Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Wood.
Jill, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
On a cold night in February, with no medical insurance and a fixed income, my parents sat in their car in the hospital parking lot. My mom was in labor and they were waiting for 12:01 am to check into the hospital, hoping to eliminate the need for an extra day’s charge. My dad loves to tell the story of his tough little girl, determined to do things “her way,” forcing her way out and into the world at 11:50 am., costing them the extra day in the hospital. A hard worker, educated with the School of Hard Knocks, he was proud of those qualities and saw them as strengths in me. It was our way of bonding throughout life. I’m grateful to my dad for encouraging these traits in me. I often pulled from this source of positive feelings for strength and motivation to keep pushing my professional and personal growth.
If you asked me when I was 6 years old what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would tell you quite enthusiastically that I wanted to be a shark trainer! If you were like most of responsible adults around me, you would tell me that was a crazy idea, you’ll lose an arm. Again, and again, I would disagree and say that I would be the first to train a shark, and again and again I was told that I was crazy. As I grew older I gave up the dream and realized that I had no idea what to do for my career.
There were some years after high school that I would say floundered and flip flopped between college courses and changing my degree program. I felt lost and possibly depressed during these years, frustrated with myself for not being able to focus on one path. All the while, I continued going to college and working in the accounting field doing general accounting work, such as accounts payable or accounts receivable for many different companies. Along the way, I decided that I was too vested to switch paths and completed my Bachelor’s in Business Management and a certificate of accounting from UCLA.
Luckily, around this time my cousin offered me a position in the accounting department for an architectural firm. I found that I was drawn to this industry and motivated to learn the ins and outs of it. It was exciting to work with design professional that created communities and homes that could improve the quality of lives for people. Each day I would plan a strategy on how to learn something new. I accepted any offer to be a part of the team’s discussions or project reviews. I jumped on any opportunity to attend an industry event outside of the office. I made sure to never burn my bridges and stay flexible enough to do whatever was asked of me and hold on to the positive influences and mentors supporting my career growth. It’s this strategy that helped me advance in my career and stay employed through recessions and ups and downs of the building industry.
Today, approximately 30 years later, I look forward to work each day and know that I’m right where I need to be. In my role as Director of Finance for JZMK Partners, supported by a talented group of professionals, I can make a big impact on our corporate operations. I have the freedom to break out from the usual accounting roles and support the Partners in growing the business and being prepared for maneuvering around the unforeseen business obstacles.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life can take us down many paths with twists and turns. I’m often intrigued by the thought of “sliding doors” or how my life may have been different if I changed one small action. Would life be easier? What kind of person would I be? I actually like who I am today. I give my two sons most of the credit for me liking me. They taught me to love, laugh, and not sweat the small stuff. What if I grew up in another city, would I still meet their father?
I understand that life can be very hard for many of us. It’s human nature to think that things could have been easier, if only I had done something differently. I truly believe that it’s these obstacles and how we deal with them that makes us stronger and allow us to grow. I’ve personally experienced, the heartbreak of caring for aging parents, who can no longer care for themselves, the exhaustion of raising two sons as a single mom, and dealing with the feelings of despair as a loved one’s addiction tears apart the family. If allowed, these hardships, can make you feel out of control and become a roadblock to achieving your goals. I am only human and these are real, close to home difficulties. I’d be lying if I did not say they have caused me to stutter and stall in my growth professionally and personally. What’s important is to stay focused and find a way to regain balance in your life. Take a vacation, give yourself a break with time to reflect and then go at it again. It’s when we find our way through each storm and look back that we realize we are stronger for it.
Please tell us about JZMK Partners.
JZMK Partners is an international Architectural and Urban Planning firm. We specialize in providing design through construction services for residential, multi-family, apartments, urban planning, master planning, modular housing, and student housing. We have projects in over 9 countries.
The firm has received many awards for design excellence from both the architectural community and the building industry. We are well known in the building industry for our commitment to innovation and new technology, such as Revit modeling and virtual reality programs. We have team of talented designers and planners that are creative and inspiring with their designs, while balancing the needs of the client and cost considerations.
JZMK Partners is proud of their company culture and Core Values that guide us and apply integrated problem-solving approaches to any challenge and daily tasks.
CORE VALUES
1. Do The Right Thing
2. Creative Energy
3. Mutual Respect
4. Spirit of Partnership
5. Community Service
What sets us apart from others is our commitment to the Core Values and incorporating them into everyday operations and management decisions.
The Core Value that I’d like to highlight is the commitment to Community Service. At all levels, the Partners of the firm encourage participation in community service events. Most recently, we teamed up with Fuscoe Engineering and The New Home Company to participate in a creative design competition that involves raising funds to purchase food items to be donated to the OC Food Bank. Architects and engineers design and build structures entirely out of cans of food. The structures are on display at South Coast Plaza during the month of September. This year our team built a Lego Batman with a Lego wall. We raised approx. $12,000 and donated approx. 8,000 food items to the OC Food Bank.
What also sets us apart is the commitment to creating a company culture that appeals to the staff and nurtures their professional growth. An example of this is our Emerging Leaders program that recognizes and rewards employees for contributing to the ongoing success of the firm by supporting their participation in industry events and mentoring.
Our social media program works to engage all members of the team. We recognized that all of us are stronger than just one of us. Employees are encouraged to submit “What Inspires Me” for social media posting. Each employee has a unique experiences and great ideas to bring to the table, making our content richer and more well-rounded.
And most importantly, we make sure that all egos are checked at the door. Our management team that flies horizontally and understands that the team as a whole determines the overall success of the firm. We could have the most talented group of individuals, but it won’t be worth much, if we can’t work together as a team.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is the lazy family fun we would have on most Sundays. Sunday was my dad’s only day off from work. He liked to sleep in and read the newspaper in bed. My brother, sister, and myself missed seeing him during the week and so we would pile in the bed with him. Still in our pajamas, my brother his sleeper with the footsies, we would run in my parent’s room and jump on the bed. I always tried to be the first one there so I could grab the funnies page to read. Sometimes, my mom would get silly and try to make my dad laugh, which made everyone laugh. She would tell us, “Kids, you want to know a secret?” Not that is was a secret, we all knew what was coming next, but giggly and loving the silliness, would chime in with a big “Yes!” At that point, she would tickle my dad and exclaim, “your dad is ticklish!” Later in the afternoon, we would go to my grandma’s house for lunch. She made menudo and homemade tortillas every Sunday for the entire family. My sister and I would pick through the soup, throwing out the tripe and only eating the hominy. My grandma would call us “meha” and we’d run around and play games with our cousins.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3080 Bristol Street
Suite 650
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 - Website: www.jzmkpartners.com
- Phone: 714-426-6900
- Email: [email protected]
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
