Both in her fiction and essays, Jenny seeks "what she doesn't know she knows." The phrase is borrowed from the approach of 16th-century essayist Michel de Montaigne, tries to write his way to new insights about himself, often working against the grain of his reason and preconceptions. In her writing classroom, Jenny hopes to set her students on a similar path of self-discovery.

Jenny teaches first-year writing, introductory creative writing, fiction, nonfiction and assorted literature classes. Jenny recently completed her Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing at Ohio University. She received her M.F.A. from Vermont College and her B.A. (in Religion) from Kenyon College. Her recent fiction has been published in Lunch Ticket, Literary Mama, South Dakota Review and Beloit Fiction Journal, among other magazines. Her story "Reva" received a Special Mention in the 2008 Pushcart anthology. She has also published essays (most recently in the North Dakota Quarterly) and academic articles in the AWP Chronicle and elsewhere. She is a current recipient of a $10,000 State Arts Board grant to revise her novel Yak Farming.

Jenny lives in Wabasha, Minn. on the banks of the Mississippi River with husband Steve and their border collie Zefphy.