Meet a PWA Board Member: Jennifer Polivka

Jennifer Polivka (she/her), a Lead Engineer at Nike, was elected to the Portland Workforce Alliance Board of Directors in June 2026. 

Jennifer has worked at the Nike headquarters since 2010, bringing her passion for Materials Science and Engineering – a field she’s loved since discovering it in high school – into her role as a Lead Engineer. In addition to the day-to-day work, she’s actively involved in building community across Nike by serving on the leadership teams for the Women of STEM and Friends network, and the Nike Families community group. Jennifer enjoys creating welcoming spaces where people feel connected and supported.

Jennifer has been a regular PWA volunteer for several years, supporting Career Days at Nike headquarters and the mock interviews at the NW Youth Careers Expo. 

Below are some insights from Jennifer: 

•  Best career advice: “The road of life has many curves. It might take time and some detours to get where you want to go. Or maybe you’ll end up in an unexpected new place where you can thrive and you let your goals evolve.”
• Most memorable job as a teenager: “My parents were real estate agents and our home phone number was on their signs. So throughout my childhood I had to answer a lot of phone calls and convey messages to and from people. I learned to ask clarifying questions, that it is fine to admit when you don’t know something, and that it costs nothing to be friendly and polite to everyone.”
• Something I learned in high school about work: “I grew the most when the goals were clear but just out of reach. My AP classes always took a lot of work and required me to learn new personal management skills. And the year I played my best tennis was when I actually lost most of my matches because I was playing people a lot better than me!”
• What draws me to serve PWA: “I have had a lot of great people and opportunities in my life – amazing parents, three great older sisters, teachers who cared, awesome university and college department,  interesting job, supportive spouse and sweet (ok, sweet most of the time) kids. I want to contribute where I can to provide students with the chance to see and learn things they wouldn’t otherwise get exposure to. It’s hard to know what you don’t know!” 

Thank you, Jennifer, for your service to the community through PWA!