Jen Thorson

Jen Thorson
Interim Executive Director; Planning, Executive Search

Jen Thorson is a St. Paul-based nonprofit executive with more than 25 years of experience leading mission-driven organizations. She is the founder and principal consultant of Paradox Leadership Consulting and a collaborator with Mighty Consulting.

Jen is an experienced nonprofit leader and interim executive director who enjoys supporting nonprofit boards and teams through transitions, setting them up for future strength and success. She also supports nonprofits with executive search, strategic planning, fundraising, and governance.

Jen previously served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and
Wisconsin River Valleys, one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country. Before joining the Girl Scouts, she worked in higher education, focusing on marketing, communications, and enrollment management. Her first career was as a journalist, and she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor.

Jen is an active volunteer, advocate, and public speaker. She serves as the board chair for the Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement and as the treasurer for Little Free Library. She previously served on the City of St. Paul Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow board of directors. A heart attack survivor, she is a frequent presenter on women’s heart health and a former national spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

She earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from St. Catherine University and a bachelor’s degree in English and women’s studies from Hamline University. She also holds certificates in HR and Talent Management (Michigan State), Fundraising Leadership (Indiana University), and Excellence in Business (Carlson School of Management).

Jen believes in the paradox of leadership; to her, the best leaders are confident and humble, decisive and flexible. They lead, and they follow. “Leadership is not either-or; it’s both/and.”