Cover Story: Rodeo Queen Turned Financial Trailblazer

By Noelle Bartl

Jane Terry (BS 69) had big visions for herself as an ENMU undergraduate. The Carlsbad native was very active on campus, taking part in student government as the secretary of her class, being a member of the Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi) sorority, and working as a resident advisor for two years. She was chosen as ENMU’s Yucca Blossom, a Little Sister of Minerva and was even crowned Rodeo Queen.

Jane believes one of the best things to ever happen to her was the well-rounded education she received at ENMU. It was an environment where she was given “the opportunity to be a very BIG fish in a very small pond,” with experiences she knows she would have missed at any other university.

There were not reins strong enough to keep Jane from pursuing her goal of one day becoming a dean of women at a major university. Being a resident advisor helped prepare her for the unexpected and the unpredictable. In 1967, an unanticipated increase in female undergraduate enrollment forced ENMU to transfer many of the female students into a new dorm, Lincoln Hall, which had originally been built for men. The new dorm was beautiful and fully-functional, complete with a series of urinals on each floor. Jane and the other ladies quickly made “lemonade out of lemons” as they discovered that the urinals were perfect for washing their popular 1960s hairstyles.

After graduation, ADPi selected Jane as one of five traveling consultants which provided her with the opportunity to travel the country visiting top universities and meeting many deans of women and students. While interviewing for a potential doctoral program in Arizona, however, the remarks of the department head left her feeling shocked and incensed. He recommended that she “return to New Mexico, learn how to play the piano, get herself a man, get married and start raising a family.” It was a remark she never forgot.

Jane’s yearbook photo from 1967 when she was crowned ENMU Rodeo Queen.

As her career progressed, Jane became the director of student organizations at Texas Tech University, where she supervised all student organizations and coordinated rush week for 13 national sororities and over 800 potential members. While there, she also earned her master’s in educational administration.

Following graduation from Tech, Jane returned to NewMexico as a real estate broker for Candlelight Homes. As the Santa Fe sales manager, Jane encountered more blatant gender discrimination. The owner of the corporation requested that Jane, the sales manager, train the construction superintendent on how to manage all closings at the title company. Despite her seniority, number one ranking, and high performance levels, the owner felt having a woman in such a visible position did not project the then accepted “status quo” of having male managers in real estate development.

Jane Terry circa 1967. She was very active on campus and was involved in multiple organizations including student government and Alpha Delta Pi.

Frustrated by the obvious glass ceiling, she interviewed with the brokerage firm EF Hutton in Albuquerque and beat out the other 60 applicants.

In the early 1980s and working in the male-dominated investment industry, Jane was initially one of only three females among 27 male financial advisors. Over the years, she often heard comments about “empty girdles,” who was or wasn’t attractive, “women should be at home barefoot and pregnant,” or “each woman hired is putting a man out of work and is stealing food off of his family’s dinner table.”

Early in her career Jane attended “by invitation only” national financial advisor conferences. Male colleagues would approach her as if she was an employee of the hotel, and would ask her when coffee would be served, what was on the lunch menu, or could she contact their office with a message. She had to consistently stand her ground and educate many of her male colleagues that women too were registered representatives with the same certifications.

After years of gender inequality at a number of firms, Jane decided she could have greater personal satisfaction and professional success by managing her own business. In 1989 Jane started her own independentinvestment firm, Summit Investment Group. At that time there was a significant bias against smaller independent firms as they did not have the branding or marketing budgets to capture the attention of investors that the large wire houses had cultivated for decades.

Today Jane’s firm is located in Santa Fe, right off of prestigious Canyon Road. The independent firm partners with Raymond James Financial Services for technology, research, and their portfolio management platforms.Summit is a wealth management firm that provides estate and retirement planning, as well as portfolio management for high net worth clients ($500,000 minimum balance) in over 22 states.

As a result of Jane’s grit, leadership and expertise, the firm has quadrupled managed assets and has been an annually recognized member of the Raymond James Executive Council for providing exemplary client service and for maintaining a high level of professional performance. Jane truly proved herself in the maledominated financial industry. Thanks to her and countless other female baby boomers and professional pioneers, women today have more career choices.

This former rodeo queen has never been happier.