Spotlight on Powerhouse’s AJ Bengoa

This month we’re shining the spotlight on one of our talented graphic designers and grant writers, AJ Bengoa. AJ, short for Anne Jeanene (she’s named after her mom), will celebrate her first year with Powerhouse in August. While she works on graphic design and grant-writing projects for Powerhouse, AJ prefers to identify what she does as “making other people, and companies, look and sound better. And I love research and data!” That last bit is probably why she’s so good at what she does.

AJ’s favorite thing about working at Powerhouse is “the camaraderie and positivity of all the people! At first, I thought, this cannot be real all the time, but it so is . . . Everyone is so kind and supportive. It warms my soul just thinking about it!” This atmosphere, unique for in-office companies and virtually unheard of in fully remote companies, is why AJ believes the sky is the limit for Powerhouse. “[Powerhouse President and Founder] Jess has created the perfect environment for thriving employees, and the only limit is what the employees are willing to pursue. With this team, the possibilities really do end with what we can dream up,” she says.

As someone who prefers to focus (and talk about) anyone other than herself, it was hard to pin AJ down to any self-description, but she finally said, “I believe I’m a generally positive person, and my kids say I don’t ever give up and I always finish what I start even if it kills me. Though clearly nothing has yet!” Speaking of her children, AJ was quick to brag on hers. Son Akiva is a trombone and piano player who composes music and participates in competitive fencing. He’s also, according to AJ, “one of the best fiction writers I know. He’s just so good, and he’s placed top in the state for his storytelling two years in a row, so it’s not just my biased opinion.” Daughter Ainara is also a musician (percussion being her instrument of choice), a poet, and an accomplished dancer. “She spends at least nine hours a week in the dance studio both taking and assisting classes of all kinds,” AJ adds.

Married to her husband, Alex, since 2004, AJ loves that their family spends time camping, hiking, and participating in all kinds of water sports. Her priority is family time, so the whole family will load up the beach buggy and head for the beach (a whole two blocks from the house) or toss the appropriate toys from the garage into the camper to head out for destinations a little farther from home. When not playing out on the water or going camping, she and Alex hang out in a home office that would make many of us envious. With a Cricut, two 3D printers, an engraving machine, a laser cutter, welding tools, jewelry-making tools, and a heat press, they’re pretty set up to tackle any of the creative outlets they enjoy.

AJ is proud of her extended family, too. While happy to point out that she is descended from the McCoy side of the famous Hatfields and McCoys (she has great stories to tell to anyone who is interested), she’s most proud of her father, Clyde McCoy, and his part in the Civil Rights movement. “He gave up his position as a minister because he came down on the opposite side of the Civil Rights movement from his congregation. Instead, he spent his time sponsoring the black students’ council at the University of Cincinnati when they needed a sponsor and working as the campaign manager for the first elected black mayor of Cincinnati,” she states. Her mom was the first person in the state of Kentucky, and one of the first in the country, to learn to use computers when they were first developed by IBM. “She was the only professor in the business department in the late 1960s willing to learn,” AJ says, “so she learned and then taught others how to use and program computers for the next 40 years. She taught me a few things over the years, too,” she adds with a smile.

That computer savviness must run in her blood because AJ does great things for Powerhouse in the graphic design department and is always willing to lend her creative mind to developing ideas for other projects. Her creative talent combines seamlessly with her computer knowledge, but she still says her favorite Powerhouse projects are “all the amazing products my fellow designers create. It amazes me how many other things and what a variety of talents are accumulated under the Powerhouse umbrella.” She’s hoping to continue to be under that umbrella for a long time. “I’ll be transitioning to an empty nester in five years and Alex will retire a few years after that, but I’m hoping to still keep on with Powerhouse as we travel the Americas in our camper,” she says.

As always, we asked AJ to tell us something not many others know about her, and we just had to laugh at her response, given her avowal that she is a water sports addict. “I’m scared of ducks!” she says. A bad early childhood experience was compounded by having to cross a bridge surrounded by “quacking, pecking, sharp-beaked, feathered swarms” every day in college. Ironically, her son’s first word was “duck” and he still has a soft spot for them—“Mainly the rubber duckie variety, which I don’t place in the scary category, but still!” she laughs. Luckily for AJ, there aren’t any real ducks associated with Powerhouse (that we know of), but the next time we all get together via Zoom, we may just have to bring out any rubber duckies we have floating around our home offices. All in the name of continuing that positive camaraderie we all enjoy so much, of course.