those hats proudly this PCS season, no matter what it has in store for you. And know that each of those hats represents another reason why military spouses are some of the most powerful, skillful people anywhere.

We’d love to hear what “hats” you’ve had to wear during your time as a military spouse. Drop us a line and let us know what your favorite, most unexpected, or most-loved “hat” has been.

Heatherlynn Akins is a proud Air Force spouse (retired), mom, and retired pet obituary author.

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