➜ WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
JENNIFER PLAYER
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a mixed-income community. “We really believe in the benefits of different types of people living in the same neighborhood, being able to learn and grow and share with each other,” Jennifer says. President and CEO, One of Jennifer’s favorite memories on the job happened at her Habitat for Humanity of Orange County first closing. She met a fellow mother named Judit Alvarado, who was purchasing a Habitat home in Hillsborough with her husband, s president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Angel Davalos. Fast forward to this year, Jennifer hopped on a recent Orange County, Jennifer Player’s schedule – with affordable housing call and saw none other than Judit sharing her donor meetings, build site visits and balancing the experience as a leader in the Fairview community. ever-changing landscape of affordable housing “I’ve just really been able to see how this stable home – never looks the same. But there are some has helped their family, has helped them to go back to constants in her office: a clothespin collage school, to better their education, to get better jobs and with photos of inspiring people she has met to really get connected in the community,” Jennifer along the way not far from a wall map of says. “Now that they’re stable, they found a place they plans for the nonprofit’s largest project yet. want to invest in and they want to get involved and they “We’re trying After growing up in Wayne County, just want to give back.” to be part southeast of the Triangle, Jennifer attended The organization recently got a boost in late March. of a larger UNC, where she met her husband, Jon Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced a $436 conversation Player. After graduation, she worked in million donation to Habitat for Humanity affiliates, because we know that health care consulting and volunteered with with Orange Habitat set to receive $5 million of the we’re not nonprofits. Wanting to make her passion transformational funds. going to build for volunteering a career, Jennifer got her Jennifer says, “To me, it’s really a vote of confidence ourselves master’s degree in public administration for that a philanthropist like this looked at our out of this nonprofit management at UNC Charlotte. organization and said, ‘They are doing all the right problem [of the lack of In 2014, the director of development things and have all of the foundation in place to really affordable job at Orange Habitat brought Jennifer launch and do something big.’” housing].” and Jon back to Chapel Hill, where As more flock to the area, she says it has become they now raise their sons, Winston, 12, harder for long-term residents or service workers to and Fletcher, 9, and a poochon puppy stay in this aggressive housing market. She says this named Wallace (affectionately named after “life-changing” gift will have a generational impact for UNC basketball player Rasheed Wallace). In 2019, local neighborhoods. “The bottom line, it allows us to be able to she became president and CEO of the nonprofit. keep more of the people who are the fabric of our community in our A core part of Jennifer and Orange Habitat’s vision is making community,” Jennifer says. – by Emily Padula sure everyone in the county has a decent place to live. One huge step toward that vision hangs on the wall behind Jennifer’s desk: a development called Weavers Grove. Walking distance from East Chapel Hill High School, the 32-acre project will consist of 237 homes, including 101 Habitat dwellings for people who live or work in Orange County. The remaining homes will be market-rate, creating
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chapelhillmagazine.com
May/June 2022