The Washington, DC area is full of amazing moms. There are working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, moms of multiples, foster moms, adoptive moms, etc. We want to highlight some of those moms like Jennifer Albert. Each month we will feature one special mom as the Mom of the Month. Know a fellow amazing local mom here? Nominate them here!
Meet our January Mom of the Month: Jennifer Albert
Jennifer “Jen” Albert, grew up in Charlotte, NC as a first generation Taiwanese American. Graduated Cum Laude from Salisbury University’s Nursing School while working night shifts at the local hospital as a Geriatric Nursing Assistant. Her nursing career covers ICU, oncology, stem cell transplant, clinical trials, and currently works as a regulatory health project management.
Out and about, you might find Jen at the local library or volunteering in DC with the Junior League of Washington. Then in the evenings and weekends with her husband and two elementary school kids, and playing fetch with their Velcro bird dog. If she isn’t crafting, cooking, or on the Peloton (Tread), you will find her at her happy place either in water (swimming pools), near water (the beach) or under water (scuba diving).
Here is our Q&A with Jennifer Albert
1. How did you transition from nursing in a clinical setting to the federal government?
The decision to shift to a federal government career stemmed from burnout and relationship changes. I transitioned from an ICU job at John’s Hopkins to a federal nursing role, specializing in Hematology/Oncology Transplant. While there, I worked in various clinical roles, including as an infusion nurse and research specialist at the National Cancer Institute. After starting a family, I moved to a federal nursing role for career advancement and better work-life balance.
2. Tell us about your favorite nursing experience…
The saying, nurses have done and seen it all is 100% true but if I had to narrow down a favorite experience of being a nurse it would be before having kids and at the NIH. I volunteered to provide medical and clinical trial support to the US Ebola response in Africa. This unique opportunity to travel and teach local nurses and support staff on how to implement a clinical trial and work side by side with researchers develop an Ebola Vaccine truly shows the impact one can have as a nurse.
Having lived through two “demic”’s has given me some perspective on life. The importance of family and being there for my kids helped in the decision making of the direction of career.
As I changed careers and moved into an administrative role, the global impact continues as I have been able to support the development and regulation of therapeutic products. Even during COVID, though I was not bedside as my fellow nurses experienced, I still felt I was contributing to the COVID pandemic response. I went from working set 12hr shifts, weekends, nights, to working around the clock and around childcare meeting deadlines for issuing letters or recommendations and running multidisciplinary meetings to discuss new products being developed or entering the market in the US. It is still a lot of work but a different type of work but the care and dedication remains to support safe and effective medical products in the US but not just to individuals as I was at bedside.
3. What advice do you have for parents with school aged children?
Advice to fellow parents with school aged children would be to be involved as much as you can. Involvement can look like volunteering your time as a classroom parent, serving as a field trip chaperone or participating in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Fun fact, my husband is our PTA president of our kids’ school. We certainly do not fit the typical stereotype of PTA parents.
Financially supporting the PTA is not always possible for some families, so putting in the time to support your school’s PTA can be reshelving library books, volunteering a shift to support the book fair or a school wide fundraiser. The PTA at our school’s mission is to provide additional support to the teachers and students regardless of membership. Raising funds for teacher appreciation events or for the bus transportation or partially funding class field trips to off set fees for all are a few of the things the PTA helps make happen.
Teachers (just like nurses) are unsung hero’s where everyone benefits from their existence. Teachers play a vital role, working tirelessly for our children’s benefit, often without high pay. Teachers ensure our children’s safety while educating them. As parents, we can always do more to support our schools.
