Who is LI? Meet Jared.
Jared Reni
Hometown: Provo, UT
Title: Director of Communications Training and Studios, Leadership Institute
Years at LI: 3
Q. What is your position at the Leadership Institute and what is the easiest way to describe what you do to those who might not be familiar with LI?
A. I am the Director of Communications Training and Studios. In my role, I help conservative activists gain skills in communications through our training programs. I also partner with Leadership Institute staff and other organizations to provide studio space and support for their video projects.
Q. Did you have a different position when you first started at LI? How did you harness what you learned in that position to succeed in your current position?
A. I’ve been fortunate to see my role at the Leadership Institute expand since being here. I started off as a temp, then became the Communications Training Manager, then became the Director, and most recently, added the studios to my area of responsibility.
I learned fairly quickly that working hard, thinking outside the box, and leading with sound vision and ideas does not go unnoticed at the Leadership Institute. I was given a lot of trust and freedom in my role early on, which allowed me to really hit the ground running and accomplish a lot more than I would have if I were put inside a box. I’ve used that freedom to be very flexible in the way that I go about accomplishing my goals, and it’s helped me improve each year.
Q. What is your favorite part about your job?
A. There are so many aspects to my job that I love. Aside from the freedom I already mentioned, I get a lot of satisfaction out of working together with partner organizations to provide training to their staff or at conferences. I can usually spot the moment when they realize that what they’re learning is gold, and that’s always a good feeling for me. This obviously wouldn’t be possible without the support of our donors and our volunteer faculty.
Q. Is there something you’ve been able to do while working here that you never, in a million years, would think you would be able to do? What was it?
A. This one’s easy. I never in a million years thought that I would be a studio director! Our donors have really set us up with an amazing resource at LI, and I consider myself blessed to be able to put it to use each day.
Q. What makes LI different from other places to work?
A. LI possesses a really unique space within the conservative movement, in that we are able to work on behalf of the entire movement. We don’t really touch political issues from any angle, and that helps me to feel like I’m never compromising my own beliefs for the sake of politics or otherwise. I’ll just add that the culture at the Leadership Institute is awesome!