Get to know the newest Peoria Hometown Hero

For her service to the greater community Lori Jensen has been named a Peoria Independent Hometown Hero.

The Hometown Heroes Awards are a celebration of individuals who live, work or teach in the city, and Peoria businesses for their achievements and distinguished contributions to the community and beyond.

Jensen will be honored at an awards luncheon next year. The third annual Hometown Heroes luncheon will honor those nominated in 2023.

Get to know Jensen more here.

What I like most about living/working in Peoria: I love the small-town interconnectedness I feel to my neighbors, friends, teachers and colleagues when I’m out and about in the city of Peoria. Over the past 16 years, we have grown to look forward to each season of the year, seeing familiar faces cheering at swim meets, serving at the Salvation Army food bank, shopping at Fry’s, eating at our favorite restaurants, and attending the seasonal activities we enjoy at fairs, plays and sporting events like spring training. We love going on walks with our dogs during citrus blossom season and taking time to visit with our friends and neighbors.

Personal background highlights: My husband and I grew up together just one block apart in Salt Lake City, Utah. We met again later in life while visiting our parents for Christmas as I was finishing my Master’s Degree in Public Health at the University of Utah, and he was stationed at China Lake Naval Weapons station in Ridgecrest, California. After I graduated, we married and took up residence in California. Our family now consists of our three children: Casper,21, Whitney, 19, and Stewart,16, who have all attended Sunrise Mountain High School.

We moved to Peoria, Arizona twice in the last 16 years! The first time, in 2007, my husband began a new career as a corporate pilot for Honeywell. We enjoyed having him home a little bit more as our children grew, while they participated on swim teams, music, canoeing and scouting. In 2011, Matt was deployed by his Navy reserve unit to serve in Virginia Beach, Virgina and we jumped at the chance to spend two years near beaches and interesting places to travel like Williamsburg, Jamestown, Washington DC, New York City, and Niagara Falls. In 2013, we decided to move back Peoria to finish raising our family.

Professional background highlights: While our children grew, I mainly focused on raising them and spent a great amount of time serving in some of our favorite organizations and having great adventures as a Cub Committee Chair for Boy Scouts of America for eight years, in their classrooms at Parkridge and Coyote Hills Elementary, and as the Sunrise Mountain High School Marching Band Treasurer and Swim Team Secretary. When our oldest was in the 7th grade, I began working at Premier Research and, for the last eight years, for Arizona Research Center where we perform clinical research trials in West Phoenix.

What does it mean to be a Peoria resident/worker?: Being a resident of Peoria means being part of a team — a network. How my neighbor’s child is educated and the kind of health care my neighbor receives, affects me. I have a responsibility to know my neighbor, to be a friend where I can. I feel I have a responsibility be part of my kids’ schools, to know my kids’ teachers and friends, and to be a support.

What would you tell people about why it’s important to make a difference?: Making a difference in people’s lives brings a lot of joy and change inside yourself and to your family.

While taking part with friends and family helping to revitalize neighborhoods in the Peoria Neighborhood Pride projects each year, trash pickups at our various parks and trails, revitalizing parts of Lake Pleasant with the Boy Scouts, sending aid to our friends on the Nation during the pandemic, holding blood drives, and helping to keep our various food banks and pantries stocked, you learn to love your community and home even more. You come to love the people and to take pride in the beauty around you.

Changes I’d like to see in this area: I’d love to see some of our Peoria schools adopt a Café model to better utilize volunteer resources. This would consist of a monthly round table conversation between the school principal and the local leaders of their individual communities — nonprofits, businesses, churches and other local leaders — to work together to address the needs of neighborhood children and families.

My family (what have they taught you): My family has taught me to work and study hard, to tenaciously find solutions, and to give back.

My interests and hobbies: Much of my free time is spent serving in various community service agencies. My family also enjoys spending time in the outdoors on hikes and trails, canoeing and paddleboarding, and camping throughout the country. It was our goal as parents to see as many of the 50 states with our kids as possible – Vermont and Oregon are the last two on the list! Those RV tips with all four dogs and an archery target were a great adventure! My kids and husband look forward to the ski season each year, and I enjoy a good book or Korean drama if I have some downtime!

The trait(s) I admire in others: I appreciate honesty and integrity in others and those who see things as they really are – and are kind anyway.

People who inspired me (and how): Jesus Christ and His ministry inspire me to love God and love my neighbor. Those two commandments in action work together to make us better people!

My advice to today’s youth: Get out and DO something you love that helps someone else. Service in the community, especially to strangers, helps you realize what you’re good at and where you need to grow; it increases self-worth and self-esteem. It connects you to new friends and people you would never have met otherwise. Service in your community will change your life!

Name a couple future goals: I intend to take some classes to refresh my data programming skills and expand my career in servant leadership.
I plan to expand the use of JustServe by training new JustServe specialists in West Phoenix and speaking on volunteerism.